Angela asks:
Have readers found that their hair texture is radically different as adults than children? My hair is nothing like it used to be, which is surprising and, in some ways, upsetting to me.
CN responds: I have noticed this as well! Check out this article on NaturallyCurly.com by Michelle B. I think it may help 🙂
Here’s a quick blurb from the article —
‘As our body ages, we see changes in our hair texture. The hair of a newborn is very soft and very fine.The diameter of the hair thickens as we enter childhood or early adolescence. As we move into adulthood and then older, the hair again changes, becoming finer again in our 40s and 50s. All of these changes are genetically programmed.’
What about you ladies? Any personal experiences?
hi im 11 and my hair is kinky curly and itts very spongy. it looks dried out but its not… only the day after i wash my hair! my mom thought the relaxer would just straighten ur hair for about a couple months so she had a friend do it (i was 6 or 7?). it made my hair straightened then after i washed it was like puffy and not curly. it was like not curl but same thickness it was like kinky or something but a lot less curls….. not its coming back but my natural hair used to dangle from a pony tail and now its a puff ball with frizz and curls… before it was all curls and it always looked hydrated and things like that… is there a way to make it better again? u can see me in the background of the pic… well u can see my hair
Thanks for the post. I've been thinking about this, as well. About a year into my natural hair journey, my Mom fell in love with my hair. She couldn't get over how good it looked (looks). I asked her, "then why did you relax my hair in the first place?" I was relaxed since the age of four, and had no clue what my natural hair would look like before going natural. My Mom swears that my hair did not "do" what it "does" now. She claims that I had no curl pattern and that my hair was just dry. So I wondered, is she crazy or did my hair actually change during the years?
I agree with wonder211. My hair was always long and thick, but I kept it pressed bone straight until I started experimenting with my natural curls in college
Off topic, but I'm definitely going to agree with one or two anony's about that little girl – she's adorable!
I BCed last summer from 13 years of lock because my texture was changing and my locks wouldn't stay twisted at the roots any more…
I kept trying for two years…but the wouldn't stay twisted…
So I'm growing out my hair!
I think it must vary from person to person, because my mum's hair is the thickest it has ever been – and she's in her 50s. Even her barber's amazed.
I hope I inherited her hair genes. 😀
I actually think a lot of us didn't really know what our hair texture was as a child. When I was young, I remember constant press and curls.
At age 43, I have found that my natural hair is definitely doing exactly what that little paragraph described. My hair was much thicker from childhood to mid 30's but after that the strands seemed to get thinner in diameter. I am doing what I can to keep it as healthy as it can be and just enjoying it as it is. Such is life!
Allnatural1 (Michelle in TX)
I just have to say that little girl is sooooo cute!
The texture is looser than when I was a child. It still has the same amount of thickness though.
I think my hair has changed from when I was a small child. I can't remember & neither can my mom. It's so funny! She often wonders where my hair comes from & says she doesn't remember if it was this curly when I was a child. Even when I relaxed (about twice a year as an adult) I still would do WNG with curly results & every time my mom would see it she was amazed my hair would "do that".
Now that I'm natural she questions why she ever put a relaxer in my hair–she thinks it was just the thing to do after a certain age. And she is considerably befuddled as to why she thought it was a good idea to give me a jheri curl lol. I really do wish I could remember my hair as a child though. I have baby pics–but I was damn near bald until I was about 2 or 3.
I was wondering this exact same thing. My hair is changing as an adult in my 30s. It is getting thinner and behaves differently to products it once loved 🙁 The journey continues…
That little girl on here looks so pretty with her natural hair and flower adorned in it. Me personally I've always had thick and coarse hair. I would remember my mom trying to comb my hair and they would break in my hair because of the thickness. I do know that when I used to get perms that my back and top,front of my head permed really quick, often times I always made sure to tell the lady to do those last. My curls in the back are really nice, and add some gel to it they clump and wave up nicely.
I would say that i'm 4b in the front and back and sides are 4c, but overall my hair is nice and thick and grows very nicely. I'm still workig onmeedges after afters my locs for 5yrs and cutting them off last yr in March, I've been trying to get those back on point they took a beating with being to tightly twisted during my visits.
My hair was super thick and long as a child, and for the most part it's still long and thick. As I'm in the beginning phase of transitioning, I have no idea just how thick it will be when I'm done.
I just found waves for the first time.
I don't think I'm aged enough to experience a significant change, but my hair was more of a blonde colour when I was 5. It's more red now. As far as density goes, just as thick or same density from what I remember. Strand thickness is a bit different, it's larger in circumference now and I've still got that one gray hair I've had since I was 16 on my right temple.
And congrats again on your little one, may her hairdayz be graceful and pleasant.
I've thought the same thing, since I've began this natural journey 2.5 yrs and counting. My hair is crazy, but I'm in awe of the texture. My hair is super wavy and now that the relaxed ends are gone, its curly in most areas. But that patch where my "hook" is at is a beast…LOL ! Seriously, everyone has encouraged me not to ever get a perm again, because they too love my hair. Its type 4 hair, with 3 attitude… Olive oil, glycerine, and a nice mixture of several conditioners and I'm in the mirror every chance I get. I'm a born again product junkie and now that I'm in love with my hair, we have a date Thursday night to co-wash. I co-washed last week and I now know that I don't need shampoo like I've trained to believe. I'm going to get it together and send Nikki my story and pictures of my changes and products.
Congrats on little Gia, from another Virgo… My cousin just had her fourth baby Sunday… 7lbs, 3 oz. All girls and another Virgo for her.
oh definitely….my hair is nowhere near how it was when i was a child…i find my hair texture has become thicker but finer over the years, if that makes sense…but i love it even more cause i have learned (and still learning) to work with my present hair texture…:)