woman's perception of 4a vs 4b... will you agree..

I came across this article while looking at pics and articles of 4a and 4b and its pretty interesting... but is it more so true than not?

Would you all who are familiar with the differences be able to give your opinions?? And can you really tell your hair type from you newgrowth once it reaches a certain length?

http://aratashair.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/hair-type-distinguishing-between-4a-and-4b-hair/
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….Hair type. Distinguishing between 4A and 4B hair….
Hello everybody. Today I am feeling so good. My affirmation today is

“I give a portion of my time to helping others. It is good for my health”

And in that spirit, today I am going to discuss the textures of 4a and 4b hair. What texture do I have? This is a common question and one I had myself when I first began my natural hair journey.

How to tell if you are 4A or 4B: Many 4′s are a combination of both. However you can tell by testing your new growth. Is it obvious waves of hair that stay that way when you stretch your hair out? If so, you are most likely 4A. If not, and if your waves seem to get straighter or disappear, then you are most likely 4B.

Another no-fail test is the wash test. After washing and detangling, are you left with clumps of curls or more of an afro with less definition. 4A hair clumps and curls when wet, 4B hair does not.

The longer 4B hair gets, the straighter it gets. With length, unlike 4A hair, the mini curls and z’s start to disappear. 4B’s have to be careful when texlaxing/texturinzing because 4B hair can be mostly zigzags of hair, and not actual strong curls, it is easy to end up with straight hair.

4a hair is also known as “grease and water” hair if you are familiar with the term. It’s hair that will go from looking 4b to curling up with grease and water – showcasing it’s true texture.

4b hair can sometimes mimic curls and sometimes not, or at least does not LOOK like it curls because they are so small. Some 4b’s say that their hair does not even have small curls and that their hair is more of a “z” shape v.s. the 4a “s” shape.

There is a debate among naturals that 4b hair has curls (“s” shape), while others say it does not (“z” shape). In the end, whether it has curls or not does not matter

Once you know what your hair texture is and what works for it is all that matters most as well as learning how to care for it so that it is healthy and vibrant. You can’t treat 4b hair like 3a hair, so proceed with your hair care accordingly.

Finding a hair twin that can relate to your woes can also make the process of learning to care for your natural hair go a lot smoothly. I have 4b hair all round the edges but 4a hair in the middle of my scalp

I have recently started using suave naturals tropical coconut shampoo and conditioner. (As pictured) On the container, it says it is infused with coconut extract and vitamin E. I was very happy to find these products because they were only a dollar each. And so far they are working just fine. I co wash every day and shampoo once a week.

I really don't see a discussion here. The author accurately describes the difference between 4a and 4b hair. Based on the descriptions, I know I have a combination of both, although the 4b strands are more prominent.

koolkittychick said:

I really don't see a discussion here. The author accurately describes the difference between 4a and 4b hair. Based on the descriptions, I know I have a combination of both, although the 4b strands are more prominent.

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So do you agree with what was said in the article? koolkittychick ..even about testing the newgrowth?? Im just curious

I basically wanted to know if people agreed or disagreed with the article and get opinions.

i agree with the article and i am 4a to a T. i have also posted pics of my hair and it's texture in the past. i believe 4a can be somewhat of a challenge to deal with, plus i feel 4a deals with a lot of shrinkage issues. i am relaxed, and i have issues with stretching for long periods of time. my new growth tends to want to curl and coil, and causes a major weak point of the demarcation line. since 4b has less coil and more zigzag, i feel someone with that type can stretch longer, since the zigzag pattern is being stretched out.

i also have issues with shedding and tangling. i have to remove shed hairs, or they will tangle up and cause me to have to remove knots from my hair. so i have learned that the comb is my friend.

I don't find that to be true with my hair ( in regards to the longer it gets/straight).
The longer my hair has gotten, the more it shrinks. It has not gotten straighter, however if I wear a washngo thenponytail/pineapple, some of the curls will turn wavy instead of curling back up if I do not mist the hair.

