All hair is curly hair
All hair samples were collected and analyzed at Inhairitance Curl Spa where Michal is the trainer and senior curl expert. This hair salon caters to one of the most diverse clientele and it’s renowned for their specialized skills with curly hair.
Today when you got up this morning I don’t believe you had the intention to change your understanding of something as common as hair. Despite the extensive body of knowledge pertaining to hair, with numerous scientific articles delving into its intricacies, as a stylist, I have come to realize that this wealth of information alone does not adequately equip me to fulfill my role in restoring hair health. Dehydration, entangled strands, and compromised scalp conditions persist, leaving me disheartened and questioning the efficacy of my practice. This article shows a Type 1 client’s evolution to curly, informing us that all hair can be curly.
The crux of the matter lies in the historical development of cosmetology and its inclination towards the compartmentalization of hair through pseudoscientific terminology and unsustainable racial categorizations. Calling hair mongolian, caucasian, and african; removed the possibility of actual constructive science for decades. For example:
The word “Texture” to explain hair as if we were talking about glass or wood, couldn’t compute with hair in my mind; because all hair is made of the same things, cuticles, cortex and medulla. A thing that is made of the same material cannot be categorized as a different material or texture.
Calculating the science of one hair strand cannot explain everything that is going on within a section of hair or globally. Once we start calculating on how the hair clumps together then we understand how the hair was meant to function.
“Evolutionary theory highlights the adaptive value of within-species variability. Optimal biological and behavioral strategies differ depending on the nature of the environmental context as well as the characteristics of the organism such as age, sex, health, or physical size” (Evolutionary theory Barbara M. Newman, Philip R. Newman, in Theories of Adolescent Development, 2020). Evolutionary theory says that the black women are the oldest homo sapiens on this planet. Originally, she has coily hair. Black women today have the most diverse variability in hair, though broadly speaking their hair gets to be the most coily hair and is best hydrated and longwear sustainable when the hairs are naturally grouped together from root to the end of the curl. After years of adaptive evolution to climate, altitude and environment the hair got ‘straighter’. But when we look closely to diameter variations in (what seems to be) straight hair we understand that the hair is not 100% tubular , that the hair twists, gets narrow along the length of each hair strand, and that those bends and twists represents the link to fold into another hair strand, that if repeated it would likely make a curl. We finally understand that all hair can clump together because of evolutionary theory. It is essential to acknowledge that all hair possesses inherent curliness, and it is imperative that we embark upon a journey to comprehend this scientific phenomenon, thereby enabling the industry to transition towards a foundation rooted in scientific principles, rather than perpetuating pseudoscientific practices.
Unlike the cosmetology of today, we have classified hair under a system we built. The Inhairitance’s internal Curl ID system were brought to the microbiology photo laboratory to find out if our Curl ID system of analysis was flawed or not and if we can determine the math that may finally end superstition to our claim that all hair is curly and find a straightforward way to take care of all curly hair.
The Diameter Variation as assumed by the Inhairitance’s Curl ID is: the diameter varies in width along the hair strand, this plays a role in the uneven distribution of water and in the capacity for dryness. The more varied the diameter variation the more capacity for dry hair and tightness of curls when the hair is clumped. The variations of the diameter or the uniformity of the diameter determines in part the shine of the hair when the hair is clumped together. The size of the diameter determines in part the porosity and distribution of the water absorbed. The diameter variation will determine how individual hair strands will come together as well as the size of the curls. And depending on the variation of the diameter the higher the variation in combination of the hair being fine, the hair will dry out quickly because of the unevenness in the distribution of water within the hair strand; than a hair strand that is fine but has a uniform diameter that has a more even distribution of water will appear not as dry in the same period of time. This is considering the hair is free of micro plastics, heavy metals and heavy oils.
Variation of curly hairs classified in types
Illustration by Cumulux Creative
The higher the variation in the diameter the tighter the curl. The lower the variation in the diameter the looser the curl. The lowest diameter variation is called Type 1 hair, the second lowest diameter variation curl is known as a Type 2 hair; it has the low volume and the low shrinkage. A medium diameter variation is known as a Type 3 hair; it has the most volume and a lot of shrinkage. The most varied diameter curl is known as a Type 4 hair; it has volume and the most shrinkage.
Type 1 hair journey highlighting the importance of chelating and curl wash routines
Photos by Natalie Dascoloff
These images above are usually classified in the hair industry as Type 1 hair claimed by the famous Andre Walker. Visibly yes the hair seems straight. Once the hair was chelated and washed with non invasive curly hair techniques we see the hair completely changed. Unfortunately, I believe Andre Walker spoke too soon by claiming there is such a thing as absolute straight hair. I can now inform you why he thought they were straight. Judging by the heat damage from manually straightening the hair in this industry, we know heat damage makes hair look straight, the natural low porosity (tight cuticle layers that let less water in the hair) in the hair and low elasticity (keratinised cortex that lacks flexibility), water not actually able to penetrate evenly, the heavy silicones and mineral oil from pharmaceutical brands that weighed down the hair, and the non use of heat drying with a diffuser led these women to believe that their hair was straight and could not use curly hair brands that are for the most part better quality and non toxic to our physical health. Also curly hair brands are promoted as heavier and greasy, which is not the case for all curly hair products. An oversimplification is why we are here. This woman after her hair was washed expressed that her, ‘head felt less heavy. They had less dandruff after one wash, and that they felt beautiful. The take away from these photos is to help further the conversation on:
How does it happen that an Asian women believes that her hair is absolutely straight;
Why did her scalp feel heavy;
Why even water distribution is essential for maintaining hydrated hair and;
Why heat drying with a diffuser or circulating hot hair is so beneficial to all porosity and elasticities but especially low porosity and low elasticity hair?
As this article meets its conclusion, the visual shows the variation of 4 hair types. A Type 1 hair has been given special attention in the form of pictures due to the fact that many people with type 1 hair do not just walk into a curly hair salon. But maybe one day we will realize that everyone is welcome in a curly hair salon.
We understand that the less varied the hair the less coily the hair is when clumped together. Finally the more varied the hair the more coily the hair will be when clumped together.
With more data we can be able to bridge the gap in understanding and pursue new phenomenons.