3B Hair: How to Tell, 14 Cuts for Spiral Curls, and a Routine

3B hair is springy, well-defined spiral curls about the width of a marker pen, starting right at the root and running all the way to the ends. It sits in the middle of the curly types: tighter than 3A's loose loops, looser than the corkscrews of 3C.

Here is what most 3B heads find out too late. Your hair is two to four inches longer than it looks. 3B curls shrink a lot as they dry, so a stylist who cuts them wet and pulled straight is cutting blind, and the curl springs up shorter and lopsided. Get it cut dry, curl by curl, and half the usual 3B problems go away before you buy a single product.

This guide helps you confirm you are 3B, shows you fourteen cuts on 3B curls, and gives you a wash day routine that keeps the ringlets together.

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What is 3B hair?

Type 3B is the middle of the three curly types in the Andre Walker system. The curls form spirals, not S waves, and they start at the root. Each ringlet is roughly the width of a marker or a sharpie, springs back when you stretch it, and tends to clump with its neighbors into glossy groups.

The chart was made in the 1990s by Andre Walker, Oprah Winfrey's stylist, and it only describes curl shape. It says nothing about density or strand thickness, and those decide your cut as much as the number does. Use 3B as shorthand for your stylist, not a diagnosis.

How do you know if you have 3B hair?

Wash it, skip the brush, put nothing in it and let it air dry without touching it. Then look at three things.

• The shape. Spirals you could wrap around a marker point to 3B. S-shaped bends that lie flat point to 2C hair.
• The width. Ringlets wide enough to fit two fingers through lean 3A. Ringlets tight enough to fit a pencil lean 3C.
• The shrinkage. Pull one curl straight. If it stretches to well past where it sat, often a third longer or more, that is typical 3B.

Almost nobody is one type all over. It is common to be 3A around the face and 3B or 3C at the nape and underneath. Go with what most of your head does.

3B vs 3A hair

3A curls are big, loose loops that hold shine and stretch out under their own weight. 3B curls are smaller and springier, with more volume at the root and drier ends. If your curls drop into waves by the end of the day, you are probably closer to 3A, and our 3A hair guide is the better fit.

3B vs 3C hair

3C curls are tight corkscrews about the width of a pencil, packed closely together, with much more shrinkage and far more need for moisture. 3B ringlets are wider and looser. If your curls look like coiled springs and barely move when you shake your head, read the 3C hair guide instead.

Why 3B curls shrink and frizz

Shrinkage is the part people underestimate. A spiral is a spring, and as the water leaves the hair the spring tightens. Curls that hang to your collarbone wet can sit at your chin dry.

That shrinkage is why 3B hair needs a dry cut. Cut wet and straight, every curl springs up a different amount, and you get holes, shelves and one side shorter than the other. Cut dry, the stylist sees exactly where each curl lands.

Frizz has a different cause. Each turn of the spiral lifts the cuticle a little, so humid air gets in and the outer strands swell out of their clumps. Dry brushing, rubbing with a terry towel and touching curls while they dry all split the clumps, and single strands are what frizz.

14 haircuts for 3B hair

Every picture below shows the same springy 3B ringlet. The only thing that changes is the cut, so you can see what each shape does to the curl. Compare the rounded layered cuts with the one-length cut near the end: the layers lift the crown, while one length piles the volume at the bottom.

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The pattern holds across the set. Layers that start around the cheekbone or chin let 3B curls stack into a round shape. One length with no layers turns into a triangle. Bangs work on 3B hair, but they have to be cut dry and longer than you think, because each ringlet shrinks them by an inch or two. If the shag caught your eye, the shag haircut guide goes deeper on how much layering to ask for.

The best haircut for 3B hair

For most 3B heads it is a rounded, layered cut at shoulder length, cut dry. Longest pieces at the shoulder, layers starting at the cheekbone, every curl cut where it falls, and no thinning shears.

