Her 4b is not MY 4b ....hair type

rabs77

Well-Known Member
Thanks hun! :kiss: But I'm still offended for various reasons. As much as we want to think everybody on this board is all for healthy hair regardless of whether it is natural or not, that's simply not always the case and it comes through with the language people use in their posts. :ohwell:

I doubt AvaSpeaks intended to offend. She is new to the board, not even a month old, a newbie. I know being on this board awhile changes our perceptions on black hair immensely. We learn a lot from this board. I am sure prior to joining LHCF, a lot of people on this board may have believed, I know I did, that 4a,b ...etc hair NEEDED a relaxer to look straight. I have a lot of friends who are not members of this board who still believe this. Through exposure to each other we now know what our hair is capable of without a relaxer.We have developed a "culture" on this board where we know what to say, what not to say, etc. She is new and has not yet learnt the LHCF "language". I hope you are still not offended.

AvaSpeaks...Please don't go back to lurking....You are welcome here:wave:
 

ccd

New Member
I doubt AvaSpeaks intended to offend. She is new to the board, not even a month old, a newbie. I know being on this board awhile changes our perceptions on black hair immensely. We learn a lot from this board. I am sure prior to joining LHCF, a lot of people on this board may have believed, I know I did, that 4a,b ...etc hair NEEDED a relaxer to look straight. I have a lot of friends who are not members of this board who still believe this. Through exposure to each other we now know what our hair is capable of without a relaxer.We have developed a "culture" on this board where we know what to say, what not to say, etc. She is new and has not yet learnt the LHCF "language". I hope you are still not offended.

AvaSpeaks...Please don't go back to lurking....You are welcome here:wave:

RABs......I just wanted to say.....THANKS FOR DOING THIS!!!! I dislike conflict myself and I go from participating and then lurking because it can get "hot" sometimes......Thank for being so thoughtful and trying to bring folks together!!! :yep:
 

rabs77

Well-Known Member
RABs......I just wanted to say.....THANKS FOR DOING THIS!!!! I dislike conflict myself and I go from participating and then lurking because it can get "hot" sometimes......Thank for being so thoughtful and trying to bring folks together!!! :yep:

No biggy!:) It's obvious she's a newbie and meant no harm.


Errrr CCD....:wow: at your hair. All that shine....please share ...what did you do..cos I'm about to do the same!!
 
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kbfluff

New Member
I luv this post. I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I consider myself a 4-something. I'm relaxed, however my 12 week stretched NG laughed at my flatiron. I couldn't even attempt to comb thru this stuff without perming the NG first.
I have to admit that my nape is like a 3 something...all baby hair? Go figure. Isn't it strange how we (black folk) can have a multitude of textures on one head of hair??!!:spinning:
 

ccd

New Member
No biggy!:) It's obvious she's a newbie and meant no harm.


Errrr CCD....:wow: at your hair. All that shine....please share ...what did you do..cos I'm about to do the same!!


Ohh thank you!!! I haven't changed my routine much since 05 but this picture was after washed after a prepoo of Macadamia Nut oil left for about 30 mins) I roller set and I use Lacio Lacio ( the last bit of it I have) mixed with Pantene Smooth and Silky Milk (my new favorite) and I added some light oil on top (Easy Look-Whale Sperm /yes it's not a typo) ...this is what made the difference I think. My hair really likes oils but I'm usually lazy to use them regularly...prolly should right. If you want more info you can PM me or look up my FOM :) 2005

THANKS AGAIN !!!!
 

Dearlove

New Member
AMEN to this thread!! I don't post often, but had been thinking about making a long post about my experience as a 4z natural who was at a low point in her hair journey, but this thread showed me I am alone.

Why did I buy the Thermasmooth system, dry with a roller set under the hot a$$ dryer, and flat iron at 410 degrees (yes, I know you fry chicken at 350) on a no humidity day and have the lower back revert before I could pass the iron on the last piece up front? My hair just wasn't having it!!

I have made peace with my hair. I know I can't use all the advice that is posted (wash n go, my big toe!), but I take inspiration from everyone's quest for healthy hair.
 

AvaSpeaks

New Member
Okay let me clear up something here about my post or posts.

First, thanks to those who wlecome me here, thanks alot. Like I said, I have been reading this site for about 2 years and taking the advice from it. Just last week I decided to join. I've been lurking and reading the posts and using the advice from this board for the past 2 years. I JOINED so I could post. But again, didn't mean to offend anyone about their hair texture or type and my words did come out wrong.

I am all for healthy hair and healthy hair growth, so please don't think that I not. But I did notice that a spin-off thread was made that had various extended ranges of hair types, the same point I was trying to make. So I know that I am not alone in thinking that there needs to be more inclusive categories than the ones that we have.

So because of that, I will stay and post :user:

And bemorefly, I didn't mean to offend you. But don't think I'm not on here to promote healthy hair just because you didn't understand what I was trying to say in my post. If I said it wrong, then that's on me but don't hold that against me and judge my presence on the boards by that.

