Is type 4b hair uncommon?

[poookie]

so after reading 6 pages of this thread... on 40 posts per page view... i think it's pretty safe to say that hair typing sucks.

my new growth comes in as reallly teeny tiny pen spring sized coils that clump together. so i'd call myself 4a. but some of y'all would call it 4b. my new growth coils look exactly like mwedzi & nonie's coils when they're left unmanipulated, & not blown out like they usually are. and that now makes me confused. i'm just gonna type myself as beauti4l & call it a day!

 

[EbonyHairedPrincess]

Subscribing

 

[Foxglove]

so after reading 6 pages of this thread... on 40 posts per page view... i think it's pretty safe to say that hair typing sucks.

my new growth comes in as reallly teeny tiny pen spring sized coils that clump together. so i'd call myself 4a. but some of y'all would call it 4b. my new growth coils look exactly like mwedzi & nonie's coils when they're left unmanipulated, & not blown out like they usually are. and that now makes me confused. i'm just gonna type myself as beauti4l & call it a day!

My hair does this too. The closeups look like mwedzi's and nonie's teeny coils

and my hair behaves more like the 4b hair that I've seen but I thought the definition of 4a was coils. Still confused lol

 

[Nonie]

My hair does this too. The closeups look like mwedzi's and nonie's teeny coils

and my hair behaves more like the 4b hair that I've seen but I thought the definition of 4a was coils. Still confused lol

It is. 4A just has coils are bigger than 4B. Bigger coils that clump easily because they are wider so cup each other with ease and hence WNGs show up as defined coils because the clumping creates THICKER coils that are distinguishable from each other.

4B coils are that small, as you show, and so the coils are too "closed up" to clump easily. They behave kinda like pen springs would behave if you tried to press them together: instead of combining to form a corkscrew, they would just other bounce off each other or just lock up.

I think you've figured your hair out. Andre's definition "of no pattern" is probably what has you all confused. Bottom line is, at least you know how your hair behaves. What it's called isn't that important.

 

[FlowerHair]

My hair does this too. The closeups look like mwedzi's and nonie's teeny coils

and my hair behaves more like the 4b hair that I've seen but I thought the definition of 4a was coils. Still confused lol

Those little coils make me miss my dad.
So cute.

 

[Foxglove]

Those little coils make me miss my dad.
So cute.

aww

 

[Janet']

Good thread...Interesting comments.

 

[miss stress]

i think my daughter is 4b and Ive never seen hair like heres b4 so I think it may just b rare

 

[Nonie]

i think my daughter is 4b and Ive never seen hair like heres b4 so I think it may just b rare

Do you have photos?

 

[jamaica68]

Could it be that people's definitions of 4b are different? I know I used to define myself as 4a (with a sprinkling of 3c throughout), but then again my hair looks a lot like some folks who define themselves as 4b (hi Nonie!).

So...I don't know. The whole hair type thing is so divisive sometimes.

I think you're on to something about everyone's definitions and by looking at the old poll, 4b isn't uncommon at all.

 

[miss stress]

I think her hair is 4b cause there is no curl or wave pattern whatsoever,and its drier than any hair I've ever touched I would call it cnapp actually, but I have heard people say that type doesnt exist so till I figure something out I guess I'll just call it 4b Those r the best texture shots I can find so I hope u can tell wht I mean

 

[Imani]

Everyone in my family is 4b. And I think Im 4b or mostly 4b. Some of my hair in the back has semi-visible coils when wet, but they pretty much disappear once my hair dries so I generally say I'm 4b.

I thought 4b was very common until I came to the boards and saw that didn't seem to be the case amongst the regular posters on here. Then I began to wonder if 4b was as common as I thought it was.

 

[RUBY]

My hair does this too. The closeups look like mwedzi's and nonie's teeny coils

and my hair behaves more like the 4b hair that I've seen but I thought the definition of 4a was coils. Still confused lol

This is the first time on this board where I've seen an example of how my own hair actually behaves. My hair curls the exact same way into a tiny circle but uncurled that piece of hair could be several inches long.

