Are You In Touch With Your Hair Type? | Hair Styling

By MaryGivens
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Did you know there are at least 10 distinct types of hair? In reality there are 4 main hair types. Each of these have at least 2 subtypes, some have 3. Add it all up and you get a recipe for confusion when it comes to selecting the right shampoos and styling products.

The first hair type is straight hair which is not easy to style or shape. The reason is the cuticles that form the hair itself are lined up in such a way as to keep the hair straight and stiff. That extra protection is what gives straight hair resistance to styling. If straight hair does get damaged, from being over styled for example, it normally is dry and easily broken.

There are 3 varieties of straight hair. They are fine, medium and course. Fine hair is shiny soft and usually very thin. Medium hair has a good amount of body and texture. Course hair is the thickest and as such is most resistant to being styled.

Hair type number 2 is wavy hair. This kind of hair shows up as S patterns when you look at a single strand. In addition, this hair type has a hard time being curled and it really does lack any kind of bounce.

Wavy hair also has 3 subtypes. There is fine or thin wavy hair which is quite easy to style with a hair straightener or curling iron. Medium wavy hair is more resistant to styling with these tools and tends to get frizzy easily. The last wavy hair subtype is thick and course. This hair is even more resistant to curling or straightening and can get the frizz even easier.

Our third hair type is curly hair. This kind of hair has a definite S pattern that often forms loops. When stretched out it bounces back like a slinky toy. Normally it is very soft and fine in texture. The layers of cuticles are smooth and not flat. That also means that this kind of hair has less shine than straight or wavy. It has lots of body and when wet straightens out. But in high humidity the curls tighten and it is prone to frizzing.

Curly hair only comes in 2 different subtypes. There is loosely curled hair and tightly curled hair. The loose variety is almost straight when its cut short and when grown long it makes big curls that can even be shiny. Tightly curled hair appears almost as cork screws. One thing worth noting is that some people with curly hair have both types in various places through out their head.

The last hair type is kinky hair. This kind of hair is very tightly curls. It is really wiry and extremely fragile. It is made of lots and lots of really thin strands of hair that are densely packed together. Kinky hair has a sheen but does not shine. Because it has the least amount of cuticles, it is often very soft but that also means it is easy to break. And because of this, kinky hair is hard to grow long.

There are 2 kinds of kinky hair subtypes. First is the tightly coiled S pattern hair. When stretched out, the hair forms an S pattern and has a bit of moisture to it. The second is the tightly coiled Z pattern. This hair forms a Z pattern when stretched has the least amount of moisture of any hair type.

Knowing exactly what type of hair you have is important for two reasons. First, it will help you make better choices when it comes to buying the right styling products (shampoo, conditioner, etc). Second, knowing your type well may help prevent you from trying to force something on your hair that is really against what nature intended. For example if you have really tightly curled hair you may not get the best results trying to straighten it with a hair straightener. And conversely if you have course straight hair, you are naturally going to have challenges trying to curl it.

About the Author

Marcy Givens is a hair maniac who wanted to learn about the wild variety of hair care products. She has some useful free tips and secrets for selecting the best Sedu flat iron and Chi hair straightener.

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