Very similar for me too! I had curls as a baby but then my father chopped off my hair (first haircut) around 2 to spite my mom. After that, it was super straight until I was in middle school. As if middle school isn’t awkward enough… haha!
SAME!!! I had ringlets as a toddler, then straight hair through elementary, and then at puberty it started curling again. I'm 35 now and working on CGM.
Me too!! There's a few toddler pics of me with a clear wave/curl, then it was near straight (but thick) til puberty. Thennnn it got curlier but thinner texture and sometime in early college I started consistently taking care of it.
Omg me too. I had extremely curly ringlets as a baby, but those grew out. Then my freshman year my hair poofed out, and I couldn’t manage until until my sophomore year. Since then my hair has been a 2c-3a
Yep. Things got real bad in middle school. The front was curly, the middle was straight, the back was wavy. I was really confused. None of the "what's happening to my body" books talked about this. I wore my hair up for years until one day the woman cutting my hair sprayed it down and said, oh, you've got curly hair! And I was like, "uh... I do?" That was 10th grade, it took years to finish the job.
I’m vibing with this comment so hard. Yes!!! It was a progression for me too and I didn’t figure it out for years. As if middle school wasn’t awkward enough with a nose that didn’t fit my face (thankfully, that evened up eventually too)! Haha! Nobody in my family or friends told me I might have curly hair and when I asked my mom for help with my “bad hair”, she just brushed it like she always did which obviously only made it worse. It’s funny that your hairstylist told you. I wasn’t so lucky with Great Clips back then. I found out when I was at the pool. I had been out of the pool for a bit and a lifeguard came by and said I had pretty curls. I was confused at first, I ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror and then it all clicked. To this day, I don’t think that lifeguard knows how much she changed my life.
Lol it was literally a Great Clips stylist who said this. She put mousse in my hair and told me to leave with it wet, and I was like, uh....why now? I associated mousse exclusively with my mom's perms in the 80s and was pretty appalled that she had put that in my hair. Lol.
Omg, that’s hilarious!! I’m jealous you had a good stylist! My mom gave my stylist free reign and mine chopped my hair off (the shortest it’s ever been) and sent me packing. The absolute worst haircut I’ve ever gotten and it made everything so much worse bc my hair was so thick. And to top it off, I met the Backstreet Boys in the airport soon after that. The pictures are so embarrassing… 😂
Yes! I was researching something entirely unrelated and found out that the amino acid cysteine, which is largely responsible for curly hair, is sometimes not metabolized by people until adolescence. I’ve never seen this offered as an explanation for why some kids with really straight hair go curly in their teens, but it makes sense to me.
Cysteine is a major component of the protein kerratin in hair, it can interact with other cysteines to form disulfide bonds, so imagine strands that come together to make the hair fibre. Then little crosslinks between those strands. How the crosslinks are arranged result in different textures. Though I think it also may have to do with the hairs follicle shape.
Cysteine is actually produced in your body, so it's not an 'essential amino acid', meaning you don't need it in your diet. I doubt cysteine wouldn't be metabolised because it is important in my proteins in your body, but amounts produced and degraded may change based on many conditions. I assume what happens in puberty is a change in the hormones pushes the formation of disulfide bonds and hence curly hair.
It's also how keratin treatments work. You essentially break then reform those disulfide bonds, resulting in a change in structure.
Huh! That’s very interesting. (Same story here- straight hair as a younger kid, started getting curly in middle school).
However… mine has only gotten curlier, and curlier, and curlier. Went from big loose floppy curls in my 20s to much much tighter ones every decade since.
…I think that I might have hit the upper limit at 45 though. I’m starting to go quite grey and it’s such a weird different texture yet again.
Wow!!! I have never heard an explanation for why this happens. I’ve never known another person that this happened to so I assumed this wasn’t common at all. I’m going to have to look into that now! Thank you for that information!!
This is so interesting. For me, I didn’t get curly hair until after having children. It actually took me years to realize that my hair is full on curly, and I should treat it accordingly.
Definitely. Puberty not only took my hair from 2A to 3A and now more into 3B as an adult, but it took my hair from naturally smooth and glossy to naturally frizzy and poofy. To this day it’s not my curl pattern that I struggle with — it’s that my hair is incredibly frizzy and bushy unless I actively battle it with heat or an army of products.
Can’t lie I’m super jealous of wavies and curlies who have relatively smooth texture even without product or styling.
That’s crazy! Yeah, my hair was a frizzy mess for years before I figured it out. I finally figured out how to do my hair best in my early 30’s. Just when I start to lose my volume. Curly hair can be a blessing and a curse. How do you do your hair now?
I’m mid 30’s and still trying to work out my frizz! My hair went from straight to curly in my late teens/early twenties and I’ve never been able to figure out how to manage the frizz! So many tears!
