UNSOLVED SCIENCE
Even though it’s been determined for years that curly hair is a dominant gene, scientists admit that there is still no way to predict, the size, tightness, or overall behaviour of someone’s curls. Curly hair is just THAT unique.
Why Did My Curl Type Change?
Have you ever woken up one day and looked in the mirror and realized that your hair is just...different? It’s hard to pinpoint when and where the change happened but you know you can’t be imagining it! Somehow your curls are looser, or maybe they're tighter? There may even be waves or curls where there’s never been before! 😱 Whether you are loving the change or you’re looking to get back what you had, we thought we'd delve into the mystery of why our hair textures change in the first place.
What Makes Curly Hair Curly?
To understand what could cause someone’s hair to change it's best to first know what gives curls their unique shape and texture!
BORN THIS WAY
This one is a no-brainer; genetics play a huge role in all of our physical attributes, and our hair is no exception. Whether you have a head full of luscious waves or lots of bouncy ringlets, you have genes to thank for that. So if your mom, dad, or grandparent has curly hair too, chances are they passed those genes on to you! Thanks, Ma!
BENT OUT OF SHAPE
Since genes alone can't fully explain the variations between different curl types, hair texture comes down to way more than just simple genetics.
The truth is that the shape of your hair follicles are the biggest factor in determining your hair texture. Your hair follicles are the part of your scalp that guide and grow hair fibres, so it makes sense that they could shape the way your strands look. Hair follicles that are circular and symmetrical produce straight hair, while oval shaped follicles produce hair that curls.
BUILDING BONDS
But wait there's more! 😅 Curly hair also has a unique composition. Unlike straight hair, curly hair strands have an uneven distribution of keratin protein. These proteins form bonds throughout the hair shaft that contribute to the shape, size and tightness of each curl. When curly hair is chemically relaxed, these bonds are broken apart, and as a result, straightens the curl.
Why The Change?
THE ROOT CAUSE
Now that we know what a big role our follicles play in shaping our curls, it is likely that major changes in textures start at the root of your hair. That being said, it is possible for the shape of your follicles to change. Bodily changes like age, health, hormones, stress and diet are all factors that can impact the landscape of your hair.
HORMONAL HAIR
Believe it or not, major hormonal changes (like the kind you experience during pregnancy, puberty or even menopause) can actually affect and CHANGE the shape of your hair follicle as well as the size and thickness of your hair strands. So all the stories you've heard of hair changing (for better or worse) during pregnancy actually have some truth to them!
THE 'D' WORD
The dreaded 'D' word: damage. Damage doesn't come by flat ironing and straightening alone; there are many other factors that could cause damage to your hair, such as dryness. Your curls are the bounciest and healthiest when your hair AND scalp are moisturized. When they are dry, your curls can become rough, brittle and more susceptible to damage.
Another sneaky culprit can be over-manipulation. Detangling, pulling and brushing your hair back into buns, ponytails, and styles meant to stretch the hair can also affect your texture over time so be mindful of this if you're trying to bring some life back into your curls!
A LONG STORY
Long hair means more hair, and more hair means more weight. As your hair grows longer the weight starts to pull from the bottom up to your roots, resulting in your curl pattern being stretched and elongated. Sometimes a new hair cut can bring a little bounce back into your hair by using scissors to create varying layers and textures in your hair. Consulting with a curly hair specialist is the best way to figure out what kind of cut works best with your curl texture.
CURLY COME-UP
Maybe your hair type hasn't changed (or at least not drastically), maybe you've just figured things out. A lot of us curly girls have spent a good portion of our lives not actually embracing our curls and perhaps you've finally figured out what works for you. We can't tell you how many times we've heard feedback from customers who are shocked at how a product can really transform your curl pattern.
Have you ever noticed a change in your curl pattern? Maybe you had an unexpected pattern spring up after pregnancy? Or maybe your kinks and coils are looser than they used to be after rocking a straightened look? Comment below and let us know!
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38 comments
When I was a kid, my hair was long, wavy with curly ringlet ends. And then puberty! I ended up looking like Gilda Radner in the 80’s. It was super thick and kinky curly. Of course we didn’t have any decent product available and my mom made me cut it short. It was supposed to be a “halo” but really just ended up looking like an actual birds nest. I decided to let it grow in high school and the curl relaxed again to a more manageable wave that held a curl for days, with little ringlets in front of my ears. Got mono in my early 20’s and lost about 1/3 of my hair thickness over all. Got my first perm ever in an attempt at curl/style control. Perm took so well I looked like Lucille Ball for a solid 3 months. That was back in the day of banana clips, but couldn’t control it otherwise. Continued to perm and grow long until mid 30’s and pregnancy. Curl came back in. Late 40’s and curl had relaxed again to uneven curls. Thought I’d perm it again for control. Big mistake. Haven’t permed it since and now early 50’s and found LUS. Using a Wavy and Curly mix to see what I can do with my curls and waves. Still experimenting with product combinations and amount of water. Haven’t hit yet on “the One” combination, but not giving up. I can say with going grey my hair is changing texture too so that LUS isn’t giving me the volume I’m used too and I cannot stand flat hair.
My daughter seems to be following in my footsteps with the looser wave/curl I had as a kid and now at 14 she has super thick (thicker than mine was I think) and curly long hair. I think hers is even curlier than mine was at that age but hard to say since we have much better products now. She is using the Curly and still learning how to control her curls.
My hair started to change after my divorce in 2012. In my youth I had relatively fine but thick dark blonde hair. There was a bit of wave underneath and it had a lot of body, and in some layered cuts I’d get a bit of loose curl at the end/long areas but that’s it. When I was 37 I had my second child and my hair seemed to get thicker so it was pretty straight until after the divorce, almost 20 years later.
I was post-menopausal and started taking some meds for HBP and my hair started thinning a bit. That’s when the curl started to emerge. I was able to get my BP under control naturally so my hair started thickening up, not as thick as in my youth but definitely “normal”. Now my hair is definitely a 2B or 2C with volume and bend on the top, loose curls in the middle and what can be thick ringlets at the ends. It’s kind of funny – I look like a middle-aged Goldilocks sometimes but I really love it! I used to perm my hair in the ‘70s to get a curly look – who would have thought that I’d have it naturally now…? :-)
Up until my mid to late 20’s I had a slight wave in my hair but no curls. I would curl my hair and by the time I got from one side of my head to the other the curls had already fallen. Then I started noticing my hair starting to curl around the hair line and eventually my hair became curly all over. Both of my parents have curly hair and I always wondered why mine was so straight. I guess I just had to wait a little bit for genetics to kick in :-)
I always had beautiful long curly hair, which I was able to styled anyways I liked to: curly, straight, up, or down. My nightmare started the summer of 2014 when my hair did not curl it was just straight with no life at all, it looks totally dead. I’m hoping to at least get some waves back as I miss my curls so much.
Hey! Firstly just want to say i used to absolutely love using LUS brands products and really miss using them!
My hair is naturally extremely curly but my pregnancy changed EVERYTHING! I knew that it could potentially make my hair thicker or cause hair loss but i never expected what i had and after reading this article, it’s honestly the first time I’ve seen anything noted about the hair style changing as a result of hormones/pregnancy etc. My hair completely changed its texture and started growing through dead straight. 9 months post part my curls are only just growing back through my roots and i have about 6 inches of straight growing out. Yay. Since this happened I stopped using any hair products (quite the change from spending most of my paychecks on products :p) and either plait my hair or tie it in a bun so that no one can see the mess i’m walking around with every day. I’d welcome any advise on using LUS products again having two completely contrasting styles in my hair xx