Her 4b is not MY 4b ....hair type

[SimJam]

4b chekkin in

as my hair grw longer has seemed to get less "defined" and more cottony

 

[Chameleonchick]

Okay why am I so confused now? I always thought my hair was 4b but I do have some curlage going on when wet. I have some spring sproings in my hair too but for the most part when it dries it clumps like cotton. Heres a pic from my fotki what do you think?

Dry pic
http://public.fotki.com/MokahDeeLyte/naturalness-1/jan-mar10/dsc00336-jpg.html

Wet Pic
http://public.fotki.com/MokahDeeLyte/naturalness-1/jan-mar10/dsc00527-jpg.html

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

I remember transitioning...and even when my hair was permed people were always like you have this thick course hair..... BUT...When you become 100% natural its easier to see your true hair type after the perm is cut off.....I learned my hair is actually FINE...but it covers almost EVERY SQUARE INCH OF MY HEAD so it LOOKS thick! Which for years had me fooled....In 2 years after the BC I have flat ironed my hair 6-8 times and even with that my coils are more loose.......I got a PM the other day and someone thought I was playing about being a 4B...But my hair in my siggy is soaking wet!


Honestly I tire of the hair typing...it hasn't made much of an influence on my regimen, the type of hair products I buy....I do what my hair needs.....thats all that matters to me....

Looking at my BC pic and based on the hair typing website I found..I am naturally a 4A in the front, 4B on middle and sides...and 3C in the nape area.......

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

Envy I am so glad you came out on this point. I noticed the same thing. I see people saying they are 4b when they are probably more like in the 3b to 4a range. And then their hair seems non-porous or less dense. 4b to me means wiry, coarse, no curl pattern hair that if left to dry on its own in its natural state would be a tight TWA.

I remember back in the day when everyone wore a 'fro, most people could wear one, but the girls with the big, Angela Davis type fros usually had looser hair types. Today I would characterize their hair as 3b/4a. The girls who would have to use "Blow-Out" on their hair, (this was a mild relaxer that would loosen the hair just enough to give you a bigger fro) usually had the wiry truly type 4b hair.

My hair is 4b coarse through the midback and sides. It is 4a on the top and edges and maybe 2b at the nape. But darned if the 4b, which breaks and is resistant to relaxers doesn't get all my attention and it happens to be the hair that has to be long to make my hair look long all over. That is why I would say I am 4b. The other softer hair doesn't even matter on my head.

Now don't blast me for this but I've said it before. MaCherieamour does NOT have 4b hair. I saw her roots when she did a 17 weeks stretch. She uses a Super Relaxer strength...well no wonder why her hair gets so dern straight. Sylver2's hair is not 4b. Her hair to me looks like 4a but it is thick and dense. I think she says she is 4a/4b. My hair is similar to hers, but only in some sections. What I'm trying to say is that you are right. True 4b DOES NOT HAVE a curl or wave pattern unless you stretch it out and then you will see a very tight S or Z.

What I bolded is me ALL DAY....!

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I remember transitioning...and even when my hair was permed people were always like you have this thick course hair..... BUT...When you become 100% natural its easier to see your true hair type after the perm is cut off.....I learned my hair is actually FINE...but it covers almost EVERY SQUARE INCH OF MY HEAD so it LOOKS thick! Which for years had me fooled....In 2 years after the BC I have flat ironed my hair 6-8 times and even with that my coils are more loose.......I got a PM the other day and someone thought I was playing about being a 4B...But my hair in my siggy is soaking wet!


Honestly I tire of the hair typing...it hasn't made much of an influence on my regimen, the type of hair products I buy....I do what my hair needs.....thats all that matters to me....

Looking at my BC pic and based on the hair typing website I found..I am naturally a 4A in the front, 4B on middle and sides...and 3C in the nape area.......

I agree with the Bolded, I also have 3c/in the back, 4a on the Front and sides and 4b in the Middle/Crown area.

 

[Nonie]

Okay why am I so confused now? I always thought my hair was 4b but I do have some curlage going on when wet. I have some spring sproings in my hair too but for the most part when it dries it clumps like cotton. Heres a pic from my fotki what do you think?

