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Rosalaun
November 2nd, 2013, 06:53 AM
Hi all, I'm currently stuck on exactly what type to class my hair as!
The top section tends to just have a few loose body waves (I think 1b or 1c? left photo)
Whereas the underneath has loose spiral curls that go the entire length of the hairs, and some of them tend to form twisted ropey spirals (bottom right).
It's almost as though I just have one layer of curls underneath and the rest is lightly waved.

I really have no idea what to make of it, it's nothing new, it's been doing this definitely for the last year at least (didn't pay too much attention before then) but it does make it a bit confusing as to what I should say my hair is.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/Sarobando/Hair/hairtypenov22013small.png

Thanks in advance for any ideas ;)

DarkCurls
November 2nd, 2013, 09:00 AM
It's not uncommon to have different hair types. The top of my hair is curly, whereas my underlayer is barely wavy, almost straight. And while it annoys me some days, there's not much I can do about it. I could type myself as a 2a according to my underlayer, but that would be ridiculously inaccurate. I type myself as curly because anyone looking at my hair for 2 seconds would say I have curly hair.

On the other hand, someone seeing you IRL would not think "Oh, she has curly hair." You have to choose an "overall" type, which is usually the type of the majority of your hair or the type of the top layer. Looking at the pictures in your signature as well as the ones you've posted, I would type you as a 1c because of your hair's tendency to wave or even "flip," even on the top layer (it's not completely straight). But it's totally possible to have 1b hair on top, and 2b underneath, or the other way around, so I guess... you can just call it whatever. :)

I feel your confusion.

Rosalaun
November 2nd, 2013, 09:22 AM
Sounds like we're opposites on the typing front then :D
I suppose going for what can be seen on top from behind makes more sense than trying to fuss with the under curls. But yes, a 1c to match the top layers is probably the best idea, thank you!

The signature photos are all just before washing so they're super greasy, but because my hair type varies a lot - even a tiny bit of handling to stop it going in my face might make it more curly or straight, so it's much easier to measure when it's all pulled more straight with its own oils xD

DweamGoiL
November 2nd, 2013, 09:30 AM
Sounds like we're opposites on the typing front then :D
I suppose going for what can be seen on top from behind makes more sense than trying to fuss with the under curls. But yes, a 1c to match the top layers is probably the best idea, thank you!

The signature photos are all just before washing so they're super greasy, but because my hair type varies a lot - even a tiny bit of handling to stop it going in my face might make it more curly or straight, so it's much easier to measure when it's all pulled more straight with its own oils xD

To type your hair you need freshly washed hair with no product in it. I have a suspicion you are a 2a and have been fighting your waves. When you freshly wash it, you should comb it once to detangle and then hands off until it dries. That will tell you your actual hair type.

neko_kawaii
November 2nd, 2013, 10:04 AM
My hair is also slightly wavy on top and has nice curls underneath. I don't bother with the curls most of the time but it is fun to pull out a few short nape hairs, spritz them with water and magically have little curls under my bun.

Rosalaun
November 2nd, 2013, 10:20 AM
Yep the posted photos (non signature) are all brushed first, then washed with a strong shampoo, my normal coney conditioner and then left down my back to dry without any wet combing - I did tuck the sides behind my ears but the main bulk at the back was left alone, didn't even put a jacket on or anything that it might have gotten caught up on :)

The thought of possibly being in the 2's is quite exciting though. I'm not sure how I might have been fighting waves... But I'm wondering if it'd be worth trying switching back to cone-free conditioners again, I tend to use cones because they make it really silky, but I've not tried cone-free since I bleached out my henna and I have noticed some people mentioning cone-free tends to encourage more... I think texture is the closest word I can think of right now.

I see you've also gone with your top layers for typing Neko_Kawaii, seems to be the main train of thought on here. Now that is an excellent idea of how to use the curls, I'd not thought of that, thanks for the tip :D

ravenheather
November 2nd, 2013, 08:38 PM
I would call you 1c.

DweamGoiL
November 2nd, 2013, 11:07 PM
I discovered my hair was wavy when I decided to try the Curly Girl method. That also turned me on to being cone free once again. I decided to go all out and get rid of SLS in my shampoo as well. I discovered that with a little gel; I use DevaCurl gel and some scrunching my hair actually can get pretty outright curly. I could not do entirely without shampoo though. My fine hair got weighed down and my scalp felt disgusting so I do use shampoo, but still follow a lot of the Curly Girl principles. The more I encouraged the wave, the more defined it became. I don't think you will have a super dramatic change, but I definitely think that with some encouragement, your hair's wave will be more prominent. As it stands right now, based on the pictures you posted, I do agree that you are a 1C. However, I do feel there is potential for your waves to be more defined.

ExpectoPatronum
November 3rd, 2013, 12:50 AM
You and I have almost the same hair. Straight/barely wavy on top, but spirally wavy on the bottom. I went ahead with 2a as that's a little wavier than 1c and my 2b waves end up smoothing out to a 2a not long after my hair is dry anyway (though if I add gel, I could keep them if I wanted to).

