Curly Hair Society

Curl Types · Curly · 3A

3A Hair Examples: What Does 3A Hair Look Like?

See 3A curls from the front, side and back, compare them with 3B and 3C, and find out if this is your type.

Long, light brown hair seen from the front, in large, loose spiral curls from just below the roots
Large, loose spirals that form full loops, not just S-bends.Long · Front view
Long hair in profile, with big, open ringlets about the width of a piece of chalk
From the side, each curl loops all the way round, about the width of a piece of chalk.Long · Side view
Long, glossy hair seen from behind, with loose ringlets from the crown to the ends
From behind: loose, glossy spirals from the crown down, catching the light.Long · Back view

What to look for

  • Large, open spirals that form full loops
  • Curls about the width of a piece of chalk
  • Shiny hair, with frizz mostly at the surface

Do I have 3A hair?

Check on clean hair that has air-dried with no product

  1. Does your hair form full loops, not just S-bends?

    Let it air-dry with no product and look at a single section. If it curls all the way round into a spiral, it is type 3. If it only bends one way and back, it is a wave, most likely 2C.

  2. Are the curls about the width of a piece of chalk?

    Wrap a curl loosely around a stick of chalk. 3A curls are large and open. If they fit closely around a marker pen, look at 3B.

  3. Is your hair shiny?

    3A hair has fewer bends per strand than tighter curls, so it reflects more light. A noticeable shine is typical.

  4. Do the curls loosen through the day?

    3A spirals stretch under their own weight and with handling. Tight curls on wash day that turn into looser loops and waves by the next are typical of 3A.

More than one pattern? That is normal. Many people have a mix, often looser at the crown and tighter underneath or around the face. Go by the pattern over most of your head, and treat the rest as part of the same routine.

3A vs 3B vs 3C: See the difference

3A hair in large, loose spiral curls about the width of a piece of chalk

3ALoose curls

  • Large, loose loops the width of chalk
  • Shiny, with frizz at the surface
  • Loosens easily when long
3B hair in springy ringlets about the width of a marker pen

3BSpringy ringlets

  • Springy ringlets the width of a marker
  • Lots of volume and shrinkage
  • Dry at the ends
3B guide
3C hair in tight, densely packed corkscrews about the width of a pencil

3CTight corkscrews

  • Tight corkscrews the width of a pencil
  • Dense, growing out as much as down
  • Shrinks by around half
3C guide

A visual guide to the patterns, not a clinical chart. Hair type is a description, and plenty of heads sit between two.

What to do next

A routine and products for 3A curls