Is this girl's hair what you consider 4b or is it 4c?

[Neith]

Wanna bet on that? Nah, you are 4B just like me. All the pics you've seen so far of my coils are magnified big time. Plus any size that is too small to clump easily from a WNG falls into 4B category IMO. I minimized the original pic to try to bring it to life-size approximation, using my fingers as a guide:

And I just now took a pic of my coils against a measuring tape, which I will tell you is not the easiest thing to do on your own, especially when you don't have steady hands. Seems the average diameter of my coils is just a touch under 1/8 of an inch. If yours are smaller than that, then I take my hat off to you.

ETA: According to my observation, CNapp is a name given to manipulated 4B hair but I prefer just to call it 4B coz that's what it is. After all, when someone with type 1 hair curls her hair, we don't suddenly say it has a new name. It is just manipulated type 1 hair. Similarly when someone with wavy type 2 hair presses it straight. It's still type 2 hair worn in a straight do. 4B hair is 4B hair to me whether it looks all coily because it's not been manipulated or like it has no shape or form because it has been manipulated.

How can you tell 4a from 4b while manipulated?

The types can be REALLY close when it comes to coil diameter and can look very similar when the coil pattern is brushed or manipulated out. If you blowdried my hair out, it'd look a lot like this girl's hair.

but... I'm not claiming to be a hair typing expert It's just that kinky hair can look a million different ways (which I love) and I like to see the actual unmanipulated curl pattern to decide.

 

[Nonie]

How can you tell 4a from 4b while manipulated?

The types can be REALLY close when it comes to coil diameter and can look very similar when the coil pattern is brushed or manipulated out. If you blowdried my hair out, it'd look a lot like this girl's hair.

but... I'm not claiming to be a hair typing expert It's just that kinky hair can look a million different ways (which I love) and I like to see the actual unmanipulated curl pattern to decide.

You can't, which is why I stick to the difference that you helped point out: the clumping factor. 4B doesn't clump as easily as 4A and it's due to coil size. I mean there's also 4A/4B somewhere in the middle so it can be very confusing. But it's not THAT serious. It's type 4 hair, regardless.

 

[Bluetopia]

Mine are tighter too....to the point where my shrinkage is like 30- 40% of my real length and my stylist calls it "slinky" hair.

When people walk up close to me all the would see are millions of super tiny coarse slinkies. I have yet to find a single person on earth with the same density and tightness

If you look at this pic attached every strand of hair you see is actually a super tight BSL coil (and this is AFTER i stretched it with water and conditioner )

all that being said tho....I am 4b IMO.

just like not all 4a or 3cs look identical i dont think that just because someone's hair doesnt look exactly like mine that we cant both be considered the same type. there are variances in all categories.

As for the 4c, CNAPP thing....hey who am I to say if they do or dont exist. I've had so many stylist tell me they've never seen my texture of hair before that I've learned that anything is possible.

Even at BSL my natural hair shrunk up to a little past ear length!

Wanna bet on that? Nah, you are 4B just like me. All the pics you've seen so far of my coils are magnified big time. Plus any size that is too small to clump easily from a WNG falls into 4B category IMO. I minimized the original pic to try to bring it to life-size approximation, using my fingers as a guide:

ETA: According to my observation, CNapp is a name given to manipulated 4B hair but I prefer just to call it 4B coz that's what it is. After all, when someone with type 1 hair curls her hair, we don't suddenly say it has a new name. It is just manipulated type 1 hair. Similarly when someone with wavy type 2 hair presses it straight. It's still type 2 hair worn in a straight do. 4B hair is 4B hair to me whether it looks all coily because it's not been manipulated or like it has no shape or form because it has been manipulated.

 

[wavezncurlz]

Wanna bet on that? Nah, you are 4B just like me. All the pics you've seen so far of my coils are magnified big time. Plus any size that is too small to clump easily from a WNG falls into 4B category IMO. I minimized the original pic to try to bring it to life-size approximation, using my fingers as a guide:

And I just now took a pic of my coils against a measuring tape, which I will tell you is not the easiest thing to do on your own, especially when you don't have steady hands. Seems the average diameter of my coils is just a touch under 1/8 of an inch. If yours are smaller than that, then I take my hat off to you.

