Can we find a more accurate way to classify hair types please?

[Lovelylocs]

There are so many factors: curl pattern, density, slip, frizz, etc.

Let's put our heads together and come up w/smthg. Now, obviously, people don't always fit neatly in boxes, but there are many similarities and differences that we can use to distinguish the hair types. It will be easier for us to address our hair needs, esp. since 4a is such a wide group. There are so many 4as that don't have hair like mine and probably some that do.

 

[MrsQueeny]

I was thinking maybe the 4 group should have 3 categories. Like an a, b, and c. Q

 

[CenteredGirl]

I don't want to sound like a naysayer, but some people have mixed hair and it's very difficult to classify it. It's easier if the majority of your head is a certain way, but when you've got one type here, another there, and yet another there, it gets weird.

I'm all for 3 categories: 1) Healthy, 2) On the way to Healthy 3) working on healthy.

At the end of the day it's how well your hair retains moisture and is soft and manageable.

 

[Lovelylocs]

I don't want to sound like a naysayer, but some people have mixed hair and it's very difficult to classify it. It's easier if the majority of your head is a certain way, but when you've got one type here, another there, and yet another there, it gets weird.

I'm all for 3 categories: 1) Healthy, 2) On the way to Healthy 3) working on healthy.

At the end of the day it's how well your hair retains moisture and is soft and manageable.

While this is true, sometimes we need to know know about our hair types so we know which advice to take. For example, my fine hair cannot take all of the oils that some of the ladies w/coarser hair can use.

 

[JustKiya]

oooohhh!!!

I was reading about a study being done to be able to classify hair, REGARDLESS of race. So, basically, some standard classifications that can be assigned to hair, no matter whose head it's growing on. One of the comestic companies was paying for it - I'll have to dig through my notes and see if I can find it.

To start, though, I think that there are:

Diameter: Fine, Medium, Coarse
Density: Thin, Medium, Thick
Scalp: Oily, Dry, Normal
Porousity/Moisture Rentition: Porous, Normal, Resistant
Texture: Smooth, Average, Wiry
Curl: None, Wave, Magic Marker, Pencil, Penspring

 

[Lovelylocs]

oooohhh!!!

I was reading about a study being done to be able to classify hair, REGARDLESS of race. So, basically, some standard classifications that can be assigned to hair, no matter whose head it's growing on. One of the comestic companies was paying for it - I'll have to dig through my notes and see if I can find it.

To start, though, I think that there are:

Diameter: Fine, Medium, Coarse
Density: Thin, Medium, Thick
Scalp: Oily, Dry, Normal
Porousity/Moisture Rentition: Porous, Normal, Resistant
Texture: Smooth, Average, Wiry
Curl: None, Wave, Magic Marker, Pencil, Penspring

Thank you! Exactly! This is what I mean. I hope u find it in ur notes. LOL

 

[Lovelylocs]

I honestly think that we need to do away w/Andre's hair typing system. I don't like the idea of using numbers and letters. It's kind of like we are grading our hair. I think we should come up w/our own terms that incorporate the descriptions that Nappyworm listed.

 

[silvergirl]

I honestly think that we need to do away w/Andre's hair typing system. I don't like the idea of using numbers and letters. It's kind of like we are grading our hair. I think we should come up w/our own terms that incorporate the descriptions that Nappyworm listed.

i agree we need a whole new classification system, alot of ppl have done the number system like andre and a few members here, including mysef have tried to expand on it, but it never works out.

we need to start afreash, and have everyones input.

 

[Fine 4s]

oooohhh!!!

I was reading about a study being done to be able to classify hair, REGARDLESS of race. So, basically, some standard classifications that can be assigned to hair, no matter whose head it's growing on. One of the comestic companies was paying for it - I'll have to dig through my notes and see if I can find it.

To start, though, I think that there are:

Diameter: Fine, Medium, Coarse
Density: Thin, Medium, Thick
Scalp: Oily, Dry, Normal
Porousity/Moisture Rentition: Porous, Normal, Resistant
Texture: Smooth, Average, Wiry
Curl: None, Wave, Magic Marker, Pencil, Penspring

I really like this...
I would be Fine, Medium, normal to dry, porous (what the diff here between porous and resistant?), wiry, majority no curl

Thanks!

