There is a ratings scale for hair texture that exists to help natural girls navigate the wide wide world of hair products. I have included the types with pictures. I hope this helps.
Type 1 is straight hair. Type 2 is wavy hair. No need to include these.
Type 3b hair is very diverse with many subcategories. This is the realm of mixed-girl hair. Or for those of you with "Indian" in your family.
Type 4 and its subcategories are kinky/afro type hair.
3b1
3c
3c2
4a
4c
Now most of us are somewhere in between these categories, or in my case a mixture of about two or three. Most hair care products for natural hair use this guide. I hope this helps.
I struggle with some natural hair honestly.
First, I have huge, huge issues with the idea, albeit unspoken, that natural is (or should be) synonymous with kinky hair. My hair is natural and it’s curly, not kinky. I think “natural” should be replaced with “untreated.”
Also, I wish people would be honest and admit that some untreated hair looks awful. But that’s considered to be somehow inpolitic because all untreated hair is supposed to be “beautiful.” Please.
That said, I still remember seeing a woman with a finger-combed ‘Fro in 2002. It was dark, kinky and ethereal, so much so that I complimented her and asked her how she achieved her look. She said she used olive oil and wrapped it up at night. It was gorgeous and what I compare untreated hair to to this day.
Hair that’s hard to comb or that can’t get wet … it’s like … that’s difficult for me to appreciate. I will not soon forget hiking with a woman who, as it began to rain, acted as though she was about to die. I asked her what her problem was and she pointed to her hair. Talk about a turn off …
I have natural hair because I like my hair texture. I am not all militant about. I would straighten my hair for a cute style, I just don’t want it to be forced on me.
I think most ‘untreated’ hair looks bad because we are not taught how to care for our hair in it’s natural state. There are many textures and styles that compliment different hair types.
I get tired of women (black) wanting to touch my hair like it’s some holy grail of naturalness. Everybody’s hair is different, which is why I included a chart.
I just don’t think something like hair texture should separate people, you know, good vs bad hair. I like to talk natural hair as inclusive.