Difference Between Fine Hair And Thick Hair

[Gleek]

This feels like a stupid question. but the only reason I am asking is because of the people who are self reporting as “fine haired” . Most of the people I have seen on here who have said that, have thick hair (to me).

I am confused.

 

[sensi sweetie]

Fine hair refers to the actually thickness of the strand. Some people have baby fine hairs but tons of it so it looks thick. HTH

 

[Glamorous_chic]

well, as far as i know, fine hair refers to the density of hair strand. and thick hair refers to the number of strands. so it is possible to be fine and thick hair at the same time. fine hair is not necessarily synonymous with thin hair. thin hair also refers to the number of strands. hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[ms-gg]

Yep, fine=fine, hard to see strands
then you have normal
then coarse-wiry, thick strands of hair, very visible to the eye.

I heard somewhere (don't remember if it was a scientific study or not) that most black people have fine strands...

 

[southerncitygirl]

you can be fine hair but have hair that is very dense. i have fine hairs around edges....the rest of my strands are normal but the density is pretty high as i have a tiny head with tons of hair.

 

[My Friend]

Yep, fine=fine, hard to see strands
then you have normal
then coarse-wiry, thick strands of hair, very visible to the eye.

I heard somewhere (don't remember if it was a scientific study or not) that most black people have fine strands...

..and those without any chemicals on their hair or abuse heat have a lot of density.

 

[tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT]

you can be fine hair but have hair that is very dense. i have fine hairs around edges....the rest of my strands are normal but the density is pretty high as i have a tiny head with tons of hair.

exactly i have extremely thin strands (the mom's calls it cat hair)

normal to low density (fluctuates as I am an excessive shedder)

 

[empressri]

Yep, fine=fine, hard to see strands
then you have normal
then coarse-wiry, thick strands of hair, very visible to the eye.

I heard somewhere (don't remember if it was a scientific study or not) that most black people have fine strands...

it actually makes sense too, and this is how i explain the coarse thing to folks. if hair is coarse, it's resistant to curl, color, hell you can wrap a rubberband around it and use it to sweep the floor. coarser hair can take more of a beating.

fine hair? would shrivel up with a cry and disappear off of your head if you tried the like with it.

i had a filipina friend in high school with thick AND coarse hair...mind you it was stick straight. she used my plastic rattail comb to comb her hair at the bus stop and it straight snapped in two!

that's some coarse hair.

 

[ms-gg]

Here are some facts about fine hair that I pulled from one of my favorite hair resources, P&G Beauty & Grooming | Home:

A typical fine hair diameter is equal to half the thickness of a sheet of paper (56 microns) (edit by me: my hair strands are about as thick as a sheet of computer paper )
Fine hair is twice as easy to break as medium-textured hair
Fine hair has fewer cuticle layers and thus is easier to damage vs. medium and coarse-textured hair

 

[Gleek]

I guess I wasn’t the only one confused

So FINE- Natural Hair | Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Styles and Curly Hair Care

 

[Jetblackhair]

I have fine hair, but lots of strands, (thank goodness), gives the appearance of thickness. I can barely see a strand of my hair, whereas my friend's hair strand almost looks like thread.

 

[afrofaithful]

umm...pictures please

 

[Imani]

I have a mix of strands. Majority are fine/medium. And at the crown, there are some thick strands. When I've went through periods where my hair is jacked up, the crown is always the area that will not be damaged or at least it won't be as bad as the rest of my hair, it is stronger and can withstand more.

 

[Tif392002]

I have fine hair, and normal to low density in some areas of my scalp.. my crown is fine and is obiviously thicker than the rest of my hair.. when my hair is in its natural state it looks like fluffy cotton. whn its straightend its very light and fly away...

 

[KurleeK5]

I classify my hair as mostly fine hair that is dense all around. I have "normal hair" in the middle/ on top. (I look like sideshow bob. LOL. )

 

[Nayna]

I have fine hair, but lots of strands, (thank goodness), gives the appearance of thickness. I can barely see a strand of my hair, whereas my friend's hair strand almost looks like thread.

Same here. I have one thin area but overall I have fine strands but a lot of them.

 

[ms-gg]

I have fine hair, but lots of strands, (thank goodness), gives the appearance of thickness. I can barely see a strand of my hair, whereas my friend's hair strand almost looks like thread.

My hair strands are like your friend's hair strands.

 

[Jetblackhair]

My hair strands are like your friend's hair strands.

I can tell by your siggy, your hair is thick & beautiful! You have true thickness and I have the appearance of thickness.

 

[luckiestdestiny]

See my wl length check thread. Make no mistake I have fine strands but my hair looks thick because I have no idea how many I have: DENSE! BUT if you pluck them and look at them they're really fine. I'm lucky I have so much, or else they'd surely be see through (and not so lucky as I have to detangle so slowly!)
PICS! WL check LD's 14 month pics w/set back explanations, etc - Long Hair Care Forum

 

[luckiestdestiny]

sewing thread laughs at a strand of my hair. My hair doesn't come close to its thickness. Even when pulled into three

This article also goes into density too:

Q & A: Density vs. Thickness | Little Golden Lamb
Thick hair often looks like sewing thread -as in, it is as thick as or thicker. Fine/thin hair has a smaller diameter

 

[TLC1020]

I agree with this statement..

My mom have lots of hair but her strands are thin that you can barely see them. Mine on the other hand is so thick that you can see them. Sometimes when my hair shed you see pieces on the floor and my sister would pick up a strand and be like girl if you don't get this DNA off the floor I mean you can really see it b/c the strands are thick.

Fine hair refers to the actually thickness of the strand. Some people have baby fine hairs but tons of it so it looks thick. HTH

 

[Sianna]

umm...pictures please

I was doing my hair today, and as I looked at the shed hairs that came out, I remembered this thread.

Here's a couple of pics.

Both hairs are from my own head. The thinner/finner strand is circled in each picture. I don't know where that strand came from, I think it came from the back, but I can't be sure. I just found it stuck to my hair when I was gelling down my edges. The thicker strand came from the front.

I know the thinner hair is hard to see on camera, but it is much more visible in person. Even still, I actually have hairs that are even thinner and would not show up on camera at all. At least not my camera!

HTH!