What's happened to my curly hair?

[Chocwocdoodah]

Since I was young I've had curly hair - and I loved it. Never wanted it straight and loved the thickness and volume.

As I got older the curls started to drop but my main problem is that it goes through strange phases of being wavy/curly and then straight (with a kink) and I can't figure out why. After I had my daughter I had about a year of it being thick again and quite ringlety (definitely a word) which I loved. Then it started to go straight and I struggled to get any kind of wave in it at all. And this curly/straight pattern continues. Last year it went through a curly phase - I could simple wash it, put some serum in, leave to dry and it it would be fairly curly. But all of a sudden that stopped working. It's gone straight again now and I hate it - I can't do anything with it and it just looks flat. Even if I very reluctantly try to embrace the straightness, it will just kink anyway. Help, I'm fed up of having awful hair!!!
I'm not even sure what hair type I have - moisturising products tend to make it go limp so I use lighter shampoos/conditioners but sometimes think it looks a bit dry.

Sadly it might just be age. I had amazing ringlets from my teens through to my mid thirties, now I just have wavy hair. It's disappointing but ive accepted it. Your hair changes as you get older, rubbish I know.

You could ask for a cut at the hairdressers to boost the curl. The weight of long hair will pull your curls out more, so shorter layers are the way to go.

Curly hair tends to be dry but it's a difficult balancing act between keeping it moisturised and not weighing the curls down. Lightweight oils might work for you, sometimes labelled as 'dry oil'.

A trick to make curly hair look more polished is to use a curling tong to curl just a few random sections from the top layer of your hair. That can really improve the overall appearance but you will need your hair to be dry before attempting.

Do you have any hormonal issues? The noticeable change surrounding your daughter's birth could indicate it could influence the stand of your hair. I had jet straight hair that wouldn't even hold a pin as a child, cue puberty and I turned curly haired overnight. These days it's more wavy, all down to hormones (PCOS) though humidity, seasonality, and geography come in to play as well.

As mentioned above a good hairdresser can cut it to emphasise or dissuade the curl according to preference. A diffuser on your hairdryer will also greatly amp up the curl. If all else fails you could look into perms, they've come on a lot since the poodle days.

Forgot to add: for the dryness, try the CWC method, Condition the ends of your hair before washing (while wet) then Wash scalp and rinse, then Condition as normal. Stops the ends from drying out to much and really it's only the scalp area that needs the proper wash.

Is it related to the length and amount of layers in it?

Thanks all. To answer your questions, my hair isn't v long - just above shoulders and layered.

I wondered about the hormone thing. I don't have any hormone issues but could the pill affect my hair? I was off it for months before I got pregnant with DD so the hair I had in the months after giving birth would probably have been formed when I wasn't on the pill iyswim.

Product build up? Maybe try a clarifying shampoo ( although I hear washing up liquid works just as well) and use silicone free products.

I second the hormones theory - i had straight hair as a child which went curly when i was a teenager. After having dd2 it was straight enough that i had to start brushing it, then when she stopped bfeeding my curls grew back, from the roots, until all the straight was finally cut out. Weird.

I second the hormones theory - i had straight hair as a child which went curly when i was a teenager. After having dd2 it was straight enough that i had to start brushing it, then when she stopped bfeeding my curls grew back, from the roots, until all the straight was finally cut out. Weird.

Im over 40 and notices my hsir dropping after i turned 40.

Shoulder length naturally curly hair.

Coconut oil is my secret. On wet hair after mousse. Wow!

I second the hormones theory - i had straight hair as a child which went curly when i was a teenager. After having dd2 it was straight enough that i had to start brushing it, then when she stopped bfeeding my curls grew back, from the roots, until all the straight was finally cut out. Weird.

Aaargh, sorry, technical troubles = multiple post...

Haha, thanks Janek!
Dafadddu do you use any old coconut oil? Does it actually boost your curls or just define them?

Sorry, didn't mean to jump to the conclusion that you have a hormonal issue, I forgot to take in the possibility of BC and yes, BC can affect it. Though you'd never read it in the relevant info that comes with it and most gyno's don't concern themselves much with it as it's not all that medically relevant. The Yasmin pill is one you hear a lot about relaxing curls while others suddenly end up with curls.

Hmm I was on Yasmin, then microgynon. Have recently been on Feanolla which I've just stopped as the constant bleeding was ridiculous. Maybe a few months off will make a difference?

I was on Yasmin for quite a while in my 20s/30s.