I disagree with the differentiation of 4a and 4b hair in this article. I have everything from 3c to 4c on my head. But it's mostly 4a and b and the only difference between the two is that my 4a clumps whilst my 4b doesn't. My 4b doesn't zigzag, it's still I spiral curl

Idk but it seems like she's describing 4b as 4c?

I'm 4 something. I guess most of my hair is 4a. I have super tight coils that will easily curl back up with a liquid (water, leave in, etc). The top of my head is its own special type. 3.75d maybe lol.

So I don't disagree with it completely but I've always read it's 4c that has little "curl"

cwmarie said:

Idk but it seems like she's describing 4b as 4c?

I'm 4 something. I guess most of my hair is 4a. I have super tight coils that will easily curl back up with a liquid (water, leave in, etc). The top of my head is its own special type. 3.75d maybe lol.

So I don't disagree with it completely but I've always read it's 4c that has little "curl"

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IMO, 4b is 4c. There is no 4C just as there is no 3C

Thats not to shut down anyone's hair and what it looks like but following a specific chart.. made by Andre Walker. He didn't include those types.

heirloom said:

I disagree with the differentiation of 4a and 4b hair in this article. I have everything from 3c to 4c on my head. But it's mostly 4a and b and the only difference between the two is that my 4a clumps whilst my 4b doesn't. My 4b doesn't zigzag, it's still I spiral curl

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IA. My 4B is a spiral curly just smaller ones than the hair that is 4A on my head. In fact, my 4A hair has more a zig zaggy pattern but larger ones than my 4B hair. I do agree with her when she says that 4B hair can straighten rather quickly when texlaxed instead turning into looser curls because that definitely happened to me when it came to heat damage. The heat damaged 4A parts of my hair was a looser curl while the heat damaged 4b parts of my hair would become bone straight.

Honestly, hair typing is so subjective and most people's hair do not fit exactly into any of the types out there, so it's hard to have any firm specific characteristics of a hair type.

This is interesting, i always read that 4b did have some form of a curl/coil while the 4c was the type with no defined curl pattern, from looking at my newgrowth my back and edges dont have a defined pattern but the top and middle i can see small curls or coils.

IMFOCSD said:

So do you agree with what was said in the article? @koolkittychick ..even about testing the newgrowth?? Im just curious

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I would agree with most of the article, IMFOCSD. When I was fully natural after my BC, I had tiny little ringlets and curls all over my head, which would "pop" and stay very easily with some water and a little moisturizer. Then as the hair grew out, the majority of it stopped coiling the longer it got and just "frizzed out" into an undefined pattern, indicating that I am mostly a 4b. Even though I'm relaxed now, I do stretch for long periods of time, and my new growth follows the same pattern. The first inch is a defined S curl pattern that clumps with water and product, and any new growth beyond that first inch frizzes out into an undefined pattern. My front edges don't even get the first inch of S curl, it's just frizzy from the root, while my nape retails the curl throughout the length and forms tiny spirals if manipulated with a little gel.

I just think people need to stick to going by the size of curl 4a is pen spring curls

All the other stuff about what the hair is supposed to do in different circumstances still will cause confusion for some as

Hair texture density porosity which is not hair type ... Will have your hair act differently to the next

Going by size IMO cuts all that out

I have the tiniest "o" shaped coils. When wet my hair can be easily manipulated amd stretched. I have high shrinkage, and no amount of grease, water or anything will make my hair look curly or lay down my edges. Im a 4b.
Once heat styled my hair maintains the style until the next shampoo. When straightened my hair has serious shine and bounce. My natural 4b vs straightened 4b is like night and day. It is also really easy to heat damage my hair, because although the coils are tiny and appear coarse, my hair is really fine and fragile.

^^ Wait, I always thought that pen screw curls were 4b ?(my coils are identical to the pen spring things) This hair typing thing is so confusing. I always thought 4a was like Naptural85 who has larger type 4 coils.