 

[Tiye]

I think her hair is 4b cause there is no curl or wave pattern whatsoever,and its drier than any hair I've ever touched I would call it cnapp actually, but I have heard people say that type doesnt exist so till I figure something out I guess I'll just call it 4b Those r the best texture shots I can find so I hope u can tell wht I mean

^^ She's beautiful. I didn't quote the pics in case you decide to remove them. That's a lot like my hair. It doesn't have to be dry, you just have to find the right products for it. You need a low product regimen - that type of hair doesn't get anything out of being drowned in goop or grease. Use mild shampoo. Follow Nonie's advice. She has her hair under control and has her methods well documented here on lhcf.

I don't necessarily identify with the cnapp'ers but otoh I don't appreciate people saying I don't exist either.

 

[Tiye]

Everyone in my family is 4b. And I think Im 4b or mostly 4b. Some of my hair in the back has semi-visible coils when wet, but they pretty much disappear once my hair dries so I generally say I'm 4b.

I thought 4b was very common until I came to the boards and saw that didn't seem to be the case amongst the regular posters on here. Then I began to wonder if 4b was as common as I thought it was.

It's common. Maybe it should be said that 4bs are the least likely to show a lot of pics on hair boards. Maybe that's because we already know what type of hair we have so we don't have as many questions. I think the biggest degree of confusion was with people in the 3-4a range (as demonstrated by early gen hair boards like naturallycurly.com).

And there's the wow factor issue. Reality is that 4b hair - especially if it's not super long doesn't get as much notice. People tend not to post pics if they already have the idea that people aren't going to be interested. This doesn't mean that 4bs aren't posting pics - but they might be posting on low traffic blogs or little visited fotki albums, etc, - so they sort to the bottom of the pile and people don't know about them.

 

[Bun Mistress]

I'm 4B, I have pics posted in the 4b thread. Supper shrinkage and for the most part, no curl pattern to speak of, some z if you try to let the hair clump, but if it clumps, it just tangles. I did the BKT because I got tried of the detangling sessions and braiding.

 

[lushcoils]

It's common. Maybe it should be said that 4bs are the least likely to show a lot of pics on hair boards. Maybe that's because we already know what type of hair we have so we don't have as many questions. I think the biggest degree of confusion was with people in the 3-4a range (as demonstrated by early gen hair boards like naturallycurly.com).

And there's the wow factor issue. Reality is that 4b hair - especially if it's not super long doesn't get as much notice. People tend not to post pics if they already have the idea that people aren't going to be interested. This doesn't mean that 4bs aren't posting pics - but they might be posting on low traffic blogs or little visited fotki albums, etc, - so they sort to the bottom of the pile and people don't know about them.

Exactly. I was about to post this. 4B hair textures typically don't get oohed, ahhed, and complimented like the curlies unless it's like APL length or HUGE or looks curly some way from a twist out/braid out etc. So we don't post as much. Plus, I think 4Bers either 1). tend to have locs since it's easier for us to retain hair that way, 2). relax our hair since many 4bers believer their hair is too nappy to go natural, or 3). don't believe it's possible for them to grow long hair anyway (from the lack of real life role models) so they don't bother to search for hair tips or boards like these.

