3A is the easiest pattern in the range to define and the easiest to accidentally ruin, because it is loose enough that handling breaks the clump.

• Start soaking wet. Not damp. The clump forms in water and stops forming the moment the hair starts drying.
• Product first, then distribute. Leave-in, then gel or cream, then a defining brush or your fingers. The brush distributes what is already there.
• Less product than a tighter pattern needs. 3A does not drink it the way type 4 does, and too much turns a loose curl into a stringy one.
• Larger sections than you would use on type 4. Four to six is usually enough.
• Do not touch it while it dries. Then break the cast if you used gel.

The 3A specific trap. A loose curl has less structural spring than a tight one, so it is more easily pulled out of shape by its own weight when wet and heavy with product. If your roots go flat while the ends stay defined, you are using too much product or too heavy a gel, not too little.

Same texture, three different commitments. The question is not which is better, it is how often you want to change your hair and whether you have a stylist.

Bundles

Wefts installed by a stylist, usually in a sew-in, worn for weeks at a time. The fullest and most seamless result, and the lowest cost per wear over the life of the hair. Your own hair is braided down underneath, which is protective when it is done well.

Clip ins

In and out on your own, same day, no appointment. Right if you wear your natural hair most of the time and want length or fullness occasionally, or if your hair needs a break from tension. Never sleep in them.

A wig or closure unit

Nothing of your own hair left out, so nothing has to blend and your edges are fully protected. The right answer if your leave-out will not match, if you are transitioning, or if you want to change texture week to week.

Loose curls are less forgiving at the blend point than tight ones, because there is no density to hide a transition.

• Match in the state you wear it. If you wear a wash-n-go, match to your defined wash-n-go, not to your hair wet or stretched.
• Leave a top layer out over every weft, at least an inch of your own hair. On a loose pattern this matters more, not less.
• Blend the ends. A blunt line where the extension stops shows badly on a loose curl. A light point cut into the ends by a stylist fixes it permanently.
• Watch the shine difference. 3A reflects more light than tighter patterns, so a mismatch in condition between your hair and the extension is more visible here. Keep both conditioned to the same level.

With proper care, True + Pure Texture extensions last up to 2 years or more. Because this is textured hair, treat it like your own natural hair rather than like processed extension hair.

• Hydrate lightly. Ultra lightweight leave-in conditioner. Heavy oils weigh the pattern down and flatten the movement that makes the texture work.
• Detangle gently, in small sections, from the ends upward, with a real detangling brush. Pulling causes shedding.
• Cleanse regularly. Buildup is what causes tangling. Moisturizing shampoo, then moisturizing conditioner.
• Heat protectant every time, and go easy. Repeated high heat gradually relaxes a pattern and it does not come back.
• Maintain overnight. Pincurl, twist or braid nightly and tuck into a satin scarf or bonnet. Never sleep on wet or damp hair.

Texture reveal. The hair arrives flatter than it will be, because of packaging and shipping. Once shampooed or co washed, gently detangled and air dried, the full pattern returns.

Length and shrinkage. All lengths are measured stretched. Textured hair shrinks when worn in its natural pattern, and the tighter the pattern the more it shrinks.

What is type 3A hair?
Type 3A is the loosest curl pattern that closes into a spiral, roughly the circumference of a piece of sidewalk chalk. It is clearly defined and springy without being tight.

What is the difference between 3A hair and wavy hair?
A type 2 wave bends in an open S and never closes. A 3A curl wraps around itself into a ring. Once it closes it needs definition, it shrinks an inch or two, and it tangles in a way waves do not.

How is 3A different from 3B and 3C?
Curl circumference and density. 3A is the largest and loosest spiral. 3B is roughly the circumference of a marker and noticeably denser. 3C is tighter again, closer to a corkscrew. True and Pure covers 3B and 3C with Sasha Curl.

Should I choose Island Curl or Sasha Curl?
Island Curl is type 3A, a loose defined spiral. Sasha Curl is 3B and 3C, a tighter corkscrew with more density. If you are between the two, take Sasha Curl, because a tighter texture can be loosened and a looser one cannot be tightened.

How much product does 3A hair need?
Less than a tighter pattern. 3A does not absorb product the way type 4 does, and too much turns a loose curl stringy and flattens the roots.

Why do my roots go flat but my ends stay defined?
Too much product or too heavy a gel. A loose curl has less structural spring than a tight one and gets pulled out of shape by its own weight when it is wet and weighed down.

Does 3A hair shrink?
Yes, usually an inch or two. Far less than type 4, but enough that stretched length and worn length are not the same number.

Can I straighten Island Curl?
Yes, with a heat protectant at a moderate temperature. Avoid repeated high heat, which will gradually relax the pattern permanently.