The 1C hair type is sometimes mistaken for a type 2A or 1B because of its coarser, mainly slightly ruffled/straight texture, and coarser strands. With our reference care guide, you can learn more about this uncommon hair type and what your 1C hair needs to feel and look its best (frizz-free)!
What Hair of Type 1C?
The 1C hair type is distinguished from the 1A and 1B hair types by its mostly straight, subtly tousled shapes with tiny bends with more volume. Although typically medium-coarse to coarse strands, this hair type is renowned for being prone to oiliness shortly after washing.
This is caused by the strands of mostly straight texture, which serves as a superhighway for the natural oils generated by your scalp. While it does take a bit longer for 1C roots to look oily, this is because 1C hair has coarser (thicker) strands than other straight type 1s hair.
Since it consists of a somewhat tousled texture with more body and a little bending, the 1C hair type is sometimes mistaken for a 2A. It is crucial to understand what characteristics are exclusive to this hair type because of this.
The basic features of 1C hair are as follows:
- With little bending from the midshaft to the ends and additional body but mostly straight strands
- Coarse to medium-coarse strand texture
- As compare to type 1A and 1B hair types, it is less glossy
- Prone to oiliness shortly after washing
- The appearance is voluminous, thick and full.
- The coarser strands make it easy to hold a curl
It is simple to mistake this hair type for wavy type 2A because of the presence of a tousled texture with some bending. However, if you do not have the 1C coarse texture, then the hair type can better fit your hair. These are some characteristics that each of the comparable hair type has in common:
Type 1B: Medium texture, mild bends from the midshaft to the ends, oiliness susceptibility, and inability to keep a curl without products
Type 1C: Prone to oiliness at the roots, coarse to medium texture, slight bendy/tousled without complete waves, and readily to hold the curls.
Type 2A: Fine to medium texture, prone to oiliness at the roots, soft waves are inconsistent which have been boosted with products.
If you are unsure which kind best describes the characteristics, traits and qualities of your hair, try our quiz to determine your genuine hair type right away:
Three Quick Question Hair Type Quiz
Learn all there is to know about the 1C hair type in the next paragraphs, including its greatest and worst characteristics, how to manage it, and advice for better hair days.
1. Top Qualities of 1C Hair Type
What makes having 1C hair awesome? Quite a few things. But to keep things succinct, we have attempted to limit it to only 3. Here are a few benefits that everybody with 1C hair may appreciate.
2. Naturally Tousled Texture
The texture of type 1C hair is tousled texture naturally and neither wavy or pin-straight. This sweet spot is when you obtain straight roots with a little bending that starts in the middle and extends to the ends.
The 1C hair type is best if you like casual, low-maintenance texture, as we do. Whether or not treatments are used, type 1C hair dries in its distinctively tousled condition without or with products.
Your 1C strands do their thing without any help from you, in contrast to wavy hair types that may need particular treatments (shake and rake, scrunching, etc.) to completely form the shapes and waves. Thus it is a lovely thing.
3. Strand Strength Makes Acquiring Length Simple and Easy
Given that it does not curl or angle like type 3 and type 4 hair, the 1C hair type is strong naturally. A hair strand’s every curl or angle develops into a vulnerable spot where breaking is probable.
You do not have these weak spots since your 1C strands do not wavy, curl, or coil; as a consequence, they are significantly stronger. It is simple to acquire larger lengths when the strands are sturdy and difficult to break off.
You will not lose as much valuable length to breaking if you aggressively grow your hair out as other hair types do. As a result, you may reach your growth objectives sooner as your length increases more quickly!
Once or twice a month, using a protein-enriched hair mask will help type 1C hair gain even more strength and breakage resistance, allowing you to grow it longer and more quickly.
Naturally Damage Resistant Coarse Texture
The texture of 1C hair is coarse or moderately coarse, which makes it damage resistant naturally. This is due to the medulla, the whole inner layer that is present in coarse hair but absent in the fine and medium hair.
