Hair type! definitive change? and definition of hair types!

[LovingLife]

Okay so many 1a's or 1b's may not be affected by this but hair types are very confusing. Unless you stay at the same length your whole like (not likely on LHC :) ) in my opinion your hair type is bound to 'change' for example at shoulder and chin length I was a 3c. Now at armpit length I am a 3b. By these calculations by the time I reach goal *classic* I'll only be a 2b. This is intresting! Therefore is a picture of long 3b hair a picture of hair closer to 3c or 4a hair which has been stretched. Or is this 3b hair which may have been stretched to 2a? I want to know? This may not affect everyone and probably has a lot to do with individual hair thickness as well! What are your opinions? And how can we accurately type hair?

[danacc]

Pictures may help us understand what you are talking about. :)

But no, generally, your hair type does not change as your hair grows longer. At shorter lengths, it is often more difficult to tell exactly what your hair type is, though. If at armpit length you are 3b, then likely at classic, you will be 3b. Your curls are not likely to ever go away just because your hair has grown longer.

[LovingLife]

Doesn't weight change spring factor and such though?

[LovingLife]

Kind of like..
In this I'd say she was a 3a
http://assets.thehairstyler.com/images/celebrity/Celebrity_2774.jpg

But at longer with her curls stretched she looks like a
http://www.mtv.com/content/ontv/movieawards/2009/photo/flipbook/09-red-carpet/vanessa_hudgens_picture_group12127.jpg

I am aware that these are probably heat and extension styled but its simply me trying to illustrate the point

[LovingLife]

Kind of like..
In this I'd say she was a 3a
http://assets.thehairstyler.com/images/celebrity/Celebrity_2774.jpg

But at longer with her curls stretched she looks like a
http://www.mtv.com/content/ontv/movieawards/2009/photo/flipbook/09-red-carpet/vanessa_hudgens_picture_group12127.jpg

I am aware that these are probably heat and extension styled but its simply me trying to illustrate the point

[danacc]

Hairtyping is done on washed, then air-dried, untouched hair. I don't think both (or actually either) of those pictures were taken that way. Hair doesn't change that much just by growing longer.

[teela1978]

I'm not sure celebrity photos are the ones to go by. That girl's hair is clearly heavily styled in the 2nd photo.

[turquoisedays]

I've found that as my hair grew a few inches past my waist, my curls seemed to stretch out a bit or were looser. When it was BSL a few years ago, my hair was a lot more curly.

[Yozhik]

I agree with you to a certain extent, but it definitely depends on how curly your hair is to begin with.

For some people, their hair remains consistently curly the longer it gets, and actually growing one's hair longer and treating it better, people may see an increase in curliness. For other people, their hair may appear straighter at shorter lengths because they have a pulled out curl pattern which only manifests when the hair is long enough to form it.

When I was Shoulder-BSL my hair was definitely closer to 2c than it is now, which is mostly 2b, but still has some spirals at the ends. It still wasn't a very drastic change, though. :shrug:

[Rocket22]

For sure you can not judge hair typing on a photo of a stranger or anyone unless they are basically taking a picture for hair typing. Pretty much no one doesn't touch or do something with their hair before they leave the house. :)

I would think you might change a tiny tiny bit as your hair gets longer but pretty much in the same category.

[Amber_Maiden]

Oh yes, the longer my hair gets the less thick it becomes, and the more wavy it becomes... It's pretty weird!!!

[Vanilla]

I agree with the OP. When my hair was short, it is definitely wavier then it is when it's longer. My hair at chin length has very disorganized S waves all over, and as it gets longer, the S waves get more and more stretched out. I still get wavier hair close to my nape and ears when my hair is longer.

This is actually the reason why I'm growing my hair out. My hair needs much more care and heat styling to behave when it's shorter then when it's longer.

[Mesmerise]

Hair is weird! Some people's hair seems to become curlier with length, while others becomes straighter.

I think you can only assess your hair by what you've got NOW! You can always update it as your hair grows longer depending on how your hair behaves with the length.

[LovingLife]

When someones hair becomes curlier wouldn't that also be a hair typing change though?
And the celebrity photo although heavily styled is simply meant to illustrate what I sometimes notice :) it is not an actual example if that made any sense

[Shesta]

I think hair type transition might indeed correlate to length, but it will be only a mild change anyway. When my hair was APL, BSL and above I used to have lots of S-waves that are now gone at waist.

[LovingLife]

Hm. Sometimes it does seem quite drastic although?
A 1b or c at chin may be completely straight at BSL..

[LovingLife]

And also the term 'perfect weight'when applied to curly hair can imply lots of curly length all of a sudden due to the hair reaching a certain weight.

[skyblue]

When my hair was growing back in from the chemo it started straight for about 3 inches then it got really really curly and stayed that way til about BSL, as it got longer the curl got straighter, now at 39 inch it only curls at the very ends if I don't comb it, it does get a slight wave to it again if I don't comb it

[MaryRose]

Yes, I do think hair changes with length but that is also the character of that hair type. For example, type 3a hair is described as, the shorter the hair, the straighter it gets. The longer the hair the more defined the curl. This is what helped me to figure out my true hair type is 2c/3a.

[danacc]

Yes, I agree that hair type can change with length. I commonly see more subtle changes than what you are talking about, though.

I don't think that hair that looks like 3c at BSL and 3b at APL is likely to switch to a no-curl 2b by classic. I'd predict it would still be 3b. I think that's what I'm struggling with in what you're saying, OP.

And yes, often hair that is classified as 1c when it is short turns out to have full-on 2a s-waves when it is longer and you can see the full cycle of the wave. That is also a hairtype change.

But experiences like skyblue's more drastic changes from curly to wavy are rare, and I think there was more going on there than just longer of the same hair. (Maybe the chemicals from the chemo changed the hair structure as it was growing out in addition to the weight change. :shrug:)

[CurlyMopTop]

LovingLife we had a discussion about this not too long ago on the curly and wurly thread. It is quite common for curlies to loose curl as their hair gets longer. The more length, the more weight the curls have, the looser they get. I don't think that the debate of changing hair type was ever resolved. Some think it should, some think that it shouldn't. It's all about perception I guess. :)

[SoulOfTheSea]

My hair definitely changed as it grew longer. My wurls seemed to stretch out because of the weight, and I like it that way. :) I love having less poof and I thank the length!

[spidermom]

I know what you mean! My hair type seems to change the longer I go without washing it. On the first day, like the picture below, it has a lot of spirals and waves; definitely a 2C. By day #3, it looks like 1B.

[SoulOfTheSea]

I know what you mean! My hair type seems to change the longer I go without washing it. On the first day, like the picture below, it has a lot of spirals and waves; definitely a 2C. By day #3, it looks like 1B.

That's exactly how my hair is! :cool: That is why I tend to like wearing my hair down maybe the first two days after a wash, then put it up until I wash it because it just gets pretty limp and I don't look great with straight hair. :o

[battles]

Before I hit around mid-neck length, my hair was rather straight. I'm getting past shoulder now and I'm noticing some more waves and I can even coax some wurls out of it after I wash it. :D I can't wait to see what it looks like when I'm near BSL+

[LovingLife]

Hm! I'm really tempted to come up with a definitive method! If not for all at least for those with wurlies or straight people with curled ends. Not that hair typing isn't extensive as it is but peraps if there was a certain length where you noted your hair type? Like chin length! However I do think it is possible for massive change :S its rather confusing.