The Curl Pattern Chart, Drawn to Scale

How to read the chart

The chart runs loosest to tightest, and one rule carries you through the whole of it: within each family, a, b and c encode increasing tightness of the pattern. The a subtype is the loosest and widest version, the c subtype the tightest and smallest in diameter. Hold onto that and the rest is just looking.

Type 1: straight

The strand falls straight from root to tip with no bend, wave or curve along its length. 1a is completely straight, fine and wispy, with no body. 1b is straight with more body and volume, at a medium texture. 1c is straight but thick or coarse, with a few subtle bends.

Type 2: wavy

The strand bends into S-shapes along its length but does not wrap around itself into a spiral — that is the line between a wave and a curl. 2a is loose, stretched-out, barely-there waves in fine hair. 2b brings more defined S-waves starting from the midlength, and is more prone to frizz. 2c is strong waves beginning at the root, with some curl mixed in.

Type 3: curly

Here the strand forms defined spirals or ringlets that wrap around themselves. This is the one family where the system hands you standardised everyday-object comparisons for curl diameter:

• 3a: curls about the width of sidewalk chalk — large, loose, shiny curls with a wide loop.
• 3b: curls about the width of a permanent marker — springy, well-defined ringlets of medium width.
• 3c: curls about the width of a pencil or drinking straw — tight, densely packed corkscrew curls.

Type 4: coily

The strand forms very tight coils or sharp zigzag angles, with the smallest curl diameter of any family. 4a is tight, springy coils with a visible S-shaped curl pattern. 4b moves in sharp Z-shaped bends and angles rather than rounded curls. 4c is the tightest, most densely packed pattern of all, with little visible curl definition and the greatest shrinkage.

An honest note on those comparisons

The everyday-object widths stop at type 3, and that is deliberate — the system’s own notes only standardise diameter comparisons for the curly family. Outside type 3, read the chart by ordering instead: each letter is tighter than the one before it, and no object comparison has been agreed for those rungs. A curly hair type quiz result of 3a, 3b or 3c is the only place you should expect chalk, markers and pencils to appear.