With over 300,000 TikTok posts under the hashtag #4Chair, controversy is stirring over who actually has the hair type. From wash routines to shrinkage and growth checks, anyone with an undefined textured has begun to label it as “4C”, while comments argue whether or not their hair fits into the type. But with porosity, length, volume and other factors weighed into how our texture looks, what defines who has 4C hair and who doesn’t?
Below, a curl expert settles the controversy.
What is the hair typing system?
The first known hair typing system was developed in the early 1900s by Eugen Fischer, a German Nazi “scientist” who created the hair gauge, to determine “mixed race” people’s proximity to whiteness based on their hair color, according to the USHMM. Nearly a century later, Oprah Winfrey’s hairstylist, Andre Walker, developed the hair typing system, also known as The Hair Chart, to define hair types based on texture instead of color.
“The hair type system breaks down in a very simple format the different hair textures from straight to coily,” celebrity hairstylist, colorist, and curl expert Sophie Rose Gutterman tells ESSENCE. The system was originally used to market Walker’s haircare line, helping customers decide which products would be most effective for their texture, but has since been widely accepted as the standard.
His original number system actually didn’t include lettered subcategories (first ranked from straight “type 1” to textured “type 4”) which were developed later, and was criticized for ranking straight hair first and not taking into account qualities like density, scalp types, or people with more than one texture. “With all the different people that exist in our world it’s very hard to sum up all the curl types on a chart, so do take this chart with a grain of salt,” Gutterman says. Instead, she suggests you use the chart more generally. “Find the closest possible, and based on knowing your hair and what it does, choose products keeping both in mind.”
What defines 4C hair?
According to the chart, type 4 hair is defined as kinky, with 4A hair being tight coils and 4B hair being z-angled coils. However, type 4C hair isn’t included on Andre Walker’s chart, which explains the controversy around kinky textures that are neither 4A or 4B. However, some charts show the 4C texture as a much tighter version of 4A coils, while others claim it’s more zig-zagged.
Truth is? It may just be both. “When properly hydrated you will see very small coily curls almost the size of a rat tail comb, but compared to someone with 4a curls the size of their coils when properly hydrated can be the diameter of a pen or pencil,” Gutterman says. “Often times [4C strands] will appear as a zig zag shape due to how fragile the hair can be.”
Is 4C hair more difficult to identify than other hair types?
Between being left off of the standard typing system and appearing as tight coils, zig-zags, or both, it may be more difficult to pin down what 4C hair looks like compared to other types. “It [also] can be harder to identify because the texture is often manipulated to be worn straight,” she says, in addition to looking “completely different” wet vs. dry. “You can pretty much manipulate 4c hair to stay short or elongate when using heat.”
Can your hair’s condition change how 4C hair looks?
Wet or dry? Long or short? Thick or fine? “All of these come into play with 4c hair,” she says. “When the hair is damaged and the porosity is low you will notice it won’t shrink up as much.”Although hair density won’t change the texture too much, she says hydration is key for keeping the hair healthy.
What’s a common mistake people make when identifying their hair type?
“Some people never even know they have curly hair they just think it gets frizzy,” she says, with 4C-haired people often thinking they have no curls at all. “This is such a common thing to hear because they don’t properly educate themselves on how to take care of their hair.”
According to her, basic hair routines, like shampoo, conditioner and leave-in, will show you what you’re missing. “If a leave in isn’t enough and you think your hair is straight consider adding some curly styling techniques and products to your routine,” she says. “That ‘frizz’ may mean you have curly hair.”
Should the typing system expand past 4C?
“There are so many different textures even on one head that the current chart doesn’t speak to,” she says. Although the system helps with understanding different hair types, “just like skin type or hair color everyone’s hair type is different and don’t feel like you’re wrong for being in between numbers or letters.” Like many Black women, your hair could be “5a on the top and 4c on the bottom.”
