Even with the natural hair movement that has swept the web and curly-haired communities lately, type 4 hair — which comprises the densest and tightest curl patterns of all hair types — still hasn’t had its time within the highlight.

Along with her inaugural “The Texture Gap” report, Carra founder Winnie Awa goals to vary that.

“It’s not as area of interest a market as people think — there are billions of individuals with this hair texture,” said the Net-a-porter and Ernst & Young alum, who founded beauty-tech platform Carra in 2021 to supply personalized advice for those with tight-textured hair.

Fueled by nearly 10 million textured-hair-specific data points from across the web, the report identifies key needs and pain points of type 4 hair consumers, complete with actionable steps brands and retailers can take to bridge the “texture gap.”

“This consumer is driving the conversation around hair care — that presents a giant opportunity when it comes to learning and understanding the nuances of their routines and behaviors,” said Awa, who found that online conversations amongst type 4 hair consumers are vastly outpacing that of another hair type, with posts and comments about type 4 hair reaching 130,000 in 2022, up from about 80,000 the 12 months prior.

Topics reminiscent of price, volume and definition were found to be less prevalent in social conversations in comparison with styling, growth and wash-day discourse, suggesting “concerns may outweigh the fee in [consumers’] quest to fulfill their hair goals.”

Tight-textured consumers even have more concerns to prioritize; Carra reports 60 percent of type 4 consumers have 4 or more concerns, versus 35 percent of type 2 (or wavy-haired) consumers. Top concerns amongst type 4 consumers include dryness, slow growth, breakage, hair loss, and detangling.

While discourse around heat styling and damage is comparatively nascent amongst type 4 consumers — comprising only one percent of total concerns — conversations about heat protection and warmth damage have grown 121 percent and 113 percent, respectively, indicating a possible return to heat styling could possibly be on the horizon.

There was a 112 percent increase in conversations about protective styles reminiscent of braids and locs, because of their versatility and time-saving ability, while chemical relaxers have also seen growth in mentions — each when it comes to people seeking to transition away from them, and to start using them, despite their potential link to uterine cancer.

Beyond being an aesthetic selection, The Texture Gap reports that hair is an identity factor for type 4 consumers, meaning brands must understand the nuances of not only consumers’ styling routines, but their lifestyles, with a view to adequately meet their needs.

“It’s not nearly formulations; it’s like if you say ‘farm to table,’ but I speak about it ‘from lab to shelf,’” Awa said.

“When a brand tells you, ‘hey this product works for all hair types’ and you then see the [product] education is telling you wash your hair thrice every week — well, clearly, you don’t know me,” she continued, noting consumers with type 4 hair wash their hair far less often than their looser-textured counterparts, who don’t struggle as much with breakage and dryness.

“Undoubtedly, products must be tested on all textures. For brands to point out they care, it starts with that authenticity; letting the shopper know, ‘Hey, I see you; I understand your routine.’”

The Texture Gap may be read in full on the Carra website.