Curl Pattern
There’s a number of curl pattern systems, but the most widely recognised one is the Andre Walker Hair Typing System. Ranging from 1A to 4C, this system classifies hair depending on the natural degree of curl in its strands; type 1 encompasses straight hair, type 2 is for wavy, type 3 is for curly and type 4 is for coily hair. The suffixes A, B and C describe the degree of coil variation with ‘C’ hair being the most coily type within each category.
An easy way to identify your curl pattern is to compare your hair to some examples of people with different hair types.
Another method is to take a single strand of your hair and lay it down on a white surface so you can see it clearly (e.g. a piece of paper).
Type 1 hair is generally pretty straight, type 2 hair tends to take on a wavy ‘S’ curl, type 3 hair is loopier and can be described as a ‘C’ curl. Finally, type 4 hair is identified by its distinct coils and strands whose direction changes sharply (as opposed to changing directions in a loop like type 3 hair). As a result, type 4 hair is sometimes described as a ‘Z’ curl.
Your curl pattern is a classification of how far away your hair is from straight. Your curl pattern is often seen as synonymous to “hair type”, but in reality, so many more characteristics contribute to the “type” of hair you have.
Your curl pattern isn’t as significant as the other 2 key things when it comes to understanding your hair and knowing what it needs. Think of your hair as a book. Your curl pattern is like the art on a book cover and the other 2 things (hair porosity and treatments) are like the blurb. The curl pattern/cover is an aesthetic manifestation of the contents of your hair, but the blurb will ultimately tell you a lot more about what to expect from the book.
However, your curl pattern directly affects how your hair looks, so it’s an important aspect to learn about in order to fully understand the appearance of your hair.
A deep dive into Type 4 hair
Type 4A:
4A strands have the most defined coils within the type 4 category. The strands might be slightly loopier, and appear more curly than coily and the curl pattern remains defined regardless of whether your hair is wet or not.
Type 4B:
4B hair appears quite fluffy when dry. It has a fairly defined ‘Z’ curl pattern when dry, but these coils are most visible when the hair is wet.
Type 4C:
You can tell that your hair is type 4C if it has no clearly defined curl pattern when dry. When wet, however, you might be able to observe extremely tight coils and shrinkage of up to 70%. Shrinkage means how much your hair “shrinks” when wet. Type 4C hair could be shoulder length when dry, but look two inches long when wet.
