Is It Frizz or Curls?


photo of back on woman's head divided in half to show one half has no product in the hair, and the other half has product in it

by the Jessicurl TeamHave you ever wondered why you aren’t getting the healthy, shiny, smooth, and happy results that other straight-haired people seem to get so effortlessly? 

Perhaps it’s time to embrace that your hair is actually curly as opposed to trying to identify with it being straight hair that just won’t behave. 

What you may see as poofy, frizzy, tangly, or just unruly might actually mean that you have curls and this is great news! With this information, you can bring out the very best of what your hair has been asking for.

Many others don’t realize also that it is not uncommon for our hair to change as we get older. 

When this happens it is normal to look for a short-term explanation. Must be the weather or the product I am using is creating an effect I am not used to. True that these factors play a serious role in the performance of your hair but there is a very real possibility that your once-perceived straight hair is actually more adventurous than you thought. You may be on your way to being curly or have even been curly the whole time.

But how do you know that it isn’t just frizz?

First, Let’s Define “Curl Types”. This will give a strong idea of what you are looking at and for.

The three classifications of curls are Wavy, Curly and Coily. The higher the number is the tighter your curl pattern.

Wavy: 

2A-Soft, flowy waves

2B-Wavy with deeper bends

2C-Deep Wave, gently rolling and open curls.

Curly:

3A-Soft Curls, springy and open

3B-Curly, tighter curl definition

3C-Ultra Curly, even tighter curl pattern forming, springy

Coily:

4A-Coily, bouncy springy tighter curl pattern

4B-Zig-Zag, smaller curl pattern in a Z formation

4C-Tightly Coiled, the smallest and tightest curl pattern like a spring

How to determine your curl type:

The best possible time to test your curl pattern is right after a washing. Remove a strand while wet and lay it flat and watch it dry. For more visible results try laying your strand on a piece of white paper.

Different strands of graphic designed hair to show different curl patterns

Next, Let’s Find Your Products:

We have witnessed countless others who started trying curly hair products and techniques over their routine straight hair products and saw immediate positive results. Your hair seems to reward you as soon as you hear what it has been trying to tell you for so long.

However; the sheer thought of using trial and error to determine just what your new curls need can seem daunting and expensive. 

WORRY NOT! This is precisely why we have Free Samples of all non-spray products available to try! Once you have generally determined what your curl type is, you can try a few products out to see which ones your hair is the happiest with. 

If you are trying to choose between products you can always use our handy recommendation chart (see below) or start with the products recommended for your pattern on our Shop by Curl Pattern page. 

Extra Tip:

Learning your hair's porosity is the next step in digging deeper to determine which product is going to serve you best. Oh great, another daunting task! NOPE, we have already taken the guesswork out of this for you as well in our previous blog post: Porosity. What the heck is it and why does it matter? This will determine the moisture needed for your recently developing curls.

Takeaways:

Just stop and breathe a little and don’t just assume that your hair patterns are simply reactionary and unruly frizz. There is the very real possibility that you have textured curly hair which opens up a whole new and exciting world in this next chapter of life.

We will help you identify, embrace, and promote your newly found textured curls so that you can have the confidence to show the world just how awesome your hair is.