Dry pic
http://public.fotki.com/MokahDeeLyte/naturalness-1/jan-mar10/dsc00336-jpg.html

Wet Pic
http://public.fotki.com/MokahDeeLyte/naturalness-1/jan-mar10/dsc00527-jpg.html

I'd say you're 4B. All hair comes in one of 3 forms: straight, wavy or curly (coily). There is a range of diameter size in those with curly/coil hair, with 3A being the biggest coils and 4B the smallest.

 

[Kurlee]

Okay why am I so confused now? I always thought my hair was 4b but I do have some curlage going on when wet. I have some spring sproings in my hair too but for the most part when it dries it clumps like cotton. Heres a pic from my fotki what do you think?

Dry pic
http://public.fotki.com/MokahDeeLyte/naturalness-1/jan-mar10/dsc00336-jpg.html

Wet Pic
http://public.fotki.com/MokahDeeLyte/naturalness-1/jan-mar10/dsc00527-jpg.html

judging from the wet pics, 4a.

 

[NIN4eva]

Seriously, this is one of the best threads I've read and I think anyone trying to learn their hair type should read it. Especially anyone who is a type 4 period.

Some people might not care about typing their hair but it seems important for true 4bers so they don't go chasing products/styles/results they see other people with. Love, love, love this thread!

I wholeheartedly agree. I will admit to immediately leaving a thread that's full of 3b's and c's...

 

[detroitdiva]

I totally feel ya sister girl! I am a true 4b, with no wave or curl pattern definition. My hair is kinky and very course. It is also very fragile and breaks easily especially if it is dry. I love my 4b hair, and I have learned to embrace it more on my natural journey. Many girls may claim to be a 4a/4b mix but have smooth and curly natural hair. That is not 4b!! It is just as you pointed out. Great post!

 

[yaya24]

I'm 90% 4B
10% 4A

 

[dender]

Great post. I know you always hear lots of people say they tire of the hair typing system but truth is I don't know where i'd be without it. Of course if you are a type 3 the hair typing system doesn't matter as much because most products and techniques you stumble upon will work for you within some degree but as a 4b this is not the case. Attempting to use a type three or even 4a method or product has ended in many a tangled dry shrunken tearfull mess. I think Mwedzi is right though, about "others" just getting lumped as 4b, there are defo differences within the category. My hair is 4b but the sides are more 4b than the rest, does that make sense?

 

[equestrian]

Mine is a combo. I remember asking on black hair media and got crickets for a while. 4b at the roots, and starts to look 3c/b towards the end.

 

[purplepeace79]

*** it, I'm rolling with the 4Bs... Best. Hair. Ever!!!

I'm claiming 4B like I'm claiming MBL.

Word to ya moms.

 

[NIN4eva]

 

[DaDragonPrincess]

I'm 4B, check my fotki

 

[loshed]

What do you guys think about my hair? 4b or 4a/b? I mostly say I have type 4 hair because I honestly don't know what I should claim. Back when people would say 4bs had zero curl definition I'd think, "okay, 4a/b it is." but now that 4bs can have coils I'm back to being lost. I have 4b because the whole crown of my head doesn't clump at all without product. It's just a cloud. But what is this other stuff? Since it's frizzy, tiny coils is it 4b also?

 

[Imani]

4b chekkin in

as my hair grw longer has seemed to get less "defined" and more cottony

I'ma have to peep at your fotki! This looks really close to my hair. I am 10 months transitioning, and my hair is almost all natural now (due to several trims/cuts)

I really want to get a look at my "naked texture", but I never just let my hair dry to see what it does. Its always immediately manipulated/product added after washing.

 

[Hairsofab]

I'm a 4b all around. I do think the 4 category really is bigger than just 4a 4b. Its pretty rare for me to see someone who has my exact texture. The only one I found here was Shani and there was another poster who was from ghana who lived in the uk (I really can't remember her name)? I know Nonie is the keeper of all things 4b,but honestly even her pictures don't look like my texture. So I think the 4b category is too broad. Andre's system is good generally but not an absolute system of hairtyping. One 4b may in fact look different than another.

