Wanting lustrous and healthy hair is every person's dream and it's not that difficult to be honest. But first, you need to figure out what your hair type is and then curate a hair care routine and products that are suitable for your locks. This will mainly help maintain your hair a lot better than experimenting, failing and damaging your hair over and over because you don't know your hair type. If you're someone who is not aware of the different types of hair, don't worry. We're here to tell you all about how to identify hair types and how to take care of your hair including some general hair care tips
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What Does Hair Type Mean?
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How to Know Your Hair Type?
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Four Main Types of Hair:
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How to Take Care of Your Hair Type?
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General Tips for Hair Care Regardless of the Hair Type:
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Conclusion:
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Frequently Asked Questions On Types Of Hair (FAQs):
What Does Hair Type Mean?
Basically, your hair's curl pattern decides your hair type, which is determined by your hair follicles. The shape of your hair follicle determines whether your hair is - straight, wavy, curly or coily. The more asymmetrical or oval your follicle is, the curlier your hair is going to be. All hair types can be altered with the use of heat or chemicals and sometimes by medications, but your basic curl pattern is in your DNA.
How to Know Your Hair Type?
Before we get on with the information on how to take good care of your hair type, you need to first understand how to determine your hair pattern. For this, here's a quick test - wash your hair and leave it without applying any conditioner or serum. Start observing how your hair looks in a mirror. Another way to identify your hair type is to comb your hair and take a few strands from your comb, lay it on white paper and observe the general pattern of how your strand - whether it curls or lays flat. This will easily give you an idea about your hair type. Quite easy, right? Now let's look at all the things you need to do to take care of your hair type.
Four Main Types of Hair:
We're now going to take you through all the types of hair in detail, so that you can be certain about your hair type and then invest in hair care products for the same.
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Type 1: Straight:
Straight hair has the tendency to become greasier and shinier than curly hair because the oil from your scalp travels down the hair shaft more quickly. Three subcategories for straight hair are:
Type 1A - Out of all hair types, this is the most common in women of Asian descent, i.e. very straight and fine.
Type 1B - If we talk about the types of hair texture, type 1B is very straight, thicker with medium texture and has more volume.
Type 1C - This one is straight and has a very thick, coarse and shiny texture.
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Type 2: Wavy:
Out of all types of hair, this hair type tends to be thicker than Type 1 hair. The subtypes are divided as mentioned below:
Type 2A - This hair type is very fine and thin in texture with S-shaped waves and is quite easy to style.
Type 2B - This hair type is a little frizzier as compared to type 2A, and is medium-thick with waves.
Type 2C - This hair type is wavy, thick and coarse in texture and is prone to frizz while being difficult to style.
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Type 3: Curly:
Curly hair usually appears straight when the hair is wet and goes back to being curly as it dries. Curly hair is easy to style and there are three subcategories for this hair type as mentioned below:
Type 3A - This hair type is all about defined curls with a thick texture and shine but can get frizzy too.
Type 3B - Hair of this type has higher curls and can have a combination of textures.
Type 3C - This hair type has very tight curls and is generally easy to style.
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Type 4: Very Curly or Coily:
Out of all hair types, this hair is extremely curly or kinky by the looks of it. This hair type tends to be fairly coarse in texture but sensitive and prone to damage by heat and product. There are three main subtypes to this hair type:
Type 4A - This hair type has a soft texture with tight, well-defined curls.
Type 4B - This hair type means very tight curls but less defined, soft and fragile as well.
Type 4C - This hair type has tight curls that might not even look curly at all.
How to Take Care of Your Hair Type?
As mentioned above, there are four main types of natural hair - straight, wavy, curly and coily. Each hair type needs a different kind of care and we're going to acquaint you with the same.
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Straight Hair:
There are a lot of women with this hair type that find it easier to grow their hair out. This is because they often have lots of natural shine and this hair type is extremely easy to manage. The only problem with straight hair is that it becomes greasy quite quickly, so you might want to wash it two to three times a week or use dry shampoo on days when you'd want to avoid hair wash. Speaking of washing your greasy straight hair, we recommend you try the Pure Sense Relaxing Macadamia Deep Nourishing Hair Cleanser as it is enriched with the goodness of macadamia nut oil that gently cleans and nourishes your scalp. As it is packed with vitamin E and B5, this hair cleanser softens your hair and calms your senses. You should also avoid products that are too heavy on your hair. Talking about a haircut, a blunt cut would go quite well with straight hair type as it makes your hair appear a little thicker. You can also add some layers to give your hair some movement if you have medium or thick straight hair.
