With the success of our Textured range for type 4 coily hair, in the 2023 Hair awards, let’s get deep into the type 4 curl pattern!
Type 4 curls consist of fine, thin and coarse/wiry, compact coils. This hair type may seem robust, but when examined and understood, it’s texture is actually one of the most fragile! This is because, type 4 curls have far less cuticle layers (needed for protection and moisture). With minimal cuticles layers, hair is dry, tangled, susceptible to shrinkage and greatly prone to breakage if not treated carefully.
There are 3 different categories in type 4: 4A, 4B and 4C.
4A coils are compact in a curl pattern, tight S shape and have a clearly visible curl pattern
4B very tight coils, springy and more of a Z shape
4C Z shaped tight coils, a lot of shrinkage
How to Care for Type 4 Coily Hair
Number one rule for type 4 coil hair, keep it moisturised! All variations of type 4 hair should avoid products that contain paragons and sulphates! These are extremely drying and cause scalp irritation and flakiness.
TIPS:
Daily: Each morning spritz your hair with water and apply leave in conditioner such as Elasti-Curl Textured Leave-in Detangling Milk to provide hydration all day. Our Detangling Milk is a light, vegan, cruelty-free way to revitalise your coil hair, and bring it back to full health.
At night, wrap your coily hair or wear a bonnet! This is why it’s so important.
Weekly: It’s so important to deep condition type 4 hair! It’s even more important to deep condition curls in the correct way. Make sure to avoid these deep conditioning mistakes.
Only shampoo your hair weekly, and always use a shampoo packed with nourishing, natural, fatty ingredients. Insight’s Elasti-Curl Mild Shampoo is perfect for type 4 hair; winner in 2 categories at the 2023 Hair Awards! To see which categories it won, read our winners blog.
Choose Protective hairstyles
Reducing breakage and protecting your coily hair with the way you style it. Low-maintenance styles are great choice to protect your fragile, delicate strands.
Braids are great for healthy hair due to the absence of heat styling. We recommend loose braids as tighter styles can cause hair loss and breakage, so be warned when you’re next changing your do. Make sure to be on top of your timing with braids; a style should only be worn for about 8 weeks, after this damage can begin. Also, give your hair time to breathe and rest between such styles.
As mentioned above, heat styling and heat tools are best avoided for type 4 coily hair. But we know they can be necessary sometimes; always use heat protection that is proven against high temperatures – Insight Heat Protection Shield is ideal.
Products matter!
The very best way to care for type 4 coily hair is by choosing the best products. Products that have been scientifically formulated for the needs of your hair, not just put in a pretty bottle and spread across your social media feed by paid influencers. Our products go through years of testing to ensure the very best results! Check out our coily hair champs now.