Knowing your hair type helps you take better care of it. In this article, I would take you back to the basics. Basically, four major hair types have been formulated; Type 1 to 4. The higher the hair type, the tighter the curl! It’s that simple!
Type 1 hair is naturally straight (it does not need a relaxer to get it straight) and it does NOT grow from our scalp ( Nigerian or African scalp) but from Caucasian or Asian scalps. If you hear a babe claiming her hair is naturally straight, she is lying oh!! Or she is wearing a very good LACE WIG!!
Moving on, Type 2 hair is grown mostly by mixed race ladies, while the hair is usually coarse and prone to frizzing, it is a bit more manageable than type 3 or 4 because, just a little manipulation with a blow dryer can get it straight and getting back defined curls is not that difficult as the hair comes naturally like that. It is further sub divided into 2A, 2B and 2C. 2A being the thinner texture and 2C being the thicker texture. The hair strands are more wavy and can form the letter ‘S’. Celebrity Lisa Bonet has Type 2 hair!!
Type 3 hair also subdivided into 3A, 3B and 3C according to thickness and tightness of curl, 3C being the tightest curl pattern, is also very curly and full of body mostly forming ringlets. The owners of this type of hair most likely have some Caucasian/ Asian in them, though it does not have to be from their parents. The curls are usually tight and can be packed together in many strands causing the hair to be very prone to tangling but it can be easily styled like type 2 hair because of its elasticity.
The final, most common hair type to us Naija babes is Type 4 hair. It is also subdivided into 4A and 4B according to thickness and tightness of curl. Type 4A hair is almost like type 3 hair because the curl is looser while the type 4B curl pattern is very tight and the strands form a Z rather than S. This hair is the most coarse hair type and its ends rather than curl softly, bend in sharp angles making this hair type the most fragile hair type to manage ( you see why growing our hair can be such a hassle). This hair type also does not retain as much moisture as other hair types and thus dries out easily; it is the most easily damaged by heat for this reason. Going natural with Type 4 hair needs a lot of patience and care so the hair remains healthy and strong. Because of its very tight curl, most people with Type 4 hair get a relaxer to loosen the curls and make it more manageable but you all by now know the relaxer has it own adverse effects and should be handled with care. Below is India Arie rocking her Type 4 hair but take note 'SHE IS NOT HER HAIR' :)
In sum, knowing what type of hair you have can help you better manage it and bring out the best in it especially if you want to stay natural. Note that one head of hair can have different type of hairs on it. It can have Type 4A at the back from Mummy, Type 4B in front from Dad’s sisters, Type 3C on the right side from grand aunty who was from the Caribbean and Type 3A on the left side from great grand papi who was from Egypt (Wide Grin) Hope you get my point any way.
Contributed by Dabs of NHCG... For more daily hair tips follow Dabs on http://naijahaircangrow.blogspot.com/
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