Texture change - 1a/2b-c, can this be?

[school of fish]

So, all my life I've had firmly 1a hair, very fine and silky, lots of it. Does not like to hold curl or wave at all. I started getting white hairs early, in my late teens or so, and I'm now in my early 40s with probably about 20-25% white under my henna but I never seemed to have much texture change as the white has moved in, other than some increased strand thickness.

However, in the last year or so my underlayers seem to be coming in as deeply wavy - everything from the nape to just below the canopy is s-curve snakey, and tenaciously so! The wave runs from my scalp to about 6", then is stick-straight again to the ends. In that 6" there are 3 very defined 2" bumps, like a mogul run on a ski slope!

These waves don't correspond at all with my white strands, and there are no transitional in-between textures like 1b or c, it's just kind of gone all or nothing. I've been implementing and adhering to some better hair care practices in the last year and a half, but really had never done anything terribly damaging to my hair previously - no chemical colour or curl, no heat styling, gentle handling to avoid breakage... I've been in good health throughout... I haven't even changed my routine significantly, just started paying better attention and tweaked what was already working.

Just curious to know, anyone else out there experience a texture change like this?

[turtlelover]

My waves have gotten a lot looser over the last few years. I think I used to border on 3A, and now I'm feeling a lot closer to a 2b. I do have more gray now, so that probably explains it in my case!

[school of fish]

Ah... see at first I thought maybe it was the difference between my pigmented strands and white ones showing themselves, but in my case my white concentration is along the centre part canopy and the underlayer right behind the ears - which comprises one super-straight area and one super-wavy one, haha!!

[allycat]

I have, school of fish! For me, I assume it's midlife hormonal changes. Like you, I always had fine, straight hair. Humidity used to make it even flatter. I'm 50 now, but about 2-3 years ago I started getting a few areas at my nape where the hair turned coarse and spirally. Also around my face it is now wavy. It seems to be spreading, and now humidity makes it frizzy! Though much of the canopy in the back is still straight. So I have a few different things going on. :)

ETA: I found a pic I posted some time ago.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg254/allycat08_pix/random/IMG_0230_zps3863ffbf.jpg (http://s250.photobucket.com/user/allycat08_pix/media/random/IMG_0230_zps3863ffbf.jpg.html)

[school of fish]

That's so cool to hear Allycat and you may have hit on something I hadn't considered - hormones! I did have a baby last year...

In fact, maybe pregnancy hormones collided with perimenopausal hormones and created this thing I have now, haha!!

I must admit, as a life-long straighty who always seriously longed for massive hair like Chaka Khan, I'm not complaining about this new texture!! :D

[allycat]

Congratulations on your baby! (I had my last at 43 too!)

I always wanted crazy hair too. We may get it still!

[school of fish]

Oh wow, yes you can see a big difference in the curl pattern in that pic! That's very cool indeed, wonder if you'll end up eventually completely curly? Would be quite a thing to experience owning two completely different heads of hair in a lifetime!

[school of fish]

Thank you! And yes, looks like it bodes well for both of us being granted our crazy-hair wish ;)

[spidermom]

I went the other way, from about a 2C in my 40s and 50s, now probably 1C, maybe 2A. It's ironic. For years, I wanted straight and flat-ironed my hair occasionally. Now I miss the curl.

[school of fish]

Interesting, spidermom!

[Salty Sloth]

I'm only 28 and my hair is a solid 1c ii thickness, but I've recently found in my head some VERY thick ~2b/c BLACK hair. o_o It's super startling because although I have some white hairs those don't have the curls in them.

It's hella confusing. (also I'm not pregnant so it can't be hormones)

[rowie]

I went the other way, from about a 2C in my 40s and 50s, now probably 1C, maybe 2A. It's ironic. For years, I wanted straight and flat-ironed my hair occasionally. Now I miss the curl.

Omg the same is kind of happening to me. I used to have poofy hair like in my albums and dreaded it and I also wished I had flat straight hair. Now that my hair is getting closer to classic it's becoming more flat and almost in the 1B-1c range. My avatar pic is proof and now I live in braids just to get it back, but my original texture isn't coming back as I grow longer. I now believe in the saying "careful what you wish for..."

[lapushka]

I went through one change, during puberty from the first year of middle school to the second, suddenly 1b went 2b/c. My hair fell out and grew back in about a year later. I had a massive shed going on, even the doctor was worried, but it somehow (I think) had something to do with the texture change.

[Johannah]

I went from 1b/1c to 2a last year. This happened when I started using hydrolyzed keratin on a regular basis.

[Arctic]

I'm only 28 and my hair is a solid 1c ii thickness, but I've recently found in my head some VERY thick ~2b/c BLACK hair. o_o It's super startling because although I have some white hairs those don't have the curls in them.

It's hella confusing. (also I'm not pregnant so it can't be hormones)

Texture changes are, to my understanding almost always hormone related. Human system has numerous hormones other than pregnancy related ones.

[Arctic]

<snip> Just curious to know, anyone else out there experience a texture change like this?

After 8 years on LHC I can say that texture (or colour, or thickness of individual strands, or wiryness...) changes seem to be relatively common, common enough to be quite normal.

Sometimes there might be things like illness (for example thyroid related) or medication or some such thing causing the change but often it's just hormones shifting.

[rowie]

Texture changes are, to my understanding almost always hormone related. Human system has numerous hormones other than pregnancy related ones.

Interesting, hmmm I don't think the pregnancy horomone relates to my gender. I'm not taking any horomones in any form. Maybe for me it's just the weight? Not sure if men go through different kinds of horomone changes except puberty which I'm well passed that change. Still, your post made me realize I need to revisit men's physiology and health topics. :thumbsup:

[Arctic]

Interesting, hmmm I don't think the pregnancy horomone relates to my gender. I'm not taking any horomones in any form. Maybe for me it's just the weight? Not sure if men go through different kinds of horomone changes except puberty which I'm well passed that change. Still, your post made me realize I need to revisit men's physiology and health topics. :thumbsup:

I'm not medical doctor or anything like that, but yeah, that's my understanding. Also, I don't think women are such hormone mosters we are often made to be :) I mean compared to men. Men have "raging hormones" too, and even female sex hormones. (Just like women have male sex hormones). I think that just by getting older, for one, our hormones shift and change. There doesn't have to be dramatic hormonal turning points like puberty, pregnancy or menopause.

[school of fish]

This is all making sense to me, and yes I agree that hormonal shifts are found outside the classic puberty/pregnancy/menopause cycle and across genders as well. In my case I'm thinking my recent pregnancy at this stage of my life may well account for my texture change - I didn't experience this with my first pregnancy about a decade ago.

I really appreciate hearing others' experiences, thank you all for chiming in!

[Arctic]

I'm only 28 and my hair is a solid 1c ii thickness, but I've recently found in my head some VERY thick ~2b/c BLACK hair. o_o It's super startling because although I have some white hairs those don't have the curls in them.

It's hella confusing. (also I'm not pregnant so it can't be hormones)


Texture changes are, to my understanding almost always hormone related. Human system has numerous hormones other than pregnancy related ones.

Oh, and I forgot to say, that if you found one hair of different texture, or even 20 of them (or even more), it's very normal and nothing to worry about. Everyone has some different types of hairs, some more and some only few.