This comes up on a regular basis, and since Fia's system seems to be the most popular (and easiest to determine) one in the hairBoard world, I wanted to make a note of it here, so that next time, I won't have to do a mad google to find it.
It always sort of bothers me when people combine strand thickness and hair thickness into one 'heap' - and that might be because of my history with hair dressers telling me my hair was 'coarse' when it's actually fine and wiry.
Hrm. I might actually go over the whole hair 'typing' thing - not talking the usual 1a-4b typing (or curl typing, as I like to call it, as that's ALL Andre's system is referencing, which makes it only partially useful for determining what your hair does and does not like).
So. There are four major components to describing your hair's appearance, and then there are 2 additionals that describe your hair's actual properties.
1) Curl Type
2) Strand Texture
3) Strand Thickness
4) Hair Density
5) Moisture/Porosity
6) Scalp Type
Yeah, this is the Kiya System, composed of bits and pieces of others.
1) Curl Type
Starting with curl type - the main one that people think of when the question is posed - what's your hair type? The most often used system is Andre's, that goes from no curl/wave at all, to intense curliness/waviness. Starting from 1a - stick straight hair, it goes to 4b - kinky curly hair with no set pattern. The full range is: 1a/1b/2a/2b/3a/3b/4a/4b. Some people (I think this started over on naturallycurly.com) have added a 3c as well.
There is also the LOIS system, which is less frequently used, but still breaks down into four distinct categorites.
L - The hair has all bends, right angles and folds with little to no curve
O - The strand is rolled up into the shape of one or several zeros like a spiral
I - The hair lies mostly flat with no distinctive curve or bend
S - The strand looks like a wavy line with hills and valleys.
1's would be mostly I, 2's would be mostly S, 3's would be mostly O, and 4's would be mostly L - and each individual head could obviously have multiple curl types, no matter which system you opt to use to analyze/define them.
I believe that your curl type's MAIN usefulness comes in determing what hair styles your natural hair CAN do without causing both you & your hair misery. A 1a trying to get an afro is doomed to a lot of heat, hairspray, chemicals and frustration. A 4b trying to get stick straight hair is doomed to a lot of heat, serums, chemicals, and frustration. It is how it is, when you try to buck Ma Nature. Products, on the otherhand, transcend curl type - excluding, obviously, styling products.
2) Strand Texture
Next, we move to strand texture. This one is interesting for me, personally, as my strand texture has CHANGED as my hair has gotten healthier. LOIS is the only system that I know of that has a listing of various textures - in my mind, there are mainly three: Silky, Average, Wiry. LOIS has five, but they incorporate porosity as well, and I think that makes them a little less flexible. Excluding the porosity assumptions, here are the LOIS textures:
Wiry - Hair has a sparkly sheen, with low shine and low frizz.
Spongy - Hair has a high sheen with low shine with a compacted looking frizz.
Silky - Hair has low sheen, a very high shine, with a lot or low frizz.
Cottony - Hair has a low sheen, a high shine if the hair is held taunt and has high frizz.
Thready - Hair as a low sheen, with high shine if the hair is held taut, with low frizz.
Texture, obviously, influnces how your hair looks - silky hair is going to tend to be shinier and smoother looking than cottony hair. Cottony hair will tend to look dry if it's not pulled tight, because of the low sheen, whether it actually is dry or not.
3) Strand Thickness
Ahhh, this one and the next one are what started me on this overall, as people tend to mix them up, so very, very often. The individual strands of hair on your head tend to fall into one of three groups - though, most people tend to have random hairs that are entirely different from their majority hair.
Fine - Thin strands that sometimes are almost translucent when held up to the light. Shed strands can be hard to see even against a contrasting background. You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Fine hair is difficult to feel or it feels like an ultra-fine strand of silk
Medium - Strands are neither fine nor coarse. You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Medium hair feels like a cotton thread. You can feel it, but it isn't stiff or rough. It is neither fine or coarse.
Coarse - Thick strands that where shed strands usually are easily identified against most backgrounds. You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Coarse hair feels hard and wiry. As you roll it back and forth, you may actually hear it.
I actually have all three kinds of hair - my hairline, all the way around, is fine. The majority of my head is medium, but occasionally I'll find these coarse monster hairs that are about 3 times the size of a fine hair. Those hairs also tend to break the most, for me - I assume that my strengthening habits over strengthen those hairs, and they simply get too brittle to survive.
