What is Your Natural Hair Type?

Nowadays it is essential to know your hair type. Knowing your hair type allows you to more easily determine which products and ingredients are right you. Because we are such a diverse ethnic group when it comes to hair (i.e. biracial, hispanic, african,etc.) it is hard to classify african american hair into any one set-in-stone category.

One of the most widely used hair classification systems today was created by Oprah Winfrey's hair stylist, Andre Walker. He attempts to classify various hair types in "Andre Talks Hair". His system is the original & the one we still refer to classify hair textures.

Andre Walker's Hair Classification System

Type #	Hair Texture	Hair Description
1a	Straight (Fine/Thin)	Very Soft, Shiny, Hard to hold a curl, hair tends to be oily, hard to damage.
1b	Straight (Medium)	Has lots of body. (i.e. more volume, more full)
1c	Straight (Coarse)	Hard to curl. (i.e. bone straight) Most Asian women fall into this category.
2a	Wavy (Fine/Thin)	Can accomplish various styles. Definite "S" pattern. Hair sticks close to the head.
2b	Wavy (Medium)	A bit resistant to styling. Hair tends to be frizzy.
2c	Wavy (Coarse)	Hair has thicker waves. Also resistant to styling. Hair tends to be frizzy.
3a	Curly (Loose Curls)	Thick & full with lots of body. Definite "S" pattern. Hair tends to be frizzy. Can have a combination texture.
3b	Curly (Tight Curls)	Medium amount of curl. Can have a combination texture.
4a	Kinky (Soft)	Tightly coiled. Very Fragile. Has a more defined curly pattern
4b	Kinky (Wiry)	Tightly coiled. Very Fragile. Less defined curly pattern. Has more of a "Z" shaped pattern.