Type 1a - Straight (Fine/Thin) - Hair tends to be very Soft, Shiny, difficult to hold a curl, hair also tends to be oily, and difficult to damage.
Type 1b - Straight (Medium) - Hair has lots of volume & body.
Type 1c - Straight (Coarse) - Hair is normally bone straight and difficult to Curl. Asian women usually fall into this category.
Type 2a - Wavy (Fine/Thin) - Hair has a definite "S" pattern. Normally can accomplish various styles.
Type 2b - Wavy (Medium) - Hair tends to be frizzy, and a little resistant to styling.
Type 2c - Wavy (Coarse) - Hair is also resistant to styling and normally very frizzy;tends to have thicker waves.
Type 3a - Curly (Loose Curls) - Hair tends to have a combination texture. It can be thick & full with lots of body, with a definite "S" pattern. It aslo tends to be frizzy.
Type 3b - Curly (Tight Curls) - Also tends to have a combination texture, with a medium amount of curl.
Type 4a - Kinky (Soft) - Hair tends to be very Fragile, tightly coiled, and has a more defined curly pattern.
Type 4b - Kinky (Wiry) - Also very fragile and tightly coiled; however with a less defined curly pattern -has more of a "Z" pattern shape.
To address the shortcomings of this system, many kinky-haired naturals have added a Type 4c category, for hair that is a combination of 4a and 4b. Yet after Walker's comment in Elle magazine July 2011 issue "kinky hair can have limited styling options; that is the only hair type that I suggest altering with chemical relaxing" many naturals are discarding his system (along with any respect for him).
In steps Mizani with the "Natural Curl Key" developed "after years of researching and testing" with "a scientific approach." This system names "eight distinctive hair types worldwide." I don't know about the rest of y'all but I'm sick of these systems designed to tell me (or a so-called professional) how to care for my hair. The best research and testing I have found is doing my own hair and my scientific approach is trial and error. But check it out and you be the judge.