 

[silvergirl]

oooohhh!!!



Diameter: Fine, Medium, Coarse
Density: Thin, Medium, Thick
Scalp: Oily, Dry, Normal
Porousity/Moisture Rentition: Porous, Normal, Resistant
Texture: Smooth, Average, Wiry
Curl: None, Wave, Magic Marker, Pencil, Penspring

so id be. Fine diameter. medium density, normal scalp, normal porousity, smooth-average texture, magic marker (majority) pencil sized at nape.

 

[Lovelylocs]

Yeah. Can we go over porous vs resistant?
My hair would be
Diameter: Fine
Density: Thick
Scalp: Normal to oily
Porosity/Moisture Retention: ?
Texture: Smooth
Curl: Penspring.


This should help us pick out better products for our hair too!

 

[Lovelylocs]

Here is more on hair porosity/Moisture retention:
http://www.hairfinder.com/hairquestions/hairporosity.htm
Porosity is the measure of the hair's ability to absorb moisture. This is determined by the condition of the hair's cuticle layer (the overlapping scales of the hair shaft), and is rated as low, normal, and high. In normal, healthy hair, the cuticle is compact and inhibits the penetration of the hair shaft by moisture - both moisture going in, and moisture coming out. When the cuticle is overly compact and prevents the penetration of the hair by moisture it has low porosity. Hair with low porosity is harder to process, and is resistant to haircolor and perms. Low porosity hair must usually be softened prior to other chemical services. Hair with high porosity is hair whose cuticle layer is open and the hair too-readily absorbs moisture. Overly-porous hair also releases moisture easily and becomes dry and is easily damaged. Acid-balanced conditioning treatments are used to contract the cuticle layer and lock-in moisture on overly-porous hair.

Extreme caution must be used when performing chemical services on overly porous hair to prevent damage. Haircolor will take much more quickly and strongly in overly porous hair (and semi-permanent and demi-permanent haircolors will fade much more quickly). Perms and straighteners will process much faster in high-porosity hair as well. To determine the porosity of your hair, simply feel it - both when wet and when dry. If the hair feels straw-like and rough when dry, or if it feels gummy or slightly rubbery when wet, then you probably have a problem with overly porous hair.

 

[anon123]

oooohhh!!!

I was reading about a study being done to be able to classify hair, REGARDLESS of race. So, basically, some standard classifications that can be assigned to hair, no matter whose head it's growing on. One of the comestic companies was paying for it - I'll have to dig through my notes and see if I can find it.

To start, though, I think that there are:

Diameter: Fine, Medium, Coarse
Density: Thin, Medium, Thick
Scalp: Oily, Dry, Normal
Porousity/Moisture Rentition: Porous, Normal, Resistant
Texture: Smooth, Average, Wiry
Curl: None, Wave, Magic Marker, Pencil, Penspring

This sounds good. It's very similar to the one LadyLibra posted, except it leaves out the clumping factor. I'd like to include the clumping factor, because lots of people spend time "defining their curls" or "making their coils pop" and doing methods and buying products to do this, when for others it's a useless pursuit.

 

[Fine 4s]

Thanks Lovely,

I might be porous then...

 

[JustKiya]

*nod* I like the clumping factor - I forgot about that one (most likely cuz I have NONE).

My thoughts was that
Porous = hair has a hard time holding onto moisture/gets wet easily
Average = it holds
Resistant = it holds onto moisture for a while/takes a while to get wet.

The logic for that is that (as I understand it) porousity is related to how 'open' your cuticles are. So - the more 'open' your cuticles, the more your hair 'sucks' up moisture, but then turns around and acts dry really quickly (because it just evaporated right back out). The more closed your cuticles, the longer it takes for them to really 'get' moist, but once it's there, it's STAYS for a while....

Does that help?

*LOL* I just saw LovelyLocks response - yeahthat, exactly!

 

[Lovelylocs]

Nappywomyn, was this the site you were talking about? It has a lot of info on hair typing. It's very informative and MUCH better than Andre's method IMO. It says that this is what ur hairstylist is trained to see. I don't know if black hairstylists look for the same thing though. They may have been taught that all black hair is basically the same. We were probably all thrown into one category.

http://www.hairfinder.com/hairquestions/analyzinghair.htm
Analyzing Your Hair
Analyse your own hair - A how-to guide
Many people have little clue about the terms used to describe hair,
and truth be told, it can be confusing. Most people think of hair in terms
of being thick or fine, and curly or straight. There are several conside-
rations when analyzing hair: texture, density, wave pattern, elasticity,
and porosity. Each of these elements combines to give us endless variety
in hair types. Your stylist is trained to look at your hair, recognize these
elements, and gauge your overall hair type.