The two outer layers are present in fine and medium hair (the cuticle and cortex). Only coarse hair contains all three layers, however. The spongy, innermost medulla helps retain moisture and avoid the onset of many forms of damage, which can occur more rapidly in finer hair types.
Take this: Burning thinner wood chips is easier but burning a large log requires more time. The same is true for heat, chemicals, and physical damage; thicker, coarser hair types take longer to accumulate damage than finer (thinner) hair types.
Worst Features of 1C Hair
While 1C hair has its great moments, managing this hair type is not always simple. This hair type has a few difficulties that are exclusive to it. The most typical difficulties will be discussed here.
Prone to Oiliness
The straight structure of your strands makes it extremely simple for oil to go from the sebaceous glands on your scalp to your roots and along each thread. It is fantastic for shine and hydration, but poor for maintaining clean, full roots.
You may notice that you need to wash your hair more often to get away from the greasy appearance since oil rapidly builds up at your roots. Washing your hair more often causes an oil feast-famine cycle and dries out your hair completely.
You will probably wash 1C hair again to get rid of the oily buildup and obtain clean roots when it begins to appear greasy a day or two after being washed. Your scalp creates even more oil to make up for the deficit after it “detects” that all the oil has been removed. This will make you have to wash it once again to get rid of the extra oil, and the cycle will continue.
Prone to Frizz
The 1C hair type often has a rougher texture since frizz is more likely to occur in coarse hair than in fine hair. If there is a problem with persistent dryness, frizz will increase. Chronic dryness is a common problem for many oily type 1Cs who over-wash their hair in an attempt to prevent greasy roots.
Frizz prevents hairstyles from appearing clean and polished. Even if you have taken the effort to heat style or let your hair air dry into heatless waves or curls, annoying frizz may make your hair seem messier.
Effective techniques to reduce frizz include washing your hair less often, giving it enough moisture, and applying an anti-frizz serum before blow-drying and styling it.
Possibility of Fluffy Volume
1C hair has a lot of natural volumes since it is coarse and has a tendency to be quite dense and thick. In the wrong situation, the such natural volume could seem “fluffy” or “poofy” (like on a humid day or when your hair is under-moisturized).
Even when you flat iron your hair or use an anti-frizz product to tame your strands, you may discover that it is challenging to pull off smooth, sleek styles. Having the proper moisture balance in your hair can help you control fluffy volume without flattening it. In the part after this, we will go into further detail.
Tips for 1C Hair Maintenance and Care
Three main aspects of 1C hair care include finding the ideal moisture balance, regulating oil production, and optimising air drying processes for a more reliable strand condition.
Type 1C Hair Washing
Use a basic shampoo to wash every 3 to 4 days.
Use dry shampoo between washings.
Just condition the midshaft to the ends
Once a month, deep condition
Try to wash 1C hair every three to four days, or as often as you can without it seeming greasy. Using a shampoo designed specifically for oily hair will help you go longer between washes and reduce the amount of natural oil produced by your scalp without too drying out your strands.
One item you must always have on hand is dry shampoo. Spray some dry shampoo on your roots to sponge up oil and provide a little volume if they start to get greasy before your next wash.
With greasy 1C hair, it is simple to assume you do not need conditioner, but resist the temptation.
While oil does not often go that far down your strands, using conditioner after shampooing can help keep hair ends and midshaft area hydrated. To help restore the balance of moisture in your hair, condition the midshaft to the ends or only the ends.
To help restore the natural moisture balance of your hair, deep condition it once a month. Keeping your hair well hydrated and lowering your sebaceous glands’ urge to create excessive oil, may assist you in controlling your oil production.
Type 1C Hair Drying
With little blow drying, air dries most of the time.
Try various air-drying strategies.
Use a heat shield before blow drying or heat styling
To reduce frizz, use an anti-frizz serum.
You have two primary choices for drying 1C hair after shampooing and conditioning it: blow drying or air drying. Let us examine each technique in more detail since each has advantages and disadvantages.