 

[nzeee]

wow... i normally read an entire thread before posting but this one is 22pages. i got to page 6 and then read from the top of this one... but i'm compelled to post, pls don't stone me if i mention something already noted upthread.
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i don't know that we'll ever crack the 4b code since hair typing is not a science and not carried out by scientists (so the fact that many people self-type as 4b in this poll means nothing really).

i do disagree tho with many who have said hair doesn't grow in a zig-zag or none curl pattern tho. i wouldn't say that 4b is necessarily rare, but i don't see many people w/ my variation of 4b hair or my mum's hair which takes that non-curl thing to the extreme.

most of my hair is not curly or coilly. much of it is just like my mum's, meaning it grows in crinkly, definitely not curly/coilly and w/ no discernable curl pattern. my mum's now... i have yet to see her hair on anyone else. maybe i need to look more closely or just know more people, but her hair looks lightly relaxed when it's not. i don't have a pic of her hair but when i can snag one w/out her freaking out i will.

i wish i could see more variation of 4b hair frankly. i'm desperate for a hair twin. i'd like to see another person who is told to cut her relaxed ends (i have none, just lots of random hair that grows in straight-ish throughout my head) and others who couldn't fake an afro if they tried due to once again, the random straighter bits that just do not mix well.

witness all those who doubt the existence of the non-curl pattern (doesn't apply to my whole head, just about 50-60% of it. sides are what most associate w/ 4b hair, super tight curls. but you can see the texture difference between front and sides in this pic):
<img pulled for google reasons>

and then of course i have 4a at nape and crown:
<img pulled for google reasons>

my pubes don't even grown in curly never mind!

 

[cornaline]

Hi all,
I havn't read the whole thread either and I am kind of new to my HJ so sorry if my question seems out of place: although new, I have been a lurker on this site for a few months now, I think that I read somewhere about a 4C type. So my question is is there such hair type ?
My hair type is much coarsier and dry than the tightest curls on Nzee's photo. I feel that this is rahter this extreme, dry tight coils kin of hair type that is marginalized on the board. Please excuse my english if there are mistakes, I am francophone.

 

[Nonie]

Hi all,
I havn't read the whole thread either and I am kind of new to my HJ so sorry if my question seems out of place: although new, I have been a lurker on this site for a few months now, I think that I read somewhere about a 4C type. So my question is is there such hair type ?
My hair type is much coarsier and dry than the tightest curls on Nzee's photo. I feel that this is rahter this extreme, dry tight coils kin of hair type that is marginalized on the board. Please excuse my english if there are mistakes, I am francophone.

There's no 4C. 4B can be fine or coarse and the dryer it is and the more manipulated it is, the more "shapeless" it becomes. I will continue to insist that no hair grows out of anyone's head in a zigzag or formless pattern. It's either straight, wavy or curly. The end.

If you cut your hair really short and watch it grow out of your scalp unmanipulated, you will see it grow in a curvy way. It's manipulating that takes away that shape.

This is an example of coarse (ie thick strands), dry 4B hair that has not been manipulated:

As you can see, the hair curls back into circular shapes that follow the pattern of the hair. In the areas where it is thicker, it's not clumping because the coils are so small so that they cannot cup each other in distinct tubes the way 4A might.

These kids below have fine 4B hair, of course the girl with cornrows has manipulated her hair but look at the hairline, the hair doesn't stick out in zigzags but coils.

As I've said before, if you stretch out a coil, depending on what angle you're looking at it from, it looks wavy or zigzag.

...and if you braid a spring, it will become warped and look shapeless. Same thing when it comes to 4B hair.

 

[Nonie]

witness all those who doubt the existence of the non-curl pattern (doesn't apply to my whole head, just about 50-60% of it. sides are what most associate w/ 4b hair, super tight curls. but you can see the texture difference between front and sides in this pic):

and then of course i have 4a at nape and crown:

my pubes don't even grown in curly never mind!

Your photo is too blurry in the area you say has no pattern for me to see for sure this "no pattern claim". Can you take it with that area being the area of focus? Also, you should not manipulate it. No brushing.

Another thing to consider is when hair is seen en masse, it's pattern is hard to see, especially if there's no clumping to emphasize the shape of the strands. That area you highlight reminded me of these photos of my hair:

...if I'm guessing right that the blur is hiding this. The hair looks formless, but if you look at the strands that stand alone, you can see the pattern.

