PDA

View Full Version : Hair typing?



Anwen
January 22nd, 2013, 02:02 AM
Sorry for the iffy photo (and I hope the link works...) I'm struggling with hair typing. Generally if I completely leave my hair alone when it's air drying, it dries a bit like this, or maybe with a tiny bit more wave: https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/550042_10152445164585165_1621611280_n.jpg

The ends are a bit knackered from over-bleaching last summer, or I think there'd probably be a bit more of a wave/flick roughly even with my chin...

Anwen
January 22nd, 2013, 02:03 AM
(I'm also not really sure about the texture, I tend to think of it as quite fine/thin, but it's not really especially translucent. It does tend to sort of stick together even when it's clean, it's not really swishy like some people's hair.)

Anwen
January 22nd, 2013, 06:46 AM
Sorry to keep replying to myself, can't seem to edit - I was also wondering whether it'd be possible to trim my own hair, or if it's too short? I can get it in two bunches, but the ends of them are pretty pointy.

torrilin
January 22nd, 2013, 07:51 AM
The picture is clear enough to rule out type 4 and type 1. You're not a super curly, and you're not a straightie. Like a lot of folks, you're somewhere in that 2b to 3a range where it's not real obvious whether you've got loose curls or kind of tight waves, and the best thing to do for now is to experiment with curly hair care methods to figure out whether you find them helpful. As you experiment, it'll become clearer whether your hair is fond of being full of corkscrews or not.

As far as trimming it yourself goes... a lot depends on your desired look. This forum tends towards people who favor long over a razor sharp blunt hemline, and who favor the razor sharp blunt hemline over a fashion forward cut. If you're looking to learn to do trims to keep split ends at bay and your hemline reasonably neat, there are tutorials, but for fancier stuff it's definitely learn as you go. And if you want to grow out your current cut and keep it looking fashionable while you do... self trimming is probably not the way to go unless you're in beauty school :).

If you don't handle a lot of other people's hair, you're probably best off typing your texture as M. It may not be right, but it's usual for the first few stabs at your hair type to be off. Heck, it's even pretty common for people to get their thickness wrong, and that's a simple measurement. A lot of ladies with a 3" ponytail are *sure* that their hair is terribly thin, so they tend to type themselves as a i/ii. Really a 3" ponytail is a solid ii, so while it may *look* thinner than a lot of other hair, looks are pretty deceiving. A lot of the common wisdom about how hair works is really off anyway, so it's not necessarily better to have really thick or really fine hair.

Anwen
January 22nd, 2013, 04:11 PM
Thanks, that's really helpful! I'm not really fussed about trendy, but my hair does have a tendency to look straggly quite easily (the whole sticking-to-itself thing, I think - even when it's clean it's very, um, cohesive?) so I'm vaguely thinking a trim would help a little... Maybe not, though.

torrilin
January 22nd, 2013, 09:05 PM
Well, thing is that clumping that you're grumping about is a *good* thing on curly hair. Clumps that stick together tidily make for really pretty curls. This is part of why experimenting with curl friendly hair care is a good thing :). Curl friendly methods will encourage the clumps, and encourage curls to form and be bouncy and have volume. If you look at threads discussing curly, wavy and wurly hair, you can find lots of pictures illustrating this.

It can wind up looking fairly stupid tho if your hair is cut as if it's straight. While my hair isn't perfectly straight as a 1c, it's straight enough and has a very even and uniform S wave pattern, so the usual sort of straightie focused cutting methods aren't a problem for me. But if my 3a sister in law wants to wear her hair curly, she has to go to a stylist who actually cares about curly hair. Otherwise a cut that looks good when her hair is wet or worn straight will look jagged and choppy if she wears her hair curly. And she's even lazier about hair care than I am, so that kind of cut is her idea of hell :D. With a good cut tho, her hair is as fast to manage as mine.

(like a lot of curlies, my sister in law didn't realize *how* curly her hair was. she was figuring she was maybe a 2b. going to a more curl friendly routine on her hip length hair made it clear that if she was a 2, it was 2c, because there were at least some corkscrews. and when she decided that she wanted to go to a shoulder length cut, it was very obvious that no, she just plain has springy curls all over, so she's more a 3a or 3b. but there are plenty of 100% heat free pictures of her where her hair looks as straight as my 1c hair)

That's why the desired look matters a lot. If you hate the idea of having curly hair, you'll have to put more effort into styling, but it's easy to do straightie style cuts. If you'd rather have your hair look good curly, you'd trim it differently. Over the very long haul (like if you're hoping for hair past classic length) you'll probably find that focusing on curl friendly hair care is gentler for your hair. But for more conventional sorts of long hair, it's a lot more a matter of taste.

SerinaDaith
January 22nd, 2013, 09:26 PM
I will second torrilin actually! Don't fret as your hair care changes so will your hair! Totally look into curly girlhair care and see what happens you never know!

Anwen
January 23rd, 2013, 08:59 AM
Ooh, fascinating! Thanks, both of you, I'll have to look into this... I know my hair 'takes' a curl more easily than it did when I was younger, e.g. I can do pin curls and not have them all drop out in five minutes now...

SerinaDaith
January 24th, 2013, 07:17 AM
If nothing else curly girl is all about moisture which I doubt would hurt anyone anyways!

Anwen
January 24th, 2013, 04:30 PM
Well, I had a go at this 'plopping' (which seems not to mean the same thing in America/internet-land as it tends to in the UK/small child-land) lark and this is the result https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/184648_10152457119950165_102558454_n.jpg No styling stuff, no other interference, just shampoo, intensive conditioner stuff, and a T-shirt on my head. It's not 100% dry and I think it'll drop out a bit more when it is (it's very nearly there, though) but I'm quite surprised at this! And yes, my hair can definitely do with some moisturising!

Anwen
January 24th, 2013, 04:33 PM
Eek, sorry for the simultaneously huge and poor quality pic!

SerinaDaith
January 25th, 2013, 07:40 AM
That is some pretty curl pattern you have going on!

Anwen
January 25th, 2013, 09:17 AM
That is some pretty curl pattern you have going on!

Thanks! I was really pleased with it, although of course when I woke up most of it was gone... My hair's been quite nice and bouncy today, though, with a few little waves on top (and okay a bit frizzy, but in a fluffy soft way, if that makes sense?) I'll definitely try again with a little gel or something next time I wash it... I was sleeping at my mum's last night, but I've got a silk sleep cap at home, so hopefully that will help a little?

SerinaDaith
January 26th, 2013, 10:05 AM
My hair is curly for about a day after wash day every day after it is fairly straight unless I dampen it to wake up the curl, my pics are at least second day hair so fairly straight. I look like a triangle head if I let my natural curl go so it dries then gets put up before I go to school.

Anwen
January 28th, 2013, 12:33 AM
Well, I went out last night and my hair was a bit over-oiled, so I decided to wash it and use a bit of gel (some Umberto Giannini stuff for curly hair) and then 'plop' it for a while. It was a little stringy as I haven't got the hang of scrunching once the gel's dried, but it was wiggly all over and lots of people said it looked really nice, so I must have done something right?

SerinaDaith
January 28th, 2013, 07:19 AM
Sounds like it! Pure aloe gel is a good go to gel for me, it's cheaper :)

Coolcombination
January 28th, 2013, 10:19 AM
In the first typing pic I'd say its a 2a with the potential for 3a at bsl, I predict! :beerchug:

Anwen
January 28th, 2013, 12:14 PM
Ooh! That's proper curly!