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Original poster

Do young children’s curls often straighten as they get older?

35 replies

CrispAppleStrudels · 27/04/2026 13:50

DD1 is almost 5yrs. Until the age of 3.5y, she had very curly hair. Between 3.5y - 4y ish, it was sort of wavy at the top into ringlets at the ends. But since her last haircut, it has been pretty much straight all the way down. Is this something that happens as children get older or am I not treating it in the right way?

We had been using childs farm shampoo and conditioner for curly hair (the light blue / coconut one) but if her curls are not coming back, I might switch her onto a different one. If I should be doing something different, then I'd really like to know how to bring them back and keep them healthy. Ive noticed if we go to the seaside, then it does start to curl again at the ends, but I guess that could just be the salt in the air?

In case it matters, she is white with Irish heritage through my DH.

OP posts:
50NotFat · 27/04/2026 13:51

I had ringlets as a baby/toddler. They disappeared completely by the time I was 5 or 6. Never came back. 😢

damemaggiescurledupperlip · 27/04/2026 13:52

yes

TheChosenTwo · 27/04/2026 13:53

I’ve known this to happen.
my niece was born and by 2 had ringlets. She’s now 16 and has poker straight hair naturally.

Devilsmommy · 27/04/2026 13:54

I had ringlets at the bottom of my hair when I was a child. They disappeared as I got older and now I just have slightly wavy hair. My niece had full on ringlets as a toddler but has pretty straight hair now in her teens. It's all down to genetics I imagine as to whether it stays curly

Sesame2011 · 27/04/2026 13:54

Yes I think they often disappear. My niece had beautiful curls, when she was around 5 her hair was mostly straight with a few curls at the ends. Now aged 8 and had more haircuts, her hair is poker straight like the rest of the women in the family.

OttersOnAPlane · 27/04/2026 13:54

Yes, baby curls are frequently temporary - all gone by school ages.

WhereHasMyPlanetGone · 27/04/2026 13:55

Yes it happened to all 3 of my children. All had tight blonde ringlets until they were 3, which softened into curls, and now at 13, 11 and 7 their hair is largely straight.

Hufflepuffpuffpuff · 27/04/2026 13:56

Happened to me too. Lovely ringlets until about 3 or 4 years old.

Blarn · 27/04/2026 13:56

Happened to dd1. Had big curls then when she was about 3 they suddenly dropped and her hair has been straight ever since. Tbh, her curls were beautiful but so is her straight hair and its much easier to look after!

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 27/04/2026 13:58

My dd had beautiful ringlets as a toddler. Really gorgeous corkscrew curls. I didn't really know how to look after curly hair though, so I'm afraid she went through a period of having rather frizzy, wavy hair! Then, as a teenager, she started learning about curly hair from the Internet, and her hair returned to its natural curly state.

As a young adult, it's too long for her to have actual ringlets but it's still very curly and I'm pretty sure that she would still have them if she cut it shorter.

Her hair is also very thick and a beautiful colour so it's very striking and she gets lots of lovely comments from people.

murasaki · 27/04/2026 13:58

I got mum to cut my ringlets at the ends off when I was 9, as a I was a tomboy. They never grew back, and I regret it....

skyeisthelimit · 27/04/2026 14:12

DD had lovely long curls when she was little. Then they literally grew out when she was aged 2-3, so she had straight hair with curls on the end until they were cut off.

Her hair has been poker straight since. Now 18, she has had her hair dyed at a salon, and it has started to go wavy since then.

rbe78 · 27/04/2026 14:15

My DSS had curly hair when it was little, but grew out of it by the time he was sixish.

@murasaki Cutting your hair didn't stop it being curly - whether your hair is curly depends on the follicle shape. Cutting the ends of your hair doesn't do anything to affect the follicle shape, it will just have been a coincidence that you had your hair cut around the same time you grew out of your curly hair.

murasaki · 27/04/2026 14:20

rbe78 · 27/04/2026 14:15

My DSS had curly hair when it was little, but grew out of it by the time he was sixish.

@murasaki Cutting your hair didn't stop it being curly - whether your hair is curly depends on the follicle shape. Cutting the ends of your hair doesn't do anything to affect the follicle shape, it will just have been a coincidence that you had your hair cut around the same time you grew out of your curly hair.

Interesting, thanks! It's now wavy, but the curls never did come back, so I'd mentally linked the two things. I can stop blaming 9 year old me, and mum...

PauliesWalnuts · 27/04/2026 14:21

It's genetics. Mine was curly, and has continued to be so, despite my annoyance!

murasaki · 27/04/2026 14:23

PauliesWalnuts · 27/04/2026 14:21

It's genetics. Mine was curly, and has continued to be so, despite my annoyance!

We all want what we haven't got!

HelenaWilson · 27/04/2026 14:27

I had properly blonde curls when I was two. Photos show that six months later it was straight and darker. I still have a bit of natural wave, but no curls.

murasaki · 27/04/2026 14:43

HelenaWilson · 27/04/2026 14:27

I had properly blonde curls when I was two. Photos show that six months later it was straight and darker. I still have a bit of natural wave, but no curls.

I was a blonde toddler too, until about 4. I always used to win that 'guess the person from the baby photo' game as no one ever associated the angelic curly blonde moppet with sarcastic dark haired me.

ConverselyAttired · 27/04/2026 15:14

Depends on the genetics. My dad had very curly hair, which I inherited as a head of ringlets. However from age 5 when it got past my shoulders my mum insisted on treating it like straight hair and "brushing out the curls". All it needed was some mousse and a scrunch and it formed back into ringlets, as I discovered at 13. But I totally get not wanting a proper styling routine on a reception child!

My DS has my hair and if it grows it goes curly. He is 8 and it's never changed.

user2848502016 · 27/04/2026 15:21

I had ringlets up to about age 3 too, so did my brother. Then our hair went straight but mine went curly again at puberty, very strange!

Original poster
CrispAppleStrudels · 27/04/2026 15:23

Thank you everyone - thats really helpful to know. Maybe we'll try a bit of a mousse and scrunch and if they dont return, we know that they might be gone for good. If so, I think i will look into changing her shampoo. What a shame! 😢

She had a pretty traumatic start to life with NICU and then all her hair fell out around 3months old and grew back, which I know can also do funny things to curls / waves etc.

OP posts:
Bloozie · 27/04/2026 15:23

Yes, it's heartbreaking. My son had corkscrew spirals until he was about 6. He's now 17 and while his hair has a wave and if we apply product it will hold, it is no longer curly.

RoseField1 · 27/04/2026 15:23

Yes they do disappear often.
Apart from my DS who had baby curls, then thick wavy hair until he got to about 14 and grew his hair long and found he had ringlets!

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 27/04/2026 15:23

Mine haven’t!
Curly hair often gets straighter as it gets longer, and the weight of the hair pulls the curl out.

BoatsAndHoes · 27/04/2026 15:35

This is my DS at 18 months and 5 years - his hair started to go straight and also get darker after his first haircut.

Do young children’s curls often straighten as they get older?