Just when we thought understanding our curly hair was hard enough, we started including the concept of understanding our curl types, but what is a curl type? What is my curl type? How do you determine a curl type? Did you know you can have more than one curl type?

Our curl type helps us understand our hair texture in its natural state. Natural is the state in which your hair is in its purest form (no heat damage or color). While it is sometimes impossible to keep our hair in its natural state, especially if you love to blow it out or color, there are many ways to keep you hair nice and healthy, so that you can truly understand what your curl type is.

Continue reading below to learn about the different curl types and what you can do to identify the type of curl type that you have.

To get started, there are three different curl categories A,B,C. Within each category, there are 3 different types. (2,3,4). If you have hair type 1, you basically have straight hair, and you have no business reading the rest of the list. lol

Type 2:

Curly hair types 2 are normally wavy. You hair can go from slight waves to defined waves. Your curls will normally look a bit more elongated and loose. Your hair will not necessarily have a lot of shrinkage. When I think of type 2 curls, I normally think of Shakira. Shakira was one of the first artists I noticed that would rock her naturally curly hair. Even though, we have different curl patterns, it was definitely empowering to see my kind of hair represented.

Type 3:

Type 3 curls are a bit more bouncy. This is where you normally start to see more shrinkage. You will notice these curls are a bit more spirally in nature. These curls can be described as a more “classic curl “, spiral curls, or corkscrews. When I think of type 3 curls, I think of Mya. She has short spiral curls. You may notice these curls are soft, but still bouncy. These curls may hang down and feel light weight.

Type 4:

Type 4 curls are referred to as kinky curls. They are more thick and have extreme shrinkage. These curls range from slightly coiled to super kinky. People who have type 4 curls can appear to have very short hair, but that’s not the reality. Type 4 curls shrink up so much that it is difficult to know how long it has unless you stretch them out or straighten them. A person with an example of type 4 curls is Solange. Type 4 curl texture have the tendency to curl up into a beautiful Afro of curls.

What’s my curl type?

Now that you have learned about the 3 curl types, you are probably wondering which curl type is mine? You can have more than one curl type. Our curl types can be determined by looking at the texture and form of our curls. Are your curls wavy ? Are your curls more on the bouncy side? Or are your curls more on the kinky side? Different sections of your hair could have a different curl pattern. Section your hair and notice the patterns of your hair. Are their parts of your hair that are a bit more bouncy or wavy or kinky?

Knowing your curl type can help you decide the type of products that you should be buying. For example, some parts of your hair may need more moisture as opposed to other parts of your hair that may need lets products to style. Learning the curl types in your head, can help you to make great decisions when it comes to which hair products you need to buy to update your wash an go.

It’s also very important to note that if you have heat damage or dye your hair, your hair type may look different from what it actually is. When I had heat damage, it appeared as if I had 2A/2B curls but I really have curl type 3B. Making sure you deep conditioning often and do hair masks, especially if you apply heat and color, is important to making sure you curl type is as closest to its natural state as possible.

What is your curl type or types? What products do you use to style your hair? Comment down below.

Jules 💜