Do you think you might have thick hair, but you’re not really sure? Are you overwhelmed when you look at shelves stacked with haircare products promising thicker and more luxurious hair because you don’t know if you should buy them?

Without knowing what kind of hair texture you have, you can’t choose the correct hair products or wear the most flattering styles. Below, we’ll give you three quick tricks to determine if you have thick hair:

Why It’s Important to Know if You Have Thick Hair?

Chances are, if I ask you what skin type you have, you’ll immediately know the answer. But if I ask you how thick your hair is, you might hesitate for a moment before responding. That’s the problem.

If knowing your skin type helps you take care of it, then knowing your hair thickness helps you follow a better daily haircare routine.

How to Determine If Your Hair Is Thick?

Thick hair refers to the width of the individual hair strands. Density refers to the number of strands in a one-inch square area of your scalp.

Most hair falls into three general categories of thickness: fine, medium, and coarse (thick). Here are three tricks to help you figure out which hair type you have.

#1. Thread Test

Find a piece of sewing thread (as close to your hair color as possible) and cut off a six-inch piece. Pluck a strand of hair from your scalp or get it from a hairbrush. Find a flat, light-colored surface and lay the thread down next to the hair strand.

If the strand is thinner than the thread, that means your hair is fine. If the strand is the same width as the thread, your hair is normal. If the strand appears thicker than the thread, your hair is coarse.

#2. Style Test

Another trick for determining your hair’s thickness is to analyze how well it can hold a style.

Delicate, fine hair usually doesn’t hold curls very well. Medium-thick hair holds its shape longer than fine hair and is comparatively easy to style. If you have thick hair, you’ll usually have no problem getting your curls to hold, but you might have more difficulty styling it since thicker hair is often less supple.