Here’s How to Find Your Hair Type – And Which Products You Should Actually Be Using

Go beyond ‘straight’ or ‘curly’ and get to the root of why certain products do – and, more importantly, don’t – work for you, and what matters most when it comes to your routine. 

If you’ve ever tried to borrow someone else’s hair products – or copy a haircare routine from TikTok – and got vastly different results, you’ll understand how important knowing your hair type is. It’s why the same deep conditioner can leave one person’s hair smooth, shiny and strong, and another’s limp, lank and even frizzier than before – and why the ‘Curly Girl Method’ leaves some with bouncy, defined curls, and others with a heavy, crunchy mess. 

So, how do you know what type of hair you have? Your hair type is determined by three different factors: texture, structure and porosity. Together, they influence the type of products that work best for your desired results, as well as the concerns you’ll experience (see: flyaways, breakage or excess oil).  

There’s a few different ways to determine where your hair falls within each of these categories. Let’s dive in. 

Texture is the hair factor you’re probably most familiar with – it’s whether your hair is straight, curly or wavy. If you have waves or curls, your curl pattern is part of your hair texture. 

Hair texture is genetic, and is determined by the shape of your hair follicles. When the follicles have an oval shape, hair grows out at an angle and forms curls and waves – the thinner the oval, the curlier the hair. When the follicles are round and symmetrical, hair grows straight. 

If you’re not sure of your hair texture, wet your hair and let it air dry with no product and without tying it up in a bun or ponytail. Once it dries, see which of the following types describes it best: 

Type 1: Straight. When dry, your hair has no (or minimal) visible bends or waves. 
Type 2: Wavy. Your hair dries in loose S-shapes.
Type 3: Curly. You’ll see bouncy ringlets once your hair has dried.
Type 4: Coily. Your hair dries in small, tight spirals. 

Each of these categories also has three subtypes – a, b or c – which describes the shape of the curls or waves (if any). Type 1a is dead straight hair that often lies flat, while Type 4c is densely coiled with the smallest curl diameter. 

Interestingly, your hair texture can change over time; hormonal shifts such as pregnancy and menopause, as well as some medical conditions and treatments, may sometimes cause the hair follicles to change shape – turning hair from curly to straight or vice versa.

You might also be familiar with your hair’s structure – whether it’s fine, medium or coarse (also called thick). Like your hair texture, this is also determined by your follicles; this time, it’s the width rather than the shape. Put simply, the wider each follicle, the thicker each strand of hair is – people with fine hair have smaller follicles, so each strand of hair has a smaller diameter. 

There are structural differences too. Each strand of hair is made up of a cuticle – the protective outer layer of the hair, which is arranged in overlapping cells (think roof shingles or fish scales) – and the cortex, long keratin filaments which give your hair its colour. But medium and coarse hair also features an extra layer in the middle: the medulla. 

There’s a simple test to find out whether your hair is fine, medium or coarse. Rub a single strand of hair between your fingertips – if you can’t feel it, your hair is fine. If you can just feel it, it’s medium and if it feels very noticeable and strong, it’s coarse. 

Fine Hair: The thinnest and most fragile strands. Fine hair tends to look shinier, but can quickly become oily. It’s also more prone to breakage, gets ‘weighed down’ with product and can lack volume or struggle to ‘hold’ a style.
Medium Hair: The most common hair structure – and luckily, the most manageable! Less prone to breakage than fine hair, it also tends to be easier to style. However, it can be prone to dryness and frizz. 
Coarse or Thick Hair: The widest and strongest strands. Coarse hair tends to be the most resilient to damage and breakage. However, it can also be resistant to chemical treatments, such as colouring or straightening, and is the most prone to dryness. 

While many people assume curly hair is always coarse, that’s not necessarily the case – any hair texture can have fine, medium or coarse texture. 

Don’t confuse hair structure with hair density! Density refers to how many follicles you have, rather than the size of each follicle. Thin hair density means you have fewer follicles, and more of your scalp will be visible. Medium or thick hair density means you have a greater number of follicles and a less visible scalp. You can have any combination of hair density and hair structure. 

Perhaps the least-known component of your hair type is its porosity, yet it’s often the most important when it comes to choosing products. It refers to the condition of your hair’s cuticle (that’s the outer layer of each strand) – specifically, how large the gaps are between each of the overlapping cells. 

Think of the pores on your face – something that’s porous has a lot of holes!

Hair porosity is divided into three categories: low, medium and high. 

Low Porosity Hair: Has cuticles with tightly closed gaps and tends not to absorb moisture easily – however, once hydration is in, it will stay there. If you notice your hair takes a very long time to dry, or that products tend to ‘sit’ on your hair’s surface without absorbing, you could have low porosity hair. Chemical treatments such as bleaching or straightening might also take longer. 
Medium Porosity Hair: Has slightly more open cuticles and tends to both absorb and retain moisture easily. If your hair is generally manageable and you get good results from most products, your hair is likely medium porosity. 
High Porosity Hair: Has the most open cuticles, which means moisture is absorbed quickly but isn’t retained. If you notice your hair tends to air dry very quickly or gets tangled and frizzy, it’s likely high porosity. 

Curly hair is often more porous than straight hair, but this isn’t always the case. So, how do you find out your hair porosity? There are a couple of easy tests you can do. 

The ‘Float Test’: Drop a clean, dry strand of hair into a glass of water – if it floats, it’s low porosity and if it sinks, it’s high porosity. 
The ‘Slide Test’: Slide a dry strand of hair between your fingers; if it feels smooth or slippery, it’s probably low porosity and if it feels rough, it’s high porosity. 

And while your hair porosity is genetic, environmental factors can change it. Excessive exposure to UV rays, heat styling and bleaching can all cause your hair to become more porous over time.