Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3000
Posted: 19 Dec 2007 at 5:06pm
Originally posted by AfroGerman_Girl
Originally posted by B_phlyy
It looks to be 4b to me.
I think the notion that 4b hair has no wave or curl pattern is false and oversimplified. While it is true that as a whole, 4b hair will not have a distinct wave formation, if you look at the individual strands of hair, you will definitely see coils and super small curls.
I beg to differ. The hair structure you describe is 4A.
True 4b hair is rare! But it does exist. I have seen it. I lived in Africa for several years, and 4b is more common there (but still much rarer than 4a). There is NO curl in 4b, not even close up; trust me. If you have any curl whatsoever, you are not a 4b, but a 4a. People are too quick to type their hair as 4b when it is 4a subtype, IMO.
The more pictures I see here, the more I actually see that there are many different subtypes of 4a - looser and tighter curls.
Think about type 1 and type 4b as two extreme ends of a spectrum. Both are rarer than the other types (i.e. many white people do not have bone straight hair with nu curl whatsoever and use flatirons! Similarly, in my experience, type 4b is another hair type that is rarer than the other types). In the middle of the spectrum (2,3,4 with all their subtypes), you will find the more common hair types. Statistically, I could imagine the hair types distributed along a "normal curve", with the more common hair types clustered in the middle and type 1 and 4b on each end of the curve.
I still need to expand my hair type chart to include subtypes for 4a and 3c. These pictures are helping me get an idea of exactly how many there are.
You'd be surprised at how "unrare" bone straight type 1 hairs. I also don't believe that 4b is that rare or that the definition that Andre gave it was correct or should be taken as law.
The OP said her hair was 4b so let her have her 4b. My hair is 4b, and no person, chart, or description is going to tell me it's NOT 4b. That's all. Take care.
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3080
Posted: 19 Dec 2007 at 6:07pm
Originally posted by B_phlyy
Originally posted by AfroGerman_Girl
Originally posted by B_phlyy
It looks to be 4b to me.
I think the notion that 4b hair has no wave or curl pattern is false and oversimplified. While it is true that as a whole, 4b hair will not have a distinct wave formation, if you look at the individual strands of hair, you will definitely see coils and super small curls.
I beg to differ. The hair structure you describe is 4A.
True 4b hair is rare! But it does exist. I have seen it. I lived in Africa for several years, and 4b is more common there (but still much rarer than 4a). There is NO curl in 4b, not even close up; trust me. If you have any curl whatsoever, you are not a 4b, but a 4a. People are too quick to type their hair as 4b when it is 4a subtype, IMO.
The more pictures I see here, the more I actually see that there are many different subtypes of 4a - looser and tighter curls.
Think about type 1 and type 4b as two extreme ends of a spectrum. Both are rarer than the other types (i.e. many white people do not have bone straight hair with nu curl whatsoever and use flatirons! Similarly, in my experience, type 4b is another hair type that is rarer than the other types). In the middle of the spectrum (2,3,4 with all their subtypes), you will find the more common hair types. Statistically, I could imagine the hair types distributed along a "normal curve", with the more common hair types clustered in the middle and type 1 and 4b on each end of the curve.
I still need to expand my hair type chart to include subtypes for 4a and 3c. These pictures are helping me get an idea of exactly how many there are.
You'd be surprised at how "unrare" bone straight type 1 hairs. I also don't believe that 4b is that rare or that the definition that Andre gave it was correct or should be taken as law.
The OP said her hair was 4b so let her have her 4b. My hair is 4b, and no person, chart, or description is going to tell me it's NOT 4b. That's all. Take care.
Wow! Calm down, breathe deeply, and relax! Is it really that serious?
It is your prerogative to believe whatever you want to believe.
This issue is not really of such great importance that you have to get upset/touchy about it. We are all entitled to our opinions here, and I stand by mine.
Joined: 30 Nov 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1080
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 at 8:11am
I'm sorry if i have caused more confusion.
I thought my hair was a good example of 4b hair. I am still learning though when it comes to hair types. Perhaps I was confusing the texture of the hair with the hair type. Until I read a post about not confusing the two, I really had not noticed the difference.
9 oz, this (Bernie Mac pic) is how my hair looks when it is picked out.
I am now totally confused about 4b because the definition is perplexing. If it is tightly coiled,how does it have no curl whatsoever? I don't get that.
I was looking for pics last night and could not come out with any. I think the hair should def be untouched to type. It should be clean and dry with no product and it shouldn't be combed out, picked out or flattened in anyway.
Anyway, as long as we all have a general idea about what our hair type is, we should be able to come up with an effective regimen; it's just fun to see where you fit in, right ladies?
I'm content with being a type 4 for now, with no subcategory.
