Just when you thought you’ve found your “hair twin”( an individual who has the exact or similar curl pattern/texture) guess again! Natural hair isn’t that cut and dry and simply finding your “curl twin” on YouTube isn’t going to solve all of your natural hair problems.
Numerous naturals get this wrong. Your curl texture isn’t how loose or tight your curls are or how smooth or rough your hair is. In fact, your curl pattern tells you absolutely nothing about your hair. It’s like how having brown or green eyes don’t tell you anything about how well you can or can’t see.
Here are 6 reasons why following bloggers/vloggers who share your curl pattern isn’t very helpful at all:
1. Your texture is not like hers.
Texture is linked to the size of your hair strands’ diameter, which is categorized as fine, medium or coarse. Determining your texture is as simple as imagining your hair was pasta. Would your hair be angel hair, spaghetti or linguini? Determining your hair texture will be very helpful in developing a routine to properly care for your hair.
For example, according to Aeleise Jana, Natural Stylist and Co-Founder of the #30dayhairdetox, fine hair is “..the most fragile, has the smallest diameter, processes easy with heat or chemicals and the easiest to over process, get heat damage and over manipulate.”
2. Y’all don’t have the same porosity.
Porosity. It’s the biggest buzzword in natural hair right now. Porosity is the ability of the hair to absorb liquids, creams and chemicals.
If you have low porosity and your “hair twin” has medium porosity, you guys aren’t twins and these very different elements may require different products, application methods, and techniques. There are even cases where some people have multiple porosities.
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3. You live in a different climate.
Your “hair twin” lives in L.A. and you live in Chicago…two totally different climates. Things like humidity, precipitation, dryness of the air, and varying temperatures can cause not only your hair to misbehave but even the products that you’ve chosen based on your “hair twin.”
4. You don’t share the same density.
Density is the number of hairs you have per square inch. Density is categorized as low, medium or high. Low-density hair has a visible-ish scalp, medium density is not as visible as low and high density is follicle on top of follicle on top of follicle.
Density plays a major part in styling results. Someone with fine density isn’t going to have the same or even favorable results as someone who has high density when it comes to hairstyles like twist-outs or braid-outs.
5. Your water quality is different.
If your “hair twin” has soft water and you have hard water it’s going to have a huge impact on your cleansing routine. Hard water sometimes calls for specially formulated shampoo, a water-softening shower head attachment, and different techniques for getting the hair clean and free of the mineral build-up that comes with hard water.
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6. Comparison is a setup for failure.
The expectation of your hair looking exactly like your “hair twin” is totally disappointing when all you used to measure the hair was the curl pattern. With hair, there is more than meets the eye. Having a thorough understanding of your hair’s texture, porosity, and density, in addition to your climate and water quality can help reign in your expectations.
Bloggers/Vloggers are still great resources for hairstyle inspiration, but don’t let the “twinning” of your curl pattern keep you from having the flawless hair you deserve.