Caring for your hair can be a difficult task, especially if you’re not really sure what kind of hair you actually have.

Even though you might think you’ve got it down, you might not actually know your hair type. There’s more to it than curly, wavy, or straight, and thick, medium, or thin.

If all of that has you second-guessing every hair-related decision you’ve ever made in your life, don’t worry! I’ve put together a primer for you covering the four questions to determine your hair type. Keep reading to find out what they are, as well as how to answer them.

Table of Contents

1. What is Your Hair Texture?

If you have straight hair, you probably have a pretty good idea of which hair texture you have. However, if your hair is wavy, curly, or kinky, determining what type of hair you have can be more difficult.

This is especially true if you have multiple hair textures going on–which, yes, is a real thing! (In fact, I have it myself!)

So, how do you determine your exact hair type(s), anyway?

Well, for starters, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different hair types out there. There are four in total: Type 1 (Straight), Type 2 (Wavy), Type 3 (Curly), and Type 4 (Kinky).

Each hair type also has three sub-categories, which are distinguished by letters from A-C. This article does a great job of breaking down each hair type and subtype. It also talks a bit about how to care for each type. (This article and this article also provide helpful images of each hair type.)