To best care for your hair, you have to know what type it is. If you’re unsure, follow our handy guide made by the Stryx team. It's time you figured out what your hair type is.

“Hair Types” Defined

“Hair type” refers to your hair’s curl pattern. Are there zero curls or a lot? That’s mostly the name of the game when knowing which products are best.

Hair Types for Men Made Simple

Hair typing influences a lot of parts of your body, including facial hair. For the top of your head, you mainly just need to know the four main variations. 

• Straight
• Curly
• Coily
• Wavy

The Different Types of Hair

It’s paramount to know what hair type you have so that you know how to properly style and care for your locks. As you shave in the shower, you’ll undoubtedly also need to wash your hair, and you don’t want to do the wrong thing to make your head look weird.

1. Straight Hair

Straight hair is when your locks all move in the same direction without curves or crookedness.

How to Take Care of Straight Hair

You should use a mild shampoo and avoid brushing your hair while wet. Straight hair is often more susceptible to breakage and stretching when combing. 

How to Style Straight Hair

Straight hair works wonderfully for a myriad of hairstyles. Play around with different ones to see which suit you best.

2. Curly Hair

Curly hair has mild waves. It will almost look as if your locks are moving in an “S” shape.

How to Take Care of Curly Hair

Curly hair becomes drier more easily than straight hair. Avoid shampooing your locks more often. 

How to Style Curly Hair

For best results, you’ll want to comb curly hair from the bottom upward. You’ll also want to regularly trim it to avoid split ends, which are more of a concern with this hair type.

3. Coily (Kinky) Hair

Coily, or kinky, hair has a sharper zigzag pattern to it than curly hair. It’s also much more voluminous. 

How to Take Care of Coily Hair

Coily hair tends to be the most difficult to care for. You’ll want to invest in a high-quality oil or hair butter to give your locks the nutrients they need to thrive. You’ll also want to avoid any hair products containing minerals as these will prevent moisture from getting into the strands. 

How to Style Coily Hair

People with coily hair often don’t want to get it wet. However, you still need adequate hydration, so make sure to load up on good leave-in conditioners. 

4. Wavy Hair

Wavy hair is typically the hardest to define. It tends to start straight near the roots but develops gradual curls as it goes down.

How to Take Care of Wavy Hair

You want to wash wavy hair seldom. That’s because doing it too often can strip it of natural oils your locks need to stay looking healthy.

How to Style Wavy Hair

Air drying tends to work best for wavy hair. Try not to expose it to too much heat from an iron or blow dryer, or you could end up doing more harm than good.

Men’s Hair By Thickness

Patterns are merely one way of categorizing hair. There’s also the matter of thickness. 

Thick vs. Thin Hair

The thickness of hair simply refers to density. Do you have a lot of hair follicles packed together, or are they more spread apart?

What Hair Type is Yours? 

The easiest way to determine your hair type is to pluck a single thread and lay it out in front of you. You should use the above definitions to determine if it’s straight, squiggly, or a combination of both. 

And if you need assistance getting that thread, there are ways you can make your hair grow out faster.