One thing to remember is that analyzing the hair is a matter of
comparison, and the best way to learn to recognize the difference in
these elements is to view a sampling of hair from different sources and
make the comparisons yourself. The next time you're with a group of
friends, take a close look at their hair. Make a note of the ways their hair
differs from yours. Compare their hair to yours using these categories:

Texture
Density
Porosity
Elasticity
Wave Pattern

By using these elements you can compare and judge for yourself if you
have fine, thick, straight hair with good elasticity and low porosity, or
maybe coarse, thin, curly hair with high porosity and low elasticity, or
something in between.

Knowing the terms professionals use, and being able to analyze your
own hair will help you make good choices when it comes to the styles and
hair services you engage.

 

[Lovelylocs]

On Texture/Diameter:

http://www.hairfinder.com/hairquestions/hairtexture.htm

Hair texture is the measure of the circumference of the hair strand itself. Professionals classify the texture of hair as being "coarse", "fine", or "medium". Coarse hair has the largest circumference, and fine hair has the smallest. Medium texture indicates a middle-range of the size of the hair shaft, it's considered normal and poses no special considerations regarding processing and chemical services. Coarse hair is stronger, for obvious reasons - it has more substance. However, coarse hair can also be harder to process, and can be resistant to haircoloring services, perming, and straightening. Fine hair, conversely, is often very easy to process, and can be over-processed easily and is susceptible to damage from chemical services.

Hair texture varies from individual to individual, and can be different in separate areas of the same head. You may have coarse hair on the top of the head and fine hair at the nape of the neck. Race and ethnicity are irrelevant in determining hair texture, as coarse, medium and fine hair can be found among all racial and ethnic groups.

 

[JustKiya]

Nappywomyn, was this the site you were talking about? It has a lot of info on hair typing. It's very informative and MUCH better than Andre's method IMO. It says that this is what ur hairstylist is trained to see. I don't know if black hairstylists look for the same thing though. They may have been taught that all black hair is basically the same. We were probably all thrown into one category.

Girl, you KNOW they do! Which is the biggest damn shame of all.

That's not the site though - but I think they were 'defining' the same basci things - elasticity was another one I forgot!

 

[JustKiya]

Hah! Found it!

No wonder I couldn't remember the details - I only saw this tantalizing stub...

Human hair has been commonly classified according to three conventional ethnic human subgroups, that is, African, Asian, and European. Such broad classification hardly accounts for the high complexity of human biological diversity, resulting from both multiple and past or recent mixed origins. The research reported here is intended to develop a more factual and scientific approach based on physical features of human hair. The aim of the study is dual: (1) to define hair types according to specific shape criteria through objective and simple measurements taken on hairs from 1,442 subjects from 18 different countries and (2) to define such hair types without referring to human ...

ARRggghh! What a tease! But now, I can at least try to find the full study.

ETA: Dude, I LOVE the internet. Okay, here is the full article. I haven't read it yet - I'll come back and post the juciy bits.

 

[JustKiya]

That was a dense read, and the research that they are doing isn't really valid for us - *LOL* their methods we a bit complex!!

Anyhow - juicy bits.

Shape Variability and Classification of Human Hair: A Worldwide Approach
From: Human Biology Date: June 1, 2007 Author: Garcel, Anne-Lise; Langaney, André; Loussouarn, Geneviève; Porter, Crystal; Saint-Léger, Didier; de la Mettrie, Roland | Copyright information Copyright Wayne State University Press Jun 2007. Provided by ProQuest LLC.

Abstract
Human hair has been commonly classified according to three conventional ethnic human subgroups, that is, African, Asian, and European. Such broad classification hardly accounts for the high complexity of human biological diversity, resulting from both multiple and past or recent mixed origins. The research reported here is intended to develop a more factual and scientific approach based on physical features of human hair. The aim of the study is dual: (1) to define hair types according to specific shape criteria through objective and simple measurements taken on hairs from 1,442 subjects from 18 different countries and (2) to define such hair types without referring to human ethnicity.

