CURLY CUE: THE SPRING FACTOR
The tightness of your curls (or spring factor) is a good way to determine which type of curly girl you are. (It’s also something your hairdresser should know or be told because it tells him or her how much to cut.) The spring factor is the difference between the length of a curl when it falls naturally and when it’s pulled out to its full length. Here’s how to check yours: Pull a strand of dry curls down against your shoulder or neck to its full length. Leave your finger at the point where the strand touches. Now let go. With a ruler, measure the distance between your finger and where your curl naturally ends. The measurement is your personal spring factor:
9- to 16-inch spring:FractalFractal orZigzagZigzag
9- to 12-inch spring:CorkscrewCorkscrew
5- to 10-inch spring:CorkicelliCorkicelli andCherubCherub
5- to 8-inch spring:BotticelliBotticelli
2- to 4-inch spring:WavyWavy
1- to 2-inch spring:S’wavyS’wavy
These fractal curls have about a 9-inch spring factor or more. Measure your spring factor to help determine which hair-care routine to follow.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
Corkscrew Curls Corkscrew Curls
Corkscrew Sample
Beyoncé Knowles, Singer
You know you have cork
You know you have corkscrew curls if you hascrew curls if you have:ve:
• Curls that contract as tightly as a French poodle’s if cut too short. • Lots of small spirals.
• A high frizz factor.
• Hair that appears thickly textured when you look at it all together, but is actually baby- fine and delicate when you look at a single strand. (This is why your hair breaks so easily.)
• Hair that soaks up as much conditioner as you feed it.
by the natural movement of the head throughout the day.) • A spring factor of 9 to 12 inches.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
Botticelli Curls Botticelli Curls
Botticelli Sample
Shakira, Singer
You know you have botticelli cur
You know you have botticelli curls if you have:ls if you have:
• Curls that vary in size and shape. Underneath you may have hermit curls that can shrink to half the length of those on the outside. (This is another reasonnot to cut your hair wet, something we’ll discuss inchapter 9.)
• Curls that tend to be looser, in the shape of soft S’s, combined with those that are tight. • Curls that have a ropier appearance.
• Hair that seems to wilt if it gets too long. (This is because the weight of the top layer weighs the hair down.)
• Curls that are looser during some seasons and tighter during others. • A spring factor of 5 to 8 inches.
•Curly hair needs that extra moisture to stay hydrated and frizz-free.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
Corkicelli Curls Corkicelli Curls
Cyrille, Curly Girl Model
Melina Kanakaredes, Actress
You know you have cork
You know you have corkicelli curls if you have:icelli curls if you have:
• Varying curl patterns throughout your hair’s overall landscape: for example, significantly tighter curls around the face and at the nape of the neck, while the rest of the hair is much looser, or vice versa. (Curls should never be cut when wet, because you would not recognize these distinct curl patterns on a wet, combed surface.) • Drier hair with a higher frizz factor if not hydrated properly.
• Curly hair throughout all seasons.
• Hair that appears longer or shorter depending on the weather and humidity. • A spring factor of 5 to 10 inches.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
Cherub Curls Cherub Curls
Lionelle, Curly Girl Model
Taylor Swift, Singer
You know you have cherub c
You know you have cherub curls if you have:urls if you have:
• Had curly hair from birth.
• Baby-fine curl spirals that resemble the hair of a young child whether you’re eight yearsold or eighty. • Curls that seem as delicate as gold leaf because they easily disperse with outside
interferences such as wind, moving around while you sleep, or too much touching. • Curls that are weightless to the touch and have a translucency to them like a halo. • A variety of curl lengths on your head.
• Curls that take a long time to grow and never seem to grow past a certain point. (Don’t worry, theywill grow wi th the right care.)
• Curls that have a shorter life span because they’re so fragile that they break easily. • A spring factor of 5 to 10 inches.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
Wavy Hair Wavy Hair
Erica, Curly Girl Model
Megan Fox, Actress
You know you have wav
You know you have wavy curls if you have:y curls if you have:
• Hair that you’ve always believed was straight.
• Had straight hair when you were very young and possibly wavy hair after puberty. • Hair that occasionally develops a natural wave after coming out of the shower and at
the beach.
• A slight halo of frizz and frizz on the ends of the hair on humid days.
• Hair that has a tendency to look unmaintained and flat on the crown. Hair that can appear straight in the winter.
• Hair that is dry on the ends. • A spring factor of 2 to 4 inches.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
S’wavy Hair S’wavy Hair
Carmine, Curly Girl Model
Evangeline Lily, Actress
You know you have s’wa
You know you have s’wavy curls if you have:vy curls if you have:
• Hair that may appear straight in the winter with no effort. In fact, you have to work to get waves in your hair. (Read on, because you can do it!)
• Low to no frizz factor. • A natural shine.
• A slight bend at the ends of your hair, depending on the length. • Hair that looks better when it’s layered.
• A spring factor of 1 to2 inches.
•Curly hair needs that extra moisture to stay hydrated and frizz-free.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CURLS
Fractal or Zigzag Curls Fractal or Zigzag Curls
Olivia, Curly Girl Model
Laura Izibor, Singer
You know you have frac
You know you have fractal or zigzag curls if you havtal or zigzag curls if you have:e:
• Curls that might be described as twizzles, micro-spirals, or fractal corkscrews.
• An almost steplike pattern to your hair. It may not look zigzag when you look at your hair as a whole, but it will when you take a closer look at individual curls. • Hair that is relentlessly dry.
• Hair that’s hypersensitive to rough handling. • Curls that don’t change with the season.
• A receding hairline from having your hair pulled back too tight, relaxed, or the weight of a weave. (All curly girls are prone to this, but fractal and zigzag curls are more so than others.)
• A spring factor of 9 to 16 inches.
CURL CONFESSION
CURL CONFESSION
Faith Jones
Faith Jonesfeminist and writer
Like many African American little girls, I had my hair chemically relaxed when I was only four. When I got older, it was a constant battle between me and superstrength relaxers, straightening irons, blow-dryers, and plastic rollers. My life literally revolved around my hair. I scheduled my gym workouts around washing and roller-setting my hair, avoided swimming, and spent hours sweating under a hot hooded dryer, even in the summer. I would walk out of hair salons in tears from the painful chemical scalp burns.
The summer after my college graduation, during a Jamaican vacation, my hair was a frizzy, dry disaster from the sun and swimming. I considered going into town to have my hair braided, but I didn’t want to spend seven hours doing it. Instead, I decided to enjoy my
vacation, gross hair and all. I vowed to figure out a way to have this same carefree attitude about my hair when I got home. After searching for solutions, I realized the smartest thing to do was to grow out my relaxer. There were so many ways to transition from straight to curly hair, through straw-sets, braids, Bantu-knotting, and such. But after two months of transitioning, the effort these hairstyles took completely defeated the purpose of wanting carefree styling of my natural curls. The mentality that many black women have about their hair is insane to me. Was I to spend the rest of my life battling with my hair to get it to do something it was never meant to do?
So I went to my hairstylist and had my hair cut off completely. I left happily bald-headed, the sun shining on my scalp, feeling truly liberated. Two years later, my hair is healthy, shiny, and wonderfully curly. After all those years of trying to obtain straight hair, I realized that all my hair needed was moisture and patience! I vowed once my virgin hair grew in that I’d never pollute it with harsh chemicals again.