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Type 4A is the loosest of the coily patterns. Its coils are small and tight, about the width of a crochet needle, and they form a clear S-shape that you can follow with your eye. That visible pattern is what sets 4A apart from its neighbors: the coils clump and define themselves when wet, with very little persuasion.
How to recognize it
- Small, springy coils the width of a crochet needle.
- A visible S-pattern, especially when the hair is wet.
- Dense, soft hair that can feel fine or wiry.
- Shrinkage of half to two-thirds of its stretched length.
- Good natural definition compared with other type 4 hair.
Wider corkscrews the width of a pencil are 3C. Hair that bends in sharp angles instead of round coils is 4B. Many heads have 4A at the nape and something else at the crown.
What 4A hair needs
Like all coily hair, 4A is dry and fragile, because every coil is a bend where the strand can weaken and where the scalp's oil is held back. Its advantage is its definition. The routine is built on moisture first, then a styler that sets the coils the hair already wants to form.
The routine
Cleanse
Once a week with a moisturizing shampoo, concentrating on the scalp. A co-wash can replace it on alternate weeks if your hair feels stripped.
Condition, detangle and deep condition
Work in four to six sections. Saturate with conditioner, detangle with your fingers, then follow with a wide-tooth comb from the ends upward. Deep condition every wash day for twenty to thirty minutes.
Moisturize
On wet hair, layer a leave-in and then a cream, section by section.
Define: the wash-and-go
4A hair is the coily pattern best suited to a wash-and-go, in which the coils are set in their natural shape.
- Keep the hair soaking wet; re-wet each section as you reach it.
- Take sections about an inch wide.
- Smooth gel from root to tip between your palms, or rake it through.
- Shake the section gently at the root to let the coils spring into place.
- Do not touch again until dry.
Dry
Air dry, or sit under a hooded dryer or diffuse on low. When fully dry, break the cast by scrunching with a little oil, and lift the roots with your fingertips for volume.
4A coils define themselves. The routine only has to keep them moisturized and leave them alone.
Common 4A problems
Dry, dull coils. Deep condition every week and seal the ends with a little oil. Check your porosity if moisture never seems to last.
Single-strand knots. Tiny knots that form when a coil wraps around itself. Keep the ends moisturized, trim regularly, and wear stretched styles more often.
Definition that fades by day three. Use a firmer gel, apply it to wetter hair and in smaller sections.
Shrinkage. Stretch gently by diffusing while holding the ends, or by banding the hair overnight.
White flakes. Your leave-in and gel may not mix. Test them together in your palm first.
What to avoid
- Detangling dry.
- Weekly sulfate shampoos.
- Fine-tooth combs.
- Touching the hair while a wash-and-go dries.
- Tight styles at the hairline.
Between washes
A good 4A wash-and-go lasts five to seven days. Sleep with a loose pineapple under a bonnet, and in the morning shake the roots out and mist lightly.
If your coils need more help, finger-coil the front sections. Full night-time options are in How to Sleep With Curly Hair.
For the wider family, see the Coily hair guide.
