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Hair Type Quiz

What is my hair type? Answer 8 quick questions about clean, product-free hair to find your curl pattern from 2A to 4C.

Question 1 of 8

When your hair is soaking wet and has no product in it, what shape do the strands take?

Look at a section near the front or side in the mirror, before you touch it with a comb.

How to use the Hair Type Quiz

Start with clean, product-free hair

Wash your hair and leave it without gel, cream or leftover twists. Products and old styles change the pattern you see.
Answer the 8 questions

Each screen asks about one thing — wet strand shape, the pencil test, curl width, shrinkage and more. Tap the option that matches; the quiz moves on by itself, and Back lets you change an answer.
Tap “See my hair type”

You get your type from 2A to 4C, or a mixed result such as 4B/4C when two neighbouring patterns tie.
Check your closest matches

The bars show how strongly your answers fit the top three types. Close bars mean your hair sits between them.
Read your type guide and test porosity

Open the full guide for your type for care tips and styles, then tap “Now test your porosity” — porosity matters more than curl pattern when choosing products.

How to use the Hair Type Quiz (62 s)

How it works

In this hair type quiz, each answer adds points to one or more of nine curl patterns, from 2A waves to 4C coils. The main match for an answer gets three points and its closest neighbours get one or two, so a single unusual answer can’t flip a clear result. The pattern with the most points wins. If two neighbouring types tie exactly — for example 4B and 4C — you get a mixed result, because that is what your hair is telling you. Other ties go to the curlier type.

The questions look at your hair from different angles: the shape of a wet strand, the pencil test, curl width compared with everyday objects, shrinkage, a single dry strand, how hair behaves after a product-free wash, root-to-end pattern and how fast it dries out. Answer them while looking at clean hair with no product in it — gels, creams and leftover twists change the pattern you see.

Where the numbers and letters come from

The 1–4 numbers come from a system created by stylist Andre Walker in the 1990s; the A–C letters were added and expanded by the natural hair community, and the chart is now its shared language. It is useful shorthand, but it is not a scientific scale: the boundaries between types are fuzzy, and the chart says nothing about porosity, density or strand thickness. Researchers who wanted an objective system measured curve diameter, a curl index and the number of waves and twists in hair samples from around the world and grouped them into eight curl types. Their work shows that curl varies continuously rather than falling into neat boxes — which is why mixed results are so common.

What your result is good for

Styling expectations — how much shrinkage to expect and which styles show definition.
Handling — tighter patterns knot and break more easily, so detangling technique matters more.
Talking to stylists — the codes are widely understood.

What it doesn’t do is pick your products. For that, porosity (how easily hair absorbs and loses water) is a better guide, followed by strand thickness and density. That’s why the quiz sends you to the porosity test next.

Hair type chart: 2A to 4C compared

Type	Pattern	Curl width	Typical shrinkage	Common needs
2A Wavy	Loose, wide S-bends; flat at the roots	No curl — gentle wave	Under 10%	Lightweight products; avoid heavy creams
2B Wavy	Defined S-waves from mid-length	No curl — clear wave	10–20%	Hold to control frizz; light moisture
2C Wavy	Strong S-waves from the roots, some loose curls	Wave with a few loose loops	15–30%	Moisture plus hold; frizz control
3A Curly	Big, loose loops	Sidewalk chalk (~1 in)	20–35%	Clumping and a hands-off dry
3B Curly	Springy ringlets	Marker (~¾ in)	30–40%	More moisture for dry ends
3C Curly	Tight, dense corkscrews	Pencil or straw (¼–⅜ in)	35–50%	Gentle detangling; moisture sealed in
4A Coily	Small, defined S-coils	Knitting needle or coffee stirrer	50–70%	Layered moisture (LOC/LCO); protect ends
4B Coily	Sharp Z-shaped bends, less defined	Angles rather than round coils	60–75%	Extra moisture; shingling or twists for definition
4C Coily	Very tight, densely packed coils; little visible pattern	Too tight to measure one coil	70–80%+	Moisture, patience and low manipulation

Mixed results: 3C/4A · 4A/4B · 4B/4C. Shrinkage ranges are typical, not limits.

Frequently asked questions

What is my hair type?

Your hair type is the shape your strands take on their own — from straight (1) to wavy (2), curly (3) and coily (4), with a, b and c describing how tight the pattern is. The quickest way to find yours is to look at clean, wet hair with no product, or take the 8-question quiz above.

Can you have more than one hair type?

Yes, and most people do. It is common to have looser curls around the face and tighter coils at the crown or nape. If your answers match two neighbouring types equally, the quiz gives a mixed result such as 4B/4C.

What is the difference between 4B and 4C hair?

4B hair bends in visible zig-zag angles and can clump into defined sections when styled. 4C hair has even tighter, finer bends that are hard to see as a pattern, and it usually shrinks more — often 70% or more of its stretched length.

Does hair type change over time?

Your natural pattern can shift a little with hormones, age and damage. Heat damage and chemical treatments can loosen the pattern on the lengths you have now; new growth from the scalp will show your current natural pattern.

Is 4C the same as low porosity?

No. Hair type describes the shape of the strand; porosity describes how easily it takes in and loses moisture. 4C hair can be low, normal or high porosity. Take our porosity test to find yours.

Which matters more: hair type or porosity?

For choosing products, porosity, density and strand thickness usually matter more. Two people with 4A hair can need very different products if one has fine, low-porosity strands and the other has coarse, high-porosity hair.

How accurate is a hair type quiz?

It is a good starting point, not a lab test. The typing chart itself is a popular convention rather than a scientific scale, and your answers depend on how you look at your hair. If the result feels off, check the closest matches shown with your result and read both pages.