Is my hair changing texture or just damaged?

[Thoughtcriminal]

When I was really young, my hair was curly, maybe 3a/b. There was an incident with scissors, and it's been pretty straight ever since. Then about 2 years ago, a lot of my hair fell out due to my bad eating habits. I've cleaned up my diet a bit, and it's started to grow back. I noticed a bunch of little curlies on the top of my head (most of the hair I lost was from my crown) that stand out from all the rest of the (straight) hair. I have a lot of breakage, so at first I wrote off the curlies as just being damage. I'm having doubts now, though, because they feel healthy and moisturized, and their ends are tapered like any other new growth (although tapered strands can be from damage too, right?).

How do I tell of it's damage or a new growth texture change? If it is a texture change, how do I deal with having two types of hair on my head while it transitions?

Thank you!!

[Nique1202]

For one thing, chances are an encounter with scissors would not change your hair texture. Most likely, your texture was changing around the same time (as it does over time for some people) or you were caring for your hair differently afterward (brushing it out more, etc. stuff that would disturb the curl pattern) and you just never let your hair find its natural curl again. Especially if you've let your hair dry without touching it after a wash and it's still straight, I'd bet that your texture just changed around the same time as the incident. Weirder things have happened, I promise.

For another thing, unless you EXTREMELY mistreat your hair (bleach, heat, rough brushing, etc) then you shouldn't ever see damage breakage until at least shoulder length. ALL new growth looks curly (or "frizzy" or otherwise wild) compared to very straight hair, and that's totally normal. It just doesn't have the same weight to hold it down that the rest of your hair does. I don't think your texture is changing again, unless the newest few inches of the rest of your hair feels different or acts differently than the length. I think if you give the new growth another few months or a year, it will start laying flat just like the rest of your hair.