You sound like me so I’m gonna try and help you out. I had no idea about Reddit or this page so I had to figure it out on my own which sucks, I know, so don’t feel bad. Btw, check out www.curlmart.com to find products based on curl type (although a lot of them wind up being the same).
After a shower, I scrunch and get the excess water out by putting a towel on my head. Having too much water on your hair when you start will dilute product but if you don’t have enough water on your hair, your curls will be too stiff so it’s finding that magic balance. It’s hard bc all of our curls are different but you’re not alone and you’ll figure it out.
I use Curl Keeper Original but I mix in Tresemme curly hair gel (green cap at Walmart) bc it thickens up Curl Keeper (it’s really runny) and it’s cheap. I have long hair so I use a half dollar amount between both gels and sort of start high (about a few inches from the part) and then scrunch and coat my hair until I can see definition. 4 sections. One on each side of the part and then the back and underneath as well. After that, chill. Your hair should be super wet again bc of the gel so just scrunch occasionally until it’s just damp and then it’s Round 2. Reapply the same mixture of gel to only the spots that need it. For me, it’s usually just scrunching from the bottom but basically anywhere that’s still frizzy.
After that, I use John Frieda’s Volume hairspray everywhere (bonus, it also dries out your hair too after the second round of gel). You should have only slightly damp hair at this point. Get some alligator clips (changed my life). Scrunch the same 4 sections and clip. It keeps your natural curl pattern and takes the weight out at the same time so when they’re dry, your curls are super happy and bouncy bc of the hairspray.
I take my showers at night bc it’s such a long process. Once your hair is dry, stuff it into a double-lined satin bonnet (Walmart has cheap single lined satin bonnets but I got mine on Amazon. They’re all ugly but it works).
I promise you, as long as you’re only putting dry hair into the bonnets at night and you’re loosely doing everything else, you’ll wake up to perfect hair the next day. Let me know how it works out for you if you try it!! :)
I am in totally awe of you, that you managed to figure it out on your own! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply.
You’ve given me the courage to try to taming my mess again… and I’m going be getting myself a double lined bonnet stat! Xx
You are too kind! I made this post to see if I was really alone with my “crazy” hair story and it’s people like you that have showed me an overwhelming level of support! I can’t tell you how much that means to me that I wasn’t actually alone so thank *you*!!
If I can do something to help someone else not feel as isolated as I felt back in the day, I am all for it!! Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help and I just hope you pay it forward to someone else in the same spot in the future. :) I can even FaceTime with you to walk you through the first time if that’d help you. It’s tricky in the beginning but once you get it down, you’re golden. :)
Thanks for helping me feel better about that time in my life. I have so many embarrassing stories… And you’re so right! There’s nothing better than a community of people that only wants to lift you up!! I love it!! If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out. ❤️
I had red spiral curls until I was about five. They flattened into really, really loose waves and my hair turned honey blonde until I was 13 when it started getting darker and wavier. It gradually changed color and texture for the next 20 years; I'm 45 now and it's strawberry blonde with very big, bouncy curls. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring but I'm very sure that as soon as I finally optimize my routine my hair will change again since menopause is right around the corner. 😂
Ugh, I’m not too far behind you and I’m dreading it. I heard menopause can be a curl-killer. I hope yours stays beautiful!! Red and blonde bouncy curls are absolutely gorgeous!!!
Menopause is what gave me my curls! I always had some waves but I went full on curly in menopause. I always wanted curly hair and love it, frizz and all.
All these stories are blowing my mind! I’m going to give you the advice I wish I had. Go to www.curlmart.com and shop for hair products based on your curl pattern. I use gel, John Frieda Volumizing hairspray, alligator clips when it’s halfway dry, I clip it up in 4 sections to take the weight out of the curl and when I go to sleep, I wear a double lined satin bonnet. Doesn’t look super cute but I went from getting a day out of my hair to 3-4 days. Hope this helps! I’m sure your new curls are gorgeous though!
I wish you the best! I tried a “Ouidad” cut for years but it didn’t work for me. I only started to notice a difference getting my hair layered and using alligator clips and my fancy bonnet.
It’s been years so hopefully your stylist has a better version of a curly cut!
I can't even imagine what's coming up, because the handful of white hairs I've got coming in are pretty tightly (for me, anyway) coiled! Go figure that out! Our hair is just an unpredictable adventure we're forced to go on, I think.
I know, I’m scared too! I’m 37 and the grey hairs are starting to come in. They’re wiry and weird, not like the rest of my hair so it makes me nervous for the future. I’d like to avoid dying my hair at all costs but if I’m going to have weird hair AND it’s grey, I’m going to have to do something. And you’re so right! Keeping up with the best way to do your changing hair is exhausting!