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It works because 3B hair has two problems, weight and shrinkage, and this cut handles both. Layers take bulk out of the bottom so the curls stack instead of collapsing into a triangle. Shoulder length gives the spirals room to form fully without the length dragging the root flat. Cutting dry means what you see in the chair is what you get after wash day. Our shoulder-length haircuts guide has more shapes at this length.

Refuse two things: thinning shears or razor texturizing through the curl, which leaves short frizzy strands inside every clump, and a wet cut with the hair combed straight.

Which 3B cut suits you

Density and face shape decide more than the curl number. Find your row.

Not sure of your face shape? The face shape guide shows you how to measure it in a mirror in two minutes.

If you have a round face

Go for length past the chin and height at the crown. A shoulder or collarbone cut with layers from the cheekbone draws the eye up and down instead of out. Keep bangs long and curtain-shaped rather than a full heavy fringe.

If you want short 3B hair

A chin-length curly bob is the shortest cut where 3B curls still read as ringlets on most heads. Remember the shrinkage: ask for it cut dry at the length you want it to sit, or it will end up an inch higher than you planned.

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Keep the layers inside the bob so the outline stays full and round around your jaw. The layered bob guide shows how much stacking is enough.

If you want to keep it long

Long 3B hair works with long layers. Without them, the weight of the length stretches the curls near the scalp, so the top flattens while the ends stay tight. Face-framing curls from the chin fix that without costing you length.

A 3B hair routine that keeps the curls together

Plan on about twenty minutes on wash day and almost nothing between. The order matters more than the brand.

Wash two or three times a week. On the days between, mist with water and scrunch in a little leave-in to bring the ringlets back. Sleep on a satin pillowcase or with your curls piled loosely on top of your head so you do not crush them flat.

3B hair products: what to use and what to skip

3B hair is thirstier than waves but not as thirsty as 3C or 4A coils. A leave-in, a cream, a gel and a gentle shampoo cover most heads.

Fine 3B curls do better with mousse or a lighter gel. Thick, coarse 3B curls can take a richer cream. Clarify once a month to clear buildup.

Five mistakes that ruin 3B curls

1. Getting it cut wet and straight. Shrinkage makes every curl spring up a different amount. Ask for a dry cut.
2. Brushing it dry. Every clump splits into single strands and the whole head turns into frizz.
3. Thinning shears. They leave short strands inside each curl clump, and the ringlets stop forming.
4. One length on thick hair. All the volume collects at the bottom and you get the triangle.
5. Product on half-dry hair. By then the frizz has already formed. Product goes on soaking wet.

What does 3B hair look like on a guy?

The same ringlets, just shorter. Men with 3B hair usually cut the top too short to see the curl. Leave three to four inches on top so the spirals can form and fall forward, keep the sides tidy with a low taper rather than a high skin fade, and use a curl cream instead of a hard paste.

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Our guide to haircuts for curly hair for men has more cuts that suit 3B texture.

Is Hairstyle Atlas free to try?

Yes, your first look is free and needs no card. You upload a selfie, pick a hairstyle, and see it on your own face. After that, Plus is 9 dollars a month or 60 dollars a year, with 150 credits a month, every cut and color, a before and after sheet to show your stylist, and downloads without a watermark. You can cancel in two clicks, and there is a seven-day refund.

You can also do it the free way. Save ten photos of 3B curls you like, take them to a curly consultation, and ask which will work on your density. That is a good start. The wall it hits is that none of those photos have your face, your shrinkage or your density, and the same shoulder layers look very different on a round face than on a long one. Seeing the cut on your own photo first is the gap the curly hair try-on fills.

If you take one thing from this: your 3B hair is longer than it looks, so it has to be cut dry. Get rounded layers at the shoulder with no thinning shears, put product on soaking wet curls, and leave them alone while they dry.

Do those three and most 3B heads get defined, bouncy ringlets without a cabinet full of products.