Terminology. English adjectives such as "woolly", "kinky", or "spiraled" have been used to describe natural afro-textured hair. More formally, ulotrichous ("curly-haired" from Ancient Greek: οὖλος, romanized: oûlos, lit.
Afro Hair - Type 4A, 4B, 4C. Coily hair and afro hair is one of the most delicate types of curly hair. It is usually classified as Hair Type 4A, 4B, or 4C which translates to; Kinky, 'Coily' or Afro. Coily or afro hair has a very tight curl pattern and there isn't much space between the coils.
Hair is generally divided into four chief categories: type 1 that stands for straight hair; type 2 that signifies wavy hair; type 3 that refers to curly hair and type 4 that symbolizes kinky hair. Type 3 and 4 are hair texture types for African-American hair.
The African hair is generally curly or frizzy, and grows almost parallel to the scalp. It has the slowest growth rate of 0.9 centimeters per month due to its spiral structure which causes it to twist on itself as it grows. African hair has a flattened shape.
"Afro" is derived from the term "Afro-American". The hairstyle is also referred to by some as a "natural"—particularly the shorter, less elaborate versions of the Afro—since in most cases the hair is left untreated by relaxers or straightening chemicals and is instead allowed to express its natural curl or kinkiness.
Though there are many variations in hair type, persons of African descent generally have wavy or curly hair. The amount of curl is different for each person and can range from wavy to tightly coiled. The hair tends to be dry, and the curls may intertwine to form knots.
Human hair is generally categorized into three major groups according to ethnic origins, ie, Asian, African, and Caucasian.
There are two reasons why we believe African hair texture is genetic. Firstly, the texture is universal in Africans, while nearly absent from other ethnic groups. Secondly, it is consistently passed down to the children in each new generation.
We believe one of the reasons is that super-straight hair — also known as type 1a hair — is so rare. In fact, it's the rarest hair type. Only 2% of the world's population has 1a hair. It's mostly found in people of Asian descent.
Afro textured hair types typically have a high concentration of cysteine which form strong bonds with each other, creating tension which causes hair to bend and curl. Acute curls are the product of dense quantities of cysteine.
The average diameter, or thickness, of Asian hair is from 80 to 120 µm, compared to 65 µm in Caucasian hair and 55 µm in Black hair. The average diameter of Hispanic/Latino hair tends to fall between that of Asian and Caucasian. Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied.
There are some Black women that may have naturally straight hair due to genetics. However, the majority of the time, if you see a Black woman with straight hair, she either has relaxed hair or is natural but uses heat styling tools like a flat iron or blow dryer to straighten her locks.
A general observation across experiments was that straight hair was perceived as younger, healthier, and more attractive than wavy hair and darker shades (medium copper and brown) were perceived more positively than blonde hair.
The rarest natural hair colour is red, which makes up only one to two percent of the global population. You commonly see these hair colours in western and northern areas of Europe, especially Scotland and Ireland. However, natural redheads may not exist for much longer.
So, why is Afro-textured hair so fragile? With its tight curls and twists, is more prone to breakage for several reasons. Its shape increases tangling and makes combing harder. The shape also creates internal stresses when the hair is unbent, untwisted or stretched that lead to fracturing.
Afro-textured hair is a human hair texture originally prevalent in many regions with hot climates, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape.
Afro hair produces plenty of protective oils called sebum, but the oil struggles to spread evenly along the hair fibre due to the curly nature of afro hair. Without lubrication, the fibres become very dry which causes the hair to become frizzy and brittle.
Individuals of African ancestry, for example, are more likely to have curly hair due to the oval shape of their hair follicles. Additionally, the Keratin Associated Protein (KAP) cluster genes, responsible for the structure of keratin fibers, have been found to have variations in many African populations.
It has been reported that Asian hair is generally straight and is the thickest, while its cross-section is the most round-shaped among these three. Caucasian hair is generally straight or wavy and is the thinnest, while its cross-section is relatively elliptic.
H. Harris, publishing in the British Journal of Dermatology in 1947, wrote American Indians have the least body hair, Chinese and black people have little body hair, white people have more body hair than black people and Ainu have the most body hair.
The hair colour of a person will be black because the black hair gene is dominant over the red hair gene.
In ancient Africa, hair was a significant symbolic tool which was utilised to communicate different messages and meanings about peoples' social status, heritage, culture, religion and many other aspects of African societies.