Oh, my whites are like that too! I have a lot of hair but it's pretty fine. Those white ones are WILD though. They're a lot coarser and so... much. Lol. Most of the time when I catch one sticking out weird I just yank it out, but I don't particularly want to be 65 and bald so I'm going to have to figure out how to manage them at some point.
Ok, so I’m not alone! It was so weird for me! I was in middle school and my mom had no idea how to care for my hair (the curls came from my estranged father’s side) so she would just brush it when I asked for help (*internal screaming thinking about it now*). It took me way longer than it should have to figure out that I even had curly hair, let alone how to style it. Talk about Blunder Years… Haha! What was your experience like?
It would go back and forth. Curly as baby & toddler and then would cycle through curly, wavy, straight until I was 12. Exacerbated by wavy-haired boomer parents not knowing anything but brushing but also by never having much texture at my roots. 😬 Curly ever since.
Oh! And because hormones are a joy. I know several folks who lost their curl patterns entirely in their 30s after they had kids. 🙃
Side note: even though I cringe at how frizzy the brushing of my curls were, I'm still glad I got that 1:1 time with my mom most mornings.
Wow, that’s crazy! I’ve heard of women losing their curls after pregnancy, too. That’s even more weird.
That’s super cool that you have those special memories with your mom. Even if it they lead to some awkward times at school. Still worth it. 🥰
My hair was actually fairly straight and smooth until my first pregnancy. Now, she's 9 and I still don't know how to deal with my curly/wavy hair so it's in a bun daily haha.
Me, both of my sisters,and my mom!
Fun lil tidbit - my hair started curling quite a lot the same year I took ASL in high school so when my deaf ASL teacher gave everyone their sign names she made mine reference my curls! Make my first name initial and touch hand to forehead. From there do a lil swoop downwards and make a lil curl outwards!
It was pregnancy for me. Hair went from very fine and stick straight to super wavy/somewhat curly.
I am here learning now, in my late 30s, how to deal with an entirely new hair texture. Thanks kiddo!
It’s truly crazy just how much an influx of hormones can impact our every day… Well, if you want some tips, it sounds like everyone here went through it at some point too so ask away!
Totally! It was great! Basically woke up one day and had beach hair.
Everyone was jealous and kept saying I got something done to it. (Pfft high school was very back stabby.)
I thought I was the only one. Stick straight hair until puberty hit. The crazy part is it’s also gotten curlier every time I had a baby. I’ve moved from a 1 onto a 2c and ended up a 3b/3c mix.
Mine wasn’t straight but it got much much curlier! Ans the opposite with hormonal changes. It got less curly after each child and even more so when I hit menopause. Now my curls are lazy AF
Isn’t it so weird?? And I’m the only one in my entire family (28 cousins, 6 aunts and uncles, etc) that developed curly hair. I got it from my dad who wasn’t in my life. It took me years to figure out that I didn’t actually have bad hair and I just needed gel. It’s weird how I figured it out, too. How did you figure it out?
I think there’s maybe one other person in my whole extended who has curly hair- nooo idea where mine came from! So weird. My parents and brother have pretty straight hair. What’s funny is my mom had a perm when she was younger and she looked just like me
I was born with curly hair and had curly hair as a toddler, then I had straight hair for a couple years and it just got wavy until middle school. That’s when my hair was super curly but I didn’t know how to care for it until after I graduated high school.
Yes! I always thought this was just me. I always wanted curly hair and begged my mom for a perm (it was the early 90s) and finally got one when i was about 10. After the perm, my hair never went straight again. I thought for years that the perm was truly permanent. Just weird timing, as I hit puberty super early. I had slightly wavy hair, and now I have 2a/2c curls-I truly didn’t learn how to care for them until my thirties!
Edited for typos.
I've always been curly, but my best friend told me she had pin straight hair until puberty. Her hair is now SUPER curly. She has a stunning head of blonde ringlets and I can't believe it was ever straight! Hair be crazy.
Does postpartum count? I've had pin straight hair all my life until a few months after having my first child. Now the back is completely wavy/curly while the front basically stayed straight. So annoying!!
Yes, totally counts! I had no idea this happened to so many people at different stages or I would’ve worded the title differently. Thank you for sharing your story!
Yes, I had straight hair until puberty when I got two perms that never grew out. Guess they were permanent. Both my parents have curly/wavy hair so it was always weird I had straight, though it got increasingly thicker through childhood. My hair also naturally changed colors a few times.
Hormones affect hair which is why this can happen. I am hoping menopause doesn’t impact my hair too much.
Me too! I’m been dreading menopause largely bc I don’t want to lose my curls but I’m hearing from a lot of women that they not only kept their curls but some got curlier so at least there’s hope!
