What if you found out everything you knew about your curl pattern and texture were completely off? By now you probably identify your hair as 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c or some combination of the 12 categories. While this system has been around a long time, it does not adequately classify coilier and kinkier hair types.
This chart is usually the first reference guide naturals look to when trying to find products that will work for their hair. The issue with this is that how our hair responds to different products is arguably the least effected by our curl pattern and texture. Our hair's porosity, which we will discuss in the next post, is the most important indicator of what products we should use and what styling methods will work best.
Hint: Any product line geared toward a specific hair type is a complete gimmick. This is why even within the same curl pattern and texture, you can always find one individual a line does work for and one that it does not work for.
What is a curl pattern?
Our curl pattern refers to the look, or pattern, of our hair strands created by chemical and ionic bonds within the cortex of our hair follicles. There are four distinct pattern types the translate from the loosest textures to the tightest.
The Four Curl Patterns
I - This pattern takes on a more straight, or "I," appearance. It is found in naturally straight, looser textured hair, transitioning hair, but can also be a natural hair pattern.
S - This pattern takes on a more wavy to curly, or "S," appearance. It is found in naturally wavy and curly, looser textured hair, transitioning hair, but can also be a natural, tight pattern as well.
O - This pattern takes on a more curly to coily, or "O," appearance. It is found in naturally curly and coily hair and can be loose or tight in texture.
L/Z - This pattern takes on a more kinky, or "L/Z," appearance. It is typically found in naturally kinky hair, but can also be loose or tight in texture.
What is texture?
Texture describes how loosely or tight your curl pattern is packed together. It is a measure of how much shrinkage you experience from stretched to freshly wet curls. Your hair pattern's texture can be described as loose, medium, or tight and can be visibly measured in percentages.
How can you determine your hair's curl pattern?
Pattern Test
Take two strands from different sections of your head-of hair that has not been styled-both stretched and shrunken. Observe each strand and determine which patterns are most dominant by using the I, S, O, L/Z pattern chart above.
How can you determine your texture?
Texture Test
Observe some of your stretched strands from the pattern test. Wet them so that they are able shrink to their tightest potential. Looser strands will remain about the same when wet and are typically easier to separate. Looser textures experience about 0-30% shrinkage. Medium textured hair ranges from 30-60% shrinkage when wet while tighter textures will curl back into each other and experience up to 60-90% shrinkage.
Loose: 0-30% shrinkage
Medium: 30-60% shrinkage
Tight: 60-90% shrinkage
What is your curl pattern and texture? Do you have more than one dominating pattern?
Sources
https://www.sheamoisture.com
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