The fact that this blogger felt the need to write a short essay about how to distinguish only 2 of the hair types shows that "hair typing" is unnecessarily complicated.

heirloom said:

I disagree with the differentiation of 4a and 4b hair in this article. I have everything from 3c to 4c on my head. But it's mostly 4a and b and the only difference between the two is that my 4a clumps whilst my 4b doesn't. My 4b doesn't zigzag, it's still I spiral curl

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I agree. The same is true for me in that my 4b hair coils but it doesn't clump.

overtherainbow said:

^^ Wait, I always thought that pen screw curls were 4b ?(my coils are identical to the pen spring things) This hair typing thing is so confusing. I always thought 4a was like Naptural85 who has larger type 4 coils.

The fact that this blogger felt the need to write a short essay about how to distinguish only 2 of the hair types shows that "hair typing" is unnecessarily complicated.

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Very true!

After you get a good amount of growth, I think you can tell the difference between waves (which usually curl after BC) vs zigzags. But I think 3c vs 4a and 4a vs 4c would be difficult since the difference is merely the size of the curl. Even all natural, its hard to tell.

Embyra said:

I just think people need to stick to going by the size of curl 4a is pen spring curls

All the other stuff about what the hair is supposed to do in different circumstances still will cause confusion for some as

Hair texture density porosity which is not hair type ... Will have your hair act differently to the next

Going by size IMO cuts all that out

Click to expand...

True. 3c, 4a, 4b are all about describing curl size, but have nothing to do with how your hair behaves and reacts to products.

I'm a 4a to a T too. I transitioned for a year and my new growth clearly coiled up tight. So I knew when I big chopped there was gonna be a lot of shrinkage. I would describe my hair as pen spring coils. To not see my coils at all my hair has to be full of buildup otherwise the coils are always present.

Prettymetty said:

I have the tiniest "o" shaped coils. When wet my hair can be easily manipulated amd stretched. I have high shrinkage, and no amount of grease, water or anything will make my hair look curly or lay down my edges. Im a 4b. Once heat styled my hair maintains the style until the next shampoo. When straightened my hair has serious shine and bounce. My natural 4b vs straightened 4b is like night and day. It is also really easy to heat damage my hair, because although the coils are tiny and appear coarse, my hair is really fine and fragile.

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This. The majority of my hair would be described the same way...I consider myself a 4b.

4A size of coil varies from pen-size coils to pen-spring size coils.The 4A category is tightly coiled hair with visible curls when dry and un-manipulated. When it is stretched it has more of an S pattern



4B hair has more of a ‘z” pattern with a less of a defined curl that appears as ‘clouds’ of hair, the hair tends to bend in sharp angles making it less curly and more wiry in comparison to the 4A category.

this is my hair. i consider myself 4a. this is my hair freshly washed, no product, wet.




this is my hair dry

shortdub78 said:

i agree with the article and i am 4a to a T. i have also posted pics of my hair and it's texture in the past. i believe 4a can be somewhat of a challenge to deal with, plus i feel 4a deals with a lot of shrinkage issues. i am relaxed, and i have issues with stretching for long periods of time. my new growth tends to want to curl and coil, and causes a major weak point of the demarcation line. since 4b has less coil and more zigzag, i feel someone with that type can stretch longer, since the zigzag pattern is being stretched out.

i also have issues with shedding and tangling. i have to remove shed hairs, or they will tangle up and cause me to have to remove knots from my hair. so i have learned that the comb is my friend.

Click to expand...

I call myself not detangling and ended up with a bunch of knots. I use combs to detangle rather than a brush.

Shay72 said:

I call myself not detangling and ended up with a bunch of knots. I use combs to detangle rather than a brush.

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i used to use my fingers and it just wasn't cutting it. i would end up with knots that i would have to cut out.

This last pic was during my transition

According to that drawing with all the hair types, I'm a combination of 2,3 & 4. Hair typing is hard.

"4A hair clumps and curls when wet, 4B hair does not"

This is my hair 100%.

Oh wow then I guess I'm 4a after all. My coils clump even in the most struggle conditions. And when stretched it definitely takes an S shape. I do have patches of 4b hair that doesn't clump at all, but most of my head is coily.
Thanks for the visuals hanna_light

My whole head clumps but I guess I am 3c/4a

Now that I look at the chart maybe I'm 3b/3c I'm confused but my hair does not curl tightly.