Now when I first saw this thing, I was like, they have numbers and letters for hair now? Wtf? But once I began to understand it, I see that it does help. Everybody's hair is NOT the same, and everyone's hair does NOT respond the same to every treatment and product. No wonder there's an epidemic among the black/biracial hair community. Women are going crazy, trying to figure out why their hair won't 'act right' and why certain products don't work. We are a colorful people with a wide range of curls, kinks, knots, and coils. We need to figure out how to work with what we have if we're going the all natural way.
As you can see from the chart, number one is the straightest type of hair, basically Caucasian hair. The last strip is the kinkiest, coiliest hair that's on the face of this earth, 4B. That's what people call straight African hair, the hair people think won't respond to anything at all and needs to be 'tamed' with relaxers. This is what people call 'bad hair'. But there is no such thing as BAD hair. All hair is GOOD and CAN be tamed naturally, contrary to popular belief. That's only if you know what you're doing, though. Even Afro-textured hair can be tamed and grown to great lengths, as I have seen on YouTube time and time again.
So here's our classic hair type chart. Ladies, the only true way that you will know your hair type is if you are already all natural, or have been on your way for quite some time. If you're still relaxing at the moment, your hair is still chemically straightened and determining your true hair type isn't going to come for some time. I've seen women who have only skipped two perms, and they're already asking what hair type they are. Sorry, honey, it's going to take more time than that for your new growth to fully emerge. You're going to be stuck with half, curly, half straight hair and you won't know what's what.
What type is my hair, you may ask? Um, I believe that my hair is 3B with some 4A mixed in. Yes, there is such a thing as having two textures. That is possible. Your hair can have several textures, actually. My hair is more curly and silky in the front than it is in the back, so I believe that I have two textures. I can only determine that because my hair has been perm free since April 2009. So basically, three years now of trying to figure out my hair, and I'm still working on it now. I'll go more in detail with that another time.
Since my 3 year old daughter Syriah will be pretty much be the star of this blog, you'll be seeing her hair a lot. Her hair is even more silky than mine, thanks to me and her daddy's genes. My husband and I both come from families with what people stereotype as 'good hair', so you can imagine what that's like. Our mothers, fathers, and certain grandparents as well. But we are all straight black.
Another stereotype that needs to hit the fan and blow away completely is the thing that just because you have long hair or silky hair, you're mixed with something. No, sir-ee. That's not necessarily the case. We all know that every one of us are mixed with something down the line, but if your immediate families are all black., then you're not really mixed. Stop trying to show off what's already evident.
Syriah's hair type is in the 3A-3B range. Incredibly curly, long, silky, soft, responds well to water, holds moisture well, has minimal shrinkage, shines like glitter when taken care of. I love experimenting with her hair, and I'm going to continue to experiment with it. I have never used a perm on her, and I don't ever plan on it. I have straightened her hair twice in her lifetime, and that was only to trim the ends and do a growth check. I was very careful and the results were awesome. I'm no longer a fan of heat on hair; it's one of the many things that damage our hair. Oh, and the little boy next to her is my fat head son, Jamian. They have the same texture of hair.
Well, that's basically all I'm going to say for now about our hair types. If your daughter's hair is currently in transition from perms, you might be able to determine her hair type, depending on how long she's gone without getting her hair straightened at all. Her hair has to be wet and free from all product to see the new growth. If you don't have a clue as to where to start with this, you can like this blog on Facebook, upload your pictures there, and I'll try to help you out. Remember, I'm no professional. I can only advise what I know.
Peace out until later, curly mamas!
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