Once the hair breaks through the scalp, we get to see the result of what’s been happening underneath. We finally find out if the hair is straight, wavy or curly. The shape or rather “texture” as referenced in the natural hair community pertains to the pattern (if any) the hair has as it grows from the scalp without use of any product. Hair gets its texture from the shape of the follicle. Straight hair grows from a follicle that is round in shape. Hair that has more of a wave to it comes from an oval shaped follicle. And curly to kinky hair grows from a follicle that is more flattened than the oval shaped follicle. The flatter the follicle, the tighter the curl pattern. One thing that many curly girls soon find out about their natural hair is that more often than not, there will be many textures of hair on their head. It is quite common to have completely different hair textures on different parts of the head.

As a result of the Natural Hair Movement we now have a wide range of assortments in products and services specifically created for not just women with curly hair, but BLACK women with curly hair. Prior to 2009 it was very difficult to find hair care products at the store that addressed the needs of women who did not relax their hair. But as natural hair became more popular, mainstream beauty companies began to take notice and started trying to fill the gap. More importantly, from an economic standpoint black women themselves started to take matters into their own hands and started creating hair care products on their own. Many of these women had no background in chemistry or science but knew from personal experience what they needed and wanted. A lot of the products made for natural hair today are based on the “hair typing system” created by hair stylist Andre Walker. This system is based on four categories as determined by the curl pattern of the hair, with each category having a range from A to C. So in theory there would be a total of twelve different hair types that your hair could be classified under. The first category would be classified as 1, and on most hair typing charts it is the only category that doesn’t have a range because this category is classified simply as straight hair with no wave or curl at all. Though some charts do assign it with the standard A, B, and C range, regardless the primary characteristic of this hair type is the strands are straight with no curl or wave. The next category would be 2A, 2B, and 2C.These individuals would have a very slight wave to their hair. Category 3A, 3B, and 3C have definite curls, with 3C people possibly have a loose spiral curl pattern type. Category 4A, 4B, and 4C people have tighter curls, some in the shape of coils, some even have a z shape curl pattern or ringlets.