 

[Nonie]

I think her hair is 4b cause there is no curl or wave pattern whatsoever,and its drier than any hair I've ever touched I would call it cnapp actually, but I have heard people say that type doesnt exist so till I figure something out I guess I'll just call it 4b Those r the best texture shots I can find so I hope u can tell wht I mean

Your daughter is darling, and yes she does have 4B hair. It looks like the hair that runs in my family. Here are some samples:

 

[PrincesscurlyQ<3]

I consider myself 4b. My curls are looser in the front and get tighter towards the back. I have thick strands on top of that. I've been natural for 7 months, relaxer free for 14 months, & my locs aren't hanging yet. I think its easier to tell the way hair behaves once its longer and with more weight.

 

[Janet']

I'm sad that 4b'ers don't post because they don't feel that they will get the positive reinforcement...I love looking at every type of hair, but it makes me especially proud to see 4b hair thriving (and it doesn't have to be super long, just super healthy)...

 

[Nonie]

I'm sad that 4b'ers don't post because they don't feel that they will get the positive reinforcement...I love looking at every type of hair, but it makes me especially proud to see 4b hair thriving (and it doesn't have to be super long, just super healthy)...

Aww...that's sweet Janet. There were a lot of pics and reinforcement in this thread: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/ha...sert”-4b-pics-here-↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓.html#post11241450

 

[NYDee]

Why are people talking about marginalization based on hair type on this board? Are we on the same board? I have seen all types of hair getting good comments and people drooling so long as it’s healthy and long. If you post a thread and you don't get much reply its either people don't know the answer or it's not interesting. Sometimes I think people just like to feel like victims and I think this stems more out of their own insecurities than anything else. And yes my hair type is a type 4 too.

 

[jupitermoon]

This thread has been an interesting read. Over a year ago when I first created this thread I had no idea it would turn out this way. Hair typing is a heated topic for many and understandably so. During the time I created this thread I hadn't even considered this. I definitely didn't intend on creating divisions or upsetting anyone.

Now I avoid the topic of hair typing all together. It really isn't important. Everyone's hair is unique and there are so many variations that it can't fit these narrow definitions.

 

[Janet']

^^^I think that it definitely has created some interesting conversation...and that's all good, Celina!

 

[iri9109]

Why are people talking about marginalization based on hair type on this board? Are we on the same board? I have seen all types of hair getting good comments and people drooling so long as it’s healthy and long. If you post a thread and you don't get much reply its either people don't know the answer or it's not interesting. Sometimes I think people just like to feel like victims and I think this stems more out of their own insecurities than anything else. And yes my hair type is a type 4 too.

i think thats the point. 4b hair doesnt get alot of love from most ppl unless its really long...4b TWAs or shoulder length and shorter hair (& im not even taking shrinkage into consideration) dont get as much attention/appreciation as they should...and its rare for 4b hair to get much longer than that off the boards because alot of ppl either dont know how to take care of it or just slap relaxers on it b/c they've been brainwashed to think that its "bad" and that it cant grow long.

 

[aleemah]

i think thats the point. 4b hair doesnt get alot of love from most ppl unless its really long...4b TWAs or shoulder length and shorter hair (& im not even taking shrinkage into consideration) dont get as much attention/appreciation as they should...and its rare for 4b hair to get much longer than that off the boards because alot of ppl either dont know how to take care of it or just slap relaxers on it b/c they've been brainwashed to think that its "bad" and that it cant grow long.

Bulls-eye! You are so right about this. I have a TWA(4b) and I have asked questions on other boards and didn't get many replies but when I browse I see other naturals(4b's) with long locks and they get all the attention. Either way, I love my 4zzzzz afro and I'm loving it more and more with each passing day. I was a lurker for a few months and was kinda scared to BC because of the negative feedback on 4b hair. Its odd because when i was bald I didnt get such a negative reaction from ppl. Now that they see what 4b hair actually look like up close I get this reaction but thats ok cause they ain't stopping my flow. I can't wait till the summer time cause Im going hard in the paint with it