Confused about your curl pattern? That’s why we’re here. Your follicle shape, which is determined by genetics, is what defines your curl pattern. So you can literally attribute your curls to your mom or dad.

Your DNA might cause you to have perfectly round (Straight Hair), oval shaped (Curly Hair) or both (Wavy Hair) follicles that lead to curly hair. The flatter or more oval-shaped the follicle, the curlier your hair; the more circular the cross-section, the straighter your hair.

Most people with textured hair have more than one type of pattern on their head, so you may have a combination of kinky, coily, wavy, and curly. Identifying your curl shape and pattern (or patterns) is best determined while your hair is wet.

🌀 Type 2 or Wavy hair is bendable, can be fine to coarse, and have a definitive S pattern that lays closer to the head.  

➰ Type 3 or Curly hair can range from loose, buoyant loops to tight, springy corkscrews which have some sheen but are prone to frizz. Best Products for Curly Hair, click here. 

➿ Type 4 or Coily/kinky hair, is naturally very dry and spongy in texture and can be soft and fine or coarse and wiry. Strands form very tight, small curls of zig-zags right from the scalp and are prone to major shrinkage. Best Products for Coily Hair, click here. 

The sub-classifications of A to C are based on the width or diameter of your wave, curl, or coil pattern. Type As have a wider pattern size, Type Bs medium, and Type Cs the smallest of the three. The real beauty of identifying your hair type is that you’re better at understanding how to care for your texture so you can have more versatility.

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