What happened to my curls? And how can I get them back?

[Blondieee]

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I had super curly hair before. And now it's a mix of a very loose wave and pieces that are frizzy straight. I've only had heat used on it twice at the hair stylist. And that's twice in the last 5 years. Any heat I used prior to that in 2011 has already grown out and been cut off now. Because I got my hair bleached at that same time and I could tell when the bleach grew all the way out. Is it health problems? Can hypothyroidism cause this? I've lost practically all my curls. I used to hate my curls but when I look back at old pictures, the blonde curly was beautiful. And I constantly hated my curls and wished them away. And now they're practically all gone. Does anyone know what is causing this? And how I can get my curls back? My mom still has all her curls. Does it have anything to do with the fact that my hair is a lot drier now? But in 2011, I washed my hair every single day and it was dry and frizzy and I still had my curls. Any ideas?

[ReptilianFeline]

Have you changed your shampoo and conditioner?

[Zalicat]

Maybe try the curly girl method? Hair can change from hormones however so it might be your hair changing as you age

[OhSuzi]

It may be a hormonal / age thing? Some pregnant ladies have a period of glossy super hair growth / but then it's followed by hair shedding and some who have like white blonde hair find it goes brown blond after pregnancy / as they get older.
A lot of people can find there hair condition / thickness / colour can change as they get older - usually hair colour gets darker & then eventually goes / grey white / silver.
I assume the same thing may happen to curl pattern?

When I was younger my hair was very straight & I always blow dried it straight, then in my late teens after having paid for a perm in my early teens - I discovered it was curly anyway! With a bit of scrunch drying it went wavy frizzy curly.

When I was at uni I experimented with bleaches & dyes & I lived by the sea - Weirdly I actually found that my hair easily went intensely curly & into beautiful ringlets with out any effort when it was at it's most damaged
- I say damaged it wasn't like falling out & frazzled - it was still silky and soft - but hair strands were probably thinner from bleach and dry from a dip in the salty sea & then drying quickly in the sea salty sunny air.
Also bit gross but sweat n dirt - probably cause it's salty too - If I did a 30 min intense outdoor work out session like press ups, squats, sprints etc. that also gave me mega ringlets - probably not a good idea to sniff my hair though!

Since moving away from the sea and chopping all my hair short & growing it out naturally (and being lazier about exercise) - I've been waiting for the curl to come back - it looks super curly when wet, but then it dries and the curls become soft and then wavy and some times almost straight.

But they are still there - if I want curls now I plop my hair in a t shirt, then either twist and let it dry or scrunch dry it with a bit of sea salt spray and the tiniest bit of styling wax and let air dry.
It can be hit and miss and the underneath hair definitely has more ringlettyness than my top layers - so you might just need to try a few things after you've showered & hope for the best & just embrace however your hair is now.

Also I have had a couple of random thyroid tests in my life and they've always been normal - I just think hair changes - I am not a hair scientist -
but I suspect colour / wave pattern isn't that much an indicator of health as long as it's generally in ok condition.

[lapushka]

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I had super curly hair before. And now it's a mix of a very loose wave and pieces that are frizzy straight. I've only had heat used on it twice at the hair stylist. And that's twice in the last 5 years. Any heat I used prior to that in 2011 has already grown out and been cut off now. Because I got my hair bleached at that same time and I could tell when the bleach grew all the way out. Is it health problems? Can hypothyroidism cause this? I've lost practically all my curls. I used to hate my curls but when I look back at old pictures, the blonde curly was beautiful. And I constantly hated my curls and wished them away. And now they're practically all gone. Does anyone know what is causing this? And how I can get my curls back? My mom still has all her curls. Does it have anything to do with the fact that my hair is a lot drier now? But in 2011, I washed my hair every single day and it was dry and frizzy and I still had my curls. Any ideas?

I thought you were bleaching or dyeing your hair - this of course is all terrible for waves and curls.

Health problems can affect hormones, and hormones can affect your hair, yes. I would not blame product or ways of handling as long as your health is not on point!

[Blondieee]

Thanks everyone! This definitely isn't from getting older. I'm sure of it. I'm in my early 20's and had curls just 3-4 years ago. It's not like it all changed at once. This has been a gradual loss of curl pattern over the past 3-4 years ever since I was diagnosed with Hashi's. And even though I've lost a lot of the curl pattern now, some days it's more curlier than others. Maybe depending on dryness of the hair?

