I have an African American character in a new story I’m writing. She has curly kinky hair going down to her shoulders. My question is: how would I describe her hair in three different states; wet, recently dried, and dry? Also, how long would it take on average to completely dry? She lives in a relatively cool environment where the sun isn’t normally very bright.
Describing curly hair in various states
Well, it depends on her type of hair. 3C or 4A ? Low porosity or high porosity ?
3C is more curly, 4A more kinky, but I advise you to look it up by yourself as there are more types than just these two (and one can have multiple on its head ! I have a mix of 3B/3C/4A, 3B on the front near my face, 3C for the vast majority and 4A for underneath the sides/back).
Low porosity means that the hair is not likely to absorb anything, high porosity means that it will absorb water/products but reject it as fast as it entered (there are techniques to “lock it up”). Low porosity hair generally keeps its volume even under water, while high porosity hair tends to be wavy when it’s wet, due to water weighing it down.
Oh, and shrinkage entered the chat ! Afro hair generally shrinks when dried, but it varies for one another. For example, my hair shrinks A LOT, meaning that the length I get when they are wet (even though they are low porosity) is totally different from their length once dried, they shorten like crazy.
I advise you to watch videos on YouTube of Black girls doing their hair. You will be able to see their length wet, dried, how they dry depending on how they style it, what methods they use to detangle and so on.
Each head is different, even in the same family, hence why it’s complicated to answer your question with a short answer.
Completely agree with Lydie! Curly / afro hair looks vary, coming in a wide variety of textures, thickness, and porosity. Some folk’s curly hair seems to dry within a second (aka mine…ugh!) while others can hold moisture that seems to cling on for hours on end.
I recommend you do the following:
Determine the general look and hair type for your character
Look up “determining curly hair type” and matching images in relation to said hair (for example, if it’s mostly 4C, look up wet and dry 4C hair images or videos)
Find the appropriate words for these images. I have a words to describe Black hair that was made for you! See the bottom of this post.
Here’s some more descriptions from the 3 - 4 curly hair range. Feel free to use these terms in your writing. This info is from research I’ve done for my own hair care, mostly based on the NaturallyCurly website.
Hair typing terms and general care guidelines
Definite loopy “S” pattern and curls are well defined and springy.
Naturally big, loose and often very shiny.
Size: Sidewalk chalk size.
Best Products: Gels and creams with light moisture and curl definition. Milks and smoothies.
Well-defined, springy copious curls
Range from bouncy ringlets to tight corkscrews.
Best Products: Gels and styling creams with extra moisture and serious frizz control.
Voluminous, tight curls in corkscrews.
Can be either kinky or very tightly curled, with lots of strands densely packed together. The very tight curls are usually fine in texture.
Best Products: Styling creams, butters, and oils. This hair needs extra moisture and tender care.
*Note on the word kinky: Kinky is not always a well-perceived word, depending on the individual. There’s plenty of alternative words, though.
Read more: Describing Black Hair as “Kinky”
Tight, coily, most fragile curls.
Size: Crochet Needle or smaller
Tight, coily, fragile curls
Hair bends in sharp angles
Best Products: Pre-poo with coconut oil or castor oil to help retain natural oils in your scalp.
Tight, coily, fragile curls
Curl pattern won’t clump without styling
Less visible definition per individual curl
Best Products: Use a creamy humectant as a leave-in to maximize protection from the elements. A curl defining custard or gelee can stretch the coil safely for twist-outs and braid-outs. Use a detangling co-wash with slippery elm or marshmallow root.
Hair typing is for general use
I recommend these types of hair typing charts to get a more general idea of what you’re going for in terms of the look of hair. But everyone’s hair is different! Hair porosity, width and density informs specific hair care needs, not the hair type.
If you’re not looking for in-depth hair care, but general info just to carry the story along, hair typing terms and assumptions should work just fine for your individual story / characters. Just avoid generalizing. (e.g. her hair is 4c and all 4c hair loses moisture fast! No, OP’s happens to do this, but it’s not a rule for all people with that hair type)
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