Heat damage is prevented with air drying. While it is the best choice for your hair, it may result in more frizz and the “fluffy” volume that most of us strive to avoid. Have an excellent anti-frizz serum on hand to reduce frizziness whether air drying or blow drying your hair.
For 1C hair, we like Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum. Your coarse 1C strands are more heat-resistant by nature than finer hair types, yet blow drying has the potential to cause heat damage over time.
Although blow-drying your hair is OK, we do advise minimising how often you do it. When using heat to dry this hair type, attempt to use the lowest heat setting or spritz on or use a heat protectant product.
Styling 1C Hair
The style possibilities for 1C hair are many. You may easily adapt practically any texture when you air dry or heat style since you lack natural waves and curls. Because of the coarse texture of your hair, heat-styled waves and curls are simple to maintain for one or two days.
Your tousled/mostly straight strands may not look their best when air-dried, so you may choose heatless ways for creating waves and curls. When your hair is still moist, try braiding it in equal-sized sections or twisting or bunting it.
As you wake up, pull the style down to reveal flawlessly coiffed waves or curls. Heat styling is always a possibility for 1C hair if you like results faster than “overnight” air dry styles.
Since you have a third innermost layer of hair (the medulla), which makes you naturally more resistant to damage, heat styling will not injure your hair as rapidly as it may finer hair. These are a few of our favourite 1C hair styling techniques.
For a piece on the 1C Hair Type, air dry with a natural texture
Your naturally unruly texture makes air drying the ideal option. Use a little quantity of anti-frizz serum while it is still moist and lightly brush through. To minimise frizz and bring out your natural texture, avoid touching your hair while it dries.
Giving yourself a blowout and styling your 1C hair type
On 1C hair, blowouts look stunning. Your naturally coarse strands react nicely to shaping using a round brush’s tightly spaced bristles in conjunction with heat. Before cutting your hair into four equal sections, apply a little amount of anti-frizz serum.
Keep your drier directed downward and begin with the rear areas, drying and smoothing each region by bringing the round brush up from below. Finish with the front areas, and for the prettiest appearance, curl the hair away from your face!
Try out heatless bun curls.
With 1C strands, subtle curls at the ends of your hair look fantastic. With this heat-free curling technique, you may get curls that persist for more than two days without retouching since your coarse strands maintain textured styles effectively. Put some anti-frizz serum in your wet hair and brush it through.
Around the nape of your neck, gather your hair and coil it up. Using a scrunchie or clip, create a loose bun by winding the coil over itself. Take the bun down after it has finished drying completely to show large, loose ringlets at the ends!
Final Thoughts
The greatest ways to wash, dry, and style your type 1C hair have been discussed, along with the good and the bad. We have a few additional pointers for you to consider before you attempt one of our suggested hairstyles or grab that anti-frizz cream.
Damage-resistant does not mean that your hair is cannot be damaged at all. Your strands are more resistant to damage because of the coarseness of hair, but they are not impenetrable. To maintain the health of your strands, you should still apply heat protectants, modest heat settings, and little chemical processing.
Add salt to your tousled texture to enhance it. While your hair is still straight, it has sufficient bends to be almost wavy. With DIY or store-bought sea salt sprays, you may enhance your tousled, unruly texture. To prevent drying out your strands, be sure to properly wash your hair after applying and follow with your monthly deep conditioning treatment.
Be mindful of your goals. Although your roots may get oily, oil seldom makes it to your ends to hydrate them. Your ends will stay flexible and supple if you deep condition them once a month and concentrate conditioner on them when taking showers.
Use fewer of each product. If you just use a few different hair products, experiment with using a bit less of each to see if you get better results. Reduce the amount of anti-frizz serum, shampoo, and conditioner you use while experimenting. To get the best effects, you may only use a pea-sized quantity of anti-frizz serum, a quarter-sized bit of shampoo, and a little amount of conditioner.
You now know how to take care of 1C hair, but it would be a good idea to confirm that this is your hair type if you are not sure.
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