What did I to my hair?

[PinkPeony]

ella your nape hair looks 3c to me. and yes 4a hair grows out curly, but they're naturally frizzy-separated-nappy-type-curly. i'm gonna post some pics later to show a curl definition test i did on my hair. it's soft, hydrated, 4a, nappy, frizzy hair. but i've also found that if i apply product to wet 1 inch sections of hair, smooth through, and let air dry w/o touching it, my 4a hair dries in tiny curlyclumps. this works for any part of my hair. it's mostly 4a with a band of 3c at the nape.

Please do.
I'am even more confused now then at the beginning of the thread.


@B
yes you're right I had a fro but I knew nothing about my hair,my mom always combed my fro into those 70ies fro's,I looked cute with it I may add

 

[PinkPeony]

Hi Ella,
I'm 4 B natural but when i cowash and use a lot of my moisturizer I Have big Z patern kind of curls !

So my curls look different then yours?
I tried making a pic of one of my coils,they look all like that as opposed to

this

I also have a lot of strands that have NO definition at all but the formed themselves with the few coily ones anyways

 

[angie10]

i've noticed this too since going natural. and at first i thought i was seeing things i was always raised to believe i had the roughest of the rough nappy hair. (thankfully i've educated myself out of that backwards thinking) yes, my nappy hair doesn't naturally show curl definition. but if i take a wet 1 inch square section of hair and apply/smooth a slippy leave in & some flax seed gel, ta da i have curl definition -- curls poppin everywhere i don't buy that whole anti-shingling rant. you can't make something out of nothing, in other words, curls pop from nappy hair because nappy hair is curly to begin with. they're just real tiny curls -- i call them tc's for short -- and they're naturally frizzy and separated. so now i know with the right product & right technique, i can have curls that are more defined and clump together. they still shrink up like a mug but you can definitely see some curl action going on.

I agree with this. Beautiful hair ella

 

[PinkPeony]

I agree with this. Beautiful hair ella

Thank you angie

 

[tkj25]

ella here's a link that explains andre walkers hair typing system:

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curl411/types.php

hth

 

[PinkPeony]

ella here's a link that explains andre walkers hair typing system:

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curl411/types.php

hth

Thank you Tk
My hair always looked like 4b without products... or even with,just this one time adding condi(heavy) as a leave in made my hair look like that
So if I add products to it and it looks like 4a then it IS 4a?
I think I'am seriously done with the whole hairtyping thing.

 

[Mestiza]

Oh, I didn't know that... but what I was gonna ask is if you happen to be taking the MSM supplement. At the risk of always being on the "me too" wagon, I started noticing cute little baby curls and smoother new growth, but I'm sure it's not from a topical because the hair all over my body (being discreet here )has changed to a more relaxed, almost straight pattern

A person's hair type can change, too. Whatever is the reason, your hair is pretty.

There have been some discussions about it on LHCF and the Long Hair Community, too. Some of my friends, members of my family and even I have experienced it, too. This is yet, another neat thing about hair. I know that I sound like a hair nerd right about now.

 

[CurlyGirly327]

As many of you now I'am not relaxing my Nape and I love playing with it and doing silly stuff to it.
Today after I DC and put the rest of my hair in a bun i put some conditioner in my nape and worked it in.
I was a bit heavy with the condi and all over sudden my 4b hair has curl definition...
I added some gel to it to preserve it and the curls are still there...
I'am REALLY confused since my hair doesn't grow curly(not that I'am aware of) at my nape.I have a little patch on my crown that is 4a or 3c but the rest of my hair just grows without any definition.

What did I just do?Is that what those threads are about with curl definition?How can that be?I don't have any... NEVER HAD

And is that my natural hair type and I just brought *out* the curl or did I do something similar to shingling and simulated a curl pattern that isn't naturally mine??

One of the curls still has a bit relaxed hair on the end but that's the AFTER

I'am REALLY confused b/c I KNOW I'am a 4a/b mostly b and I thought we don't have curl definition.
I also looked into curl definition threads for help but they all say 4b's don't have curl patterns so please someone enlighten me

You didn't "create" curl definition in your hair. It's been there the whole time. You just couldn't see it because you've been relaxing your hair, which completely breaks down your hair's texture to make it straight. By leaving your nape area alone for an extended period of time, you allowed your natural hair to grow out and reveal its true texture. 4B most certainly does have texture and curl definition, which is usually revealed using gels and pomades in shorter hair, or when the hair is longer and the weight stretches the strands out. HTH

 

[sprungonhairboards]

Girl you jus got good hurr get over it!

j/k

Seriously though, I really don't think you're 4b. If that's 4b then there has to be at least 6 other levels beyond that because I've some hair in a whooole nother category than yours as far as tightness, dryness, shrinkage, and all the things we consider to determine hair type. Your hair just may not have much curl definition, that doesn't automatically make it 4b. But the curls are obviously there.

I'm over the whole typing system too.

 

[LocksOfLuV]

Aww man you look like you are a very soft 4a back there.

It is so pretty, and i wish my nape looked that soft.

 

[PinkPeony]

Again thx everyone for coming in here and trying to help me
Whoever rated me low... well that's your good right I just wish you would have come in here and told me your opinion in this thread

I came to the following conclusions...
a)my hair has been 4b all my way and just now changed

OR
b)my hair was 4b all my life and 4b's can have curl definition too with the right products which I just found out now

I will see what happens as I grow my hair out and then go from there,as of now I just can't get used to being anything but a 4a/b mostly b

man I never knew how much being a 4b meant to me

*time to take a deep breath and relax*


@Locks,
it really doesn't feel that soft cuz of the gel and I co-washed today the curlies were gone again

 

[Kurlee]

I came to the following conclusions...
a)my hair has been 4b all my way and just now changed

OR
b)my hair was 4b all my life and 4b's can have curl definition too with the right products which I just found out now

I'm a take a stab at it. It could be u had 4a hair all along, but jus thought u had 4b which was me. I always thought curly hair was something associated with bi-racial people (i didn't know any better). Then after reducating myself and growing up and growing out my own hair for the first time, i noticed when my hair was wet with conditioner it had small spiral curls. Of course, once it dried with no products, it was brillo, but i figured if they are there wet, they can be there dry. And i evetually had to totally change how i take care and style my hair to make it look the way it wanted to without the grease and all that. After coming here and reading and learning alot, I realized I had just assumed I had 4b becuase i was black (how ignorant? )

part 2, i think 4b can have curl definition, possibly. I have a girlfriend who recently went natural and her hair appears to be 4b. However, she seems to think being natural means combing out her hair frederick douglas style. We went into a store and i tried some curly products in her hair and it curled right up, but to her, she thinks natural doesn't equal curly and pulled the curls out. i think alot of us have been conditoned to think that we can't and don't have curly hair, when alot of us do, but jus have never been taught about this element to our hair, becuase curly hair is supposedly "good hair" and us black folk don't have "that"erplexed I have never ever seen hair that is jus fuzzy with no curl pattern, however tight. The fuzzy ones always had curl potential even when wet, so i dunno......

This whole typing thing is really subjective. Alot of people say 4a and i see 3c/3b and then i think if ur 4a, whuts whoopi? 6a? So yea, it really subjective, anyway sorry for rambling, enjoy ur hair whatever type it is and learn as much as u can to keep it looking its best.