What is the name of the system used to classify hair curliness?

The Andre Walker Hair Typing System is the system commonly used to classify hair curliness by pattern and texture.

Created by celebrity hairstylist Andre Walker in the 1990s, the system divides hair into four broad groups: Type 1 straight, Type 2 wavy, Type 3 curly, and Type 4 kinky-coily. Several groups are further divided into A, B, and C categories to describe progressively tighter or more defined patterns. For example, Type 2C refers to pronounced waves, while Type 3C describes tight corkscrew curls.

The system became widely known through hair-care advice and product marketing, and many people still use its numbered categories when discussing curl patterns. It offers a quick shared vocabulary, but it is not a medical or scientific diagnosis. Hair can have multiple patterns on the same head and can change with moisture, damage, styling, or chemical processing.

A common mistake is treating the chart as a complete measure of hair texture. Curl pattern is only one characteristic; density, strand thickness, porosity, and scalp condition are separate traits. The system has also been criticized for oversimplifying the diversity of textured hair.