The hair type chart created by Andre Walker has been floating around natural hair spaces for decades. It puts hair into categories from 1 (straight) to 4 (coily), with subdivisions A through C describing the curl pattern within each group. It's a useful starting point. But it tells you almost nothing about what your hair actually needs.
Let me tell you what the chart doesn't.
4A Hair
4A hair has a visible, tight S-shaped curl pattern. The curl has some definition even when dry. This hair tends to retain moisture better than 4B and 4C because the curl shape helps close the cuticle more naturally. It also tends to clump more easily, which makes wash-and-go styles more achievable.
The main challenges for 4A are shrinkage and dryness. Even with a visible curl pattern, 4A hair can still have high porosity, meaning it loses moisture fast. The routine focus should be on consistent hydration and light sealing products that don't weigh the curls down.
4B Hair
4B hair coils in a Z-pattern rather than an S-pattern. The definition is tighter, less visible when dry, and the hair tends to shrink significantly. This hair type also has more surface area per strand exposed to the air, which makes dryness happen faster than with looser curl patterns.
4B hair benefits from protective styling more than 4A because the tighter coil pattern means more friction between strands during manipulation. Every time you comb, detangle, or style, you create more opportunities for breakage. Reducing manipulation is how you keep 4B hair long.
Products for 4B should be richer than what a 4A with the same porosity would use. The coil pattern itself creates more gaps for moisture to escape through.
4C Hair
4C hair has the tightest coil pattern and often appears as a dense cloud or puff rather than defined curls. It can shrink up to 75% of its actual length. This is one of the most misunderstood textures in natural hair care.
4C hair is not difficult hair. But it does require the most intentional care of the three types. The coil is so tight that moisture has more trouble traveling down the hair shaft from root to tip. The ends of 4C hair are often the oldest, driest, most fragile part of the strand. They need the most attention.
Product layering is especially important for 4C. Lightweight products tend to disappear before they do anything useful. Richer, heavier creams and butters work better here, and regular deep conditioning is not optional.
Why Most People Have More Than One Type
Most natural heads of hair have two or three different curl patterns on them. The hair at the nape tends to be softer. The hair at the crown tends to be the tightest. The edges behave differently from everything else.
This is normal. It means your routine needs to account for the most demanding section of your hair, not the average. If your crown is 4C and your nape is 4A, care for your crown. Your nape will be fine.
What the Chart Gets Wrong
Curl pattern alone does not tell you how much moisture your hair needs, how often to wash it, whether it needs protein, or which products will work. Two women with identical 4C patterns can have completely opposite routines if one has low porosity and the other has high porosity.
Curl type is a starting point. Porosity, density, strand thickness, scalp health, and climate are what build the actual routine.
The quiz takes all of it into account.