Is hair meant to feel like this?

[Spongebob]

when i take an individual hair strand, and run my fingers across it, it feels like a bumpy road (for a lack of better terms).

And when I hold the individual hair strand up against the light, I can actually see the strand is thick in some parts, then becomes thin in other parts, and then again thick and so forth. Does anyone know what this means?

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

Congratulations, you have kinky hair. Mine's like that too!

 

[geejay]

I don't know what it means, but that describes some areas of my hair. I would love to know more about it, too.

 

[faithVA]

This is just my guess. To keep it simple I think portions of our hair reflect the condition of our body and scalp at the time the hair is growing in. And sometimes the hair comes in nice and healthy and at other times not so much. And I think if we look at a strand of hair we can see some of this variation.

You wouldn't necessarily see it in every hair strand because parts of our scalp can be healthier than other parts. Like my crown is in bad condition compared to other parts of my scalp. And the hair that grows there reflects the condition of my scalp.

Like I said, just my opinion.

 

[SimJam]

also most persons with kinky hair dont have round (cylindrical) strands but rather flattened or warped looking strands.

 

[YaniraNaturally]

I have strands like that on the sections of my hair that are heat damaged.

 

[manter26]

Sometimes it's just that the individual strand is still twisted. If you take an old school telephone wire and pull it there are still kinks and bends in it unless you un-twirl it. It's the same concept. Pulling a strand and running your fingers over it does not unravel the spiral. If you unraveled it and did the same thing it would feel and look smooth.

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

I think you have to run your two fingers (presumably index and thumb) down the strand very slowly so that the coil can have a chance to truly unravel and smooth out for that moment. When I gently stretch my strand out and smooth it down it feels smooth and uniform save for the strands that have been damaged.

 

[Kn0ttyByNatur3]

Hmmm, I never noticed a difference when I run my fingers down a strand. For the most part, its well proportioned unless I get to a thinning end.



But what faithVA said makes a lot of sense to me on why some strands can be like that.

 

[LunaGorgeous]

Unless it's damaged, this is most likely happening due to the fact that curly hair has a flat ribbon-like shaft, and not a cylindrical shaft like straight hair. So the thick parts you refer to are just the "wide side" of the ribbon. Curling ribbon is the best comparison I can think of, in regards to its behavior, especially when the curl is interrupted and twisted/raveled, creating the illusion/feeling of bumps.

 

[Spongebob]

quite a few people are saying it is damage ow god I know I zoom into the negative but I can't help it. I big chopped in 2009, and ever since have only ever applied heat on it once, and that was only one side of my head, as I immediately regretted it.

My hair doesn't 'look' damaged, but the individual strands are worrying me. The hair is extremely fine, and I suppose that makes them prone to damage. I don't really know what to do with it.

 

[faithVA]

Spongebob[/USER];15500943]quite a few people are saying it is damage ow god I know I zoom into the negative but I can't help it. I big chopped in 2009, and ever since have only ever applied heat on it once, and that was only one side of my head, as I immediately regretted it.

My hair doesn't 'look' damaged, but the individual strands are worrying me. The hair is extremely fine, and I suppose that makes them prone to damage. I don't really know what to do with it.

I don't think you need to worry. If you have a good regimen then stick to that. If you don't work on improving your regimen. Keep your scalp healthy; keep it clean and stimulated (scalp massages) and keep yourself healthy. All that will help the health of your hair.

Improving the health of your hair before it comes out of your head is the best way to have a healthy head of hair. After its out just do the best you can with your hair care regimen.

 

[claud-uk]

kinkycurlygurl got it right - we got kinky hair! I think there are two main types of afro hair: curly/coily and kinky. My hair is not curly. It has no curl pattern, even when wet. It just "sits there"... it looks like the old tape-cassette tape, flat, little bit wide, looks like it's been twisted over and flatironed? Kinky hair. I saw a diagram of a curly hair next to a kinky hair and it was just like mines!

 

[Tiye]

This is normal for tightly coiled African hair. The phone cord analogy above is correct. You can also look up images of Afro-textured hair taken under a microscope online or in textbooks, etc., to verify this.

 

[LynnieB]

I have a mixed texture head of hair (literally) and I absolutely have strands like this and they are healthy. I also have very smooth, wiry strands. They all behave differently and are the reason wngs don't work for me, I always have to either braid or twist to get a uniformed look.

Don't fret!

 

[Ms. Martina]

It's probably just your texture. I have insanely thick strands and my hair feels like that in the cottony areas. The nape of my hair and edges have a "silkier texture" and those strands feel smooth when I rub them. I think the strands might be normal "thickness" in my "silky" patches. So maybe the strand size has something to do with it...idk. The cottony parts are bumpy though.

 

[lustrous]

My hair has ALWAYS been like this. no damage. Just the natural texture. When i flatten it out and look, it's the bend part of each curl that is slightly thicker. Now that I am relaxed, I still see it. No worries.

 

[auparavant]

when i take an individual hair strand, and run my fingers across it, it feels like a bumpy road (for a lack of better terms).

And when I hold the individual hair strand up against the light, I can actually see the strand is thick in some parts, then becomes thin in other parts, and then again thick and so forth. Does anyone know what this means?

That you have 4'ish hair of some sort. Do you use henna? What is your hair type? That could be absolutely normal.