How to tell if your hair is curly
Inside: Find out whether your hair is curly & know your hair type.
Does your hair have frizz? Does it kink when wet? Do you struggle to keep it looking sleek and styled? You may well have curly hair!
Curly hair is defined as being anything from kinky or wavy to curly or coily. So unless you have poker straight hair, your hair texture will fall under the curly category in one way or another. You just need to discover your curl pattern.
People with really tight curls will obviously already know that they have curly hair, but if you have a kink or wave to your hair you may well end up discovering that you have curls – you just need to nurture them and stop trying to fight the natural texture with straighteners and blow drying..
Signs you may have curly hair
You may have always believed your hair to be wavy and wished that it would make its mind up and either be straight or curly. I hear you! Maybe you’ve spent years straightening your hair, trying to control the volume and frizz to no avail. Well, you may just have been living with curly hair this whole time!
Tell-tale signs
- Increased volume in humid weather
- Frizz around scalp
- Wet hair forms curls and ringlets
- Hair dries in natural waves when left unstyled
The problem is, the products sold in drugstores and supermarkets mostly contain ingredients that dry out your hair and coat each individual hair strand with a gloss to make it look healthy. So for all these years we’ve been using products that promise to give us amazing hair but we’ve actually been damaging it and causing our curls to be flat and unhappy.
Where to start?
The fact you are reading this post will mean you have an inkling that you may have curly hair. The question is, how curly can you go?
If you aren’t sure, the best thing to do is a mini experiment when you wash your hair. It won’t take long but it will give you an insight into what to expect if you try the Curly Girl Method out properly.
Next time you wash your hair, add some conditioner into the routine if you don’t already, and give your hair a brush while it is coated. The best way to do this is by flipping your hair upside down so you can properly see how the strands look.
Once you have brushed the conditioner through the stands, use your hands to lift and squeeze your hair. Imagine you are trying to scrunch your hair into a small ball towards your scalp. As you scrunch your hair, it should begin to form waves or even a couple of loose curls.
Give it a try – if you find your hair does indeed scrunch up into curls then you are onto something. If you find the strands drop back down straight then you are not destined for curly life.
Discover your curl type
The different types of curls in this world are all due to the shape of the hair follicle we each have. Some people have round hair follicles which will product straight hair and some have oval follicles that will produce curly hair. And of course straight hair follicles result in straight hair.
There are 4 main hair textures: Type 1 is naturally straight hair and not part of the curly family, Type 2 is wavy hair, Type 3 is curly hair, and Type 4 is coily hair. You will find variations in each type of course, with fine hair and thick hair adding to the complexity of it all.
Some people will have known they have type 3 or 4 curl patterns their whole life as they are more obvious, but others will go through life thinking they just have frizzy hair when they actually have a type 2 or 3 curl pattern. Unless you give your hair what it needs, it cannot reach its full potential to give you luscious curls.
Let’s explore the curl patterns…
Type 2 – wavy hair
2a waves have an S shape to them and will straighten out pretty easily – especially if hair is long. It also tends to be fine in texture, drying easily and sitting close to the scalp so stick to lightweight products.
2b waves also form an S shape from half way down the hair but are slightly thicker and you may suffer with frizz close to the scalp.
2c have a mixture of S waves and actual curls starting at the root. Hair is courser and you may suffer with all-over frizz so a leave-in conditioner will help here.
Type 3 – curly hair
3a curls have a loopy S pattern and hair forms loose curl clumps. Hair will dry out easily so will need regular moisture added.
3b curls are more defined, often like springy ringlets and are more tightly defined compared to a 3a curl.
3c curls are corkscrew ringlets, tightly packed together to give natural volume. Frizz is very common so it needs a lot of moisture.
Type 4 – coily or kinky hair (Afro-textured)
4a coils are very densely packed and form a tight S shape. Leave-in conditioner is a great product for this dry hair type.
4b coils form more of a Z shape and the tight coils are also densely packed together.
4c is very similar to a 4b but the stands are fragile and form more of a zig zag pattern.
Years of using the wrong products or styling methods may have left you with damaged hair and a belief that your hair is unmanageable. Hopefully, you can now see that your natural curls have been fighting to come out and they just need some extra time and care spent on them.
