Hair Type Quiz — Straight, Wavy, Curly or Coily?
About 4 minutes · 28 at-home checks
Question 1 of 28
Picking up where you left off.
Air-dried with nothing on it, loose S-shaped bends appear from about ear level down.
All seven hair readings
- Sleek Straight
- the line is built in Dries hanging straight from root to tip and drops a set curl within hours — the line is built in.
- Loose Wave
- the pattern flows below the roots S-shaped bends that start below the roots, deepen on humid days and return after straightening.
- Spring Curl
- loops with a memory Defined loops you can hook a finger through, springing back shorter when pulled straight.
- Dense Coil
- the tightest pattern, the strongest spring Tight coils or sharp zigzags, pen-spring width or finer, with dramatic shrinkage at rest.
- Fine Strand
- light hair that answers to grams A single hair you can barely feel between two fingers — light, silky and easily weighed down.
- Strong Strand
- hair with a body of its own A single hair with the body of sewing thread — sturdy, springy and slow to change shape.
- Repair First
- the surface is asking before the style Water sinks in instantly and wet strands stretch without springing back — the surface asks for care before styling.
About the Hair Type Quiz
This Hair Type Quiz reads your hair the way you would check it at home on a wash day: what shape it takes when it dries with nothing on it, how a single strand answers a gentle stretch, how fast water sinks in, what your fingertips feel sliding down a length. From 28 such checks it measures seven readings — four curl patterns (straight, wavy, curly, coily), two strand builds (fine and strong) and one repair signal — and shows the full profile, not just the winner, because most heads mix at least two. There is no photo upload, no camera and no AI guessing from an image; every answer is something your own fingers and mirror can verify in seconds. There is no email gate either — no sign-up, no address to leave — and the result appears the moment you finish, scored in your browser. Each result page ends in a care routine card: how often to wash, whether to lean moisture or strengthening, which product textures suit the strand, and how much heat is safe to spend — directions by category, never by brand. And if you arrived here wondering about the cup-of-water float test, the FAQ below explains why this quiz does not use it, and what to observe instead.
How it works
- Pick a day your hair is clean, dry and product-free — most checks read the bare strand, and yesterday's styling products would answer in your place.
- Take the 28 checks one at a time; where a check names an action — stretch a strand, mist some water, slide two fingers down a length — actually do it before answering.
- Answer from what you just observed, not from how you usually describe your hair — and when habit and strand disagree, believe the strand you just touched.
- When you finish, read your top reading first and the runner-up second — most hair sits between two readings, and the cards are written to be combined.
This is a care reference, not a medical assessment. The seven readings describe curl pattern, strand build and surface condition — none ranks above another. Scoring happens in your browser and your answers stay on your device. If your scalp, or the amount of hair you shed, worries you, that is a question for a dermatologist, not for this quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hair type?
Hair type is shorthand for two separate things: the curl pattern — straight, wavy, curly or coily — and the strand itself, which can be fine or coarse regardless of pattern. The numbered charts people quote, 1a through 4c, split those same four families into finer steps. Pattern is set by the shape of the follicle and does not change with products; condition does, which is why damaged hair can read a step straighter than it really is.
Is this hair type quiz free — and does it really ask for no email?
It is free and there is no email step anywhere — no sign-up, no account, no address to leave before seeing your result. That is deliberate: many hair quizzes trade your inbox for the answer. Here the 28 checks run in your browser, scoring happens on your device, and the result page opens the moment you answer the last question.
What do I need before starting — photos, a camera, someone to help?
Nothing but a mirror, your fingers and about four minutes; a spray of water helps with two of the checks. There is no photo upload and no camera, and no AI looks at your hair — every check is something you can observe directly: the shape it dries into, how a strand feels between two fingers, whether mist beads or sinks in. It reads best on clean, product-free hair.
Can't I just float a strand in a glass of water to learn my hair's porosity?
The float test is popular but unreliable, which is why this quiz does not use it. Surface tension can hold even a very porous strand on top of the water for minutes, and whatever coats your hair that day — conditioner residue, styling film — changes the answer from wash to wash, so the same head sinks one week and floats the next. This quiz reads porosity from checks that watch water actually meet your hair: whether mist beads on the surface or sinks straight in, and whether a wet strand springs back after a gentle stretch.
What about the 1A to 4C numbers — which one am I?
You can translate your result directly: in that lettered system the number describes the curl pattern — 1 straight, 2 wavy, 3 curly, 4 coily — and the letter grades how tight the pattern is. This quiz names the same four patterns in plain words instead of codes, and adds what the codes leave out: strand build (fine or strong) and surface condition, which steer a routine at least as much as curl does. If a product chart asks for a code, your top pattern reading gives you the number, and the tightness described on your result page points at the letter.
What's the difference between this and a hair analysis at a salon?
A salon analysis brings things self-observation cannot: a professional's trained hands, often a magnifying camera for the scalp, and a judgment refined over thousands of heads — this quiz does not replace that. What it does instead is structure the observations you can make yourself, today, for free, and turn them into a routine direction. Many people use it the other way around too: arriving at the salon already knowing your pattern, strand build and repair signal makes that first consultation much faster.
Will this tell me anything about how much hair I shed?
No — and it does not try. Every check here reads the strands you have: their pattern, their build, their surface. None of them counts what ends up in a brush or a shower drain. If that amount worries you, or your scalp itches, flakes or hurts, the right reader is a dermatologist — those are questions about skin, and no online quiz, this one included, should be your answer to them.
Can my result change — after coloring, a perm, or just a year of time?
Yes, parts of it. Curl pattern comes from the follicle's shape and mostly stays put, but chemical services can loosen it for months, and the repair reading moves with every bleach, perm and heat-heavy season. Retake the checks after a major change — new color, a perm, a big trim — or once a season as a habit; a rising repair bar is the most useful early warning this quiz can give you.
Does it work for men and for short hair?
Yes — pattern, strand build and surface condition read the same on any head, and nothing in the checks assumes long hair. You need roughly a finger-length of hair for the shape checks to show; the strand-feel and water checks work at almost any length. The routine cards name categories — wash rhythm, product textures, heat — that apply to a grown-out crop exactly as they do to waist-length hair.