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You do not need a chart in your hand to find your hair type. You need one wash with nothing in it, a few hours of leaving it alone, and a clear idea of what to look at. These four checks take about five minutes of looking, spread over one drying session.
Short version: shape tells you which family you are in, curl width gives the letter, strand width and density change how heavy your products can be, and your scalp decides how often to wash. The quiz runs the same checks and adds porosity.
Set up: a clean, product-free baseline
Hair that has gel, mousse or oil in it shows you the product, not the hair. Shampoo, rinse in conditioner if you normally use it, and then stop. Squeeze the water out with a cotton t-shirt, comb nothing, and let it air-dry. Judge it when it is fully dry, in daylight, without touching it.
Check 1: What shape does it make by itself?
| You see | Family | Read next |
|---|---|---|
| No bend anywhere, even at the ends | Type 1, straight | 1A, 1B and 1C |
| A loose S-shape that sits close to the head | Type 2, wavy | 2A, 2B and 2C |
| Loops or spirals you could slide a finger through | Type 3, curly | 3A, 3B and 3C |
| Tight coils or sharp zigzags from the root | Type 4, coily | 4A, 4B and 4C |
If you are between two rows, you are probably in the tighter one. Hair that looks straight but frizzes is often 2A that was brushed dry for years.
Check 2: How wide is one curl?
Take one clump near the middle of your head and look at its widest loop. A loop about the width of a pencil is tighter than one the width of a marker, and a marker-wide loop is tighter than one the width of a stick of chalk. That width is the difference between the letters. The full side-by-side is in the hair type chart, with a section for each of the twelve patterns.
Look at several spots. Most people have a looser pattern at the front and a tighter one at the nape, and the letter that appears most often is the one to use.
Check 3: Strand width and density
These two get mixed up. Strand width is how thick one hair is. Density is how many hairs you have per patch of scalp.
- Strand width. Roll one strand between your fingers. Barely there means fine, a sewing thread means medium, wiry means coarse.
- Density. Pull a section of dry hair to the side and look at how much scalp shows through. Lots of scalp means low density, a little means medium, almost none means high.
Fine, low-density hair goes flat under heavy cream, so it wants foams and light sprays. Coarse, high-density hair absorbs more product and usually needs thicker creams to feel moisturized. Neither tells you anything about curl pattern: fine hair can be coily and coarse hair can be straight.
Check 4: How oily does your scalp get?
Count the days from a wash to the point where your roots look flat or greasy. One day is an oily scalp, two to three days is average, and a week or more is dry. This sets your wash schedule, and it connects to pattern: oil slides down straight hair easily and struggles to travel down a spiral, so straight types tend to wash more often than coily ones.
The American Academy of Dermatology says thick, curly hair does not need washing daily or even weekly, and that dry, textured, curly or thick hair should be shampooed when needed, at least once every 2 to 3 weeks. People with straight hair and an oily scalp may shampoo daily.
What your hair type looks like for women and for men
The system describes strands, not people. A 2B head is a 2B head whether the hair is long or cropped. The difference with short cuts is that the pattern hides: a very short cut can read as straight when the same hair at length would show a clear wave or curl. If you want to know your pattern, check it at the longest part of your hair, usually the top or the nape.
What to do with the result
- Pick the family and letter, and read its guide.
- Note fine, medium or coarse, and low, medium or high density. It tells you whether to reach for a light or a rich product.
- Run the porosity tests. Porosity changes which products your hair can use more than pattern does.
- Or do all of it in one go with the hair type quiz, which builds a wash-to-style routine from your answers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know what type of hair I have?
Wash your hair, skip every styling product and let it air-dry untouched. Then look at the shape it makes on its own (straight, wavy, curly or coily), how wide each curl is, how thick a single strand feels, and how quickly your scalp gets oily.
What are the four hair types?
Type 1 is straight, type 2 is wavy, type 3 is curly and type 4 is coily. Each has three letters, A to C, that describe how loose or tight the pattern is, which gives twelve patterns from 1A to 4C.
Can I have more than one hair type?
Yes. Many people have a looser pattern at the crown and a tighter one at the nape, or waves on top and curls underneath. Pick the pattern that covers most of your head and treat the rest as an exception.
Does hair type change over time?
The pattern comes from the follicle, so it stays largely the same. Heat and chemical treatments can loosen the pattern on the lengths they touch, and some people notice their texture shift over the years. If your hair changes suddenly or sheds more than usual, mention it to a doctor.
How do I know if my hair is fine, medium or thick?
Rub a single strand between your fingers. If you can barely feel it, it is fine. If it feels like a sewing thread, it is medium. If it feels wiry or like fishing line, it is coarse. Thickness of one strand is separate from density, which is how many strands you have.
Is hair type the same as hair porosity?
No. Hair type is the shape of the pattern. Porosity is how easily water gets into the strand. Two people with the same curl type can have opposite porosity and need different products.
Sources: American Academy of Dermatology, Tips for healthy hair and 6 curly hair care tips from dermatologists. Pattern descriptions follow the Andre Walker system as extended online; see the hair type chart.