Now I'm on a quest to find this type 4 b hair. If they thought I was looking at people's hair too much, they don't want to see me now!!!
We should offer a reward to the first person to post pictures of true 4b hair,lol!
Thanks for your info AG girl, I've learned so much about this typing business.
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3080
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 at 10:25am
Originally posted by Girls1
I'm sorry if i have caused more confusion.
I thought my hair was a good example of 4b hair. I am still learning though when it comes to hair types. Perhaps I was confusing the texture of the hair with the hair type. Until I read a post about not confusing the two, I really had not noticed the difference.
9 oz, this (Bernie Mac pic) is how my hair looks when it is picked out.
I am now totally confused about 4b because the definition is perplexing. If it is tightly coiled,how does it have no curl whatsoever? I don't get that.
I was looking for pics last night and could not come out with any. I think the hair should def be untouched to type. It should be clean and dry with no product and it shouldn't be combed out, picked out or flattened in anyway.
Anyway, as long as we all have a general idea about what our hair type is, we should be able to come up with an effective regimen; it's just fun to see where you fit in, right ladies?
I'm content with being a type 4 for now, with no subcategory.
Now I'm on a quest to find this type 4 b hair. If they thought I was looking at people's hair too much, they don't want to see me now!!!
We should offer a reward to the first person to post pictures of true 4b hair,lol!
Thanks for your info AG girl, I've learned so much about this typing business.
No problem Girls1, and thanks for the appreciation! Your hair is beautiful, no matter what type!
I once saw a pic on an Afro-German website - a mixed race girl with true 4b hair. The best way I can describe it is as a "wooly" texture. It truly looked like cotton wool. If you look at individual cotton wool strands, they have an irregular shape. This is the case with 4b hair. Each strand is shaped different than the next, and therefore there is no uniform pattern.
In your pic, I can see places where individual strands of hair clump together in a curly pattern. For me, this rules out 4b, in your case.
The pic of Bernie Mac is debatable - although I am very thankful to 9ozbebi for posting it (thanks girl, you are great!), I am not entirely sure if it is 4b, because his hair is picked out, and the pic is small. I admit, though, that I posted a similar pic in my hair type chart for 4b hair. Upon reflection, I have decided that it may not be the best representation and I will revise it as soon as I find the pic of 4b that I was talking about.
Let me go look! it is just so hard to find a pic of true 4b, because many ladies (and gents) chemically alter their texture. Maybe there is one on nappturality...
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 876
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 at 10:29am
Originally posted by bellefro
I think I have mainly 4B natural hair and
some 4A in the very front. Below, are some texture shots of my hair
(the back is almost entirely 4B-maybe kinkier). If your hair resembles
most of these pics in any of the styles, you just might be 4B. Am I
right ladies, I do have 4B or 4B+ hair, right?
Fully, dried w/ no products after a clarifying wash( my hair felt
like crap afterwards). Note: All thre pics are the same, just looks
differently depending on the camera's flash options or how close you
are.
Edited: the pics wouldn't show up, so you can view my fotki as
it's temporarily unlocked. I think it might give you an idea of
what 4B looks like (hopefully): http://public.fotki.com/bostonsis/all-about-my-hair/
Wow your is really gorgeous. I will be stalking your fotki as well.
Joined: 09 Oct 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6562
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 at 8:45pm
Originally posted by AfroGerman_Girl
Originally posted by Girls1
I'm sorry if i have caused more confusion.
I thought my hair was a good example of 4b hair. I am still learning though when it comes to hair types. Perhaps I was confusing the texture of the hair with the hair type. Until I read a post about not confusing the two, I really had not noticed the difference.
9 oz, this (Bernie Mac pic) is how my hair looks when it is picked out.
I am now totally confused about 4b because the definition is perplexing. If it is tightly coiled,how does it have no curl whatsoever? I don't get that.
I was looking for pics last night and could not come out with any. I think the hair should def be untouched to type. It should be clean and dry with no product and it shouldn't be combed out, picked out or flattened in anyway.
Anyway, as long as we all have a general idea about what our hair type is, we should be able to come up with an effective regimen; it's just fun to see where you fit in, right ladies?
I'm content with being a type 4 for now, with no subcategory.
Now I'm on a quest to find this type 4 b hair. If they thought I was looking at people's hair too much, they don't want to see me now!!!
We should offer a reward to the first person to post pictures of true 4b hair,lol!
Thanks for your info AG girl, I've learned so much about this typing business.
No problem Girls1, and thanks for the appreciation! Your hair is beautiful, no matter what type!
I once saw a pic on an Afro-German website - a mixed race girl with true 4b hair. The best way I can describe it is as a "wooly" texture. It truly looked like cotton wool. If you look at individual cotton wool strands, they have an irregular shape. This is the case with 4b hair. Each strand is shaped different than the next, and therefore there is no uniform pattern.
