What Is My Hair Type? (The Four Answers That Decide Everything)

Quick answer: Your “hair type” is really four things: curl pattern (1 straight – 4 coily), strand texture (fine, medium, coarse), porosity (how it absorbs moisture) and scalp condition (oily, dry, sensitive). Products succeed or fail based on all four together — which is why HairWise's profile quiz asks about each before scoring a single ingredient.

1. Curl pattern (the 1–4 system)

Type 1 straight · Type 2 wavy (2A loose–2C defined) · Type 3 curly (3A big curls–3C tight corkscrews) · Type 4 coily (4A springy coils–4C dense zig-zags). Wash your hair, skip product, let it air-dry and look at what it does naturally.

2. Strand texture

Roll one strand between your fingers. Feel almost nothing? Fine — easily weighed down, protein-friendly. Feels like sewing thread? Medium. Feels wiry and strong? Coarse — thirsty for richer products.

3. Porosity

The most product-relevant trait of all: low porosity resists moisture (products sit on top), high porosity gulps and loses it (frizz, fast drying, tangles). It changes with bleach, color and heat. Full porosity guide →

4. Scalp condition

Oily scalps tolerate (and often need) stronger cleansing; dry and sensitive scalps need gentle surfactants and fewer fragrance compounds. Your scalp, not your lengths, should choose your shampoo — conditioner is for the lengths.

Why all four matter at once

A rich shea-butter mask: perfect for coarse, high-porosity 4B hair; disastrous for fine, low-porosity 2A waves. Same jar, opposite outcomes. Any product advice that doesn't start with your combination is a coin flip.

Get typed properly in 2 minutes

Take HairWise's guided hair profile quiz — curl pattern, texture, porosity, scalp and concerns.
Get your personal hair quality score and profile.
From then on, every product you scan is judged against your exact combination — not the internet's average head.

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