The Spring Factor

curlyjenn10

In the CG book, LM uses the spring factor when typing. According to that, I have straight hair! My curls spring about 1 inch, give or take.

Does that have to do with the length? I'm pretty sure the length is pulling out curl. I started CG at basically this length (little past BSL), and I can't remember having springy curls before. I'm in desperate need of a haircut but keep chickening out. Will cutting it increase the spring?

TIA!

BotticelliBabe

curlyjenn10 wrote: »

In the CG book, LM uses the spring factor when typing. According to that, I have straight hair! My curls spring about 1 inch, give or take.

Does that have to do with the length? I'm pretty sure the length is pulling out curl. I started CG at basically this length (little past BSL), and I can't remember having springy curls before. I'm in desperate need of a haircut but keep chickening out. Will cutting it increase the spring?

TIA!

I was in the same boat as you when I read the book - I was like "But my hair IS curly!!!" *lol*

As far as determining if a cut will make it spring up, usually unless you're a 3a/b/c (some 4s experience this too, but not as much as 3s do), then probably not. 2s rarely get shrinkage from a cut...including me. I'm 2c/3a, and my 2 side comes out in force when I get a haircut and proves that not all curls do what your hairdresser thinks and you hope they will. :goofy: My 3 only seems to come out after plopping, but at least I'm now to the point where I can air dry after plopping and keep my shape and volume - I used to have to plop until completely dry, or diffuse when I unplopped.

Anyway, I guess a haircut could do what you need, but it may not - I think it all depends on your hair type, honestly. I wish it didn't!

curlyjenn10

BotticelliBabe wrote: »

I was in the same boat as you when I read the book - I was like "But my hair IS curly!!!" *lol*

As far as determining if a cut will make it spring up, usually unless you're a 3a/b/c (some 4s experience this too, but not as much as 3s do), then probably not. 2s rarely get shrinkage from a cut...including me. I'm 2c/3a, and my 2 side comes out in force when I get a haircut and proves that not all curls do what your hairdresser thinks and you hope they will. :goofy: My 3 only seems to come out after plopping, but at least I'm now to the point where I can air dry after plopping and keep my shape and volume - I used to have to plop until completely dry, or diffuse when I unplopped.

Anyway, I guess a haircut could do what you need, but it may not - I think it all depends on your hair type, honestly. I wish it didn't!

Thanks for replying! I think you're right, though I honestly don't know what my hair type is. I guess it would be somewhere in the 2c/3a range, but I'm not sure. I've never put a label on it, as it tends to do its own thing. And since I haven't gotten it cut since going CG, I have no idea what it's going to do! I guess I should suck it up and make an appointment at the curly salon. I've been dragging my feet since like... August. :sad1:

BotticelliBabe

I found out that one of the major factors in typing my hair was the way the "curls" behaved when cut. Here's the section about type 2s in the curl typing thingy here at NC:

Type 2: Wavy hair
Type 2 hair falls into the great divide between Type 1, straight hair, and Type 3, curly hair. A relatively unusual type, wavy hair tends to be coarse, with a definite "S" pattern to it. By that I mean the wave forms throughout the hair in the shape of the letter "S". Your hair is wavy, or Type 2, if it curves in the "S" shape while laying flat against the scalp, instead of standing away from the head the way curly hair does. Supermodel Yasmeen Ghauri, actress/model Isabella Rosellini and actress Jennifer Aniston of Friends (the one who sparked a craze for the ubiquitous "Friends haircut" of the mid-1990s) are all Type 2s. Type 2s are often confused with Type 3s because it is easy to get curly hair to lay flat and look wavy. But don't be fooled: you can't get Type 2 hair to look like Type 3 without a lot of work. Why? The hallmark of wavy hair is that it sticks close to the head: even if you cut it in layers, it won't bounce up. There are three Type 2 subtypes: A, fine and thin; B, medium-textured; and C, thick and coarse. Type 2A is very easy to handle, pliantly blowing out into a straighter style or taking on curlier looks with relative ease. Types 2B and 2C are a little more resistant to styling and have a tendency to frizz.

The bolded are what made me decide I was type 2c, but I also have a lot of 3a tendencies - I think the thickness of my hair makes it act more 2c when it comes to cuts, though.

Here's the stuff on 3s:

Type 3: Curly hair
With curly hair, there is a definite loopy "S" pattern. Pluck out a hair, stretch it out. Notice the curvy lines. Looks like s stretched-out Slinky, doesn't it? Most people think curly hair is coarse, but actually it is usually baby soft and very fine in texture – there's just a lot of it. Because the cuticle layers don't like as flat, curly hair isn't as shiny as straight or wavy hair. The hair doesn't have a very smooth surface, so light doesn't reflect off of it as much. When curly hair is wet, is usually straightens out. As it dries, it absorbs the water and contracts to its curliest state. Those of you with Type 3 hair know all too well that humidity makes curly hair even curlier, or even frizzier.