We chose to use four hair characteristics. Two of the characteristics are related to hair curliness: (1) curve diameter (CD), that is, the smallest curve diameter of hair cut at a given stretched length, referred to as L^sub 2^; and (2) curl index (i), that is, the ratio of the stretched length (L^sub 2^) to the greatest length (L^sub 1^) occupied by the same piece of hair at rest (no stress applied). The other two characteristics are related to the kinking of hair (Hrdy 1973): (3) number of twists or kinks (i), that is, a sudden constriction and twisting of the hair shaft along its main axis, expressed as number of coils per hair sample; and (4) number of waves (w) per hair sample.

Materials and Methods
Hair Samples. Hair was sampled from 1,442 human volunteers (72% women, 28% men) from 18 different countries. The volunteers were recruited at random through newspaper ads in large cities (Table 1). They were informed about both the purpose and conditions of the study and gave written informed consent.
Natural, colored, bleached, and nonchemically straightened hairs (e.g., use of styling products or heat tongs) were included because they had not been involved in a process that had permanently altered hair morphology. However, hair treated with a permanent waving or a hair straightening product within the preceding nine months was not included.

Curl Index (i). Hair is cut at a fully extended length of 6 cm from its root. This length is referred to as the L^sub 2^ value. The hair is immersed for 3 min in 100 ml of a 1% solution (in water) of a basic nonconditioning shampoo and then thoroughly rinsed using tap water and placed on a paper towel. The hair is carefully blotted. After allowing the hair to air dry, the hair is placed for a minimum of 5 min on a dry paper towel.
The hair is then carefully laid on a glass plate without applying any mechanical stress, in order to allow it to maintain its natural shape. A second glass plate is gently placed onto the hair, carefully avoiding any side shifting or sliding. The distance between the two farthest points of the hair is then measured and referred to as L^sub 1^. The curl index i is defined as the ratio L^sub 2^/L^sub 1^.

Curve Diameter (CD). When hair is placed between the two glass slides, the radius of the curvature of each hair curve can be determined by superimposing a transparent template made up of circles of known radius (expressedin centimeters; see Figure 1) and matching the curvature of the hair with the closest circle of the template. The smallest or the tightest curvature is selected as the value of the curve diameter (CD).

Number of Wave s (w). The upper glass plate is removed and the two ends of the hair fiber are taped on the bottom glass plate. Each tape must cover only 0.5 cm of hair, with the distance between the two tapes being at least 4 cm. Between the tapes hair takes a sigmoid form whose number of peaks and number of valleys can be counted. (Figure 2). The higher number is referred to as w (number of waves).

Number of Twists (t). When curly or frizzy hair is fully extended, thicker and thinner parts or constrictions appear (Barbarat et al. 2005). The number of twists (i) equals the number of natural constrictions along the hair axis (Figure 3).

Measurements of CD, i, t, and w were carried out on each collected piece of hair, and at least three hairs (one from each area of the scalp, i.e., vertex, temples, and nape) were characterized for each subject. The mean value of each parameter was used as a descriptor of the hair of a given subject.

The percentage of subjects correctly classified by the segmentation tree analysis was excellent and varied from 100% for type I to 78% for type VIII. For incorrect classifications by segmentation tree analysis, there was never more than one class difference above or below (e.g., type II instead of type III or type IV instead of type III). More interestingly, Table 3 shows the distribution of these typological groups within the different populations.

"African" hairs collected from South Africa, Ghana, and Chicago were mainly classified as types V to VIII Although types VI to VIII prevailed in samples collected from South Africa and Ghana, type V was most frequent in the samples collected in Chicago and likely reflects a past mixed-origin population.

Hairs collected from China were essentially type I and type III. On the other hand, the amount of type III hairs reached 20% in samples from Japan and Korea; type in hair is still more frequent in samples from Thailand, where it is found in one-third of the samples.

Hairs collected from Brazilian volunteers showed a great diversity because they include types I to VI. This is likely the result of past mixed origins, leading to the well-known multiethnic populations.

In three countries (Korea, South Africa, and Ghana), where the cohorts of men and women were well balanced, no sex differences were found.

