How to Read the Hair Type Chart Without Mislabeling Yourself

Published 2025-03-18 · Updated 2025-04-05

The Andre Walker system is a map, not a personality test. Each sub-type letter—A, B, C—signals tighter patterning within the same family. That means 3B is not “better” than 3A; it is simply curlier within Type 3.

Photos online are often styled with products, diffusers, or filters. Your chart reading should start from a neutral wash-and-air-dry so you compare natural geometry, not Instagram volume.

Hair density and strand thickness change how a type looks in the mirror even when the curl size matches the textbook. That is normal: typing is a starting point for product categories, not a cage.

Three-step verification

Cleanse with a gentle shampoo, skip heavy stylers, and dry without tension or clips that stretch the pattern.

Photograph back and side views in indirect light so you can see bends you might miss head-on.

Compare against our interactive hair type chart and click through to the guide that fits—each page lists challenges and care highlights you can sanity-check against your life.

Take the hair type quiz · View the chart · Read pillar guides