Is my hair fine, medium or coarse?
Strand thickness is how wide each single hair is. Fine strands are slim and can be hard to feel. Coarse strands are wide and firm. Medium sits in between and is the most common.
It is easy to mix this up with density, which is how many hairs you have. “I have thin hair” might mean fine strands, low density or both. This test looks at one strand at a time, so it only answers the first part. Our hair density test answers the second.
How to do the strand test
- Pick a strand from the middle of your head, not the hairline, where hair is often finer. A clean, dry strand that has come out naturally is ideal.
- Roll it between your thumb and finger. Fine hair is barely felt; coarse hair feels firm, almost like a wire.
- Hold it next to sewing thread. Ordinary thread is a handy reference: fine hair looks thinner, coarse hair looks thicker.
- Lay it on white paper. Coarse hair stands out at a glance; fine hair can be hard to spot.
The quiz then asks how your hair holds a style. Rolling it between your fingers counts most, and answers that point both ways are settled toward medium. The weights are ours.
Why thickness matters
Strand thickness changes how hair behaves and how products feel.
- Fine strands hold less weight, so rich creams, oils and heavy conditioners can flatten them. Styles can drop quickly. Fine hair is a texture, not a sign of damage or hair loss.
- Coarse strands are sturdier but often feel drier, take longer to dry and resist styling. A review of hair science notes that the medulla, a soft central core, is present in coarser hair such as thick, grey and beard hair, and absent in the fine hair of children.
- Medium strands are the most forgiving and suit most products.
Caring for your strand type
Fine. Use lighter products, put conditioner on the mid-lengths and ends instead of the roots, and use leave-ins sparingly. Volumising products and a blow-dry at the roots help styles last.
Medium. Choose products by your curl pattern and porosity. Our porosity test helps.
Coarse. Richer conditioners and leave-ins usually help, and so does patience with drying. Gentle handling still matters: the American Academy of Dermatology advises against rubbing hair dry with a towel and recommends a wide-tooth comb.
Thickness can change
Strands at the hairline and the nape can be finer than those in the middle of the head, which is why the test uses one from the middle. Grey hair is among the coarser hair the review above lists as having a medulla, so new grey strands can feel different from the rest. If your strands have become much finer, together with more scalp showing, that is worth a dermatologist’s look rather than a quiz.
Build your routine in the HairLens app
The HairLens app reads moisture, frizz and breakage from your photos and builds your Hair Type Lab profile, routine and product list around them.