We’ve covered the best features of 4A hair, but you know it’s not all sunshine and roses. You’ll experience some shrinkage, but nothing like the shrinkage associated with kinkier 4B and 4C hair types. Your mane’s natural resistance to shrinkage is another thing that makes managing your hair easier. You need less products than other type 4s to achieve ideal coil definition and a polished, perfectly styled look. Your naturally high coil definition is another bonus that makes managing 4A hair easier. With your coffee stirrer-sized coils, you don’t have to work as hard to moisturize and style your coil groups. The tighter the coil, the more manipulation and individual attention to each coil group is needed. Since your coil pattern is the loosest of all type 4s, it’s easier to style and manage your individual coil groups. That’s due to a combination of factors: Your coil pattern and shape, natural coil definition, and resistance to shrinkage.

But 4A is the easiest of all type 4s to manage and maintain. Type 4 coily hair is generally known for being more challenging to manage than straight, wavy, or curly hair types. Compared to type 4C, which experiences the most shrinkage (up to 75%), shrinkage is thankfully not one of 4A’s main concerns. Your hair looks longer when it’s wet or when you stretch out a coil, but you typically have minimal shrinkage.įor example, your hair may hang down to your bra strap when it’s wet and gently stretched out, but hangs near your shoulder blades when it’s dry. Type 4A hair does deal with some shrinkage (loss of length as the hair dries into the naturally tight coil pattern), but not nearly as much as type 4B or 4C. While 4B and 4C can look like a dense, spongy mat of hair with a few defined coils or kinks here and there, the 4A type typically has great coil definition and doesn’t take on the fluffy look as easily as other type 4s. Out of all three type 4 categories, 4A has the most coil definition and really shows off the coil pattern and shape. Type 4 coilies range from your coily type 4A all the way to the kinkiest type 4C. You have a lot of hair, a lot of shape, and that means a lot of volume. You also get a boost in volume with your hair’s high density (strands packed closely together). The springy coil shape means no strand lies flat, and when you combine hundreds of little coil groups stacked up throughout your mane, the result is big volume that flatters your face shape and lifts hair from root to tip. You’ll never have to worry about your mane looking limp and flat because it has natural volume built right in! The 4A hair type features prolific, defined coils with a strong coil pattern (springs back when you stretch it) and lots of flattering volume. The tightly wound spiral or circular shape of 4A hair creates tons of flattering volume, plenty of coil definition for a polished look, and minimal shrinkage compared to other type 4s. While these coils are the “biggest” of all type 4s, they’re still super tight in comparison with looser type 3 curls. There’s so much to love about the coily 4A hair type. Then, we’ll cover the care and maintenance basics for washing, drying, and styling this hair type for the best results. Now that you’re clear on what 4A hair is (and what it’s not), let’s talk about the best and worst features of this hair type next.

Type 4B: Medium-to-coarse textured, extremely tight Z-shaped kinky coils with poor definition and notable shrinkage as it dries.

Type 4A: Fine-to-coarse textured, very tight S- or O-shaped coils about the size of a coffee stirrer with limited shrinkage as it dries.

Type 3C: Fine-to-coarse textured, tight corkscrew curls about the size of a straw.

Not sure if 4A really describes your hair type? You could fall under one of the related hair types, depending on the size and circumference of your coils/curls and the overall texture.

Experiences less shrinkage than 4B and 4C types.

Defined S- or O-shaped tight coils the size of a coffee stirrer.

Here are the general characteristics of 4A hair: However, 4A coils are tighter than 3C corkscrew curls and 3C curls are typically softer to the touch. It’s easy to mix up curly type 3C and coily type 4A because both feature tight curls/coils that deal with a lot of frizz and boast tons of curl volume. Classifying this hair type really relies on the coil pattern and shape more so than the texture (fine, medium, or coarse) of your strands.

The texture of 4A hair varies widely from fine all the way to coarse. The 4A coils can be S-shaped (like curls) or O-shaped (like kinky coils). The 4A type has tightly wound, springy coils about the size of a coffee stirrer. The 4A hair type features the biggest, most defined coils of all coily type 4s (4A, 4B, and 4C).

4a coily springy hair