Curly Hair Extensions 3A to 3C

Type 3 hair curls in a defined spiral, somewhere between a loose loop and a tight corkscrew. These are the patterns that match it.

Type 3 is the pattern most often sold badly. Brands set straight hair on a rod, call it curly, and it drops within four or five washes. Everything on this page is curly hair to begin with, so the spiral comes back every time it is washed.

The three patterns in this range

• 3A, an open loop. Large, loose curls with plenty of swing. Our deep wave sits here. If your own hair dries into big soft spirals, this is your match.
• 3B, a springier curl. Tighter than 3A and with more volume at the root. Deep wave in the weft and tape ranges holds this pattern well.
• 3C, a corkscrew. Dense, pencil-width curls that clump together. Burmese curly and Jerry curl cover this end.

If you fall between two, pick the looser one. A slightly looser extension blends into a tighter curl far better than the other way round. The curl type chart walks through how to tell.

What type 3 clients get wrong

Length. A 20 inch 3B set can hang at around 15 inches once the curl springs up. Most people want one length longer than they first pick.

Shade. A curl traps light rather than reflecting it, so the same shade reads deeper in a spiral than it does straight. Matching from a photo usually means going one step lighter. Our free colour match does that for you.

Fitting type 3 hair

Nano bonds and weft bundles carry the most weight and sit best in a dense curl. Tape-ins work when the hair is finer. Clip-ins are the easiest way to test a blend before committing to a fitting.

K-tips and Luxeline tapes are also available in deep wave if you want that pattern in a multi-texture range.

Tighter than this? Go to coily and afro extensions, 4A to 4C. Looser? Try wavy, 2A to 2C. To see the whole range together, start at curly hair extensions.

All 100% Remy human hair, double drawn, in 60+ shades.

Frequently asked questions

What is 3B and 3C hair?

Type 3 hair curls in a defined spiral. 3A is a large open loop, 3B is a springier curl with more volume at the root, and 3C is a dense corkscrew about the width of a pencil. WAVE matches all three with deep wave, Burmese curly and Jerry curl textures in 100% Remy human hair.

Do curly extensions blend with 3C hair?

Yes, when the curl pattern is matched as carefully as the shade. A colour match in the wrong pattern still reads as fake once the hair dries, because the two textures move differently. WAVE labels every product with its curl type on the 2A to 4C scale so you match the pattern, not a photo.

How much length do you lose with 3B or 3C curls?

Around a quarter. A 20 inch 3B set often hangs at about 15 inches once the curl springs up, so most people are happier ordering one length longer than they first pick.

Which fitting method suits type 3 hair?

Nano bonds and weft bundles carry the most weight and sit best in a dense curl. Tape-ins suit finer type 3 hair. Clip-ins are the easiest way to test a blend before committing to a fitting.