If you're a Type 3, your hair has a lot of body and is easily styled in its natural state, or it can be easily straightened with a blow-dryer into a smoother style. Healthy Type 3 hair is shiny, with soft, smooth curls and strong elasticity. The curls are well-defined and springy: pull out a strand of hair and stretch it; it won't snap in two. Damaged Type 3 hair is usually frizzy, dull, hard and dry to the touch, with fuzzy, ill-defined curls.

There are two subtypes of curly hair. Type 3A, hair that is very loosely curled like Julia Robert's or Susan Sarandon's is usually very shiny with big curls. The shorter the hair, the straighter it gets. The longer the hair the more defined the curl. Type 3B, on the other hand, is hair with a medium amount of curl, ranging from bouncy ringlets – think of Shirley Temple – to tight corkscrews – think of actress Cree Summer of television's Sweet Justice of jazz singer Cleo Laine. It's not unusual to find both subtypes coexisting on the same head. In fact, curly hair usually consists of a combination of textures, with the crown being the curliest part.

Again, the bolded are the parts that applied to me and made me decide I had a definate combination happening on my head. I even have both curls types happening on singles hairs and clumps, making some of my curls look like a long phone cord that got stretched out and wound back up wrong, you know? *lol* But I deal with it, and I've learned to love my hair's quirks and oddities.

It's really hard to type and fit into just one category thugh, so I don't blame you for not wanting to get involved in it! After looking through your fotki, I'd say you're like me - 2c/3a. Maybe that will help some. :toothy10:

kathymack

Personally, the typing gets to me, but for purposes of this discussion and to relate, I'll use it to describe how my hair acts. I was probably a 2c in winter and a 3a in summer--my whole life. My hair needed enough hair to curl--Botticelli . Since going CG 1 1/2 years ago, I've was 3a all of the time. Now that I'm using the more natural products and soap bars, I'm probably a lot of 3b. Although my hair is a lot shorter than yours, the hair cuts do help it tighten up and "bounce." I used to get my hair cut every five weeks and now it's every six. My inverted bob is probably the most "styled" it's been my whole life. Last week, when I went for my cut, he put in much shorter layers because it was being "dragged" down. My curls bounced back. Even the shorter, cut in part in back has been nice tight ringlets the last few months.

The weight probably is weighing your hair down and pulling out the curl. It's possible that with more and a little shorter layering, you'll get a little curlier and bouncier.

SpunGold

Thank you for posting this topic. I think a lot of the "what's my type" threads may have come as a result of this for curlies who have read the CG book and then try to reconcile it with the typing information on this site. Based on pictures and the way my hair behaves, I consider myself 3A but I get almost no shrinkage - my spring factor is probably only an inch or two.

Interestingly I don't know if my hair gets curlier with length or if my length pulls the curl out. Due to my length I get the typical 3A flat top, but my baby hairs that come in seem to spiral or at least form a c-shape, so maybe I'm a mix. I'm not planning to cut to find out!! :tongue1:

MimsTX

lol, ok... so according to all of that, I'm a 2A/3A? My hair's really easy to blow out and straighten, but I DO have lift at my roots (not a ton, but it's there)... and it definitely loses curl if I cut it too short.

bah, now I'm really confused :P

DEL2C

I've never had a haircut that increased my "spring" Like BB I have to manipulate my waves quite a bit. However, if the layers are too SHORT I'm in trouble and I can't even manipulate it. I'm still not exactly clear with long hair where the layers should be when you're not a 3. It seems chin length is best but the angle makes a diff. too. Did I just confuse you more??? SORRY!

curlyjenn10

Thanks guys! I'm thinking I'm a mix of 2c and 3a - I definitely match all the bolded parts of BB's post. Either the texture (fine in some places) or the length is causing the lack of spring. I get the flat top/super curly baby curls as well. Good to know I'm not the only one!

whatsercurl

Way late to post on this but AAR - my hair has a 5 inch+ spring in many areas underneath. I think that by Lorraine's standards (don't have the book anymore) that makes me corkscrew - ah NO!

Further on IIRC she says that some wavies hair acts like curly and vice versa. Maybe that's what we're experiencing.

I consider myself 2B/3A by this site's typing. 3A/f/ii by FIA's typing - think I got the classifiers right - fine and medium thickness.