You could very well be a 1c/2a. I'd experiment with the curly girl method. Your hair might even be curlier than that! Mine certainly was.

The CG method in a nutshell is where you use a cone-free conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo. There's more to it, but I think that's the biggest thing.

Rosalaun
November 3rd, 2013, 01:42 AM
I've not heard of the curly girl method before, I'll definitely have to go and research that - I'd love to see if I do actually have more waves/curls hiding in there somewhere. ExpectoPatronum - yay somebody else with the same mix :D
So yes, general consensus - 1c for now, but worth trying a different method and maybe a possibility of being a little more wavy.
Thanks all ^^

stachelbeere
November 3rd, 2013, 01:37 AM
hmmm... tricky. so 1c is: "straight with body wave and one or two visible S-waves (e.g. nape of neck or temples)" and 2a is: "loose, stretched out S-waves throughout the hair" then I think you might be a 1c/2a? it really depends if you treat the waves as 'loose stretched out S-waves' or as 'a body wave'. Also, you have these ringlets on the ends and edges hence the 2a.

biogirl87
November 3rd, 2013, 02:14 AM
Rosalaun, I would say that you have 1c hair type. I would caution you though with trying curly girl method (if you choose to try): listen/pay attention to how much your tangles. My waves/curls/wurls became more defined with the curly girl method but the tangliness told me to stop using the curly girl method. Also, CO washing does not work for some people. If you decide to try CO washing, pay attention to how many hairs you have coming out in the shower and if it seems more than the number of hairs you have come out in the shower with your current routine, do not be afraid to stop using CO washing as your washing method after just one or two tries. I do not think that the additional moisture hair tends to have with CO washing is worth the decreased volume if your hair has less volume in it with CO washing (which I would think would be likely for almost anyone whose hair type is looser than 2c waves/curls).

Rosalaun
November 3rd, 2013, 10:38 AM
Yeah if I do try CG and start having any real issues with trying it I'd switch back to what I'm comfortable with for sure - I have been cone-free with very minimal shampoo (a small amount mixed with water prior to use) before but that was only when it had henna on it, so I'm not sure how my hair will react now as this growth has had bleach and chemical dye on it. So yes, ultimately a lot of what I can do with my hair is depending on how it reacts to everything - because it's already damaged, if it doesn't agree with something new it definitely lets me know xD

I think my main concern would be about the oiliness - my hair is naturally reasonably oily, I used to wash every other day, but about a year and a half ago I managed to stretch that, so I now only wash it every 6-7 days, but I'd wonder if changing methods would offset that balance again.

DweamGoiL
November 3rd, 2013, 11:00 AM
Yeah if I do try CG and start having any real issues with trying it I'd switch back to what I'm comfortable with for sure - I have been cone-free with very minimal shampoo (a small amount mixed with water prior to use) before but that was only when it had henna on it, so I'm not sure how my hair will react now as this growth has had bleach and chemical dye on it. So yes, ultimately a lot of what I can do with my hair is depending on how it reacts to everything - because it's already damaged, if it doesn't agree with something new it definitely lets me know xD

I think my main concern would be about the oiliness - my hair is naturally reasonably oily, I used to wash every other day, but about a year and a half ago I managed to stretch that, so I now only wash it every 6-7 days, but I'd wonder if changing methods would offset that balance again.

It will, in the beginning (the first 2 weeks). You don't have to commit to full on CG to see benefits though. I still use a SLS/SLES-less shampoo, but I only wash 1-2 times per week and use a very light cone free conditioner for regular washing. That is really the key. If your conditioner is too heavy, then your hair will be an oily mess all the time with CO washing. I try not to wash all of it out while in the shower. But, all my products are cone free and I don't wait until my hair is merely damp to apply my natural gel, but when it's sopping wet. I detangle and then scrunch for a good 2 or 3 minutes and then leave it if I want to wear it wavy. This is not classic CG, but a hybrid of what works and what did not.

Try CG and after the first 2 weeks, if you find, you need to use shampoo, by all means go ahead...just make sure it's a gentle shampoo. You many also want to try alternating CO washings with shampoo washings as well. That works well for some people, too. Also, because your hair is damaged, your hair may take a little while to show its natural wave. Good luck and definitely keep us posted!

Rosalaun
November 7th, 2013, 08:18 AM
That sounds pretty unsurprising to be honest!
A hybrid sounds ideal for transitioning into it for sure - the cone-free conditioner I used to use changed its recipe so I'll have to find something new, but I can start parts of CG methods for now until I can find a new one... I'm thinking I may start dropping the amount of shampoo I use first (at the moment I do use more than I really need anyway) and then switch to cone-free whenever I can find some.

Thanks again ^^
I experimented today just playing around with plopping after a normal wash, and as it's drying I feel like I have more waves than I normally do when it's slightly damp, hopefully it'll keep these extra waves when its dry!

DweamGoiL
November 7th, 2013, 09:04 AM
Sounds great!