When your hair grows, that means there is more weight on your roots. The longer your hair grows, the heavier it becomes. This weight pulls your curls and elongates them, which can change the texture of your curls. Sometimes a good haircut can help alleviate the weight to help curls bounce back, but not always.
If you have a large body, hair that is too long can make your body look even larger. The longer your hair is the heavier it will be and therefore the looser your curls will become. If you want your hair to have a tighter curl, then it might help you to cut it a little shorter.
Heavy Hair
As it grows in length, the weight of your hair starts to pull down and stretch out your curls, making them look looser. The less weight you have on your ends, the springier your curls will look.
You might think, “My hair is naturally curly but won't curl anymore.” Age or genetics are the most common reasons for losing your natural curl pattern. As we age, our hair tends to lose its elasticity and become more brittle. It can cause the hair shafts to break, making them thinner and weaker over time.
While your childhood curls may have been soft, supple and springy, daily wear and tear gradually alters the shape and texture. Your curl loss could be recent or it might have happened long ago, but whatever the case, there are ways you can bring the bounce back with the right hair care routine.
Your Hormones are changing
Hormones – and their effect on our bodies – extends to every part of us, including our hair. Hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy, puberty and menopause can alter your curl pattern dramatically. Your hair follicles' shape is what determines your curl pattern and texture.
Improper Care/Techniques
Using the wrong techniques on your naturally curly hair can make the curls lose their shape over time. Many common hair care habits like brushing and towel drying are detrimental to curls. Over time using these techniques, they damage the cuticle and the curl pattern suffers.
Suddenly your once springy curls seem stretched out, undefined, and just not performing the way you want them to. This can be due to added weight – potentially because your hair has gotten longer, or you're using heavy products over and over again, that are leaving behind residues and building up on your strands.
Your Fifties
Throughout menopause, your hair's texture changes. It often happens around the age of 51 and might be the reason why your hair will change from curly to straight.
"When you don't cut naturally curly hair, the ends become weak and don't hold their natural shape properly. So, by cutting off the dead ends, you bring life back into your curls," says Bivona.
The fact of the matter is that curly hair takes a longer time to grow longer because it grows in a curl, rather than straight down. But curly hair, as well as straight hair, usually grows about 1/2” per month. So with patience, and with a coordinated plan with your hair stylist, you can have longer hair.
Your hair is too clean
Clean hair just doesn't have the grit and hold as hair with a little oil in it. Curls work best on second or even third-day hair. If you need to be clean, you can add dry shampoo to your hair before you curl to give it some texture and volume.
3A hair is made up of well-defined and springy curls that have a loopy, “S” shaped pattern. Their circumference is the size of a piece of sidewalk chalk. 3A ringlets have a fine to medium texture. This curl type benefits from lots of body and movement, but is prone to frizzing and dryness.
Naturally curly or coily hair can feel overwhelming to care for. Thick, curly hair is more prone to breakage and dryness than other hair types. However, with the right routine and hair care products, you can keep your curls healthy and looking good.
Your curls need moisture
Curls tend to be naturally dry, even when you take care of them. Due to their spiraled shape, it's harder for the natural oils produced from your scalp to travel down and coat the strands, which is why they can get so frizzy.
Lack of Hold
“Hold” is that cast or crunch that forms when your hair dries after using styling products. This cast provides a protective barrier on the hair to hold frizz in and help curls maintain their definition. Frizz that is caused by lack of hold will feel overly soft or fluffy after the hair is dried.
Protein & Moisture Imbalance
Moisture is also essential, especially for curly hair that naturally becomes dehydrated easily. Hair that is lacking moisture can fall flat and limp by day two. However, too much moisture in your routine from heavy styling products and too much water can cause hair to become weighed down.
Others have curls and straighten them out. But for a few people, their hair actually changes shape and texture on its own — and not just because of the weather. Scientists don't know exactly why this happens, but it probably has to do with a combination of genetics, hormones and body chemistry.
It's very normal to have a mix of curl patterns on the same head of hair. It starts with your genetics. You see, the gene for curly hair is not completely dominant. It can remain dormant until activated and then it changes the shape of the hair follicle which changes the hair that grows from it.
The answer: The sooner you can set your curls, the better. For that reason, it's recommended that you apply styling products while your hair is still damp and before the frizz has time to set in. If you wait too long, you may rough up the hair cuticle, causing your swirls to become frizzy and undefined.
The wrong hair color can make you look washed out, and a bad haircut can make you look dated, even when paired with the most up-to-date makeup and fashion trends. As a curly girl, you already have a head start. Women with curly, textured hair tend to look younger than straight-haired counterparts as they age.
Your hair is naturally voluminous
Curls adds volume to your hair effortlessly, and you never have to worry about it being flat, limp and lifeless like those with straight hair. Even on days when you straighten your curls, there is always going to be that little amount of volume that will make others go green with envy.
The typical hair growth cycle for most people is about four to seven years. This is often where the thought comes in that your hair is brand new every seven years. Technically, it is because by this time, the hair has cycled out and new hair is growing.