4) Hair Density
When people say - Girl, you got some THICK hair - they are usually actually talking about the density - or the number of hairs you have growing from your scalp. The range is from 80,000 hairs (or follicles) to 140,000 hairs. It can be broken down (on average) by hair color, as well - redheads tend to have about 90,000 scalp hair follicles. Black hair tends to be around 108,000, while brown and blonde haired people can have up to 140,000, and ethnicity also affects the hair density, with people of African & Asian descent on average having the sparest density, and people of Caucasian descent having slightly more.
The 'classic' method of determining your hair density is the simplest of the measurements, as all it requires is hair long enough to put in a ponytail, and a measuring tape. You simply have to measure the circumference of the ponytail. If you have bangs and/or you can't get all of your hair in there adjust according to how much of your hair you have measured.
To measure the circumference - take a piece of string, or a soft tape measure (the kind used by dressmakers). Wrap the string or tape measure around your ponytail - just below the elastic you have in to hold the ponytail together. Read the corresponding number from the tape measure, or hold the string at the length you've measured and use a ruler to determine how much it is. The number given is the circumference of your ponytail.
i - thin (less than 2 inches/5 centimeters)
ii - normal (between 2-4 inches or 5-10 centimeters)
iii - thick (more than 4 inches/10 centimeters)
Very simple, eh? I can't wait til I have enough hair to actually ponytail - I suspect it will compress down to about a ii - but I'm hoping for iii - there is something so wonderous and amazing about long, natural, THICK hair.
5) Moisture/Porousity
These last two are - add-ons, that I think will be VERY helpful for people who are trying to determine a regimen, or even looking for a hairtwin - having the same curl pattern isn't going to help determine if that DC will REALLY work for you, if your hair has entirely different moisture requirements than the person that is offering the recommendation.
I associate moisture and porousity, because in my head they are inescapably linked. Porousity is determined by how 'lifted' your cuticles are - the more lifted they are, the easier they release moisture, and the more closed they are, the harder it is to moisturize - but once it's done, it'll hold onto it for a while.
Chemically processed/damaged hair is usually highly porous, because the chemical processes almost always lifts the cuticle layer. The hair of people of African descent also tends to be pretty porous due to the natural curl, as cuticles don't curl. So, at each bend and angle, the cuticle has a chance to 'lift' slightly.
So, my simple list is just Porous, Normal, Resistant. LOIS assosiated some moisture guidelines around the texture types, and those break down (to me) as follows:
Porous: Wets easily but water dries out quickly
Normal: Absorbs water quickly but does not get thoroughly wet very fast.
Resistant: Hair never seems to get fully wet, but once wet, dries slowly.
There are ways to convince your cuticle to lay down more if it's too porous, and I think that systemic deep moisturizing of your hair can 'improve' the porousity if it's highly resistant - but that's just me talking, there.
6) Scalp Type
And finally, the scalp. The oft-ignored (unless it's causing issues) rootbed of hair. Quite simply, there's Dry, Normal, and Oily - just like the skin on the rest of your body. Dry scalps tend to be pretty fickle about what's used on them, normal scalps can go with the flow, and oily ones - well, I personally think that most oily scalps are caused (ironically enough) by either hormones or over use of shampoo, but that's a whole nother blog.
So, taking all that into account, my 'full' hair type is as follows:
4b/LO, Cottony, Medium, ii, Resistant, Normal.
That's a WHOLE lot more information than just 4b, isn't it? And the next 4b, she's got FIVE ways in which her hair could be totally different than mine - really helps clarify all of the wonderous variety of hair, and why what works fabulously on one head might fail miserably on the next.
Hair Typing - Kiya Style!
Ahhh, Summer!
I know, I know!!! 17 days, I think that's a record for me in not posting.
*sigh* I don't have much to post about though! I'm a crazy poster when I'm in the midst of a PJfest, or when my hair is giving me problems. Otherwise - well, I'm very much a no news is good news kinda blogger.
I've made it through the month of May, and I haven't brought a SINGLE thing for my hair. It's coming up on June though, and I'm working on my wish list of products, which are as follows:
Premier Cream Rinse (restock)
Eqyss Survivor Detangler (new)
Silk Amino Acids (restock)
pH testing strips (2.0 to 9.0) (new)
Honey (restock)
Molasses (restock(
Ouchless Bands (I'm popping and/or loosing them!) (restock)
I'm head-over-heels for the Cream Rinse - it's currently my favorite detangler - I used it this morning to soften my ends - and it's some AMAZING stuff. My hair feels totally different - moist, soft and smooth after using it - so I ordered 6 more bottles of it. *lol* I use it quickly, and I like to add a little to my DC's, so that seems perfectly reasonable....to me, at least.
