Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles in the dermis of the skin and is a defining characteristic of mammals. Hair covers most of the human body, having different lengths, textures, and thicknesses. For humans, hair serves as insulation, protection, friction buffer, redirection of water and sweat from the body.
Hair is used by mammals for differentiation and beautification. The best example of differentiation is male lions having manes while females lions do not. For humans, men grow facial hair while women do not. Hair also adds beauty and that is why women often have elaborate hairstyles and why men go to great lengths to battle baldness.
Male baldness has a great psychological effect, and some products are used daily to combat baldness, like Thermalabs Shampoo Gracilaria For Men.
Classifications of hair
There are several classification systems but the most popular is Andre Walker’s classification.
| Andre Walker hair types | ||
| Type 1: Straight | ||
| 1a | Straight (Fine/Thin) | Hair tends to be very soft, thin, shiny, oily, poor at holding curls, difficult to damage. |
| 1b | Straight (Medium) | Hair is characterized by volume and body. |
| 1c | Straight (Coarse) | Hair tends to be bone-straight, coarse, difficult to curl. |
| Type 2: Wavy | ||
| 2a | Wavy (Fine/Thin) | Hair has a definite “S” pattern, can easily be straightened or curled, usually receptive to a variety of styles. |
| 2b | Wavy (Medium) | Can tend to be frizzy and a little resistant to styling. |
| 2c | Wavy (Coarse) | Fairly coarse, frizzy or very frizzy with thicker waves, often more resistant to styling. |
| Type 3: Curly | ||
| 3a | Curly (Loose) | Presents a definite “S” pattern, tends to combine thickness, volume, and/or frizziness. |
| 3b | Curly (Tight) | Presents a definite “S” pattern, curls ranging from spirals to spiral-shaped corkscrew |
| Type 4: Kinky | ||
| 4a | Kinky (Soft) | Hair tends to be very wiry and fragile, tightly coiled and can feature curly patterning. |
| 4b | Kinky (Wiry) | As 4a but with less defined pattern of curls, looks more like a “Z” with sharp angles |
| FIA hair classification | ||
| Curliness | ||
| Straight | ||
| 1a | Stick-straight. | |
| 1b | Straight but with a slight body wave adding some volume. | |
| 1c | Straight with body wave and one or two visible S-waves (e.g. at nape of neck or temples). | |
| Wavy | ||
| 2a | Loose with stretched S-waves throughout. | |
| 2b | Shorter with more distinct S-waves (resembling e.g. braided damp hair). | |
| 2c | Distinct S-waves, some spiral curling. | |
| Curly | ||
| 3a | Big, loose spiral curls. | |
| 3b | Bouncy ringlets. | |
| 3c | Tight corkscrews. | |
| Very (“Really”) curly | ||
| 4a | Tightly coiled S-curls. | |
| 4b | Z-patterned (tightly coiled, sharply angled) | |
| 4c | Mostly Z-patterned (tightly kinked, less definition) | |
| Strands | ||
| F | FineThin strands that sometimes are almost translucent when held up to the light. Shed strands can be hard to see even against a contrasting background. Fine hair is difficult to feel or it feels like an ultra-fine strand of silk. | |
| M | MediumStrands are neither fine nor coarse. Medium hair feels like a cotton thread, but isn’t stiff or rough. It is neither fine nor coarse. | |
| C | CoarseThick strands whose shed strands usually are easily identified. Coarse hair feels hard and wiry. | |
| Volume by circumference of full-hair ponytail | ||
| i | Thin | circumference less than 2 inches (5 centimetres) |
| ii | Normal | … from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimetres) |
| iii | Thick | … more than 4 inches (10 centimetres) |
