Thursday, October 21, 2010

What's your hair type?




Hello there my lovelies,

I think that one of the most efficient ways to find the best products for your beautiful hair is by first understanding your hair type. There are different properties used to classify hair type. The most common way to think about hair type is by the pattern of the hair. For instance, hair may be classified based on how curly, wavy, or straight it is http://www.curls.biz/curly-hair-type-guide.html. Hair that is straight is classified as 1, hair that is wavy is classified as 2, hair that has corkscrew curls is classified as 3 and hair that is kinky is classified as 4. Within the four categories there are sub-categories. For example, hair can be 3A, 3B, or 3C with 3A being the most loose curl pattern and 3C being the most tightly coiled curl pattern in the 3 category.
Another aspect of hair that may be used to determine your hair type is porosity. Porosity is basically how well the hair acquires and retains water and moisture, http://livecurlylivefree.blogspot.com/2009/01/hair-porosity.html. Hair can have low, medium or high porosity. So hair that has low porosity will have difficulty getting wet when held under a stream of water, simply because the water has a hard time getting in. Similarly, hair that is overly porous or has high porosity will get wet quickly because the water can easily get in, but will also dry more quickly because the water can also easily get back out. It's important to understand that these are simply guidelines for hair types and your hair may or may not perfectly fit into any one category. It is also important to remember that your own head of hair may contain different hair types. For instance, your hair may be very porous 3C in the front and medium porous 4B in the back. Understanding your hair type should help in determining which products are likely to be more beneficial to you. For instance, if you have overly porous hair, you may want to try using a keratin (or other protein) treatment. Of course the best way to know how your hair will respond to a product is to use it, but by knowing which ingredients/products typically work best for your hair type you may be able to narrow your product search down a tad.

Hope this was helpful in some way. Get tested, know your hair type :-) He he he.....

Tootles for now,
Lady Shay




4 comments:

  1. my hair type is "in need of a perm at least once every three months"

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  2. I will never understand how I have so many different textures in my hair...My stylist has pointed out at least 3 which makes it hard for finding the right products to use on my hair.

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  3. Hey Kesha,
    I am with you, I have a two main different hair types, and not only that, but they change periodically (ie. with the weather or my maintenance of my hair). Having different hair types does make it difficult to do/purchase what's best for the entire head. I usually go with what the majority of my hair type is, and if necessary make some special provisions. For example, I sometimes add extra conditioner and leave-in to my little "Michael Jackson" up front since he tends to be straighter and drying than his buddies. Have you ever tried using different products or different amounts of a product on your various hair types?

    Let me know, and keep those comments coming :-)
    Me, Lady Shay

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  4. I need to get tested, because I am not good with qualitative stuff :) The length of your hair may make a difference. Longer hair has more weight, which elongates the curl pattern somewhat. I battle with taking my focus off of my curl pattern and instead focusing on keeping my hair moisturized. I have noticed I get better coils, when my hair is better moisturized. Speaking of, I have a new product review that I will be emailing you. I think I have found my holy grail :D

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