The hair typing system was created to help you care for your hair. Once you know your hair type, you’re able to make the right decisions for it. You will be choosing the correct product to suit your hair’s needs and goals.
As well as, knowing how to style and maintain which will make your life so much easier. Do not be alarmed if you do not know what your hair type is. Pink Lotus will guide you.
There are four different hair types:
STRAIGHT (TYPE 1): Straight hair is pretty easy to define and distinguish amongst the hair types.
Your hair strands can be thin or thick.
As well as there is no bend or curl along your hair strand as it is straight.
WAVY (TYPE 2): For wavy hair, your hair is a mixture between curly and straight, categorized as 2a hair, 2b hair , and 2c hair. Your hair will be 90% straight coming from the roots with a slight bend towards the ends, typically called deep wave hair. The slight bend is what is called ‘waves’ as your hair isn’t fully curly. Your wavy hair can be easily transformed straight using a flat iron or blow dryer.
CURLY (TYPE 3): For curly hair, your hair strands have defined ringlets, categorized as 3a hair, 3b hair , and 3c hair. These ringlets are usually shaped like an elongated S or C when stretched.
Depending on your genetic makeup you can have extremely defined loose curls. These are usually shaped like a corkscrew and are very thick. Or, you can have long curly hair whose shape is similar to spirals which are fine. Curly hair is mostly seen in ‘mixed ‘people who have ‘Black’ and ‘White,’ ‘Black’ and ‘Asian,’ or ‘Black’ and ‘Hispanic’ backgrounds.
COILY (TYPE 4): Last, but certainly not least is coily hair, categorized as 4a hair, 4b hair , and 4c hair. Coily hair has a zig-zag or ‘z’ shaped pattern for every hair strand. Again, due to genetic lineage, you can have slightly coily hair whereby the hair strands are fine. Or, you can have super coily hair strands where the hair strands are thick. Coily hair is mostly seen in African Americans and is referred to as kinky hair.
Now that we know our hair type, it is time to know our porosity. Porosity is how well your hair absorbs and retains ‘water.’ You need to know how to keep your hair moisturized at all times.
Once your hair becomes dry it is susceptible to breakage, knots, and tangles which are affecting the length and health of your mane.
How to Know your Hair Porosity:
1) Grab a few strands of hair from your comb/brush.
2) Place it into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
3) Watch where your hair floats
LOW – If you floats at the top, then you have Low Porosity Hair. Low porosity hair strand cuticles are slightly raised so moisture has little to no way of escaping. However, if your hair is dry, it’s difficult to moisturize your curls unless you open the cuticles using warm water.
MEDIUM – If your hair floats to the middle, then you have Medium Porosity Hair. Medium porosity hair strand cuticles are slightly raised since your hair is moisturized it is hard for the moisture to escape.
HIGH – If your hair floats to the bottom, then you have high porosity hair. High porosity hair strand cuticles are raised so moisture easily goes into and it easily leaves. So once you hydrate your hair ensure to seal it in so that you can retain the moisture.
Knowing your hair type is the first step so you are aware of the category you fall into. Also, knowing your porosity is even more important as you can moisturize, maintain, and style your hair to suit it.
Overall, with all this knowledge you better able to care for your hair so you can achieve your healthy hair goals.