Andre- I know this has been addressed before

[CaramelKiss]

but....Andre's system is too broad based a system and while it was realy revolutionary in the beginining, now I find the hair types too flawed and in need of updating. He ought to follow up with another book.

What do u all think???

 

[Lucia]

I agree either he should have left it even broader like straight, curly, wavy, b/c everyones hair is unique to them and you can have the same "hairtype like 4b" (BTW where's 4c and beyonds he can't have seen every person in the world) and opposite methods and products work for them b/c of their unique make-up.

 

[Allandra]

You're so right Lucia. IMO, there are probably WAY more hair types than what he addressed.

 

[inthepink]

I agree...there are way more than the hair types mentioned...

 

[Nyambura]

[ QUOTE ]
CaramelKiss said:
but....Andre's system is too broad based a system and while it was realy revolutionary in the beginining, now I find the hair types too flawed and in need of updating. He ought to follow up with another book.

What do u all think???

[/ QUOTE ]

I would definitely check out a follow-up book by Andre Walker.

 

[YuNg]

Yes indeed i seen people that look like they could be a 4C. Extremely dry hair.

 

[AFashionSlave]

I don't think that we need a follow up system at all.

There is no real reason for hair typing anyway. Knowing my hair type has never helped me. I used to think that hair typing was important in order to give and receive proper hair care advice but now I know that knowing your hair type is not important or necessary. Many 2s, 3s, & 4s use a lot of the same products, relaxers, tools, & routines anyway.

I work with a white woman who has bone straight hair and she uses the same Aubrey's products I do. She detangles using the same brushes. She even uses olive oil on her ends & wears twist-outs when she wants a wavy look.

The only thing that hair typing does is divide us as people. I think that hair typing helps to perpetuate the "Good Hair / Bad Hair" thinking.

I think Andre’s system is stupid…But hey...That is just my opinion.

 

[pookeylou]

I don't think it's needed either...

I felt at one time it was neccesary to categorize my hair so that I could talk to people who had "my kind" of hair...I thought maybe what worked for them...worked for me too...Not neccesarily true.

This proved to me that I have "distinctly Pookeylou-type hair"...no one else's is like mine...it may be similar...and I love to try anything on my hair once to see how it reacts...but to me Andre's system has a LOT of flaws.

One in particular...according to his typing system, I would have to relax my hair in order for it to be "manageable"...for me that...that is a load of horse pucky. I find my hair very manageable...and I am TRANSITIONING!....TWO DIFFERENT (maybe more) textures on my head...

Each of us have our own hair type...it is genetic...no one can really catagorize it...you could be a identical twin...and what may work on your hair...may not work on your twins...it's all genetic.

 

[Karonica]

 

[AFashionSlave]

[ QUOTE ]
pookeylou said:
I don't think it's needed either...

I felt at one time it was neccesary to categorize my hair so that I could talk to people who had "my kind" of hair...I thought maybe what worked for them...worked for me too...Not neccesarily true.

This proved to me that I have "distinctly Pookeylou-type hair"...no one else's is like mine...it may be similar...and I love to try anything on my hair once to see how it reacts...but to me Andre's system has a LOT of flaws.

One in particular...according to his typing system, I would have to relax my hair in order for it to be "manageable"...for me that...that is a load of horse pucky. I find my hair very manageable...and I am TRANSITIONING!....TWO DIFFERENT (maybe more) textures on my head...

Each of us have our own hair type...it is genetic...no one can really catagorize it...you could be a identical twin...and what may work on your hair...may not work on your twins...it's all genetic.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm glad that I am not the only one who feels this way.

 

[Billygirl61]

I agree with you on hair typing issue it is just another way of saying good /bad hair syndrome so for that reason I will not classify my hair along those lines anyway most people on this board use the same basic products give or take a few. Besides I heard this black comedian talking about good hair and she said you have good hair if you have hair on your head no hair on yuor head is bad

 

[tekmommie]

LOL, I agree with that!

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

I agree with AFashionSlave and PookeyLou!

 

[melodee]

I agree ladies. The system is indeed flawed. It is a good attempt to classify hair types in order to aid in the overall care of hair. But our hair will be what we make of it. I could be what I call a 3c and if I went to see Andre he would tell me I'm 4b. Another person could swear they were a 4 a and Anre might tell them they're a 3a. In the end, does it make a difference what Andre would say?

