can someone break down the real difference b/t 3c & 4a/b hair

[AvaSpeaks]

I didn't know there was a type 1b. And it seems we have different definitions of what "fine" means.
Lys

Actually this is a good page to look at for the types.

I wouldn't say that Type 4 is the finest, by no means it is, but I think that this page is saying that Type 4 can be anywhere from fine to coarse. So I think that's a better way to put it.

Here is the link....

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curl411/types.php

I know what fine hair is. I just don't want to get flamed.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

Off Topic
What in the world is SLAP LENGTH BillsBacker?

SL + AP = SLAP ...Im in between the two so i figured that described me best

 

[nappity]

that's it exactly. think of 3c curls as the size/diameter of a crayola fat marker -- you know the kind you used in kindergarten (heck, i still use them today) think if 4a coils as the size of crayola sninny markers to the size of a pen's coil.

3 type hair also tend to be sleeker, shiner, more separated and defined when wet. 4 type hair tends to be puffier, fluffier, sheenier and contracts more when wet. i have a narrow patch of 3c at the nape of my head, 4a skinny-marker-sized-coils at the top & crown of my head, and 4a pen-coil-sized hair on the sides & back.

ITA
In my texture pictures ( only in my Fotki)you can see pen spring coils, z coils and areas where it doesnt coil at all- thats the 4C. There is no sleekness in a 4 without product.

 

[AfroKink]

Actually this is a good page to look at for the types.

I wouldn't say that Type 4 is the finest, by no means it is, but I think that this page is saying that Type 4 can be anywhere from fine to coarse. So I think that's a better way to put it.

Here is the link....

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curl411/types.php

I know what fine hair is. I just don't want to get flamed.

What is your definition of "fine"?
Of course some Type 4s with be fine, and some will be coarse. But i'm talking in general, and in comparison to type 1.

Lys

 

[BillsBackerz67]

i agree, im 3c, an i find i cant do the styles 4a do , and 4a's find it hard to emulate the styles i can do, i have to fluff up my hair after its dry just to get the "semi big" wash an go look , otherwise its just looks elongated with little volume. puffs dont form naturally , unless i sleep on my hair, twists dont hold, etc...

and its very easy to get a sleek look. i get tons of ppl asking me "how i slick my hair back" and i almost feel ashamed to tell them its just water and a brush, cause i know they're looking for more, but unfortunatly thats just how my hair behaves. I know alot of ppl may not see it, but to me there needed to be a hair type between 4a and 3b,

We define ourselves as the same hair type. Your hair is finer than mines but as far as curl pattern goes ours is the same

I dont think the coarseness or fineness of hair should be considered when determining hair type. Ive seen people with very fine type 1 hair and very coarse type 1 hair...but either way they were still type 1.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

We define ourselves as the same hair type. Your hair is finer than mines but as far as curl pattern goes ours is the same

I dont think the coarseness or fineness of hair should be considered when determining hair type. Ive seen people with very fine type 1 hair and very coarse type 1 hair...but either way they were still type 1.

Exactly! You hit the tail on the donkey

 

[AfroKink]

We define ourselves as the same hair type. Your hair is finer than mines but as far as curl pattern goes ours is the same

I dont think the coarseness or fineness of hair should be considered when determining hair type. Ive seen people with very fine type 1 hair and very coarse type 1 hair...but either way they were still type 1.

I don't think coarseness is factored into that hair typing model. But maybe it should be. I think coarseness effects how hair reacts to products.

Lys

 

[AvaSpeaks]

I'm out! I got 1 hour and 4 mins till Desperate Housewives comes on so I need to start getting ready for tommorrow.

As long as my hair don't fall all out when I shampoo it, I'm fine

 

[BillsBackerz67]

I don't think coarseness is factored into that hair typing model. But maybe it should be. I think coarseness effects how hair reacts to products.

Lys

yeah it does affect it..I have some areas in my head that are coarser than other but still a 3c and it takes a lot more product for them to react...but if my hair is straightened you cant tell.

 

[Poohbear]

I kindly disagree. If Rachel True made an afro, her afro is not going to look like this

Think of the afros of the 70's. How tight they were? How they look when people pick them out. I say for the most part, those were Type 4 hair.