What is the Curly Girl Method?
With all of the different hair types, there is a curly hair care process to suit everyone. The most famous process is known as The Curly Girl Method and it is a great place to start your journey to healthy hair.
Created by Lorraine Massey, the system sets out specific rules and methods to nurture your hair. It is intended for curly types but in actual fact it is suited to those with straight hair too – all hair should be nourished and cared for.
The basic principles are this: remove sulfates and silicones from your routine, remove harsh heat, and use conditioners, custards, mousses and gels to enhance your curls. Of course, there is more to it than that but essentially you want to remove everything that strips the natural oils from your hair and add in the right products that will encourage your natural hair type to shine through.
Once you know your curly hair type, you can begin to process to discover the full potential of your hair. I myself went from a very loose wave of a 2Cc to an amazing 3b with ringlets – I couldn’t believe it!
How to wash and style curly hair
Of course, your hair is unique to you and so you will need to learn about what your hair needs as you journey through this process. But to start off, you need to follow some simple steps.
Cleanser
Before you start this process you must strip your hair of any chemicals lingering from hair products used previously. You can also repeat this step at any point in your curly journey to remove any product buildup.
All you need to do is wash your hair using a cleanser – I personally use Pantene Hair Biology Shampoo Cleanse & Reconstruct.
Conditioner
One of the ‘rules’ of the Curly Girl Method is that you cut out shampoo and simply use conditioner instead. This is what many many people do but there are many others who don’t find this works for them. Instead they have found silicone & sulfate free shampoos or use a low-poo (gentle shampoo) product instead. But, let’s assume you’ll be fine without for now.
Using a conditioner in place of shampoo works by allowing the grime from your hair to slide off the hair. So scrub away as normal and then rinse it all away.
I use Garnier Ultimate Blends Hair Food.
Detangle
You’ll hear rules telling you that brushing your hair is not allowed. What they mean is that you shouldn’t brush dry curls, otherwise you’ll end up with frizz galore. I like to brush my hair while it is coated in conditioner to detangle and help distribute the conditioner down each strand of hair. You can also use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb to rake the hair.
This process helps the strands to find likeminded strands, to then form clumps that will go on to form curls.
Custard / mousse
The next step is to add in the products that will help the curls to form. You can use a hair custard or a hair mousse, gently applying the product by rubbing it on to both hands and then placing those hands either side of your hair.
Bring the hands together as though praying, and slide them down the hair. This technique is called praying hands and allows your to apply product without disturbing the formed clumps.
I use Cantu Shea Butter Define & Shine Custard.
Scrunch
With the product applied, take each curl clump and squeeze it as though scrunching up a piece of paper. Scrunch it towards the scalp and you’ll see the curls forming nicely.
Gel
Do as you did for the custard or mousse, gently applying the gel to the clumps so that they all get coated. Scrunch once again, making sure each section of hair is coated with gel.
I use VO5 Mega Hold Styling Gel.
Plop
Using an damp cotton t-shirt or microfiber towel, gently scrunch the hair upwards towards the scalp. This will remove a lot of the water without removing product so that you don’t have to wait as long for your hair to dry.
Drying your hair
Again, the Curly Girl Method tells you never to use heat styling tools, that you must wait for it to dry naturally. I don’t know about you but I am not able to sit around with damp hair all day.
So, I use a medium heat setting on my hairdryer along with a diffuser attachment to lessen the heat damage caused. Place the ends of your hair on the diffuser and lift up to your scalp (almost like a scrunch) and hold there for 30 seconds. Repeat until your hair is mostly dry.
Break the cast
As your hair dries, the gel will form a hard cast around each curl clump. It is important to leave this hard case in place until your hair is 100% dry so that the curl is able to dry and set. Once your hair is dry though, it is time to scrunch out the crunch. Gently scrunch, as you did when putting product in, to break the cast and reveal a soft defined curl.
There is a lot more to the process and this site can walk you through all of the scenarios and routines, but the above process is the foundations of it all. Wash day will never quite look the same but hopefully you’ll come to look forward to it all as you watch your curls develop and blossom over time.
Which hair type describes your hair best do you think?
