Hair controversy, here we come. If you have been following this site since the beginning, you know that I have used the hair typing system to describe my hair and have even referred readers to links that describe the system in more detail. On the other hand, I have also questioned the efficacy of the hair typing system. Some take it too far, even I have in the past. We can get so caught up in the numerical system of hair typing that we may do any of the following:
- Refuse hair advice from long time naturals just because they don't have our hair type. For example, a type 4 coily feeling that those with type 3 hair can't really tell her anything about natural hair because curls are much too different from coils/kinks.
- Recommending products specifically for a hair type, when in reality strand thickness and porosity level are probably more indicative of what products/methods will work rather than how much your hair curls.
- Making more confusion out of this natural hair journey/lifestyle than need be. I am convinced that would be naturals might be turned away from all the confusion that seems to come, including when it comes to hair typing.
You can decide for yourself how you feel about Mr. Walker's comments. If I shared any more thoughts, I run the risk of this blog post becoming very long indeed. But in the end, Andre Walker and his hair typing system can both go to the left, and from here on out I will be only using descriptive words to describe textures, such as kinky, coily, springy, high density strands, fine strands, coarse, et cetera. After all, the main way I learned about my hair and what works was not through this typing system, but from good old trial and error. Until next time...
As much as I love the visualness that the Andre hair typing system provides, I must also say no to this hair typing system, especially after that silly useless comment Andre made about our type needing to be relaxed to make it more manageable! A while ago I actually sent an email to a natural hair company's marketing department asking them not to separate their products by hair type. For example, they would say, "Product X is for those with type 2 and 3 hair, Product Y works best for type 4 hair" like how are you gonna tell me?? Lol. But it's sad that a lot of naturals, even the owners of those natural hair companies, don't know that the size of your curls tells you NOTHING about how the product will be absorbed into your hair and how your hair will react to the product. Like you said, it's all about porosity, strand diameter/coarseness, etc. The natural hair community still has a lot of learning/educating to do!
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Love this post. I'd originally looked at the typing system when somebody referred me to it because they said they couldn't go natural because they were a 4xyz and that's the worst hair (similar to a comment I myself am guilty of making before the summer of 2009). After reading some of the blogs/forums, I realized the instigation of more self-loathing & negative hair envy through the hair-typing system. 'How can I make my 4C hair look like 4A OR 3B?' yada yada yada. Give ME information on how I can keep my fine hair from shredding/breaking. Explain to me how my hair LOVES water but dries ever so quickly. (Concerns which are also addressed in the forums/blogs-just giving credit where it's due)
ReplyDeleteBritnee, to answer your questions about fine strands, first know that I completely feel you. I have very, very, very fine strands. They are baby fine, all throughout my hair. They are so fine, the don't split, they just break. The one thing, and I am still learning, that I find is helpful is being extra gentle when styling and detangling. Furthermore, finger detangle only. Combs, even wide tooth ones, can be very damaging to the hair. My detangling method of choice now is on dry but oiled hair. Make sure to file your nails. Snagged nails can snag and break hair. When it comes to moisture, remember to moisturize AND seal. Doing the first without the last is pointless. The water will just evaporate from your hair. Oils and butters that seal in the moisture prevent this from happening. Also, I have started using cream based moisturizers more, rather than just water and oil. Shea Moisture's Curl and Style Milk (Target, Walgreen's) is a great cream based moisturizer.
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