Difference btwn 3c & 4a- What are the coil shapes?

[alibi]

I have become a little confused about my hair type lately. Here's the scoop: I've been transitioning for about 4 months, but I've had a relaxer consistently for the past 13 years (since I was 13), so I'm now rediscovering my natural hair type. I know we pretty much use Andre's system, but he doesn't include 3c, so I need some more info on coil shape for this type. I have about 1 1/2 inches of new growh, and most of my roots are in these slinky looking coils about the diameter of a pencil or ink pen, some are a bit wider. Is that what is defined as 3c?

If so, what is the curl pattern of 4a?

I know that more than 1 type can exsist on one head too, but I'm trying to understand the curl pattern of these types so I'll know the difference. Thanks in advance ladies!

And it's good to be back...I've been sitting on this question since Monday!!!

 

[dominicana]

Bump

 

[Karonica]

I think the difference is 4a is coily whereas 3c is curly. Wider loops.

 

[Serei]

Good question. I think a lot of people are confused on this. I see people who are clearly type 4s who consider themselves 3s and vice versa. The type 3c was basically made up by people who felt they didn't quite fit into Andre's definition of 4a. I think they are the same thing. All types have a little sliding scale before they reach the next category. I think 3c is just on the other end of the 4a scale.

 

[YOTEGRA]

Don't take this the wrong way, but what difference will it
make for you. What are you going to do differently if you're one or the other...just curious

 

[alibi]

[ QUOTE ]
YOTEGRA said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but what difference will it
make for you. What are you going to do differently if you're one or the other...just curious

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not so much that it makes a difference to me, as it is that I want to be able to correctly categorize my hair type for when I'm discussing different products and/or regimines on the boards. People are always asking what type I am, or referring to their own type, and I want to be able to give a fair assessment of my own hair. I don't in any way feel that hair typing is an exact science, but it must be relevant to some of us, or we wouldn't have the "What is your Hair Type?" section on the homepage, and it wouldn't be mentioned so much on this forum!

 

[alibi]

P.S. I've been assuming that I'm a 4a...just wanted to be sure!

 

[YOTEGRA]

Oh... ok I can understand that. I think I am a 4a too then.
Are you having any problems right now? The only problem I'm
having is with my touch ups. I've been doing them myself for years, but since reading these boards I've been taking better care of my hair and it appears to be healthier. When I do my touch ups now, my hair doesn't seem to get as straight as it used to. I use Motions mild. I don't use the regular because it irritates my scalp

and I think it makes my hair too straight; I like texture in my hair. Have you had any problems like this?

 

[alibi]

[ QUOTE ]
YOTEGRA said:
When I do my touch ups now, my hair doesn't seem to get as straight as it used to. I use Motions mild. I don't use the regular because it irritates my scalp

and I think it makes my hair too straight; I like texture in my hair. Have you had any problems like this?

[/ QUOTE ]

I just sent you a PM.

 

[YOTEGRA]

I just replied to your pm
What can I say I'm having a slow day at work

 

[inthestars]

3c is not always curly either, it can also come in coarse waves.

 

[skegeesmb]

A good example of 3c hair is Caribmix. Her hair has a s-curl hair pattern. A good example of 4a hair is DeeCoily. You'll notice the difference immediately, Dee also had a good example on her website of 4a wet hair, and you could see some little curls, but the site is down and you can't see any pictures.

I think I have a combination of 3c/4a hair. My hair has curls in the back all the way until the crown, and then it doesn't curl much at the top without the use of a leave-in conditioner. If I do that then the curls are much more uniform. You can take a look at my progress pictures.

I'm having a problem posting their sites, so I'm going to try to fix that.

http://public.fotki.com/caribmix/
http://public.fotki.com/deecoily

 

[alibi]

[ QUOTE ]
skegeesmb said:
I'm having a problem posting their sites, so I'm going to try to fix that.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the info skegeesmb. Please let me know if you can post there sites, it would be really helpful!

 

[skegeesmb]

I did, the links below what I said should work. Check them out.

 

[Serei]

Caribmix doesn't look like 3c. Her curls are kind of big.

 

[UmSumayyah]

My def. is this. type 4a hair doesn't separate into ringlets, (at least not that i can see) and has tinytiny coil/curls, like the spring inside of a pen, even smaller. If you stand back from the hair you can't see curl, just a mass of hair. Type 3c hair has curls bigger, like the size of a pen. You can stand back from this type of hair and see the little ringlets.

 

[skegeesmb]

She describes herself as 3c. And without any products her hair shrinks a bit more, and her hair underneath looks a lot different than the top part of her hair.

Do you think she looks like a 3b?

If Gloria Ruben is considered a 3c, and Holly Robinson a 3c/4a (on naturallycurly.com), then I might be misidentifying my 4a, because it looks a lot like Rubens, but then there are parts of my hair that curls (which I consider 3c, but it doesn't look Rubens). So I guess it's a matter of interpretation. Only Andre himself would probably know really.