A Type 3 afro looks totally different from a Type 4 afro.

TYPE 3 AFRO (beyonce, even though it may not be real, this looks like a type 3 afro)

TYPE 4 AFRO (my fro, heehee!)

 

[AvaSpeaks]

I was thinking a Type 3 Afro would be more like either:

The singer Ayo

Or the singer Kevin Michael

Those are Type 3 Afros....

 

[AvaSpeaks]

Type 4 Afros

You can still see the difference between the way the curls or coils are in the Afros in between the Type 3 and Type 4 afros.

 

[MzTami]

I was thinking a Type 3 Afro would be more like either:

The singer Ayo

Or the singer Kevin Michael

Those are Type 3 Afros....

I beg to differ on this....I am 4a and I can't get a fro like MJ(back in the days) unless I blow out my hair with no products. When I have products or wake up in the morning it looks just like Ayo except my coils are smaller and it's not nappy/coarse. For some reason my coils get tighter, soft to touch, and coiler overnight.

My type or texture of hair is damn if you do damn if you don't. I can't wear twist because my hair will shrink to the max and keep twisting(looks horrible) and it doesn't look great when I "wash and go."(looks like Ayo, expect smaller coils) It's a strange hair type to have.


ETA: If Ayo were to blow out her hair, I think it would look like the 70's afros. (IMO).

 

[BillsBackerz67]

I was thinking a Type 3 Afro would be more like either:

The singer Ayo

Or the singer Kevin Michael

Those are Type 3 Afros....

my hair looked just like Ayo's as it was growing out from the BC.

 

[FineChyna]

I didn't say that Type 3 hair can't fro. I said that a Type 3 fro looks different from a Type 4 fro.

You guys do understand that right? I mean you do understand that visually, a type 3 fro is not going to look the same as afro with really kinky or tightly coily hair?

i guess i am not understanding you clearly if i am misunderstanding your post. i thought you were saying that a type 3 can't fro.

 

[LynnieB]

ok i think i've finally found someone else with the same weird arse hair that i have (or pretty danggone close to it).

kinky - check
coily - check
poofy/bushy mass at the roots and coily on the ends - check, check and triple check!

i wonder how it'd look if it were a bit longer..............<insert contemplative smilie here>

kewl!

 

[glamazon386]

the reason why i ask is because a lot of sites i visit and have a section about hair texture seem to be very unclear what the difference is themselves. even when they post pictures for examples it seems rather vague.

i thought 3c hair was hair with an s curl pattern and 4 a/b was a z curl pattern or in some cases no curl pattern but i have seen some pics where someone with an s curl pattern was under the 4a/b listing

maybe there is no 3c textured hair?

Technically, 3C was not originally in the list of Andre's hair type. It got added by the people over at naturallycurly.com because they felt like there was a gap between 3B and 4a. So that might be why there is so much overlap. It's to my understanding that 3c curls are pencil sized and 4a curls are coffee stirrer size. But still an S shaped or corkscrew curl. 4b is the Z pattern whe3n it is left unmanipulated. This is a regular afro. It does not have any defined coil or curl pattern at all. A lot of times 4's have a mixture of 4a and 4b so it might look like an afro with random curls through it.

 

[Amarech]

Things would be so much easier if you just used LOIS and called it a day.....

 

[writtenthought]

TYPE 3 AFRO (beyonce, even though it may not be real, this looks like a type 3 afro)

TYPE 4 AFRO (my fro, heehee!)

I don't see the difference?

 

[writtenthought]

I beg to differ on this....I am 4a and I can't get a fro like MJ(back in the days) unless I blow out my hair with no products. When I have products or wake up in the morning it looks just like Ayo except my coils are smaller and it's not nappy/coarse. For some reason my coils get tighter, soft to touch, and coiler overnight.

My type or texture of hair is damn if you do damn if you don't. I can't wear twist because my hair will shrink to the max and keep twisting(looks horrible) and it doesn't look great when I "wash and go."(looks like Ayo, expect smaller coils) It's a strange hair type to have.


ETA: If Ayo were to blow out her hair, I think it would look like the 70's afros. (IMO).

I agree I have to work to get a fro and then my curls still tries to clump back together. So it winds up a curly fro after a few hours.