Coily hair is one of the many terms you may be confused about if you’ve just started researching about different hair terms. Admittedly, there are an awful lot of hair terms and types floating around which can make it complicated to get into the subject. They are all fairly simple to learn, however, and here we’ll explore one of the more fascinating hair types – coily hair.
What is coily hair?
Natural coily hair is a type of curly hair. A “Type 4” curly hair to be exact. Coily hair is curly hair that’s even more voluminous than usual – the coily hair strands form tight curls that start zig-zagging almost as soon as they start growing out of the scalp.
Coily hair is also often called “kinky hair” simply because it does look “kinky”. However you decide to call it, coily hair has a spongy and dry texture and requires extra care.
How should you care for coily hair?
There are lots of different product recommendations we can throw your way here but the short answer is that you should care for coily hair as you would for any other curly hair type – with lots and lots of hydration. Like all curly hair, coily hair is drier than usual so you should make sure that it’s not only well-nourished by well-hydrated as well.
Are there different types of coily hair?
Coily hair, or Type 4 curly hair, is itself divided into three subtypes. They all have more or less the same texture but differentiate in the hair patterns they form. Here’s a quick breakdown for them:
- Coily hair Type 4A is when the hair strands form S-shape coils that are extra small and springy.
- Coily hair Type 4B is when the strands form Z-shape and bend at sharp angles. Type 4B also makes for a very dense hair.
- Coily hair Type 4C is similar to 4B but with even tighter coils that are extra fragile.