Some points have to be emphasized. As mentioned, so-called straight hair, as embodied in types I and III, is clearly not exclusive to Asian hair.

Although straight hair is shared by 93% of Chinese, it accounts for 57%, 68%, and 57% of tested Caucasian samples from Denmark, Poland, and Germany, respectively. Such a weight again justifies the initial choice not to include any hair color parameter in our tier approach, because blond hair is a frequent feature in these three countries.

Table 3 depicts some close similarity between Japan, Korea, and possibly Thailand regarding hair type distribution (types I, II, and III). More important, it provides (some) evidence that Chinese hair is different from other Asian hairs.

The same observation applies to African people, because clear shifts in hair type distribution are seen between hairs from South Africans and Ghanaians. Such a preliminary observation should obviously be confirmed by larger studies on African populations.

A great diversity is also observed in Europeans. It thus emerges from hair type classification that the three conventional human subgroups all appear to be heterogeneous. It vindicates the idea that the earlier ethnic distinction between the three racial subgroups (Asian, African, European) is oversimplified and less and less appropriate, especially as far as hair is concerned.

Increasing mixed-race descent and mixed-origin populations have a clear impact on hair type distribution, as reflected by the results on hairs from Brazil and Chicago, the only locations where six hair types were found. Conversely, the more homogeneous frequencies found in Asian countries, mostly limited to three types, suggest a lower statistical weight of past admixture.

The method is simple to use and only needs the measurement of three easily accessible parameters: curve diameter (CD), curl index (i'), and number of waves (w). Even though the method has some limitations (the required hair length must be more than 6 cm (sex bias) and the handling of single hairs may be tricky in some cases (e.g., wave may be mistakenly counted), this method of assigning hair type has a number of advantages. Applied to worldwide human diversity, our method avoids referring to putative, unclear ethnic origin of subjects while providing reliable and relevant data. Briefly, a straight hair type I is a straight hair type I and whether it originates from a European or an Asian subject is not at issue.

 

[Lovelylocs]

Thanks for posting!

Number of Twists (t). When curly or frizzy hair is fully extended, thicker and thinner parts or constrictions appear (Barbarat et al. 2005). The number of twists (i) equals the number of natural constrictions along the hair axis (Figure 3).

I found this part interesting.

I kinda wanna examine my hair under a microscope now.

 

[JustKiya]

Thanks for posting!

I kinda wanna examine my hair under a microscope now.

Welcome!



If you have a camera with a macro focus/setting, you'd be suprised at how much detail you can see..... esp. if you take a 'large' picture and check it out.....

 

[Fine 4s]

*nod* I like the clumping factor - I forgot about that one (most likely cuz I have NONE).

My thoughts was that
Porous = hair has a hard time holding onto moisture/gets wet easily
Average = it holds
Resistant = it holds onto moisture for a while/takes a while to get wet.

The logic for that is that (as I understand it) porousity is related to how 'open' your cuticles are. So - the more 'open' your cuticles, the more your hair 'sucks' up moisture, but then turns around and acts dry really quickly (because it just evaporated right back out). The more closed your cuticles, the longer it takes for them to really 'get' moist, but once it's there, it's STAYS for a while....

Does that help?

*LOL* I just saw LovelyLocks response - yeahthat, exactly!

YES! thanks a mil

 

[Vshanell]

i agree we need a whole new classification system, alot of ppl have done the number system like andre and a few members here, including mysef have tried to expand on it, but it never works out.

we need to start afreash, and have everyones input.

I agree. I think it will be hard to get everyone to agree on something though.

 

[wonderstar]

Diameter: Fine
Density: Medium
Scalp: Dry
Porousity/Moisture Rentition:Normal
Texture:Average
Curl:Wave,Pencil, Penspring

 

[fluffylocks]

Diameter: fine, regualr, coarse
Textures: Silky, Cottony, Wooley, Wirey
Shape: Straight, Curly, Wavy
Natural Feel: Soft, Hard, Rough
Natural Conditon: Dry, Oily, Regualr
Elasticity/Strength: Week, Strong
Density: Fine, Medium, Thick
Grows: Hanging down, Staight up, medium ect.
Cohesivness: Easily combed, hair doesnt stick to each other, cant comb, hair sticks together ect.

 

[wonderstar]

^^^^ I like that better.