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Wavy Hair:
The most important thing to keep in mind while taking care of wavy hair is to control frizz without weighing down the natural wavy curls. Your first and foremost concern should be to add moisture and volume without losing the waves. Look for shampoos and hair masks that are designed to hydrate and moisturise your hair. Pure Sense has the perfect hair hair mask to keep your locks hydrated and reduce frizz. We're talking about the Macadamia Deep Nourishing Hair Mask, which has the ability to soften your hair and add shine to it. It is packed with hydrolysed rice protein that controls frizz as well. Try to go for a layered haircut that will give your natural waves some much-needed volume. If you have a thicker texture, wear your hair long to keep your waves more relaxed.
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Curly Hair:
If you have curly hair, you know you have to deal with a lot of frizz. And one thing that can control frizz is to have moisturised hair. The right shampoo and conditioner can keep your hair hydrated and the use of mousses, creams and jellies will add definition to your curls. So if you're on the lookout for hair products for your curly hair, look for a moisturising shampoo and conditioner that is specifically designed for curly hair. You can also experiment with mousse, hair oil or curl jelly to control frizz in your hair and to define curls. If you're big on styling your hair, apply a tad bit of a light mousse or hair oil from roots to the tips.
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Coily Hair:
Out of all the types of hair, it might get a little confusing to understand what would work and won't work for coily hair in terms of hair care products. It actually depends on the length and texture of your hair, so talk to a hair stylist if you need some help with choosing the right products. If we had to recommend you a shampoo and conditioner for your coily hair, it'd be the Pure Sense Grapefruit Revitalising Hair Care Combo. This combo comes with Grapefruit Revitalising Hair Cleanser & Hair Conditioner. While the hair cleanser removes impurities and combats excess oil production in the scalp, the hair conditioner leaves your tresses smoother, shinier and bouncier. When it comes to styling your hair, you can towel-dry your hair to remove excess moisture right after a shower. Air drying your hair is better because blow-drying can cause excessive dryness and increase the risk of breakage. You can use a hair oil or leave-in conditioner for added moisture after you towel-dry your hair.
General Tips for Hair Care Regardless of the Hair Type:
Now that you're clear with all the hair types, subcategories and how to take good care of each hair type, here is a general list of hair tips that you can follow irrespective of your hair type.
- Use a mild shampoo so that you don't end up damaging your hair.
- Always use a hair conditioner after you shampoo your hair to lock in the moisture.
- Decrease the use of heat styling like curling or straightening irons and blow dryers.
- Air dry your hair as much as possible.
- Use heat protectant sprays while styling your hair.
- A warm oil hair massage can help stimulate hair growth, but should be done gently to avoid any hair breakage.
Conclusion:
No matter what your hair type and hair texture is, it is important that you learn how to take good care of your hair and scalp. Ultimately, your hair can make or break your appearance and more than that, maintaining healthy, happy hair should be your top priority.
Frequently Asked Questions On Types Of Hair (FAQs):
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What are the four types of hair?
As mentioned above, the four main types of hair are - straight, wavy, curly and coily. There are three subcategories under each hair type, all of which we've already mentioned in detail above for your better understanding. Along with this, we've also mentioned how to know your hair type so that you can know better how to take good care of your hair.
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Is curly hair or straight hair better?
In between curly hair and straight hair, the former holds styles better and longer than the latter. But if you perfect your style and spend some time experimenting what looks best on your hair, then the hair type doesn't matter that much. Just be confident with the hair type you have and focus more on haircare.
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What is the least common hair type?
1A hair type that is extremely fine and perfectly straight is the least common hair type of all types of hair. However, it can look a bit flat and limp and might even get difficult to style as it has no volume or thick texture. If you're someone with this type of hair, you would want to make dry shampoo your best friend to fight against excessive oil production in your scalp and bring some volume to your otherwise fine and flat hair.
