Thank you so much for this article. I was having the same problem with using lois and andre walker hair type. My next wash I will diffently determine my hair type and degree. One thing that surprised me of how fine my hair is !! LOL No matter how gentle I am with my hair it tends to break everytime. :( The search is on for that problem but this made it more clear. :)

Very wonderful, thorough, helpful and informative article! Great job!

Excellent Overview and Breakdown....Thank you for catagorizing this with such easily understood terms!!

There isn't any difference between Kinky and Nappy. Kinky means Nappy they're synonyms. What's described as Type 5 is known as CNapps. Other than that, very detailed and well stated. Kudos.

@nappymoonlight, I hate that some women stride the fence of wanting Natural Black Hair to be accepted and understood by the mainstream but invariably fight against mainstreaming efforts by using ridiculous words. There IS a difference between Nappy and Kinky hair. If you Nappy, there ain't no reason to get defensive by trying to lump yourself in with Kinky :-P I got Nappy hair too girl. We gone be ok. Nappy hair is different and unique and the products for Nappy hair are different from Kinky hair. You can fake the funk if you want but don't trivialize a good article with little words [SNIP by admin]. If it makes you feel better by calling it some stupid name, go right ahead but Type 4 and 5 are different. I'm NappyAndProud! Now somebody tell me what to use to keep my kookoobugs in check!

Oh yeah! If you want good, honest truth, check out my blog... [blog ref deleted by admin - Justice you should know better use the listings!. But you can read some of Justice's blogging at http://fromgrandmaskitchen.com/boilingpoint]

great article but it does makes me doubt what i have always know which is that i have type 4 hair. my hair is visably curly pretty much all the time..maybe except when extremly dry. i dont need product to make my coils visable to the naked eye but its just the size. i cannot except my small coils Are not in the 4 range no matter how easy they are to see. maybe i'm just stuck in my old ways. i really liked all the info though.

@sapphire ~ Under LOIS, you are a type 4. Under this system, it sounds like you're Type 3C. Type 3 is for people who have "curl discernment" without product. My grandbaby has Type 3C hair. My daughter is Type 4A. I did my daughter's hair when she was little and now I do my grandbaby's. My grandbaby's hair is curly no matter what (frizzy but curly) and I think that's why she is Curly not Kinky. The reason why you're in a different category is that some of the products you use to get curly hair won't work on other types and vice versa. I think, and this is just MHO, hair typing is only the start. The next part will be figuring out what products work on what type.

Thank you for the kind reviews :) Given how long this article is, I appreciate everyone taking the time to read it through. I've reflected on what I wrote and I don't want people to think this is an article promoting curly hair. There's an inherent understanding that I didn't discuss as much. What if you want the opposite of what your hair does naturally? If you're Type 1-2 and you want temp curly hair, rod sets are the first go-to but for most women with ultra-straight hair, you will have difficulty holding a curl and by the end of the day, what once was curly, isn't anymore. If you want curly hair all day, everyday without the fuss, you'll most likely have to perm. If you're type 3 and want temp straight hair, you can flat iron. If you want it all day everyday, a hair straighter/relaxer. If you're type 4, for temps you can hot comb, flat-irons don't always work on your type and result in a very light press that will revert more readily in humid weather. For permanent, relax. Type 5, for temp you can hot comb but like Type 1, you're on the end of the spectrum. Hot combing SOME Type 5's doesn't produce great results. Some Type 5's will not want to risk ultra high heat to get their edges in particular straight. In this case, if straight hair is desired everyday, all day, like Type 1 you'll have to go the chemical route and do the opposite of a perm...relax. On the flip, if you want hair that has curl discernment all day, everyday, texturize.

Naanis, I don't believe you listed the letters for hair volume. I saw that you used "K" for yourself, but I don't believe you listed them in the article. Unless I missed it.

@ ms_twana, tu as raison! the hair volume letters are as follows (and has been updated in the article). Thin (T), Normal (N) and Thick (K).

Thanks Naanis. I'll update my signature because I'll be using your system from now on!! : )

Very Informative

I'm so glad you took the time to do this! I'll be using this from now on and will put it in my signature on the hair boards!! Thank you so much!

Great article my only thing is with the kinky hair "mimicking" the curl hair. I know Plenty of "curly haired girls were if you were to pick there hair their hair would resemble what you call a kinky haired girl. Hmmm...I also know that everyones hair is different Im sure not every girl type 3 haired girls with larger curls who's hair you consider curly hair readily goes into a curl without product while their are some type 4 girls with smaller curls whos hair readily forms curls without product. I think a persons hair Clumpability should be considered just because u have a certain texture of hair doesn't mean it will form into a clump more easily or less easily. Also kinky hair is curly hair the curls are much smaller but they are curls, if the hair is already curlyit cannot mimick curly hair.

An excellent article,but I still have my doubts about the value of hair typing as far as products go. According to this system I have mostly fine,kinky,thick 4a hair with some kind of 3c patch in mid nape. HOWEVER ! Super curly hair : from 3c to nappy 5c has an EXTREME amount of variance in curl size,behavior & texture from one head to another & some products recommended for those hair types do not work on all folks with those hair types. You can have two type 4 sisters in a family & they look just the same & can be classified the same,say 4a, but they can't use the same products & may find that products for other hair types work better. I feel that the main value of hair typing is to teach people about the general structure , characteristics, & behavior of their hair so they can make informed decisions about products. Message boards are filled with folks trying different products with varying degrees of success & some products may be horrible today,but if you try them in a few weeks or months down the road,they work just fine. I have yet to see an explanation for THAT.I tried Kinky Curly Knot Today last month & it was catastrophic. Made my hair hard, wiry, & EXTREMELY shrunken up so bad I had to re wash it & do a hot oil treatment & deep condition before I could get a comb thru it. Kinky Curly custard works wonderfully on my hair if used alone. Now LOTS of type 4a -5 folks just LOVE Knot Today & couldn't understand what happened with me.I hadn't done anything different thatn my usual.I may try it again in several months to see if it's still horrid. Isn't curly hair fascinating??? Even in the old anti-kinky hair days when I was a kid I never really wanted straight hair because I thought it was kinda boring. I always thought curly hair had more PERSONALITY !

Great article but I still don't know my hair type! Here's the description: Course (large strand) all over; Normal volume; Wets easily around edges, but soaks up water in the center; Hangs heavily when fully wet; dries with hardly any shrinkage--sort of expands out like an umbrella; No distinct curl pattern, but strands form widely spaced, non-uniform angles; Very shiny when wet, moreso sheeny when dry but shines when pulled taut; Dries almost straight but not silky; Grows fast; Charcoal black color; curl enhancing products weigh it down making it more straight. Does anyone have hair like mine???? :)