 

[Tiye]

What do you guys think about my hair? 4b or 4a/b? I mostly say I have type 4 hair because I honestly don't know what I should claim. Back when people would say 4bs had zero curl definition I'd think, "okay, 4a/b it is." but now that 4bs can have coils I'm back to being lost. I have 4b because the whole crown of my head doesn't clump at all without product. It's just a cloud. But what is this other stuff? Since it's frizzy, tiny coils is it 4b also?

The original definition of 4b is no regular curl pattern this was to distinguish it from the other type of 4 that is naturally curly. This classification system is incomplete coz obviously there are more than two types of 4 hair. These days a bunch of people are claiming 4b who technically are a better fit for 4a in my opinion coz they have a regular pattern the coils are just smaller and sometimes not even visible to the naked eye but the point is that the regular pattern is there. Anyone remember the line from Pirates of the Caribbean about something that were guidelines rather than regulations - that's the Andre derived hair typing system. It's a guideline to help people know how to care for or match up hair not statutory law.

 

[Imani]

I'm a 4b all around. I do think the 4 category really is bigger than just 4a 4b. Its pretty rare for me to see someone who has my exact texture. The only one I found here was Shani and there was another poster who was from ghana who lived in the uk (I really can't remember her name)? I know Nonie is the keeper of all things 4b,but honestly even her pictures don't look like my texture. So I think the 4b category is too broad. Andre's system is good generally but not an absolute system of hairtyping. One 4b may in fact look different than another.

Neither does mine. U would not be able to see my coils in a picture unless I had some super high def resolution camera. Thats how small some of them are. Its like, I can feel they are there, but if I took a pic, you wouldn't be able to see them.

 

[SimJam]

I'ma have to peep at your fotki! This looks really close to my hair. I am 10 months transitioning, and my hair is almost all natural now (due to several trims/cuts)

I really want to get a look at my "naked texture", but I never just let my hair dry to see what it does. Its always immediately manipulated/product added after washing.

I just peeped ur fotki and it does seem like our texture is very similar

hope my hair pics help
I didnt transition but I think I have some NG pics

 

[IWantCurlyHair]

What do you guys think about my hair? 4b or 4a/b? I mostly say I have type 4 hair because I honestly don't know what I should claim. Back when people would say 4bs had zero curl definition I'd think, "okay, 4a/b it is." but now that 4bs can have coils I'm back to being lost. I have 4b because the whole crown of my head doesn't clump at all without product. It's just a cloud. But what is this other stuff? Since it's frizzy, tiny coils is it 4b also?

your hair is somewhat like mine. It's a bunch of fuzz with tiny coils mixed in. The coils are extra tiny in the back and then they begin to get bigger as
they go up until the very front of my head where they disapper. It's funny because the coils are only on the left side of my head

 

[kizzylonghair]

I have really enjoyed this thread
There are folks on here claiming to be a 4 (whatever!!) and they are obviously 3(whatever!!)

Don't want to sound mean but do some people do it out of confusion or because of the wider admiration a 4b gets for growing long hair.

I am DEF 4b and it does feel a little more difficult sometimes and scientifally because of the curl pattern it usual is.
I am not not staying that 3 type dont have thier difficulties to....

I enjoy seeing progress on any type of head, nat or relax or type
I just LOVE seeing the great progress on a 4B head as I can totally relate it to mine.

 

[girlcherokee]

ok - the more i read this thread the more confused i am. i'm out - i'm done with hair types.

 

[loshed]

your hair is somewhat like mine. It's a bunch of fuzz with tiny coils mixed in. The coils are extra tiny in the back and then they begin to get bigger as
they go up until the very front of my head where they disapper. It's funny because the coils are only on the left side of my head

Yep, "a bunch of fuzz with tiny coils mixed in." perfectly describes my hair except my loosest coils are in the back they get tighter as you go up until you get to the very front which is still coily but will not stay stretched like the back.

 

[godzooki]

Threads like this just get me all confused...I've just been saying I'm a 4a.

