While people used to think that there were just a few hair types—straight, wavy, and curly—it turns out that there are more than three. And there are even subcategories! Before you give up in frustration and resign yourself to endless bad hair days, keep reading. If you have very loose, wavy hair, you need to learn about the different subtypes of this hair pattern. You might be a 2a head. For reference, Type 3 is for curly hair (and it’s further broken down into 3a, 3b, and 3c). Type 4 is for coily hair textures (and is further broken down to 4a, 4b, and 4c). Type 2 hair is for wavy textures and is further labeled 2a, 2b, and 2c, with 2a being the loosest of the waves and 2c almost mimicking a true very loose corkscrew curl. But, as with Type 3 and 4 heads, Type 2 beauties still have to worry about dryness. Even though their wave pattern isn’t as intense, they’ll still struggle with dry ends as natural oils produced by the scalp will still have difficulty traveling down the hair shaft to reach the ends. However, picking the right moisturizing products is critical as Type 2 hair tends to be finer. This means that opting for heavier moisturizing ingredients like pure shea butter or coconut oil (which are ideal for many Type 3s and 4s) could weigh your hair down. Even if your favorite social media star is the same hair type as you, factors like body chemistry, porosity, and even your commitment level to certain routines will affect what processes you choose to adopt and which ones you despise. Porosity is defined by three categories: high, medium, and low. High-porosity hair has hair shafts with completely open cuticles. This means moisture can easily slip out. Medium-porosity hair is also referred to as normal because the cuticles are regularly aligned and can maintain the proper moisture balance. Meanwhile, low-porosity hair struggles with moisture like high-porosity hair but for different reasons. In this case, the cuticles are so tightly aligned that water or moisture struggles to penetrate the hair shaft. If you’re not sure which category describes your hair, you can do a quick porosity check using this test, along with a strand of hair and a cup of water. BIOTOP Professional 911 Quinoa Shampoo ($37); amazon.com Allyoos Juice Drench ($30); amazon.com; verishop.com Wet Brush Original Detangler ($13); amazon.com Rthvi Hibiscus Oil ($20); rthvi.com Just remember that you shouldn’t rely regularly on heat tools as they can cause damage with prolonged use. This can manifest as excessively dry hair that’s prone to breakage and split ends. And once your hair is damaged, no matter what the hair product commercials promise, the only way to truly fix it is to cut it.
