2A? 4C? Who cares! Let your hair speak for itself.
Based on over four years of research and 1,000+ heads of hair, our diagnostic system goes beyond curl pattern to consider all of your hair’s unique characteristics. Together, these attributes create an accurate picture of how your hair looks, feels, and behaves – in a word, its “Personality”!
We launched our Hair Type Quiz to help our clients take the guesswork out of shopping by easily determining what products will work for them based on several attributes: curl pattern, porosity, texture, curl shape, scalp condition, and styling preference. In this blog post, we’ll dive into each part of the quiz to give you the inside scoop on our system.
Curl Pattern:
Quite simply, this is the average number of curls per inch that occur along the length of your hair. This can range from perfectly straight with zero curls per inch to tightly curled with over 10 curls per inch.
The tightness of your curl pattern determines how quickly your sebum travels from your follicles to distribute along the hair shaft. The tighter your curl pattern, the more difficult it is for your natural oils to coat the hair.
Straight to wavy hair has less than 1 curl per inch. Loose curls have 1-2 curls per inch. Tight curls have 2-3 curls per inch. Very tight curls have more than 3 curls per inch.
Porosity:
Porosity refers to the degree to which your hair is able to absorb moisture and product. It is determined by the thickness and condition of your cuticle, the outermost layer of the hair.
Medium to low porosity hair has a tightly sealed cuticle which is more resistant to moisture absorption and loss. Medium to high porosity hair has a more open cuticle which allows moisture and product to pass easily into and out of the hair shaft.
Watch this video that shows one way we assess porosity at our salon. Try it at home! Isolate a single piece of hair, and with your free hand, pinch the tip of the hair and carefully push back towards the root.
- Do you feel any bumps or roughness? Hair with high porosity has a very open cuticle and can have a detectable roughness/bumpiness between the fingers.
- Does your hair shaft feel extremely smooth? Listen closely as you move your fingers toward the scalp. Very smooth hair shafts may produce an audible squeak. This is a sign of low porosity hair.
- Medium porosity hair doesn’t squeak or feel noticeably bumpy. If you’re having trouble figuring it out, chances are the hair is medium porosity or just very fine. Very fine hair can be difficult to assess with this method.
Texture: Texture is a function of strand diameter or the average width of your individual strands of hair. Strand diameter can range from less than 60 microns to 80 microns in diameter and determines whether your hair is Fine, Medium, or Coarse in texture.
NOTE: It is a myth that medium-textured hair is the width of a sewing thread, which starts at 127 microns. Texture makes a big impact on how the hair responds to various ingredients and how it feels to the touch.
Is your hair fine, medium, coarse, or somewhere in between? At the Original Moxie Salon, we use a Texture Guide to determine the average width of our client’s individual hair strands. This is nearly impossible to accurately assess by touch or visual inspection, so we developed a guide based on real strands of hair for use at our salon. If you can’t visit us at our salon, here’s what to look for at home:
- Fine Hair: Individual hairs are very soft – almost undetectable between the fingers.
- Medium Hair: Individual hairs are easy to feel between the fingers and are somewhat soft.
- Coarse Hair – Individual hairs feel hard and substantial between the fingers.
Curl Shape: The three-dimensional appearance of a curl or wave.
‘S’ Curls resemble a repeating wave pattern that can range from very loose to very tight. Spiral Curls are helical and coil around a central axis.
Unlike Spiral or ‘S’ Curls, Single Strand™ Curls prefer not to group together in ‘families.’
Instead, individual hairs may be either ‘S’ or spiral-shaped and tend to stand apart from one another. Curl Shape is one of the major drivers of your Hair Type Personality, as it predicts how your hair looks and behaves over time.
- S Curls: By far the most common curl shape. Clear curl ‘families’ that group in a repeating wave pattern. May be loose or very tight.
- Spiral Curls: Clear curl ‘families’ that coil in a helix around a central axis. May be loose or very tight.
- Single Strand Curls: The rarest curl shape. Independent strands that stand out from one another, do not easily group, and can be ‘s’ or spiral-shaped.
Scalp Condition: The appearance and mobility of your scalp can tell us a lot about your hair! Ideally, your scalp should be supple enough to move easily over your skull and be free of visible flaking or redness. Not one of the lucky few with a ‘perfect’ scalp? That’s ok! We offer a range of solutions to help get you there.
Styling Preference:
OK – so this has nothing to do with your hair type, but it does help us understand your lifestyle and product needs. Whether you like to keep it simple, pump up the volume, or mix it up with occasional heat styling, we’ve got you covered.
Want to learn more? Take the Quiz to find out your Hair Type Personality and get a customized styling regimen just for you!
Local clients can enjoy Free Hair Assessments at the Original Moxie Salon! This in-depth hair assessment provides an accurate understanding of curl pattern, porosity, texture, curl shape, and scalp mobility along with customized hair care recommendations. You can book that service online at originalmoxiesalon.com or by calling 734-340-4022.
