I’d like to start by mentioning that I know many girls love to follow hair charts and use their hair type to make a lot of decisions. There is definitely a time and place for them. I’m writing this article because I believe that the charts leave out some crucial details that are very important to styling and haircare.
From the beginning of my journey, I struggled with hair charts and could never tell what my hair type was. My hair looked nothing like the drawings or examples of other girls’ hair types. I was so confused and thought I was missing something. After stressing myself out over it, I finally learned that they are only one piece of the puzzle and there are more important factors.
The truth about hair charts
Curl charts don’t tell you a whole lot. They completely leave out factors like porosity and thickness. Also, the product or technique you use does not depend on your exact curl type. You definitely need to know if your hair is wavy, curly or coily. Whichever your hair is will determine how you style it and what products you need. Specifics (like the letters: a, b and c) won’t make much of a difference in your routine.
Leaving out thickness and porosity
Apart from whether your hair is wavy, curly or coily, the next important factors are thickness and porosity — both aren’t mentioned in the charts.
Thickness will impact the types of product you use. The general rule is: thicker products are better for thick hair, thinner/lighter products are better for thinner hair.
Porosity will impact the amount of hydration-adding-product (conditioner, deep conditioner, leave-in conditioner, etc) you use. Low porosity hair will need less hydration and high porosity hair will need more hydration.
Inaccurate hair types
A lot of hair charts are inaccurate. If you see a hair chart with pictures of actual hair to show the types of hair, then completely ignore it. Most people have multiple curl types in their hair so it’s impossible to gauge. The better hair chart to follow is a drawing version (like the photo attached to this article).
Wavy (C), Curly (S) or Coily (Z)?
Although hair charts with drawings can help, what’s even better is to compare your hair to these letters:
C = wavy
S = curly
Z – coily
Your hair will resemble one of these letters in the way it sits. Look closely at the curl. Hold it up in the light. Look at how it ‘bends’ – is it a swoop or a zig zag? You can even have a combo of swoops and zig zigs. For example, my hair is predominantly tight swoops, but my bottom layers have a few zig zags as well.
What you should know instead
Is your hair C, S or Z (or a combo)?
How thick/thin is your hair?
What’s your porosity?
You might not know the answers to these questions right away, but you’ll work it out as you go. Once you do, you’ll find that these factors matter much more than hair charts and curl types.
If you still want to use charts, then great! Do whatever you feel is best for you and your hair. Just keep in mind that hair charts don’t tell you everything and don’t use them as your sole guide for making decisions.
