How do I know my natural hair texture?
- 3C hair is tight, well-defined corkscrews or coils that are dense and packed together. The curls are usually a fine or medium texture, and have the circumference of a pencil, explains hairstylist Courtney Foster.
- 4A tends to have an “S” shape, and like the rest of type 4 types, it has a thin cuticle layer, meaning it’s more prone to dryness, says hairstylist Chrissy Zemura.
- 4B hair boasts a zig-zag pattern rather than the curly, spirally look of 4A and 4C hair, according to hairstylist Jiquea Evans. She adds that the biggest misconception about 4B hair is that people think it looks like stretched-out 4C hair, or that 4B is not ideal because it doesn’t have a spiral.
- 4C hair has the tightest curl pattern, according to hairstylist Antonia Burress. She says each strand is formed in tight, coil ringlets.
Hair Porosity
- High-porosity hair has holes and gaps in the cuticle, which allows moisture to easily get in and get out, according to hairstylist Chrissy Zemura.
- Low-porosity hair is the opposite. “It has a tightly bound cuticle, which makes it hard for moisture to penetrate into the hair, but it’s also equally difficult for moisture to get out,” she adds.
- There’s also normal, aka medium-porosity hair, which easily gets and retains moisture in your hair cuticle.
How to Test Hair Porosity
