Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tightly Coiled & Kinky Hair Information--3C thru 4C Hair


Information regarding type 4A thru 4C hair seems to be the most popular on this page. I have looked at other websites and webpages and have come up with additional information for this type of hair. I took information from naturallycurly.com, which is a good website for all types of hair. They have numerous pages filled with all kinds of information about products that work, in their opinion, and products that don't. I still believe you have to try out products for your own hair, because what may work beautifully for one head may not work on your head. In my opinion, hair can be very unforgiving. Too much shampooing, not enough shampooing, too much conditioning or not enough conditioning can have deleterious effects on your hair. And sometimes you can take what you feel is the best care of your hair, only to still end up with damaged and/or unruly "bad" hair days, weeks & months. To look at type 4 hair, you would be led to believe that it is strong and can withstand whatever you would do to it. But because type 4 hair is so fragile, it needs the most moisture of any other type of hair and needs to be handled with care. So without further adieu, below is some good information I got from the web and I hope you will find it of further help:

Type 4: Kinky hair
If your hair falls into the Type 4 category, then it is kinky, or very tightly curled. Generally, Type 4 hair is very wiry, very tightly coiled and very, very fragile. Like Type 3 hair, Type 4 hair appears to be coarse, but it is actually quite fine, with lots and lots of thin strands densely packed together. Healthy Type 4 hair won't shine, but it will have sheen. It will be soft to the touch and will pass the strand test with ease. It will feel more silky than it will look shiny. Oprah, Whoopi Goldberg and the actress Angela Bassett are all Type 4s.

Type 4 hairs looks tough and durable, but looks can be deceiving. If you have Type 4 hair, you already know that it is the most fragile hair around. Why? Type 4 hair has fewer cuticle layers than any other hair type, which means that it has less natural protection from the damage you inflict by combing, brushing, curling, blow-drying and straightening it. The more cuticle layers in a single strand of hair, the more protection it has from damage. Each time you damage your hair — fire up the curling iron, fry it with chemicals – you break down a cuticle layer, robbing your hair of much-needed moisture. I cannot emphasize this enough. It's like taking a wire and bending it again and again. Eventually, it's going to snap and break.

Many women with Type 4 hair rely on chemical relaxers to make hair easier to control. In its natural states, sometimes Type 4 hair doesn't grow very long because every time you comb it, it breaks. (Of course, if you have dreadlocks and never comb them or keep them braided, your hair can and does grow quite long.)

There are two subtypes of Type 4 hair: Type 4A, tightly coiled hair that, when stretched, has an "S" pattern, much like curly hair; and Type 4B, which has a "Z" pattern, less of a defined curl pattern (instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter "Z"). Type 4A tends to have more moisture than Type 4B, which will have a wiry texture. But what if your hair has been chemically straightened? How can you tell which subtype you belong to if your hair is relaxed? You'll need at least one inch of new growth to tell. Pull at the roots. If you can see a definite curl pattern, then it's an A, if not, then it's a B.

Type 4 hair can range from fine/thin to wiry/coarse strand texture. Generally, this hair is densely packed to give the appearance of very thick but fragile hair. 4a hair has a clearly visible curl and wave pattern that ranges from pen size curls to pen spring size coils. 4b hair has a tighter wave pattern and kinks of various size. This texture does not exhibit the shine or silkiness of looser type curls, but instead has sheen, and a soft, almost cotton-like feel. As with other types of curly hair, showing the true length can be an extra challenge, as the hair may grow “up” or “out” before starting to hang down. In its unlocked/unbraided state, type 4 hair is known to shrink up to 75% of the actual hair length. With the proper care and technique, type 4 hair is indeed resilient, manageable, durable, growable and easy to control.

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9 comments:

jazzy1224 said...

so your saying type 4c hair can't grow? because my hair is 4c and with a combination of protective styling and moisture as well as low manipulation styles my hair has grown pretty quickly in the past nine months i've been natural

NAPCILY said...

@jazzy1224. The information I provided is what I have pulled from various websites & pages. I never said that type 4c hair cannot grow, but that it is fragile and needs to handled with care. Any type of hair can grow as long as it is cared for properly.

Iloveme said...

Thank you for your help! I wish this information would have been around when I was much younger.

amija said...

Maybe you should've edited the part about the hair not growing. Some with have the most beautiful thick head of hair you could ever see. I think we have to be careful about some of the "thinks" we have about type hair.

myhair4c said...

4c hair grows but it requires care, I've had natural hair for 15 years and my hair type is 4c, if I don't care for my hair the ends break very easily, a vitamin that really works for my hair is nutrilite hair skin and nails, its excellent and stops my ends form breaking.

Jerry Kim said...

Hello. Went bald approximately 1.5 years ago and I am learning to work with the texture of my 4b/4c hair and because I have had relaxer since I was very young I am finding I am having to relearn my hair...so at the moment my hair has very thick, bushy ends and am wondering whether this is because I need to trim my hair or whether this is just the nature of my hair. When I comb from the root down to the middle the thickness is uniform and then when I reach the ends I get this bulbous bush at the end that is difficult for the comb to get through.

Anonymous said...

Great information

Anonymous said...

@jerry kim....you should detangle your hair when its wet and has a lot of conditioner in it from ENDS to root. Otherwise you'll create microscopic tears in the shaft which will result in breakage.

Desi said...

I'm natural as well and after reading Im the same type as you. what type of hair product do you use and what Di you use to keep your hair moisturized?