Understanding hair types: 4 natural textures, physiology and needs

1a hair type is the straightest one. Devoid of a curl pattern, it’s silky hair that doesn't move and just sits as flat to the head as possible. The strands are pin-straight all the way from the scalp to the tips. Thanks to this,sebum tends to travel faster down the shaft giving this type of hair good shine and a smooth texture. Hair is easy to control but can be difficult to obtain textured hairstyles. Because of the accelerated oil distribution, type 1a tends to lack volume. 

1b hair type is very straight hair. This type of hair may have a soft bend. It tends to have coarser strands than 1a and gets slightly drier. Oils from the scalp still travel easily to the tips of hair but there is more hair to absorb the oil. This gives a sheen and shiny look to hair that doesn't appear greasy. Volume is easier to obtain than type 1a with products but hair does not naturally have volume.

For 1c hair type, hair still grows straight but is thicker, coarser.. This hair type has natural volume making it easier to style than other type 1 hair subclasses.. 1c can often be prone to frizz more than the 1a and 1b,  due to the weather or the climate in which you are situated. Even though it’s naturally shiny, type 1c hair has a tendency to become oily. In addition to dryness and limp locks, flyaways, tangles, and frizz could be common straight hair concerns.

 Type 2: wavy hair

Type 2 hair is classified as wavy which its definition lies between being straight and not completely curly. The curl pattern can range from loose curls forming a wave to undefined “S'' shaped curls. The stronger the “S” shape is, the curlier the hair is. The bulb is not completely implanted straight into the scalp and the follicle shape is like a bean shape. This hair is very easy to manipulate to do very different kinds of styling. Usually, it doesn't get oily as fast as Type 1.

2a hair type grows straight at the crown and creases toward the end. Hair grows with an extended "S" type pattern giving it a slight wave. The waves form naturally when air-dried. Type 2A hair is fine, thin, and soaks up moisture easily. Soft and smooth, tthis wave type is easy to comb and requires a minimal amount of styling. Yet it can be prone to oiliness.

2b hair type is a wavy and loose “S” shaped curl hair. Type 2b hair grows straight, but starts forming medium to large and defined S-shaped waves at the crown like beachy waves. It's slightly coarser and denser than 2a. For type 2b hair, the frizziness can get real, particularly with humidity. This type or hair is also prone to tangles and dryness.

2c hair type is a very wavy hair with small to medium waves that form a S-shaped wave. As the S shape curl begins from the root, the hair really stands up at the root and is more voluminous. The heaviness falls at the bottom creating a triangle form. This type borders between wavy and curly. It’s prone to frizz and still needs volume and curl definition.

Type 3: curly hair

Curly hair can vary from loose curls to a core crew like. Type 3 is often a mixture of texture of curls and sometimes waves. As you can notice below, for type 3 the angle of the bulb is more inclined than for type 2 and the cross section is more ovale. When hair is wet, curls usually look like waves but take on a three-dimensional swirl shape as they dry. Each strand of this hair type can be unique. This category is the one most likely to involve different hair thickness / texture (thin, medium, or thick).

Curly 3a hair type features stretched spirals of curls large in diameter and rolling down from the crown. 3a texture is thin to medium. With large soft curls, this hair is usually not coarse to the touch. Type 3a curls are soft and easy to style, and not very frizz-prone. It’s less likely to be as frizzy as type 3b and 3c hair, and can appear a bit flat. Another challenge for 3a curls is dry hair. 3a curls are also at a higher risk of breakage.

3b hair type has a medium curl and circumference and can vary from a ringlet to a corkscrew curl. It is quite voluminous, with hair weight that falls around the ears.  Compared to 3a curls, 3b hair has a thick density, high porosity and medium thickness. They deeply need moisturization and are prone to breakage.

3c hair type is defined by smaller curls. They will be tight, springy and densely packed together. This hair falls heavy around the ears and also lifts up at the roots; the hair nearly springs up from the root. The shape of curls also makes it difficult for natural oils to circulate from the roots to the ends of the hair. They therefore need hydration and nutrition to prevent dryness and frizz.

Type 4: kinky hair graphic

4 hair type, commonly referred to as Afro-textured or coily hair, is naturally very dry and spongy in texture and can be soft and fine or coarse and wiry. Strands form very tight, small curls of zig-zags right from the scalp and are prone to major shrinkage. The bulb is implanted in parallel to the skin surface and the follicle shape is flat and oval. Because of the coils and the bands in the hair fiber, the oil from the scalp doesn’t not travel. Therefore, this is the type of hair that is prone to dryness and damage.

