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Sunny Elf
March 14th, 2012, 03:35 PM
Okay, so I know type 1 is straight, 2 is wavy, and 3 is curly, but what happens if you have spirals, but they are very loose and/or big? Would that be considered 2c because it's not curly enough to be "curly", or 3a, because it forms spirals? :confused:

torrilin
March 14th, 2012, 04:48 PM
Depends!

My sister-outlaw and my partner (her big brother) are 3a. His corkscrew curls start at the scalp, and he'll have multiple visible corkscrew curls in any hair that gets more than about 3" long. His hair is pretty coarse, so he can really do whatever he wants and the curl will be there. Hers take a bit longer to form (maybe 6" to get multiple wavelengths?), but are somewhat tighter. Her hair is more a medium texture tho, so it's easy for the curl to pull out into waves.

In terms of look, 2c would be a reasonable type for her in many circumstances. But... it doesn't provide a good picture of how much moisture her hair needs, or how gentle she needs to be in handling it.

For both of them, curl is somewhat limited by other factors. Psoriasis sucks :P. And it sucks worse on your scalp.

As a rough guide, if the dominant impression is corkscrews or ringlets, I'd lean towards a 3a. Or if the dominant thing your hair wants from a regimen is tons of moisture, I'd lean towards 3a. If your hair tends to have a more even mix of waves and corkscrews, or if the curls reliably pull out no matter how gentle you are and no matter how much you pamper them with moisture, I'd lean towards 2c. And definitely if you're looking at such a small number of corkscrews curls that it's worth counting them, 2c.

There's also nothing wrong with a 2c/3a type if you really can't figure it out. The curl descriptor is helpful for figuring out a routine, but it's normal to find that your curl descriptor was wrong wrong wrongity wrong. My sister-outlaw kept trying to tell me she was 2a or 2b. And I thought I was 1a.

Sunny Elf
March 14th, 2012, 08:25 PM
Hhhmmmm...interesting! My hair starts to spiral at about chin length, so any layers in my hair that are longer than that are curly. Maybe I just need more length. (grow, hair, grow!!) My hair soaks up moisture like crazy, too, though I still haven't found the perfect moisture treatment.

What exactly is this "curl descriptor" you speak of?

Kelikea
March 14th, 2012, 08:47 PM
Here's an example using my own hair, which I type as 2b/c:
Spiralshttp://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8987&pictureid=126274http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8987&pictureid=117328
overall look (on a "curly" day)http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8987&pictureid=117326http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8987&pictureid=121778
overall look on a "regular" dayhttp://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8987&pictureid=126524http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8987&pictureid=118425and this one is also brushed out
So, I take into account the overall look to the hair and also the fact that any spirals I do have are easily pulled out, and that I can actually brush my hair. Many curlies cannot.

torrilin
March 15th, 2012, 01:11 PM
Hhhmmmm...interesting! My hair starts to spiral at about chin length, so any layers in my hair that are longer than that are curly. Maybe I just need more length. (grow, hair, grow!!) My hair soaks up moisture like crazy, too, though I still haven't found the perfect moisture treatment.

What exactly is this "curl descriptor" you speak of?

Your hair type has the section that talks about curl (so 1a or 2c or whatever)... so "curl descriptor". It has a texture bit, where you say how fine or coarse your hair is. And it has a thickness measure.

YAY! Science!

It doesn't cover everything tho. Porosity is not very straightforward to measure, but is pretty helpful to know about. Some hair types naturally are more prone to splits and breakage. Others get more "fairy knots" or single strand knots. Some hair types bleach out easily, others don't. Some hair types handle heat well, others don't. Some hair types will laugh at you if you try to change their nature, others are more cooperative. And different physical environments can change hair too... my hair acts differently in the humidity of Central PA compared to the desert dryness of West LA. (and I am totally sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting!)

You won't always know exactly how EVERYTHING works for your hair. But knowing whether you're more towards one extreme or another tends to be useful for figuring out if a new idea is worth trying or not... whether it's as temporary as a hairstyle, or as permanent as swearing off scented products or heat styling.