I have seen AMAZING results with the CurlyGirl method of girls getting all their curls back. It's incredible! But my hair has to have sulfates unfortunately. I lose hair when I use sulfate free shampoos and this was before I had health problems. But I wonder why the CurlyGirl method gives such amazing results. I wonder if it's because the hair is so moisturized. Doesn't curly hair have to have moisture to curl? My hair is dry hay hair.

And no I'm not currently bleaching or dying my hair. I haven't had any color (bleach or dye, even Shades EQ) on my hair in 6 years. So that's all grown out. That's just something I'm considering. But I haven't actually put any color on my hair yet.

I have had my hormones checked, estrogen and progesterone and all that. I need to review results with a doctor because I don't understand them but based on research online, it looks like I might have estrogen dominance. Not sure if that can cause this issue or not.

[Raevyngoddess]

Same thing has happened to my curls. I just assumed mine was due to all the chemical dyes and bleaches I've done over the years. Idk tho now that I'm actively taking care of my hair. I'm not using chemical dyes(just henna) from here on out or heat styling I'm hoping it goes back to normal. I hope you can figure it out.

[OhSuzi]

just to reiterate I don't know how or what the science is behind it - but my hair was definitely at it's curliest when it was bleached & dyed & bleached several times & naturally dryed after a dip in the salty sea.

Maybe curly hair is naturally dry & I made mine unnaturally dry - but if it's naturally dry it then likes soaking up conditioners & moisture?? I don't know. Not recommending tonnes of bleach, sweat n salt as a hair curling method - but stating the facts - proper ringletty curls = and they are much more difficult to achieve now that I have virgin hair.

https://ibb.co/hE91pm

[OhSuzi]

https://ibb.co/jLOY26


Sorry for double post - just trying to get head round adding pics! Thats my hair at its bleachy curliest.

[lapushka]

Thanks everyone! This definitely isn't from getting older. I'm sure of it. I'm in my early 20's and had curls just 3-4 years ago. It's not like it all changed at once. This has been a gradual loss of curl pattern over the past 3-4 years ever since I was diagnosed with Hashi's. And even though I've lost a lot of the curl pattern now, some days it's more curlier than others. Maybe depending on dryness of the hair?

I have seen AMAZING results with the CurlyGirl method of girls getting all their curls back. It's incredible! But my hair has to have sulfates unfortunately. I lose hair when I use sulfate free shampoos and this was before I had health problems. But I wonder why the CurlyGirl method gives such amazing results. I wonder if it's because the hair is so moisturized. Doesn't curly hair have to have moisture to curl? My hair is dry hay hair.

And no I'm not currently bleaching or dying my hair. I haven't had any color (bleach or dye, even Shades EQ) on my hair in 6 years. So that's all grown out. That's just something I'm considering. But I haven't actually put any color on my hair yet.

I have had my hormones checked, estrogen and progesterone and all that. I need to review results with a doctor because I don't understand them but based on research online, it looks like I might have estrogen dominance. Not sure if that can cause this issue or not.

I have to use sulfates too, and it still works for me because I double condition (ears down). I also oil rinse, and I do LOC/LCO. In other words, I put plenty of moisture back into my hair.

[Tassledown]

From what you've said about your hair texture and its dryness, that sounds like how my hair gets when I have neglected to wash/clarify it or am using the wrong kind of conditioner/shampoo to get the moisture balanced. My curl can "drop out" of my hair if I'm not caring for it right.

I'd definitely go with Lapushka on saying that your best bet may be trying to rehydrate your hair more aggressively - even when I use shampoo, my hair is still curly after as long as I'm at the right point in terms of moisture before/after. If you're feeling like your hair is "dry hay" I wouldn't assume your curl is gone completely until you manage to reclaim that. Using a conditioner, oil and/or leave-in combo may be what you need.

Ruling out health effects definitely sounds like something to double-check too, given that's definitely a possible cause for your situation.

[Alex Lou]

Thyroid problems frequently cause hair texture changes. Why don't you ask your endocrinologist?

[torosaurus]

Hair pattern and texture can just change due to age or hormones. As a child, my hair was extremely super curly and bright blonde. It slowly become less curly as I entered puberty and now, at 22, my hair is basically 1b/1c and that strange mousy color between blonde and light brown. (Though I do wonder what it would look like completely virgin, but that's a little irrelevant.)

Hair doesn't stay the same sometimes. Especially since you had issues with your thyroid, it's unsurprising you've gone through some changes with it.

[lapushka]

Thyroid problems frequently cause hair texture changes. Why don't you ask your endocrinologist?

Yes I'm curious, what does s/he say about all this?