 

[CocoGlow]

I'm 4B but my hair does not look exactly like Nonie's hair when wet either which tells me there is no ONE "true" or "pure" example of 4B hair or any other hair type for that matter. Her coils are very tiny but appear to be visibly clumped from root to ends in the pics below ..

The difference between her texture and what I usually see in 4a hair is the diameter of the coils (4A coils are usually bigger) ... it looks as if maybe 2-4 fine strands are clumping in her hair as opposed to a 4A with possible 5-10 fine strands clumping together forming a larger clumped coil.

MY 4B hair might clump one the very ends in certain sections of my hair but never from root to tip. With MY hair, even if I wet a small section but keep it un-maniplated/un-combed/un-stretched, it does not look like this:

If I look at a few strands of my 4B hair (like I undid a couple of braids here) after washing and without product this is how they look wet:

Then if I don't touch it and let it dry w/o products, it still looks like this:

And then I smoothed S Curl from base to ends and this is how it looked:

To get perspective of how small the curls are, here's another pic:

It doesn't look like those few strands when it's all out. You can get an idea of how those spirals disappear when it's all out when you look at the part on the right where the strands are tightly packed. In this pic, the strands are dry and bare as in the pic before the S Curl one:

BTW, that is the same section which when a few strands were wet, conditioned and finger-combed ie not raked with a comb looked like this:

In both cases, no products were used on the hair after conditioner was rinsed out.

This is MY 4B hair after after I rinsed a twist-out, hence the appearance of some clumped coils on the ends:








See small clumped coils on the ENDS of my Wash n Go in certain sections:






Shrunken Puff:




Chunky Fro:




So while MY 4B hair may not look exactly like Nonie's ( I personally think my hair looks more like Mwedzi's, but not exactly of course!) the many similarities of our hair outweigh the differences so we can all claim 4B. We have the same size coils but varying densities (amount of hairs on the head) amongst other things. And like Nonie and other 4B's with a little manipulation those tiny coils can easily disappear into an afro cloud

 

[CocoGlow]

Oh and about the issue of people claiming 4B when they CLEARLY appear to be another hair type may be a little irritating at first b/c you click on their album expecting to see something that looks like your hair OR you click on their regimen video and see that they can do things w/ their that you can't do with your hair, etc....

BUT you can't really blame THEM for getting it wrong - the hair typing systems are confusing for some people and they are not all inclusive to be honest....so since we are ALL left to assign a number + letter to ourselves based on a blurry example photo and a short description paragraph, it's only natural for some to get it wrong, especially in the beginning!

If someone is ASKING others to tell them their hair type and they think they have a texture other than what they appear to have in the pics, then it's OK to tactfully correct them - but I don't think it's respectful to put someone on BLAST b/c YOU think they put the wrong hair type in their siggy/avatar! Who are we to do that? The hair typing police? And how do you know you're not wrong about your OWN hair type

 

[loved]

Interesting. Bumping. I think I am a Florida Evans 4z. I had to end that transition thing quickly & go with the BC after 4 months.

4z checking in. Yeah, that's right. 4z. This should be our new catagory on the real.

You know you're a 4z when:

• You beg your hair to pleazzzzzzze cooperate if only for a minute!
• You hear "snap, crackle, pop" when you try to run a comb through that new growth
• You flatiron your NG and workout, and it's like you never flatironed at all
• There is no such thing as a wash n' go and never will be such a thing
• There also isn't a such thing as laying down those roots with shea butter and a scarf and getting waves
• If you stretch for longer than 8 weeks, it brings on clinical depression . You get depressed because there just ain't no way in h*ll that your stylist (if you use one) will be able to sort through all of those naps without "snap, crackle, pop" ; and if you self relax, at least one area is guaranteed to come out underprocessed.
• You can go swimming and the middle of your hair will still be DRY (just kidding on this one; D.L. Hugheley mentioned this in one of his stand-ups)

Feel free to add to the list.

 

[palindrome]

I think my hairtype is most akin to naima's on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoM3byK681Y&list=UUJuxOUme2WmuvyCKDKNXeaw&index=9&feature=plcp

it's not the same but it's similar, and she rocks hers so well