Hair Types Chart: What's My Hair Type? 1a to 4c, Explained

Updated November 2026. Prices are our live online prices.

The 1a to 4c system was made popular by a celebrity hairdresser in the 1990s, and it's now how almost everyone online talks about curl pattern. It isn't perfect. It only describes the shape of the hair, not how fine or dry it is. But it's a quick shared language, and it makes product advice much easier to follow.

The hair types chart: 1a to 4c

How to find your hair type

1. Wash and condition as normal. No leave-in, no styling product.
2. Squeeze out the water gently and let it air-dry without touching it.
3. Look at the mid-lengths and the hair underneath at the back, not the top layer. The top is often looser because it gets brushed, slept on and sun-bleached.
4. Match the shape to the chart. If the back is 2c and the front is 2a, you have both. That's normal.

If you've been blow-drying or straightening for years, you may be surprised. A lot of people who think they have "frizzy straight hair" turn out to have a 2a or 2b wave that's been brushed out. Our fluffy hair guide talks about that.

Type 1: straight hair (1a, 1b, 1c)

Oil from the scalp travels straight down type 1 hair, so it gets greasy faster than any other type and rarely feels dry at the roots. 1a hair is usually fine and slippery and won't hold a curl. 1c is coarser and often has a slight kink underneath. What type 1 usually wants is lift and lightness, not more moisture. Our guides to products for fine hair and shampoo for oily roots fit most type 1 heads.

Type 2: wavy hair (2a, 2b, 2c)

Waves are S-shaped and usually flatter at the root, with the pattern starting around the cheekbones. 2a is barely there. 2c has defined waves and a few ringlets, and frizzes easily. Wavy hair is the most often misread type. It gets weighed down by curly products and frizzes with straight-hair products. Our wavy hair routine for 2b–3a waves has the full routine.

Type 3: curly hair (3a, 3b, 3c)

Proper curls, from loose spirals at 3a to tight corkscrews at 3c. Scalp oil struggles to get down the bends, so type 3 hair is drier through the lengths and needs more conditioner, a curl cream on soaking-wet hair, and less brushing. The curly hair routine covers 3a to 3c step by step.

Type 4: coily hair (4a, 4b, 4c)

Tight coils and Z-shaped bends that can shrink to a fraction of their length as they dry. Type 4 is the most fragile and the driest, so the routine is built around moisture and handling it as little as possible: rich leave-ins, weekly masks, detangling only when it's wet and full of conditioner, and protective styles. Kérastase makes its Curl Manifesto Masque Beurre for thick, dry and coily hair, and it's the richest mask we stock.

Curl type isn't the whole story

Two people with 3b curls can need completely different products. Three other things matter as much as the pattern:

• Texture: how wide each strand is. Fine, medium or coarse. Fine curls get weighed down easily. Coarse curls want richer products. More in thick and coarse hair.
• Density: how many strands you have. Thick, medium or thin. It changes how much product you need and how long hair takes to dry.
• Porosity: how easily your hair takes in moisture. It explains why some hair drinks product and other hair just builds it up. See low vs high porosity hair.

Two ways to care for each hair type

One starting product per type, from each brand, with live prices:

Sebastian is the lower price point in every row. Kérastase is the premium option, and in a couple of rows it does a slightly different job. For straight hair, Volupt is about volume and Gloss Absolu Bain is about shine, so pick by which one you're missing. For waves, Potion 9 Lite is a light leave-in you can use on damp or dry hair, while Refresh Absolu is made for reviving second-day waves and curls. For curls and coils, the two do the same job, and the Curl Manifesto mask is richer. Everything here is in our curly hair edit or the Sebastian Twisted and Curl Manifesto collections.

Can your hair type change?

Yes. Curl pattern often changes after pregnancy, with hormonal changes, after a lot of lightening or heat damage, or just with age. Plenty of clients tell us their hair went curlier in their thirties, or straighter. Damaged hair can lose its pattern and come back once it's been cut out. If you're not sure what you're working with, book a consultation at UKIYO and we'll tell you what we see.

Questions we get asked

What are the different hair types?

Hair types run from 1 to 4: type 1 is straight, type 2 wavy, type 3 curly and type 4 coily. Each has a, b and c sub-types going from looser to tighter, so 12 in total, from 1a to 4c.

How do I know my hair type?

Wash and condition, use no styling product, and let it air-dry untouched. Look at the mid-lengths and the hair underneath, then match the shape to a hair types chart.

What is the 1a hair type?

1a is pin-straight hair with no bend at all. It's usually fine and smooth, gets oily quickly and finds it hard to hold a curl.

Is 2c hair wavy or curly?

It's the tightest wavy type. 2c has defined S waves with some loose ringlets mixed in, so it often does well with curly-hair products used lightly.

What is 3b hair?

3b is springy ringlet curls about the width of a felt pen. It usually wants a curl cream and a light gel, plus more conditioner than looser types.

Can you have more than one hair type?

Yes, and most people do. The hair underneath and at the nape is often curlier than the top layer, and the front often differs from the back.

Can your hair type change?

It can. Pregnancy, hormonal changes, age, lightening and heat damage can all change your curl pattern over time.

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