ETA: According to my observation, CNapp is a name given to manipulated 4B hair but I prefer just to call it 4B coz that's what it is. After all, when someone with type 1 hair curls her hair, we don't suddenly say it has a new name. It is just manipulated type 1 hair. Similarly when someone with wavy type 2 hair presses it straight. It's still type 2 hair worn in a straight do. 4B hair is 4B hair to me whether it looks all coily because it's not been manipulated or like it has no shape or form because it has been manipulated.

OT: Nonie, I love your coils. That is all
Back to the thread topic.

 

[Pooks]

Girl's hair -

Momma's techniques - not bad, but could be better, especially if she is gonna call herself a 'natural hair stylist', ain't no way she could comb my hair with that so-called wide toothed comb! Was she serious?

I didn't like the way she advocated ignoring a child's discomfort, and implied that pain in natural hair grooming was part of a 'rite of passage'

The small amount of condish she applied seemed to be just for a section of the child's hair before they cut away for the next step, which is more than acceptable IMO

All in all, I think she has done pretty well with her daughter's hair, it appears to be very healthy.

 

[Nonie]

Bluetopia, I went to school with a boy who had hair like yours. I'd forgotten about those teeny tiny coils. Because he was a boy, he didn't use moisturizer (wasn't cool or manly to do so back in the day, you see), and I think he was tender-headed too coz he never combed/brushed his hair. He'd always get into trouble for not grooming his hair, but I don't think he could help it. So after a few reprimands, he would end up shaving it bald only to go through the same ritual in a few weeks.

 

[kryolnapps]

Wow, I love how thick and healthy her hair is! I can only wish.

I'm not an expert in hair typing, but her hair reminds me of my cousin's hair. It's cottony like mine, but retains more growth because it's not as tightly coiled. Her strands are also thicker and her hair doesn't shrink that much.

I could never wash my hair like this. I would end up with serious tangles. My cousin can wash her hair like the girl in the video and it doesn't tangle as much as mine.

I was told I was 4b, but my wet unmanipulated hair doesn't look like hers at all. I don't know how to resize but here is the link:

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/8240/img0027i.jpg

 

[FlowerHair]

^^^^^You have the CUTEST coils!!!
I love it!

 

[Nonie]

I was told I was 4b, but my wet unmanipulated hair doesn't look like hers at all.

Her hair was manipulated so it's hard to compare with yours when yours isn't manipulated.

Nevertheless, how so darling your coils are! And I do agree that you're 4B.

 

[kryolnapps]

Thank you FlowerHair - your hair is amazing!

Her hair was manipulated so it's hard to compare with yours when yours isn't manipulated.

Nevertheless, how so darling your coils are! And I do agree that you're 4B.

Thank you Nonie! Thank you for resizing and posting the image as well. I love your hair as well, it looks so lush.

In the grand schemes of things, typing doesn't matter, all of our hair is different and equally beautiful, but it can help visualize and also help with technique and product recommendations.

I think 4b hair is seriously confusing because we have a lot of variables that come into play, such as density, texture, etc.

I thought we saw the girl's hair in it's wet, freshly washed state. The mom manipulated the hair as much as I do mine when I wash it and the girl doesn't have as much coilies. I guess they are not as visible. And maybe the mom did comb out her coils while washing, we can't tell from the video. I thought she comb it out after washing.

 

[Nonie]

Thank you FlowerHair - your hair is amazing!




Thank you Nonie! Thank you for resizing and posting the image as well. I love your hair as well, it looks so lush.

In the grand schemes of things, typing doesn't matter, all of our hair is different and equally beautiful, but it can help visualize and also help with technique and product recommendations.

I think 4b hair is seriously confusing because we have a lot of variables that come into play, such as density, texture, etc.