In your pic, I can see places where individual strands of hair clump together in a curly pattern. For me, this rules out 4b, in your case.
The pic of Bernie Mac is debatable - although I am very thankful to 9ozbebi for posting it (thanks girl, you are great!), I am not entirely sure if it is 4b, because his hair is picked out, and the pic is small. I admit, though, that I posted a similar pic in my hair type chart for 4b hair. Upon reflection, I have decided that it may not be the best representation and I will revise it as soon as I find the pic of 4b that I was talking about.
Let me go look! it is just so hard to find a pic of true 4b, because many ladies (and gents) chemically alter their texture. Maybe there is one on nappturality...
Ooo can you post the picture here or the link to the website where you found it?^_^
Joined: 03 Dec 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 26
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 at 4:00pm
Hi Ladies, first thanks to all who've commented on my hair, you're all so sweet!
Regarding whether my hair is entirely 4A or 4B or 4A/4B hair: to me, all this hair-typing business is rather confusing and I really don't care too much what category I fall under, but it does help to find people w/ similar hair-types, textures and thickness which aids in finding the right products for one’s hair and providing the best care for one’s hair type.
I am not certain as to what hair type I am exactly, I simply believe I am a 4- something or maybe a combination of 4A/4B, heck-maybe entirely 4B, but with different coil/size patterns throughout…as you can see, I'm unsure as I am no expert. But, based on what I've seen and read from the majority of hair albums of people whose hair actually resembles and have similar characteristics to my hair when wet or dry, I def. lean more towards those with the 4B and beyond hair types and those who even name themselves cnapp aka 4c. However, 4A entirely is just a little bit too loose for the majority of my strands-this I am almost certain of.
Cnapp hair (beyond 4B hair)-Some declare themselves with this hair type which to me, I still think there's a lot of 4B's inthere. But, while my hair look similiar to many with this texture, with others, I could clearly see the difference as the coils look much tighter and condensed.
To AfoGerman_Girl, the rare 4B type you refer to, which part of Africa are the people from? By any chance, were you referring to the Khoi-San or the indigenous people in the Sub-haran/southern region of Africa with the “real 4B hair” you speak of? If not, I would love to see a pic when you get a hold of this. Just wondering if any of the pics you speak of look similar to any of the following hair textures?
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3000
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 at 7:46pm
Originally posted by bellefro
Hi Ladies, first thanks to all who've commented on my hair, you're all so sweet!
Regarding whether my hair is entirely 4A or 4B or 4A/4B hair: to me, all this hair-typing business is rather confusing and I really don't care too much what category I fall under, but it does help to find people w/ similar hair-types, textures and thickness which aids in finding the right products for one’s hair and providing the best care for one’s hair type.
I am not certain as to what hair type I am exactly, I simply believe I am a 4- something or maybe a combination of 4A/4B, heck-maybe entirely 4B, but with different coil/size patterns throughout…as you can see, I'm unsure as I am no expert. But, based on what I've seen and read from the majority of hair albums of people whose hair actually resembles and have similar characteristics to my hair when wet or dry, I def. lean more towards those with the 4B and beyond hair types and those who even name themselves cnapp aka 4c. However, 4A entirely is just a little bit too loose for the majority of my strands-this I am almost certain of.
Cnapp hair (beyond 4B hair)-Some declare themselves with this hair type which to me, I still think there's a lot of 4B's inthere. But, while my hair look similiar to many with this texture, with others, I could clearly see the difference as the coils look much tighter and condensed.
To AfoGerman_Girl, the rare 4B type you refer to, which part of Africa are the people from? By any chance, were you referring to the Khoi-San or the indigenous people in the Sub-haran/southern region of Africa with the “real 4B hair” you speak of? If not, I would love to see a pic when you get a hold of this. Just wondering if any of the pics you speak of look similar to any of the following hair textures?
Wow, those ladies have some beautiful hair. I too would consider them 4b. As I said earlier, the individual strands have curls and coils but the mass as a whole does not have a curl pattern and that's what I've always believed 4b hair to be.
But then again, as no one is an expert, I say just call yourself what you want. You know your hair better than anyone. It is good to see others with similar hair though.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Active Topics 
Memberlist 
Search 
Help
Register 
Login
Topic Closed)
IP Being Analyzed
Is it really that serious?
), I am not entirely sure if it is 4b, because his hair is picked out, and the pic is small. I admit, though, that I posted a similar pic in my hair type chart for 4b hair. Upon reflection, I have decided that it may not be the best representation and I will revise it as soon as I find the pic of 4b that I was talking about.
