Hair Hype

The most widely accepted system of identifying hair types was created by Andre Walker, long-time hairstylist to Oprah. It defines four types of hair, from pin-straight to z-angled coils. The best way to begin to care properly for your own hair is to first identify the type you have.

If your hair is straight as an arrow, fine and fragile, or course and thin, and can’t hold a curl without a blood sacrifice under a full moon to Dolly Parton herself, you may have type one hair. Type two hair gets a little more textured, defined by either fine and thin or coarse, frizzy waves (think Shakira or first-album Lorde). If your hair has clear curl, either loose or tight, you have type 3 hair and most likely a hair tie on your wrist right now. The final type Walker identified is type 4; kinky, tightly coiled hair, a scale approximately from Tracee Ellis Ross to Willow Smith.

Confused yet? The long and short of it (hair pun) is that there are a lot of different types of natural hair, and yours can land anywhere on a vast spectrum, or even be a combination of a few different types. The good news is that there is an equally vast spectrum of hair care products, and finding the right one for you is just up ahead (another hair pun; up “a head,” get it?)

Let’s begin with some basic hair care ideas for the four natural hair types, and then jump into specific cases that need extra care.

Type One

Type one hair is prone to static and flyaways, so conditioner is your best friend. The key to conditioning your strands without greasing them slick to your scalp is to start at the ends and work your way up and through. This goes for conditioner that you use in the shower and rinse out, as well as leave-in conditioner that goes into damp hair and stays there.

The first step to any haircare routine is shampoo. You only need a dollop on your palm in the shower. Get a little water mixed in and rub it between your hands to foam it up before applying it to the most oily part of your hair; the roots. Rub it into your roots and scalp where you feel you hair get the heaviest when it hasn’t been washed for a couple days. You don’t need to rub the rest of your hair down with shampoo – the product will work it’s way through well enough when you’re rinsing it away from the crown of your head.

Leave the shampoo in for a couple minutes (probably enough for an armpit-shave, but definitely less than a leg-shave). Rinse it out well but don’t rub your hair between your hands or use a comb. Wet hair is especially vulnerable and can become stretchy, so anything too rough is prone to breaking or damaging your hair in that state. Once it feels squeaky-clean, it’s time to condition. 

Get a dime-sized amount of conditioner on your hands and start at the ends of your hair – that’s the static and damage hub of your head. Scrunch the ends of your hair into your hands to distribute the product. Work your way upwards towards your scalp, gathering more hair in your hands each time and rubbing it in gently with the tips of your fingers. Leave it in for a few more minutes and then rinse out.

Once you’re out of the shower, especially in the winter, I recommend using a leave-in conditioner. It’s the exact same application process outlined above as with regular conditioner, minus the rinsing out part. You apply it to freshly-showered, still-moist hair, but then just leave it in.

Type Two

Type Three

Everyone with long hair is familiar with the magical towel-hair-twisting technique where the towel engulfs your hair in a pseudo-updo that’s wrapped on top of your head. But curly-haired women are now pleading with their hair twins to avoid it. Because the hair is stretched up and pressed through the towel, your curls get flattened and limp. Instead, try an alternative hair-drying wrap called “plopping.”

Once out of the shower, grab an old cotton shirt or a microfibre towel and lay it out somewhere flat. Then plop your hair into the centre, and wrap the fabric around your head to keep your hair in place in a pile on top. 

Type…five?

Okay, this isn’t another type of natural hair, but it is a different texture with unique problems that will need a customized care routine. If you do a lot of styling, dying, or frying, your hair is going to need some extra TLC – not the band…though talk about styling!

Type six(ties)

Yes, gray hair is a different texture, though your hair may change before your sixties – just ask Steve Martin. If your hair is looking less like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween and more like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween Kills, it’s time to revamp your hair care routine. Losing pigment makes your hair dryer, coarser, and thicker, except in rare cases where it may thin and even soften.

Your gray hairs will need some help in the hydration department. Many hair experts recommend using hair masks once a week, even before going gray, to really promote moisture and also prevent breakage from any heat or chemical styling.