I mean, I haven't even been here a week and I'm already in trouble :spank:
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
You know what...I checked out your album and I would consider you a 4a/4b mix. It looks like you have a z pattern in the front, but a coily texture everywhere else. Nevertheless (like any of this matters anyways) your hair looks very healthy:yep:


Oh no patty...i have a quartersize patch in the nape area that looks like 4a but best believe its z pattern everywhere else:lachen::lachen::lachen:
Thanks for the compliment though
 

Twisties

New Member
AMEN to this thread!! I don't post often, but had been thinking about making a long post about my experience as a 4z natural who was at a low point in her hair journey, but this thread showed me I am alone.

Why did I buy the Thermasmooth system, dry with a roller set under the hot a$$ dryer, and flat iron at 410 degrees (yes, I know you fry chicken at 350) on a no humidity day and have the lower back revert before I could pass the iron on the last piece up front? My hair just wasn't having it!!

I have made peace with my hair. I know I can't use all the advice that is posted (wash n go, my big toe!), but I take inspiration from everyone's quest for healthy hair.

we all still cutting up on here. this was hilarious:lachen:. i am at peace too:grin:.
 

cocoberry10

New Member
AMEN to this thread!! I don't post often, but had been thinking about making a long post about my experience as a 4z natural who was at a low point in her hair journey, but this thread showed me I am alone.

Why did I buy the Thermasmooth system, dry with a roller set under the hot a$$ dryer, and flat iron at 410 degrees (yes, I know you fry chicken at 350) on a no humidity day and have the lower back revert before I could pass the iron on the last piece up front? My hair just wasn't having it!!

I have made peace with my hair. I know I can't use all the advice that is posted (wash n go, my big toe!), but I take inspiration from everyone's quest for healthy hair.

:amen::thatsall::yep::yep: I agree
 

Lia200805

New Member
4z checking in. Yeah, that's right. 4z. This should be our new catagory on the real.


You know you're a 4z when:
  • You beg your hair to pleazzzzzzze cooperate if only for a minute!
  • You hear "snap, crackle, pop" when you try to run a comb through that new growth :lachen:
  • You flatiron your NG and workout, and it's like you never flatironed at all
  • There is no such thing as a wash n' go and never will be such a thing
  • There also isn't a such thing as laying down those roots with shea butter and a scarf and getting waves :look:
  • If you stretch for longer than 8 weeks, it brings on clinical depression :nono:. You get depressed because there just ain't no way in h*ll that your stylist (if you use one) will be able to sort through all of those naps without "snap, crackle, pop" :ohwell:; and if you self relax, at least one area is guaranteed to come out underprocessed.
  • You can go swimming and the middle of your hair will still be DRY :lachen:(just kidding on this one; D.L. Hugheley mentioned this in one of his stand-ups)
Feel free to add to the list.

Oh, I'm crying with laughter - middle of your hair will still be dry...:lachen:
I don't even have a clue what kind of hair I've got. All I know is that I have it on my head, it keeps my head warm and it will play ball if I desperately need it to. It's just hair at the end of the day and I'm not sure that I even want to fit into a 'type'. As long as I can get rid of the relaxed ends I've been carrying around for the last 13 months and be able to get curls/kinks without the need of a curling tong, I'll be happy.
 

natural2008

Well-Known Member
Gilr I hear you. I am a 4b-z all the way and my hair is dry and cottony, etc. I also wondered about the women on here who say that their hair is a 4b and they have curls and use this and that product and when I bought the product it did absolutely nothing for my hair.
 

Lia200805

New Member
I have wondered on occasion if some ladies were purposely claiming a 'type' that was kinkier than theirs (thus confusing the hell out of other ladies what actually thought they WERE a particular hair type) - dunno why a person would do that, but I'm a cynic so I think about this kinda stuff. Whether or not you are a 3c or a 4b/c with s's, zeds, kinks, coils (I could go on...) it doesn't matter. I feel quite strongly about this because my aunt is currently battling with cancer and the last of her hair is gone. I know she doesn't give a hoot about 'types', she just wants to be able to survive it. If I came to her with foolishness about hair type she'd probably knock me out. Seriously though, who cares, I know I don't!
:lick:
 

sylver2

Well-Known Member
To my understanding, your idea of 4b is correct. 4b hair does not curl. However, we have to remember that there is variety within each hair type too. All 4a's don't look like my hair, but my hair is still 4a with some 3c. I don't have any 4b hair at all. All people's thickness and density play a factor too. My hair is fine. If it was thicker, I'm sure it would look different.

Sometimes when people have other types mixed in, it will make their hair look different. Like people with both 4a and 4b. The 4a pieces being mixed in can make the hair look different.

And also, for people who are relaxed and stretching, their relaxed hair may be weighing down the natural hair so their pattern looks looser.

