Hair Texture

Hair texture is often improperly described. Many people say that their hair is thick, when they really mean coarse. And some people say that their hair is fine, when they really mean thin. So, I'm going to clarify a little bit.



Fine, Medium, & Coarse

These terms refer to the diameter of each individual strand of hair. Comparing an individual strand of hair from someone with fine hair with a strand of coarse hair, would reveal that the fine hair is smaller in diameter. A quick test that would help you to determine the diameter of your hair is to separate a 2 ply piece of thread, so that you have only 1 ply. Compare a strand of hair to this. Is your hair about the same size? Then your hair has medium diameter. Larger? Then it is coarse. Smaller? Then it is fine. Alternatively, you can draw a line on a piece of paper with a fine ball point pen and compare that way.

Thin, Medium, & Thick

These terms refer to how much hair is on your head; the density. If you don't have a lot of hair on your head, then it is thin. On the opposite end, if your hair is very dense, then it is considered thick. The ponytail test requires you to measure the circumference around your ponytail with all haired pulled back (if your hair can't all fit in the ponytail because of Thin (less than 2 inches/5 centimeters)
Normal (between 2-4 inches or 5-10 centimeters)
Thick (more than 4 inches/10 centimeters)


Within all of this, you can have silky, cottony, wooley, or wirey texture and a straight, curly, or wavy shape.

It is helpful to understand these concepts because it makes a difference when considering what products and/or techniques may work for your hair. For example, fine hair (which many black people actually have) is more likely to be overprocessed & damaged by a relaxer or hair coloring faster and requires less heat when flat ironing. It snaps easily, may be easily weighed down by too many products, and may require weekly doses of light protein treatments to maintain its strength, but yet may easily suffer from protein overload when hard-core proteins are used. Coarse hair is usually stronger but takes longer to accept chemical processing. Also remember, you may have a thick head of fine hair, for example. Often times, people make the mistake that this type of combination can take aggressive brushing and treatment. However, it is requires a lot a delicacy, as the individual strands are still very fine.


I may delve a little deeper into these different textures and combinations later. But, hopefully this gives you a start that will enable you to search for more information about your hair and what it may need. Also, take note that, "ethnic hair" is not a hair classification, as many people may try to categorize it. They act like black people can't have varied hair textures. But, I digress.


Happy Hair Growing,

Bee