The Real Way To Find Out Which Hair Type You Have

Though you've lived with this hair all of your life, the method of its madness may seem frustratingly elusive. Sure, you've found certain products along the way, perhaps from trial and error, that have saved you from the worst hair days, but have you truly taken the time to get to know your hair?

As it turns out, without really knowing what specific hair type you possess, you run the risk of passing up the products, cuts, and other remedies that could keep your strands in perfect form.

There are several ways to determine what sort of hair type you have, whether you're sporting flat, straight hair or thick, curly hair. First, you'll need to examine the texture of your hair. To do this, you'll need to study the diameter of one individual strand. If, after laying it flat on a table, you can barely see it or feel the strand between your fingers, it's likely that you have fine hair. However, if your single strand of hair looks thick or layered, it points to the fact that you have thick or coarse hair (via Redken). 

After determining the texture of your hair, it's important to look at other factors that define your hair, like its density, shape, and porosity, or how the hair reacts to water (via PureWow).

The density (or thickness) of your hair can be discovered by taking a front section of your hair and pulling it to the side. If you can easily spot sections of your scalp through the hair, your hair is thin. If you can barely see any scalp at all, you're sporting some seriously thick hair (per Redken).

Next, study the actual shape of your hair. For the most part, you can discover the shape of your hair by comparing it to the following shapes: Angel hair pasta, ramen noodles, the letter S, half S's and half L's, corkscrews, the spring inside of a pen, zig-zags, and a combination of springs and zig-zags (per PureWow).

And finally, the porosity of your hair, or its ability to absorb moisture, can tell you quite a bit about how to treat it. The porosity of your hair can be discovered by placing one strand in a bowl full of water. If the strand sinks to the bottom, it has a high porosity and is able to absorb moisture, while a strand that rises to the top has low porosity and difficulty absorbing moisture. As a rule of thumb, those sporting strands with a low porosity should steer clear of any practices that could further damage their hair, like heat (per Redken).

From this information, you'll be able to assess what sort of hair type you possess and how to ensure that your mane is on its best behavior at all times.