Andre Walker, famous hairstylist to Oprah, designed a hair classification system for curly hair types that is used across numerous hair boards and blogs. Knowing your hair type can help you to choose the right styling and hair care options.

Personally, I think some people think this information is more important than it actually is. While knowing my hair type helped some, it hasn’t changed my hair routine by much. Also, it’s vital to understand that one hair type is not better than another. All hair types have disadvantage and advantages. The 4 curly hair types are:

Wavy Hair – Type 2
This hair type refers to hair that forms the shape of an S and sticks close to the head. It has three sub types that detail the texture of the curl. 2a is fine, 2b medium textured, and 2c is coarse.


Type 2a
Type 2b
Type 2c

Curly Hair – Type 3
Hair type that refers to curls that are well defined and springy. This hair type has lots of body and is easy to work with whether its straightened or styled in its natural state. It also has sub types. 3a curls are big and loose, 3b curls are medium and range from medium ringlets to tight corkscrews (sharpie size), and 3c curls are very tight corkscrews (pencil or straw size).


Type 3a
Type 3b
Type 3c

Kinky Hair – Type 4
This hair type refers to hair that is tightly curled with a visible curl pattern. It includes 2 sub classifications. 4a curlies have curls that form an S pattern and 4b curlies have curls that form a Z pattern. You can tell which one you are by pulling out a strand of hair and examining the curl.


Type 4a
Type 4b

In terms of this classification, I have a few types throughout my hair and that is actually very common. I am 3c in the top front, 4a in the middle (this is the majority of my hair) and 4b in the very back left side of my hair. Visit Naturally Curly Hair Types for more about this classification and examples of each hair type.

I find that I found out more useful information by using the old fashioned way of analyzing and learning more about my hair type. This involved understanding the following terms and really thinking about my hair and its behavior. Review How to Analyze Hair for more information on this process.