Andre Walker, author of "Andre Talks Hair," came up with a hair classification system that is the most popular one used when referencing hair. He references four hair types as follows: Type 1: Straight hair that won't hold a curl. Type 1A is fine and thin, type 1B is medium textured, type 1C is coarse. Type 2: Wavy hair. Type 2A is fine and thin, type 2B is medium textured, type 2C is coarse. Type 3: Curly hair with soft smooth curls. Type 3A has loose curls, type 3B has a medium amount of curl. Type 4: Kinky or very tightly curled hair. This hair is very fragile. Type 4A is tightly coiled in a S pattern (like ringlets). Type 4B is in a Z pattern, and the hair bends at angles. I use the term 4a/4b to describe my type of hair because Mr. Walker's hair classification system is widely used and is a common point of reference when describing hair. Most black hair can be described as type 4, but there are huge variances in hair types within every race. Many times we think that only people of African descent have kinky or nappy hair.  However, this type of hair occurs in every race. I have seen Jewish people, one Asian, and Caucasians with kinky hair. One problem I have with Mr. Walker's hair type classification is that there are more than two types of black hair. On my head alone there are at least four types: Type 4A; tightly coiled in ringlets. Fairly coarse. Type 4B: hair in a Z pattern that bends at angles. Type 4C: baby soft hair that is thinner and finer that the rest. (the hair at the nape of my neck). Type 4D: Coarse, wiry and rough, (the hair at the crown of my head). To determine your hair type look at 1 inch or more of untreated hair (hair that has not been chemically processed or straightened) and see where it falls.

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