 

[CaramelKiss]

It is true that classifying hair into types can perpetuate the good hair bad hair thing, but it can also be very useful. It's easy to say hair is hair and it is, but some types are more challenging to work with. If you've have type 1 hair and then have a child with type 4 hair it can be challenging for that individual or vice versa. Also, many stylists do not know how to style the many varieties of hair and could use additional training in that regard. These books have been obviously helpful to many people including people with biracial children and many white individuals whose hair is deemed "ethnic" and as a result can't find stylists to do their hair. Not to say that u have to follow everything to a "t" for your type, of course one can deviate and modify these methods to suit their needs. I think hair books in general have really made people not so afraid of the other types of hair and also of how similar and complex everyone's hair can be.

 

[Crysdon]

I think we're losing focus here. Andre's intention isn't to divide us. He's teaching us how to properly handle our hair whether it's curly, straight, coarse, etc. For instance, the way you dry, style and handle 3a hair may not work the same for 2b or 4a hair.

It only it turns into that "good hair/bad hair" philosophy when an uninformed person feeds into that type of thinking.

 

[AFashionSlave]

[ QUOTE ]
Crysdon said:
I think we're losing focus here. Andre's intention isn't to divide us. He's teaching us how to properly handle our hair whether it's curly, straight, coarse, etc. For instance, the way you dry, style and handle 3a hair may not work the same for 2b or 4a hair.

It only it turns into that "good hair/bad hair" philosophy when an uninformed person feeds into that type of thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree with you about uninformed people feeding into that type of thinking. I did not mean to get so far off topic with the good/hair bad hair thing.

Yes I agree that there are differences between straight and curly hair types but I just don't see how classifying hair types helps with hair care. The only differences that I see between straight and curly hair care is that people with curly or nappy hair usually comb while wet. Besides that I don't know of any other reason to classify hair types. All though my hair is not straight, wavy, or curly my hair routine is very similar to others that do not have my hair type. The first two years that I went natural I wasted my time following the hair routines of others who had hair that looked just my hair.

Hair care is trial and error. When I first found hair boards I learned about the use of essential oils, pre-shampoo treatments, and no-poo from white women on another hair board.

I know some 4a sistas that shampoo condition and use no products on their hair the same way a 1a white sista would.

I still see no reason to revise Andre's system. I don't believe that a revised system will help anyone.

 

[soslychic]

[ QUOTE ]
Crysdon said:
I think we're losing focus here. Andre's intention isn't to divide us. He's teaching us how to properly handle our hair whether it's curly, straight, coarse, etc. For instance, the way you dry, style and handle 3a hair may not work the same for 2b or 4a hair.

It only it turns into that "good hair/bad hair" philosophy when an uninformed person feeds into that type of thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. I don't think the system is flawed and I do not think that it was meant to divide. It may have been nice to state that there are other hair types than what mentioned, but the fact remains that sometimes classifying can help, at least to certain people. For example, I was confused as to whether i was a 4a or 4b and when I texturized my hair (by accident) I was confused as to why some sections had looser curls and some sections had taken on a wavy pattern. I realized that the different types of hair on my head were the cause. The 4a parts simply loosened there curl while the few sections of 4b that didn't start with curl just loosened into more of a wave going towards the straight direction. Having this knowledge helped me to know that I shouldn't try to manipulate the curls with more chemical to get a uniform look because that simply wouldn't happen with the different hair types. I would have essentially chemicalled all the hair off my head if I had been ignorant of this. Knowing your hair can be helpful in products and styling although trial and error is still a must. And the good hair philosophy is the cause of individuals (as Crysdon said). Recognizing that there are differences shouldn't divide. It's the people that want to classify and make one thing better than another. And that's sad.

 

[MSCHICHI]

Fia's Hairtyping System expanded on Andre's, and I think it is more exact. Her system not only addresses straight wavy and curly, but also fine-ness to coarseness of each strand, and thickness and thin-ness for each head of hair. I think Andre's system alone is very limited, but all the combinations of Fia's system work to be very accurate.

Fia was a poster at LongHairLovers, but she moved on to a forum called the Long Hair Community. I have tried to find their location to repost her post, but I have had no luck. I will try to search for it and if I still can't find it, I'll list what I remember.

 

[tekmommie]

Is this the forum you were talking about?

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/viewforum.php?f=2

http://www.longhaircommunity.com/