CURL GUIDE
Understanding your specific curl type might feel tricky, especially since each head of hair can rock multiple curl patterns. BUT, it’s a good starting point for learning more about what makes your curls special, how to style them and what products might work best.
This method of hair categorization has been around for many years. Despite controversial beginnings, it has recently become more widely known among the beauty space. Essentially, the Hair Typing System separates hair into 4 categories using numbers (1,2,3,4) to define : straight, wavy, curly and coily hair, then continues to break down additional sub-categories using letters (A,B,C).
This system helps to categorize hair types by understanding hair circumference (how wide the hair strands are), definition (the shape of the strands), and texture (the thickness of each strand).
Remember, it’s not a perfect system, but just a helpful tool to get to know your own curls, coils, or waves.
Discover more about your curls by clicking the hair icons below.
This method of hair categorization has been around for many years. Despite controversial beginnings, it has recently become more widely known among the beauty space. Essentially, the Hair Typing System separates hair into 4 categories using numbers (1,2,3,4) to define : straight, wavy, curly and coily hair, then continues to break down additional sub-categories using letters (A,B,C).
This system helps to categorize hair types by understanding hair circumference (how wide the hair strands are), definition (the shape of the strands), and texture (the thickness of each strand).
Remember, it’s not a perfect system, but just a helpful tool to get to know your own curls, coils, or waves.
Discover more about your curls by clicking the hair icons below.
WAVY
WAVY (2a - 2c)
2a Hair Loose “s” shape waves that are usually less defined with straighter hair near the root.
Finer hair texture & not a ton of volume.
2b Hair Slightly more defined “s” shaped waves with more definition towards the middle area and hair tips.
Fine-Medium hair texture.
2c Hair Most voluminous, clearly defined “s” shaped waves from the root to tips.
Medium hair texture with some coarser hair & more frizz mixed throughout.
CURLY
CURLY (3a - 3c)
3a Hair Soft curls in a more rounded “s” shape, less defined & wider curl pattern
Texture tends to be more fine.
3b Hair Bouncy, corkscrew curls in a tighter, voluminous “s” shape that are about the size of a finger or marker, even though curl size might vary throughout.
Texture tends to be more coarse with thick strands and lots of them.
3c Hair Tightest, “s” shaped corkscrew curls that spring back to shape quickly when stretched and are closer to the size of a pencil. Texture is usually more dense, the most voluminous & often referred to as Curly Coily hair.
COILY
COILY (4a - 4c)
4a Hair Tightly coiled & visibly defined “s” shaped curl pattern.
Coils tends tend to grow up and away from root, then out.
4b Hair Ziz-Zag coil pattern which may go in different directions.
Hair bends with sharper angles, like a “Z” shape (vs. curved angles) and might be considered to have a tighter kink.
4c Hair Extremely tight coil, but less defined pattern- meaning, groupings of hair might be less likely to join together to form a ringlet. Texture can be thin-course, but very dense & prone to the most shrinkage.
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