I thought we saw the girl's hair in it's wet, freshly washed state. The mom manipulated the hair as much as I do mine when I wash it and the girl doesn't have as much coilies. I guess they are not as visible. And maybe the mom did comb out her coils while washing, we can't tell from the video. I thought she comb it out after washing.

I believe the mom did comb the hair out while washing or sometime before the video started. Her hair looks like mine does when I comb it while wet/damp.

 

[knt1229]

If you are wondering what Cnapp and 4b hair type is the link below is from a thread on NaturallyCurly.com where the lady who started the site for Cnapp's explains that Cnapp is just another name for 4b hair and how the nickname Cnapp came to be. Her screenname is Nappy*Me. Scroll to posts number 11, 18, 21, and 24 to read what she has to say. http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=93771

 

[Nonie]

^^ I agree with Nappy*Me 100%. She's just so much better at explaining things than I am. Thanks for posting and highlighting the main posts, Knt1229.

 

[Carrie A]

I think she did a good job. For one her targret audiance, according to the blogh description is parents in Arizona who have adopted African children or parents of biracial kids. Many yts wash their hair often (multiple time a week) with sulfate shampoos then heat style. This is not going to fly with us. I think she is referring to removing the natural sebum with harsh detergents. So if you are going to use sulfate shampoos you shouldn't use then that often.

The other thing is if you are heat styling after every wash and you want the style to stay you don't need to wash as often... Vs twisting or wash and go etc where you need to add some type of moisture, spritz, or rinsing more often. Many folks with natural hair just get it done every two weeks and wear the hair curled or whatever in between.
In that situation an oil like coconut oil or a butter is fine.

To me she is working through the hair well with the comb. I have found detangling to be much easier with less conditioner and that surprised me. So not every head needs to be saturated with conditioner (see fine hair thread).

I would say 4b

 

[adnolej]

Am I the only one that noticed the girl appeared to be in pain? And was I the only one disturbed when she said "don't feel bad if the child cries a little...its a rites of passage" as she was manhandling the poor girls head???

About the hair type, I have seriously started to abhor the entire system because there is no consistency AND its self-reported based on our own interpretations. I also feel that "black" is just thrown into the 4 category. I believe that 4c came about because there is a 'c' category for the other types and when hair cannot easily be identified as 4a or 4b, its thrown into the 4c box.

But honestly, maintenance, technique, and products can make a world of difference in showing your hair texture! I know my hair looks like hers when I use certain products and when I use others it looks curly (like pencil spiral curl curly), who knows what the girls hair would look like if some things were tweaked...

 

[ThePerfectScore]

if I listened to that lady I'd have some funky nasty gunky smelly hair with heat damage....

 

[suburbanbushbabe]

She has 4b hair. It doesn't look coarse at all. It looks very soft and springy. Her mom doesn't know about co-washing hence the 2-weeks between wash thing. Other than that and towel drying the hair before detangling, I think she did a good job.

And was I the only one disturbed when she said "don't feel bad if the child cries a little...its a rites of passage" as she was manhandling the poor girls head???

No, that disturbed me too.

 

[dynamic1]

I also feel that "black" is just thrown into the 4 category. I believe that 4c came about because there is a 'c' category for the other types and when hair cannot easily be identified as 4a or 4b, its thrown into the 4c box.

Andre walker's classification system did not include a type 3c. Naturally curly made it up. People add categories because they refuse to accept the concept of ranges. You can have many different heads in the same range/category/type. All 4a's will not look the same...neither will all 4bs, 3bs, etc.

I also cringed when she suggested no one should worry if the child cries. I was not a fan of the blow drying and puff.

 

[MizzBrit]

oooh hair pics!

thanks to nonie' s 4b hair theory..i decided not to manipulate my hair wet and ive discovered i DO have little coils in my hair..just wanted to say thanks for opening my mind

after almost 2 years of thinking my hair is straight kink..i actually have some lil coilies poppin...when wet of course

 

[CenteredGirl]

I totally agree with her regimen. I am a 4b head and I have been practicing this for sometime and my hair is thriving.

 

[sunshinelady]

I am amazed at how little hair she lost through all of that. Her mom must be doing something right.