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Curly Nikki

Natural Hair Changes Over the Years

By January 27th, 202122 Comments

Natural Hair Changes Over the Years

Jenn asks:

As natural hair enthusiasts, we enjoy watching slideshows of one another’s hair transformations over the years. Personally, I’ve noticed that my curls (4a) have gotten looser as my hair as grown out, it’s harder to manage, and actually seems thicker. I also feel that the texture has become coarser at my crown.

How has your hair changed over the years?
Has it changed for the better or the worse?
Have you noticed a curl loosening or tightening with length?

22 Comments

  • Anonymous says:

    I am now 42 years old and my hair has transform to almost no curl pattern. I just cut all my hair off. I started graying in my 20s and now I almost fully gray.

  • Unknown says:

    Ive seen my hair transform now that i have gone natural, I havent seen my hair look this good in a while…My curl or shall i say wave pattern has definitely become looser and more soft, I absolutely looovvvve my new growth. I often have to stop myself from playing with it lol…as far as length my hang time is def getting better since i did my mini chop. Im not really concerned with growth my hair has always grown like a weed. My main thing right now is moisture and keeping my curls soft, which im still in a learning faze so anyone who knows sum really good products for 3c hair, pleeeaaassseee let me know 🙂

  • jadar47 says:

    I agree with anon at 1/22 3:49 am .The fab 40+ brought on a new wave of grey hair that just will not behave. wont curl, wont hold a curl,will barely hold a twist, but it WILL frizz like crazy. May be due to monthly henna I don't know.

  • Barbara Naturally Speaking says:

    My hair texture has changed as well. My last perm was in October 2007. I've been completely natural since Dec. 2008 and my hair has definitely changed. It has gotten wavier since it's gotten longer. It may be due to numerous factors including occasional flat iron ( which leaves a few pieces that won't recoil) and henna overtime, plus the weight of my hair as it grows longer.

    Barbara of www.barbaranaturallyspeaking.blogspot.com

  • Bianca says:

    My hair texture has definitely changed over the years.(I'm 40)I had locks for twelve years and during years 11 and 12 I was fighting my hair. The roots would simply not stay twisted anymore. They had gotten somewhat straighter…
    So I had my daughter cut my hair to my shoulder, went to a salon who took off 3 more inches and combed out the rest in 12hours!
    I've had my hair out since August 2009 and have noticed that I have a large patch in the back of my head which is much straighter…it won't let me twist, knot or braid it without it coming out easily…so there go those options as protective styles. All I can think to do to protect the back is bun it…I think it will be less of a challenge the longer it gets…

  • G says:

    I'm a very coily 4a who is getting a lot grayer around the hairline. I was worried the gray would be straight and wiry. Not the case at all. It coils and blends in with the rest of my hair.

  • Patrice says:

    It's strange because right now I'm 17 (18 in six days!) and my hair was never curly before my freshman year in high school. When I turned 14 it went from that odd 'poofy straight' to a curly wonderland! XD

  • Anonymous says:

    Yes I have noticed that my hair texture has changed over the years. I think that the fact that I straightened it for a few years have something to do with it. Now it is difficult to get my hair to stay in double strand twists. I really hate that.

  • Anonymous says:

    The notion that hair automatically loosens as it gets longer due to weight does not apply to hair that defies gravity. I have 4b/4c hair that I've grown almost to APL (stretched because, again, it doesn't hang there on its own) and the texture has always stayed the same. It just got longer, that's all.

  • Anonymous says:

    When I hit fabulous 40, my hair journey started all over again… The front part of my hair got gray (silver), but that wasn't all..the structure of this part of my hair changed too! This part of my hair always was the easiest to deal with, with almost no curl pattern at all. Now its very coarse, the individual hairs are thicker(still no curl pattern) and very difficult to style. In the past twist 'n curl was my favourite style , but now this part of my hair just doesn't want to hold a curl.

  • Amber Nofetari says:

    I would not say my hair has changed I just got an epiphany…my nape is 3c which I didn't realize lol. The rest of my hair I would say as it grows the coils are more defined. I am 4a….

  • Day says:

    I've read that our hair changes (the texture, I believe) every 7 years, which is essentially a new head of hair.

  • Anonymous says:

    Like your body your hair changes to. it could be length making it stretch, but at some point it will change. I look at the 3 generations of women, me, mom, and grandmom. My mom had thick pretty curls as she got older her hair is thinning and getting tighter curls(still pretty). G-mom hair is getting thinner when it use to be thick. and my hair once was a thick tightly coiled mess no one wanted to tackle. now thick and coily at the crown and and looser around the edges and thinning in the back but thick every where else. Many other women that i grew up around are proclaiming the same, well the one that know there natural hair texture from the start.

  • mynamesnotalice says:

    my hair curl pattern has definitely loosened in the almost 2 years that I've been natural. I did an evolution of the fro post on my blog

    http://hotdogsandcamo.blogspot.com/2010/12/evolution-of-fro-yo.html

  • modest-goddess says:

    When I did my BC I had about 3 inches of 4a hair on top with the sides tapered. I noticed only the top part where it was the longest coiled. The longer my hair gets the more it coils on its own.

  • Anonymous says:

    Yes! I am only a year in being fully natural and I have noticed that my hair changed. My curls use to be tighter when it was shorter but as it has gotten longer it is more wavy.

  • Anonymous says:

    The different curl patterns on my head are more apparent over time.

  • Anonymous says:

    I've notice texture/pattern changes in patches. I'm sure my coils desire to stretch out more in a downward direction, but I keep dunking my head under the sink to wash which sets my hair in an upward direction instead of the downward direction. But yes, I have seen changes my coils are longer and seem to shrink less!

  • BreukelensFinest says:

    the longer my hair gets the tighter the coils. which is funny because i would think that the longer it gets, the heavier curls are so it would weigh down more. what that means is that my shrinkage gets more and more severe over time. which is cool cuz that means no matter my hair length my wash and go's will be more predictable but with better curl definition.

    missdeeplyrooted.blogspot.com

  • b. says:

    I was recently wondering whether constant stretching of the hair (even w/o heat) eventually changes the pattern of the older hair. (I'm not talking about stretching changing the new growth.)

    As for new growth pattern changes…I haven't seen much yet. I'm noticing a few small patches of looser patterns. Nothing drastic…but with age and length that may change.

  • Anonymous says:

    My curls have loosened as my hair has grown. I guess the weight of the hair pulls it down?
    When I had a twa, it seems like the luscious 4a mixed with 3c well. Now, it seems that I'm a 3b-3c blend. Deep conditioning weekly and henna monthly have played a role too, but my hair is healthier, so I can't complain. As long as it curls up and feels alive, I'm thrilled.

  • Sheena LaShay says:

    I've noticed this. My hair in the back now has a looser curl pattern then the hair in the front and the middle. My twist outs don't last as long, perhaps because of the growth or something. I have no clue. But the looser pattern is different. Not use to that. The looser ones don't twist as well.

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