People with 4a hair type have dense, springy, S-pattern coils that are about the same circumference as a crochet needle. The hair weight grows vertically from the head, out and up. It’s the best way to distinguish from type 3c. Curls are medium-sized and soft, making them easier to style than types 4b and 4c. Type 4a hair requires a lot of moisturizing to avoid breakage or damage.

4b hair type have dense, springy, Z-pattern coils that appear similar to a pen spring. The curls are concentrated and extremely bouncy. The hair weight grows vertically from the head, out and up. This hair is less defined than 4a and the hair goes at a sharper angle. Type 4b hair can be difficult to manage. Studies show that this category of hair is 70% prone to breakage and shrinkage. It also needs hydration and nutrition.

4c hair type is the most delicate of all the types because the hair fiber has less cuticle layers. It is an extremely tight zig-zag pattern which can be hard to see, as coils are tight and interlocked. Again, the weight distribution and the fall is vertical from the head. Whilst it is similar to 4b hair, 4c experiences more shrinkage (up to 70% of their length) and less definition. Type 4c strands are tightly wound around each other, making the hair susceptible to breakage or shattering without care. Not surprisingly, many experts consider hair type 4c to be the most fragile of the hair classification system.

A lack of knowledge about textured hair

Nowadays, 60-70% of the world’s population has textured hair. We define textured hair as all hair type that are not straight. It means wavy, curly, and kinky hair. Only 6% of hair care launches in 2022 clearly targeting textured hair according to Mintel. Faced with the demand for inclusivity that is also affecting the cosmetics industry, it's time to increase our knowledge of textured hair and offer products adapted to its problems and needs.

What are the challenges and needs of 3a, 3b, 3c and 4a, 4b, 4c hair types?

Textured hair curls are naturally drier and more porous than straight hair

Porosity refers to the ability of the hair strands to absorb and retain moisture. It’s a key indicator of hair’s health. Hair has “high porosity” when it can easily get wet but doesn’t retain water that well. At the opposite, people with “low porosity hair” have a hard time getting their hair wet, but once it does, it can retain moisture well. When consumers and hair care brands talk about hair hydration, it’s in fact about hair porosity. A healthy “hydrated-looking” hair is a non porous hair.

In general, curly and kinky hair is more porous than straight hair, which alters its ability to absorb and retain moisture and caring agents. For this reason, curly and kinky hair needs very rich, nourishing care.

Curls and coils are more fragile than straight hair

The uneven structure of the twisting follicle means that there are spots where the cuticle lifts, making it more prone to damage. In addition to the role of keratin in curly and kinky hair, it is distributed in the capillary cortex ellipsoid (outside the ellipse). This curious form of deposit of the keratin in the hair does not only influence the visual but also influences its fragility. As in the center of the structure there is little keratin, the hair is more prone to breakage. 

Because of its texture, curly and kinky hair are more delicate and easily sensitized. It tends to take more wear and tear from daily styling, braiding and even sleeping. Exposure to the mechanical stress of brushing and detangling can lead to breakage. A study conducted on curly hair shows that it requires 5-50x the combing force of straight hair. Extra strengthening products are essential.

Oils and caring agent have more difficulty to go to tip than on straight hair

Sebum is the natural oil our scalp produces to keep hair and skin moisturized. For straight hair, sebum easily slides from root to tip. But curly hair twists and coils make it hard for sebum to spread evenly. This leaves curly hair dry.

Curls have a spiral shape that makes it difficult for oils and caring agents to migrate from root to tip. On straighter hair, care products can easily slide along the length of the fiber, hydrating further down the shaft. Curly hair is drier because the caring agents don’t reach as easily due to the shape of the curl. The key to curly hair care is to add gliding agents to help to diffuse.

As we have seen, Walker scale is a good way to classify hair types and answer their needs with adapted cosmetic products. To bring solutions to each consumer, formulators have to well-known the different hair texture and develop specific hair care routines for each expectation. As people's attitudes in more recent years have shifted as consumers look to embrace, maintain, enhance and celebrate natural textures, there is a real need for multiple hair care dedicated products on the market.