In my search to truly understand my hair I have come across a lot of information. One thing that pops up continuously is hair typing. There are many different hair typing systems out there and each has it's own cheerleaders. I've selected what I think are the tree most commonly used systems and I'll be explaining them over the next few weeks. This week we start off with the Andre Walker hair typing System.
Andre Walker is famously or infamously known depending on your perspective known for creating a hair typing system . Andre revealed his hair typing system in a book titled Andre Talks Hair!. In his book, Andre makes it clear that everyone has good hair regardless of ethnicity. He was hoping to immediately debunk the often ridiculous good hair vs. bad hair debate prior to diving into a discussion about hair typing.
While there are a lot of natural hair sites that use the Andre Walker system, there isn't much uniformity
as to the definitions of each hair type. I managed to get my hands on a copy of the book and here's my summary.
This system classifies hair using numbers 1-4 and letters a-c. The numbers signify type and the letters are used to denote the texture/curl definition of the hair
Type 1 Straight Hair:
Generally speaking Type 1 hair is straight; however Andre categorizes this hair type into three very specific segments - Type 1A, Type 1B, and Type 1C.
Type 1A hair is described as fine, very thin and soft with a noticeable shine.
Type 1B hair is medium-textured and has more body than Type 1A hair.
Type 1C hair is the most resistant to curly styling and relatively coarse compared to other Type 1 hair types.
Type 2 Wavy Hair:
Type 2 is wavy hair that usually isn't overly oily or very dry. The thought is that Type 2 hair falls right in the middle of Type 1 and Type 3.
Type 2A hair is fine and thin. It is relatively easy to handle from a styling perspective because it can easily be straightened or curled.
Type 2B hair characteristically has waves that tend to adhere to the shape of your head.
Type 2C hair will frizz easily and it is fairly coarse.
Type 3 Curly Hair:
Curly hair textures have a definite "S" shaped curl pattern. Since the cuticle doesn't lay flat, you will noticed that curly hair isn't nearly as shiny as Type 1 (straight hair) or Type 2 (wavy hair) hair types.
Type 3A hair is very shinny and loose.
Type 3B hair has a medium amount curls, ranging from bouncy ringlets (spiral like curls of hair) to tight corkscrews (spiral-shaped corkscrew curls).
Type 4 Kinky Hair:
Type 4 is "kinky" or more appropriately full of tight coils (tightly curled hair). Typically, Type 4 hair is also extremely wiry and fragile. Often times, it appears to be coarse, however it is really very fine, with several thin hair strands densely packed together.
Type 4A hair is full of tight coils. It has a "S" pattern when stretched, much like Type 3 curly hair.
Type 4B hair has a less defined pattern of curls and looks more like a "Z" as the hair bends with very sharp angles.
Types 3c and 4c
These two hair types do not exist in the Andre Walker Hair Typing System.
Many people believe that Andre's Hair Typing System is hierarchical and intentionally places kinky hair in the bottom ("worst") category.
Andre Walker is famously or infamously known depending on your perspective known for creating a hair typing system . Andre revealed his hair typing system in a book titled Andre Talks Hair!. In his book, Andre makes it clear that everyone has good hair regardless of ethnicity. He was hoping to immediately debunk the often ridiculous good hair vs. bad hair debate prior to diving into a discussion about hair typing.
While there are a lot of natural hair sites that use the Andre Walker system, there isn't much uniformity
as to the definitions of each hair type. I managed to get my hands on a copy of the book and here's my summary.
This system classifies hair using numbers 1-4 and letters a-c. The numbers signify type and the letters are used to denote the texture/curl definition of the hair
Type 1 Straight Hair:
Generally speaking Type 1 hair is straight; however Andre categorizes this hair type into three very specific segments - Type 1A, Type 1B, and Type 1C.
Type 1A hair is described as fine, very thin and soft with a noticeable shine.
Type 1B hair is medium-textured and has more body than Type 1A hair.
Type 1C hair is the most resistant to curly styling and relatively coarse compared to other Type 1 hair types.
Type 2 Wavy Hair:
Type 2 is wavy hair that usually isn't overly oily or very dry. The thought is that Type 2 hair falls right in the middle of Type 1 and Type 3.
Type 2A hair is fine and thin. It is relatively easy to handle from a styling perspective because it can easily be straightened or curled.
Type 2B hair characteristically has waves that tend to adhere to the shape of your head.
Type 2C hair will frizz easily and it is fairly coarse.
Type 3 Curly Hair:
Curly hair textures have a definite "S" shaped curl pattern. Since the cuticle doesn't lay flat, you will noticed that curly hair isn't nearly as shiny as Type 1 (straight hair) or Type 2 (wavy hair) hair types.
Type 3A hair is very shinny and loose.
Type 3B hair has a medium amount curls, ranging from bouncy ringlets (spiral like curls of hair) to tight corkscrews (spiral-shaped corkscrew curls).
Type 4 Kinky Hair:
Type 4 is "kinky" or more appropriately full of tight coils (tightly curled hair). Typically, Type 4 hair is also extremely wiry and fragile. Often times, it appears to be coarse, however it is really very fine, with several thin hair strands densely packed together.
Type 4A hair is full of tight coils. It has a "S" pattern when stretched, much like Type 3 curly hair.
Type 4B hair has a less defined pattern of curls and looks more like a "Z" as the hair bends with very sharp angles.
Types 3c and 4c
These two hair types do not exist in the Andre Walker Hair Typing System.
Many people believe that Andre's Hair Typing System is hierarchical and intentionally places kinky hair in the bottom ("worst") category.
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