Your Hair is not 4C if you can cleanly run your hands through your hair
Your Hair is not 4C if people don’t try to create a different hair category for you like “4z hair”.
Your Hair is not 4C if you haven’t cried at a failed hairstyle attempt
Your Hair is not 4C if you don’t use the strongest gel to lay your edges
Your Hair is not 4C if you’re not scared to go outside without gel because people will say that your hair is unkept
Your Hair is not 4C if your hair does not shrink after a wash
Your Hair is not 4C if your hair fits the image of what people would hope natural hair would look like
Your Hair is not 4C if you can recognize your hair texture on most “Natural hair” Instagram pages that just happen to be colorist as well
Your Hair is not 4C if it can’t handle protective styles
Your Hair is not 4C if you haven’t been lied to about the texture of your hair by people who claim 4c but actually have 4a or 4b hair.
Your Hair is not 4C if you haven’t debated chopping it off
Your Hair is not 4C if you tried to get braids or twists without having it blown out, and your hairdresser ends up charging you extra
Your hair is not 4C if the hairdresser hasn’t overcharged you for a simple wash and blowdry
Your Hair is not 4C if you trust getting it done by a non-Black woman
Your Hair is not 4C if you don’t get dragged by the natural hair community for not getting “curls” because you apparently “don’t moisturize”.
Your Hair is not 4C if you don’t know what Hair type means
Your Hair is not 4C if you only use coconut oil for cooking
Your Hair is not 4C if white people don’t really know how to compliment your natural hair outside the usual “so bouncy, so curly” (or if they do and your hair actually fits the description)
Your Hair is not 4C if you see your hair texture on mainstream TV
Finally, your Hair is not 4C if you don’t recognize this box:
PS: Andre Walker the man who created the hair typing system says this about Black hair “Kinky hair can have limited styling options, that’s the only hair type that I suggest altering with professional relaxer”. Let’s all be aware of the colorism and texturism that continues to cause harm in the Black community.
YBWC 2021