Great post
hey I never saw this thread.
I am definately a combination of 4a/b. No curls here. I remember whn I was natural and bought Black Hair Sophisticate with Michael Michelle on cover. Inside she had her regimen and how she got her curls. She said she washed hair, conditioned then took some gel and scrunched and viola!!
ummm welll why did I try this:nono: thinking thats all I needed to do. gelled buckwheat afro.:lachen:
didn't learn my lesson when I tried again with Chilli from TLC's hair regimen..took me a minute to realize I um had nappy hair:lachen: no curls, no waves, not even the little coils some 4a's get.
 

sydney100

New Member
OMG! I'm late but your hair type definitely describes mine. I always roll my eyes at the people who claim to be 4B. It takes a super strenght relaxer and tons of moisturizer just to put a comb in my hair. Every time I stretch, I break a comb!!! I have no defined curls unless freshly relaxed. It's nice to meet other true 4b's.
 

Nonpareil

New Member
I have three textures going on, as do many people. I'm mostly 4a with some 3c in the nape. My crown is 100% 4b. :yep:
 

Kurlee

Well-Known Member
I think people just have a hard time understanding what 4b is. Its a matter of perception. If you have curly hair then you are not 4b. 2-4a are curly hair types and 1abc and 4b are not. I never understood the confusion.
 

metro_qt

Well-Known Member
I think people just have a hard time understanding what 4b is. Its a matter of perception. If you have curly hair then you are not 4b. 2-4a are curly hair types and 1abc and 4b are not. I never understood the confusion.

LOOOOOL...
you just broke it down in one concise sentence.
 

YummyC

New Member
I am definitely 4b with a little 4a thrown in (it's time for me to review that double chin tightener thread :lol:)



!!!This is what my hair looks like!!
 

hairedity

Well-Known Member
U know u're 4z when:

u're a LHCF newbie & really believe that you can do an 18 week stretch & when you take the cornrows out from your weave YOUR NG ACTUALLY SPEAKS 2 U & ASKS . . . DID U FORGET HOW I ROLL???

So you have a TWA w/ some relaxed strands sprouting in the air from it & u cancel all social engagements, until your scalp calms down enough 4 a relaxer. . .

In the interim, there is absolutely nothing u can do w/ the beast u created by not respecting that u ain't getting no waves w/ a water bottle and a scarf, so u run & buy a wig hoping that this will get u through a few days of work

Then u spend the whole day pulling the wig down as it rises like yeast above the bush underneath.

That my friends is a day in the life of a 4zzzzzzzzer & that day is TODAY.


O my gosh, been a member here for a few months and this is absolutely the funniest thread I've read ever! EVER! :lachen:
 

Blessed_Angel

New Member
Ok.


So I see plenty of sistas on here saying that they are 4b. In my mind, IMO, 4b hair is very coarse hair. To ME, coarse hair does not have a defined curl or wave pattern. TO ME, 4b hair is very cottony like in that you cannot deterimine any kind of pattern to it when looking at how the hairs loop around. It is not like small pen springs or loose roller waves. AT LEAST MY 4B HAIR DOES NOT! :nono:

Am I wrong? :rolleyes:

I am asking because I have a patch of 4b in the back of my head that makes it hella hard to stretch. All the CW and pooing, oooing and ahhing over it will not allow me to get a comb through it come 8 weeks without MAJOR breakage. That section does not wave up. It does not curl up. Nada. It is HELLA DRY and those bad boys are THE driest hairs on my entire body especially as I stretch. :wallbash:

I am *venting* because several sistas on here will say that they are 4b. Cool. :yep: I am then reading all their advice about what products to use when stretching that never work for me, and how to best comb through, and how to stretch, yada, yada.

Fast forward. :yawn:

Eight months later when they decide to BC because they had the best time stretching with no breakage and then you see their natural hair.:spinning:

All nicely coiled and wavy, etc. All the while, I'm thinking...no she didn't! :sad: This chick had me thinking I could strecth 50+ weeks just by using a dime size amount of conditioner every two weeks and her hair is NATURALLY curly (and not coarse!). :wallbash:

So....am I beyond 4b then? Who on here is a TRUE 4b hair type if I am right? Does anyone understand what I am trying to say?!?!??!

I understand what you're saying...and I totally understand your frustrations.
 

kbfluff

New Member
I think people just have a hard time understanding what 4b is. Its a matter of perception. If you have curly hair then you are not 4b. 2-4a are curly hair types and 1abc and 4b are not. I never understood the confusion.


EXACTLY!!!!!! Especially the bold! Case Closed.
(Im 4a & b)
 

Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll

Well-Known Member
You know, this thread is a revelation, because, as much as i don't care about hair typing, i throught my hair was somewhere in the 4 range, now i'm re thinking to maybe 3C/4A or such....my hair does wave and curl...i did not mean to mislead anyone, i just really did not know. :perplexed

this thread is hilarious, but it does get ya ta thinking...especially when it comes to product reviews...my sister always tells me that what works for me does not work for her, and yes, our hair types are TOTALLY different...I am transitioning and it hasn't been much of a problem...i'm 9 months post...I'll keep that in mind when someone is referring a product and vice versa....

Sorry Sistas! :( I didn't mean to throw you off!
 
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