I've heard several raves about the Detangler, and so I figured I would try a bottle of it. Worst comes to worst, I won't like it, and it'll join the AfroDetangler in the home of second string products that will be used - eventually.
I'm getting the 16oz bottle of SAA - I've got a little less than half a bottle of it left, right now, and I know that I'll be going through that - it's an essential, at this point.
The pH testing strips, I've been muttering about getting for a while. Having re-read the wonderful Nexxus site about the pH of hair I've decided that I definitely need to look at the pH of my leave-in's, and try to insure that they are around 4.7-5.3 or so - that, I think, will keep my hair even happier than it is now, esp. as I start to manipulate it more.
Yeah, I'm thinking I'm going to have to - so soon, too! - let go of the strict 2 week 'out' hair routine. My hair - it's not really digging it anymore.
Between the increase in temps, and the build-up from the MT, and my regular exercise - I'm DC'ing & washing my hair at least once during the week - I HAVE to in order to not have icky hair. However, that is also causing my twists to become EXCEPTIONALLY frizzy, and while I do embrace the frizzies - they are stepping over the line.
I think that I also have a pretty good halo working, too, which sooooo does not help.
So. I'm going to be redoing/washing my hair every weekend, again - but I will NOT be doing 2ST every weekend - that's just not happening, because it takes up WAY too much time. Just - too, too much time.
Last week, I had flat twists in the front (6 or 7 of them) and two strand twists in the back - that worked out pretty well too, as the front was easy to take down, lightly detangle, and redo in a matter of minutes. The back, though, still - frizz city - even though, by virtue of it being ON the back, I didn't have to look at it as much.
Right now, I'm rocking two flat twists down either side of my head - I didn't get a chance (and didn't really feel like) doing my hair up proper, so this is my version of a ponytail, really - which, speaking of, I STILL cannot do. *sigh*
I want something easy to refresh, long lasting, and allows me access to my scalp to continue applying the MT. If I wasn't so danggone picky (and cheap) I would get braids, but I can feel my hairline revolting at the thought.
I'm thinking I might start doing my hair in the mirror more, and that will give me the ability to do more complex 'looking' styles, that are actually pretty darn simple. I think, maybe flat twists going east to west, and joined down one side? Hrm, I don't know.
Heck, I was even kicking around the thought of a phony puff, but - meh - not really me.
*sigh* I can't WAIT til my hair is long enough to just slap in a bun and be done with.
In other shocking news - I'm considering putting the henna to the side, for a while. I know, I know, it's shocking beyond belief - but - I don't know. My hair - it's healthy enough (finally!) to not need the strengthening aspects of henna. I'm not going to be a redhead using the natural stuff (yeah, I finally gave on that one, too), and with the MT, I don't really need the extra protein like action.
Plus, I'm almost out of henna.
I don't know. It's interesting - henna was really my first step on this hair care pathway, and to let it go is - well, I don't want to call it a turning point, because I plan on keeping on keeping on - but it's definitely a pretty - a pretty big decision.
It started with not really wanting to henna on top of already perfectly proteinated hair. Then, after stumbling across a thread on TLHC, I started thinking about maybe, just possibly, going virgin, again. It's been a very, very, very long time since I've had virgin hair - well over 10 years now, I think - and - I'm kinda curious, honestly. I know that the henna has weighed down my hair some - though, at this point it's own weight might be making the most difference - and I REALLY don't want to loose any more of my kink, and I know as it gets longer, it's going to get looser, as well.
I dunno. I suspect I might give it up via simply neglecting to use it again. I think my last henna was - over two months ago now, maybe in late March? I'll have to look back, and see. Mrrr. We'll see, if I use it again.
See, this is the other danger of not posting in a while - I come back, and I get all rambly & stuff.
