I give up.
Now I am a type 5, medium... and I can't ponytail myself, but wouldn't someone with natural hair automatically have a fuller ponytail than someone with straight or relaxed hair?
I agree. I was following her on everything else. But when she showed pics of straight-haired ponytails and used those dimensions to describe density, she lost me. Obviously the measurements for straight-haired ponytails would be a lot smaller than kinky/nappy ones...
Any-hoo. This article was very informative and comforting other than that. I had always suspected that there was more to it than simple curl shape. Now its confirmed that one also has to account for density/concentration (number of strands per square centimeter), and strand width. I BCd my 10 yr old dreds big time about a year ago and maintained the style throughout that time. I mean I've kept it SHORT (no more than a centimeter). Now I'm growing it out (since April 1). During that time though, I realized that, not only is my hair thin in terms of strand diameter, but, in certain places, there aren't many hairs per square centimeter (ie when short u can see scalp). My barber assured me that I'm not balding. That's just how my hair grows (needless to say, I couldn't do those pretty fades that some women do)...It was only noticable when it was first cut (and only slightly since I wasn't fading it). When it grows out just a bit, the curls hide my scalp.
So again, this was a better, much more detailed analysis. Looks like I'm a 5b (I think--mind you, it's short and it's been a while) with fine/thin hair diameter/width and low density/number of hairs per sq centimeter (I know this b/c of my short hair experience mentioned above NOT the ponytail test)....The cool thing is that, as a result, it's naturally fluffy and soft for its curl pattern ('nappy') without much fuss in terms of type of conditioner I use. It sounds like it's going to be REALLY fragile once it grows out though...I wonder if I should worry more about moisture or protein when it gets longer....I vaguely remember a protein DC rubbing me the wrong way 14 years ago back when I had a texturizer (my hair hardened). That doesn't bode well for my natural hair...But then again, I haven't had loose (non-dreded), 'long' (4+ in) NATURAL natural hair to play with for
19 years (I'm 31)! Wow! Barely remember...Can't wait!
Thanks OP!
Peace.