“Type 3b hair lacks the shine of 3a curls and tends to be coarse and dense—also prone to shrinkage and frizz,” she adds. “You have very dense, tightly packed corkscrews curls that are the ...

Curly vs. coily hair To help you find the best conditioner for your needs, we've broken this guide down by curl type — curly (3A, 3B, and 3C type patterns) and coily (4A, 4B, and 4C type patterns).

A similar classification follows for curly hair. 3A points to soft curls that make large twists, 3B hair features smaller springs, and 3C refers to even tighter, usually more defined curls ...