I've been lurking on NP lately (I've been boooorrrrreeeeddd) and I've noticed a meme going around about naturals not being able to get past certain lengths - 6-7 inches is the first one I've noticed (which is about shoulder length, stretched) and 14 inches being the other (which I think is about BSL, stretched), and I'm wondering how that came to be. *sigh*
I'm always suspicious of any 'blanket' statement about what is and is not achievable for your hair based on texture. I'm becoming more and more - convinced - that texture (and here, I'm talking strictly wave/curl pattern) only really matters when it comes to the styles that your hair will be able to achieve. It's funny - there is a thread on TLHC about what direction your curls turn, and in the thread, one of the 2a's described her curls the EXACT same way I would describe mine - spiral one direction, straight section, wavy section, s waves, and spiral the other direction to the end. Yeah, my spirals might accomplish all of that in 2 inches, and hers might take 12 to pull it all off - but scale aside - our hair acts remarkably the same. *sigh*
Speaking of length, I have one twist (back, middle) that hangs out 4 inches down onto my back, and the rest at my napeline are all at least over my shoulders. If I wanted to, I think I could claim shoulder-length stretched now, but I'm not gonna. I think I'll be comfy claiming shoulder by Dec or so - I'm really excited to see what it looks like by then! Maybe I'll actually be able to make a ponytail with my WHOLE head at once by then. I can do a double pony now - half on top, half on the back, and even the top one, my front hairline hairs (the halo) isn't quite long enough to get caught up with the rest......but it's getting there.
Hrm.
I think that's everything.
I'll have more pictures, as I start experimenting with styles.
And I'll definitely post a review of the Detangler, too.
Tsk, tsk....
Almost two weeks! I think that I need to write here more, as it keeps me on the straigt(er) and narrow of proper hair care.
Let's see. What have I been up to, hair wise?
I put in the small two strand twists so that I could do the comparison pics two weeks ago, and last weekend, I took them down, and re-did them, MUCH larger. Ah, that felt so much better - and it looked neater.
I kinda skipped/skimped on the MT all of last week though - I was feeling a little guilty about having taken my hair down early (esp. once I saw a return of the tiny broken ends! *weep*), so I didn't take my updo but once all week - Wed. when I did my midweekly DC. I joined a 2x a week DC challenge on LHCF, and I'm glad, because I think that this might be exactly what my hair needs in order to overcome the additional proteination of the MT.
Speaking of MT - I don't know. It's weird - I can TELL my hair is getting longer. I can - it's fuller, it hangs differently, I'm suddenly able to do various 'looser' styles. But. When I pull down my little 'hairline' measuring braid - I get NOTHING. NOTHING. It hasn't grown a bit. But! I can tell that my crown layers are growing - it's almost like my hair is - growing blunt? I don't know. It's weird. And I'm puzzled by it. I'm not complaining, as it's obviously growing - I need to take a picture, or two, and maybe that will help me puzzle it out.
I did a clarifying DC on my hair yesterday, and my hair feels so soft and strong - it's amazing! And I'm so excited by my shed hairs - that's another thing! My sheds are DISTINCTLY longer. I'm talking, twining around my fingers a couple of times, stretch, stretch, and wow, still more hair there to stretch - and it's STRONG. It's - amazing.
I still don't think my hair is 'moist' enough to handle a henna - much less a henna, followed by almost daily MT applications. So, I'm totally skipping the henna this cycle. I'm going to try the Caramel/ThickIt2 thingy again today, and then - some really big two strand twists, and I'll keep up the Wed/Sat DC treatment for this full cycle, and then, do my usual henna in two months - I think that my hair will be plenty moist enough to handle it by then.
I've also joined a 'Buy Nothing for May' challenge - which is - interesting, and amusing, as I realize all of the things I could buy, but won't. I actually don't think that I need anything - and I really do mean ANYTHING - else for at least another 2 or 3 months. Oh, I might need some more Cloud Nine, but other than that - I should be just fine.
*yawn* Yeah, I've gotten boring again with my hair. Which, is usually a good thing, as that means my regimen is coasting along, and I don't really need to analyze much, because I've already done the hard work up front.
The only thing that I'll be experimenting with now are some hair styles. :) I was playing with my hair today, and came up with something very CrazyCoil like.... I'm trying to figure out if I can wear my hair up, stretched, and not in two strand twists. If I can, it will make my hair sessions much shorter - because it'll take a lot less time for me to put a style in/take a style down. My only concern would be whether that would be too much manipulation for my hair. Hrm, hrm, I'll have to see. At least one good thing is that if I decide in the middle of the week that it IS too much manipulation, it'll be easy to put it into two strand twists. *sigh* I would be disappointed, because that would put a serious damper on my future style intentions.
I think as long as I could keep my ends properly moisturized, I'd be fine.
Hrm.
I'm in a mood to mix up some stuff.
More later, perhaps.