Don't Get Sucked In: My Thoughts on the Hair Typing System

The hair typing system, seems to be a common topic of discussion when I meet other natural hair women. Two years ago, when I made the decision to do the big chop, I was naive to the labels attached to the natural hair community. 

My natural hair texture (No products added, just water)

I was introduced to hair typing when I was told by random natural hair women that I had “4a curls.” At the time, I was unaware of what that meant, so I ran to my best friend…YOUTUBE. It was then that that I was immersed into a realm of natural hair typing. So many woman had videos categorizing their hair as “3a, 4b, 4a, 3b,” and God knows what else. According to the Andre Walker's Hair Typing System, Type 4a  is kinky (soft) hair that tends to be very fragile, tightly coiled, and has a more defined curly pattern. During the beginning stages of my big chop, I wanted to take in as much information about natural hair as my brain could store. I found myself getting rather frustrated trying to document any products that seemed beneficial to type 4 hair women.  There was just too many and I needed to find out what was right FOR ME. 

My hair would fall between 4a/4b

As my hair got longer, my motto was, “more simpler, more better.” Instead of trying to go by a chart, I began to learn and understand my hair’s likes/dislikes. To me, the art of learning your hair is experiencing it. Trials, fails, and triumphs. Technically, if I went by the "hair typing chart" my hair would technically be a 4a, but in reality, my hair is filled with various curl patterns throughout my crown. The front of my hair has a looser curl pattern, while the middle and back have more of a thick, kinkier curl definition.  I learned that although some women may have a similar curl textures to mine, the products they used did not necessarily work well for me.

I am fully aware that the chart is helpful and offers product tips to some individuals. Just don’t overwork yourself in feeling you have to find a category/label to define your curl pattern! If you are looking for helpful options then by any means use it. However, give yourself the freedom to chose what works for you. We live in a world, where we are so quick to label and categorize everything in order to make it more familiar to ourselves. One thing is for sure, my hair is far too unique to be a number/letter combo. 

With Love.

 Christine