Award-winning U.K. hairstylist, entrepreneur, and educator Chris Grimley specializes in curly hair and is the owner of Texture Curl Academy.
Here, Grimley answers the most frequent questions asked about the science behind curly, coily, and kinky hair.
For me, healthy textured hair has never been about chasing somebody else’s curls or following every trend on social media. It’s about understanding your own hair.
Once you know how your hair is built, how porous it is, how dense it is, and what it needs to stay hydrated, everything starts to make much more sense.
The answers to these common questions about curly hair is the key to understanding it, working with it, and bringing out its beauty.
Q: Why Does Hair Have Different Curl Patterns?
Your curl pattern is determined long before you ever reach for a shampoo, styling cream or diffuser. It’s written into your DNA.
Curls are as individual as fingerprints. No two heads of textured hair are ever exactly the same, and that’s one of the things I love most about working with curls every single day.
Genetics, the shape of your hair follicle, and the structure of the hair itself all work together to create the waves, curls, coils or kinks that make your hair uniquely yours.
Q: Where Does the Curl Come From?
Every strand of hair begins its journey beneath the surface of your scalp inside the hair follicle. Think of the follicle as the blueprint for your curl. Straight hair usually grows from a round follicle, allowing the hair to grow evenly.
Curly and coily hair, however, grows from follicles that are more oval or slightly flattened. That different shape causes the strand to bend and curve as it grows, creating everything from loose waves to tight coils.
Curly hair is also flatter in shape than straight hair, which means every twist and turn creates little points where the hair is naturally more delicate.
That’s why textured hair often needs a little more love and a gentler approach to keep it healthy and strong.
Q: How Can People With the Same Curl Type Have Different Product Needs?
We often hear people talking about 2A, 3C or 4C curls. Curl typing can be a helpful starting point, but it certainly isn’t the whole story.
I’ve worked with countless clients who technically have the same curl pattern, but whose hair behaves completely differently. That’s because there are other factors involved:
- Porosity tells us how easily your hair absorbs and holds onto moisture;
- Density is how much hair you have growing from your scalp;
- Strand thickness helps determine which products and styling techniques will work best; and
- Elasticity shows us how well the hair stretches and bounces back without snapping.
Understanding these characteristics is often far more useful than focusing on curl type alone. It’s the reason your friend’s routine might give you dry, heavy or lifeless curls, even though your hair appears similar.
Q: Why Does Curly Hair Need So Much Moisture?
This is probably one of the biggest differences between straight and textured hair.
Our scalp naturally produces an oil called sebum, which is designed to keep the hair moisturized and protected.
On straight hair, that oil can travel quite easily from root to tip. With curls and coils, though, every bend and every twist slows that journey down. By the time the oil reaches the ends, if it gets there at all, those ends are often crying out for moisture.
That’s why textured hair is naturally drier and can become brittle or break more easily if it isn’t properly hydrated. This is why I always say moisture isn’t a luxury for curls, it’s a necessity.
Using hydrating shampoos and conditioners, following with a good curl cream and either a gel or mousse to lock that moisture in, and treating your hair gently will make a world of difference to its health, shine, and definition.
Stop fighting your curls and begin working with them instead!
Every curl has its own story. Learning to understand that story is one of the best things you can do for the long-term health of your hair.
When you give textured hair what it truly needs, it will always reward you.
Chris Grimley is a multi-award-winning hairstylist, salon owner, and educator. She’s the owner of the Fusion Hair Co. salon in western England as well as founder of the Texture Curl Academy.