Hair types?! I'm a newbie!

[Oneprettypa]

So I have always just gone to the salon to get my hair done which has given me a lot of success and horror stories!!! I'm in the Army and I haven't been able to find a trustworthy stylist at my new station, so taking care of my own hair is new to me!

How do I know what my hair type is? Any advice will help, I've learned so much from this forum alread. TIA

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[Luv4hair]

If you are relaxed you have to let your hair grow out from the roots to see its curl pattern. You need about a inch to two inches to determine for sure. And your hair must be clean.

 

[Oneprettypa]

If you are relaxed you have to let your hair grow out from the roots to see its curl pattern. You need about a inch to two inches to determine for sure. And your hair must be clean.

Lol I don't know what I am anymore.. I haven't had a relaxer since April of this year, and I've been wearing sew ins since then. There's plenty of new growth up there... Does flat ironing change my hair type?

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[*CherryPie*]

Flat ironing can stretch out the strands, making it look like a different type.

Lol I don't know what I am anymore.. I haven't had a relaxer since April of this year, and I've been wearing sew ins since then. There's plenty of new growth up there... Does flat ironing change my hair type?

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[kupenda]

Wait til you have completely virgin hair. Let it grow a bit. At least two inches IMO.

Have you learned about the benefit of hair typing? Because many women here don't really subscribe to it as something important. If anything, you should be more concerned with your porosity, the thickness of your strands, and what ingredients or tools/techniques your hair responds to.

Hair typing is only important if you are buying a product that is specifically suited to a particular style. Example, few people with type 1 and 2 hair would benefit from products like Shea Butter and castor oil. It's too heavy for their hair. It weighs it down. Types 3 and 4, if they don't have fine strands, would be more likely to use those products. Just like a 1 or 2 would be fine with a hairspray for hold, some 3 and 4's may not get enough from that. That's just my opinion though.

 

[venusfly]

Cut off her relaxer just to tell her hair type? Why would she do that? Why can't she just wash her hair and look at her new growth? erplexed

 

[MystiqueBabe]

I still have relaxer in my hair and can tell my hair type. I read somewhere that you at least need 5in of NG to see your hair's true potential and at least 2 inches to tell the actual type. Do you have a picture of your NG? Knowing my hair type, density, texture, etc really helped me find products that work for me.

Most BW have either type 3(curly) or 4 hair(coily). I focus mainly on my hair type and type 3 hair is supposed to appear straight when wet and grows in straight. Those are signs you can look for if don't have a lot of new growth yet. Which explained why it took about two months for me to start seeing curly NG.

 

[venusfly]

Lol I don't know what I am anymore.. I haven't had a relaxer since April of this year, and I've been wearing sew ins since then. There's plenty of new growth up there... Does flat ironing change my hair type?

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If you haven't had a relaxer since April of last year you should have more than enough new virgin growth to tell your hair type. Soneone else acn correct me if I'm wrong? If you want to go natural then you would cut off your relaxer, IMO.

 

[kupenda]

No one is saying anything about cutting off your hair tho dear. It's just not accurate if you have a small amount of new growth and relaxed hair hanging on the ends. By now you should have about 2 inches or so of new growth. You will know for sure if you're a 3 or 4. However the deeper classifications (a, b, c) may not be as obvious unless your hair is free of the relaxed ends

 

[Oneprettypa]

I definitely have 2 inches of new growth up there. Trying to tame it has been a hassle but I'm learning. I've flat ironed my leave out so when I wash my hair again I'll take a pic of it. Did you guys just google to see different hair types and found what you identified with the most?

I'm definitely *NOT* cutting off my new growth, my husband would have an absolute STROKE! Lol... He wasn't too fond of when I cut my hair from my clavicle into a bob.

 

[Oneprettypa]

Thanks for the help!

 

[BrookeLynn]

Hair typing with relaxed ends is kind of sketchy, since the relaxed hair weighs down the new growth giving it a more stretched out appearance. It doesn't matter anyway because like someone said there are far more urgent things that need to be determined like your porosity. Once I learned that my hair has low porosity the game totally changed for me.

 

[Oneprettypa]

So I never would have looked into this, but after reading an article on naturallycurly.com, I found I have medium, low porosity hair! (Yep I'm excited to have learned something new). I feel like I'm on my way to BSL hair -which is my goal by DEC 13!- thank you ladies sooooo much!!!

Trust, advice on what to do with this type of hair is def welcomed!

 

[kupenda]

Oneprettypa fantastic! I'm so glad you found uour porosity! It will truly help you in the long run. I hope you reach BSL in all its glory lol

 

[Oneprettypa]

Oneprettypa fantastic! I'm so glad you found uour porosity! It will truly help you in the long run. I hope you reach BSL in all its glory lol

Thank you!! I would have NEVER known that was something I needed to look into if it weren't for you ladies and this thread!