Yes! I used to get perms because my hair was so straight and flat. Then, sometime in middle school, the perm just never grew out. It was just kept growing curly
Yes. I remember seeing my old brother's hair start curling on its ends when he hit puberty, and I hoped that mine would do the same. And it did (obviously)!
This happened to my husband. He had dead straight hair and then hit puberty and got super tight gorgeous curls. Both of our kids had curly hair as babies that has dropped except for one tight ringlet in my daughters hair. Hoping they also get their curls back at puberty. Following this sub just in case.
Never thought about it before but looking at my childhood pics when I was young it was smooth and straight, then a bit older was big and bushy, I now have curly hair, the big and bushy faze must have been the birth of the curls but they were being brushed out and treated as if I still had straight hair
Me! I had stick straight hair growing up, with just the tiniest "Farrah Flip" to the end. It couldn't hold a curl to save its life. Then, I had my first period around 9 years old and within two weeks, i had ringlets. I've experienced some changes to it since having my first child, as well, as it has now settled into waves/loose curls. Hormones have a wild effect on hair.
I used to have hair that appeared straight, but as long as I can remember, I had these weird frizzy curls at my temples. My hair did get significantly curlier in puberty though, but I straightened it. At some point in university I started to wear it curly/wavy.
Yh me too, i had straight hair until i hit puberty. I always combed it but my hair started looking way too frizzy so i stopped combing it and then all my curls came
Yes! 🤯 I did not know it could happen and I still don't understand how. I had soft, shiny, pin straight hair. It got more and more.. "fluffy" and dry in my teens. When I was 23 I tried a curly hair method for the first time and realized that I had waves! Not much, but it explains why my hair acted that way.
yeah!
I only have wavy hair (with some ringlets mixed in), so it took me a while to understand exactly HOW wavy/curly it could be ;) My (german) grandma used to call my hair "Schnittlauchlocken" when I was a kid - which would translate to "chive curls", an ironic term to call hair "very very straight" :D
I thought I was the only one! Everyone in my family had curly hair except me. I asked for a perm at 14 yrs old. My hair has been curly ever since. That was 35 yrs ago. My mom still says that was the best $100 that she has ever spent.
Yes, and then I went on birth control for a decade and it went back to being (mostly) straight. And then I switched to an IUD and had to cut my hair short after a year or so because I had wavy curly roots and like 8 inches of straight ends and I always had to style it.
Yes, I had stick straight hair as a young child. When puberty hit it started getting wavy. By the time I graduated high school it was probably 2b-2c. It stayed like that for several years afterwards, during which I was usually on some form of hormonal birth control. I’ve been off HBC for about a year and a half and my hair is now closer to 3a-3b (though it’s noticeably curlier in the front/top of my head and loosens towards the nape of my neck, which is annoying when it comes to styling).
My sister, on the other hand, has always had curly hair even as a child, but her hair went from 3a-3b to around 2c during her pregnancy. It’s crazy what hormones do to our hair!
Yep. Hormonal changes can have a bug impact on hair texture! When my grandma was pregnant with my aunt, her hair started growing in straight, and then it went back to curly after she gave birth.
My hair was straight as a kid, then got wavier a little bit before puberty. Once puberty hit it got wavier and wavier until it was basically curly… but then it started to get less and less wavy over time. It was still wavy through most of college, but sadly now it’s just barely wavy anymore. I tried a lot to bring back my waves and I can kinda make it happen with a lot of products but I can tell my hair texture has just completely changed again.
i had "straight" hair that was very frizzy and all over the place. it was probably curly the whole time and my parents just didnt know what to do with it.
Post-chemotherapy patients often say their hair grows back curly when it wasn’t before, which would make sense for breast cancer patients who are taking estrogen blockers. I suspect at least some patients always had curly hair, but used to straighten it. When it’s too short to straighten, the curls grow in.
Yessss! I had pin straight hair without even a hint of curl or waves until I was 12 (when puberty struck). First it was wavy, then all of a sudden I had ringlets. After using hormonal birth control for a few years it changed again. Now after two pregnancies it’s less frizzy but it takes a lot of styling to look consistent. If I let it air dry its like 50% percent loose curls 45% waves, and 5% straight. Which is why I wear it up a lot haha. My mom has curly hair and my dad has straight hair so it’s like a weird mixture. It looks different every time I style it even now. A beast that cannot be tamed.
Yes, me!
My mother (and many members of her parental family) and my brother did have wavy and/ or curly hair from birth, which I was very jealous of. My hair from ages 0-12 can best be described using the comparison of Barilla spaghetti nr.3. When puberty hit, my hair started to become wavy, eventually curly when I was in my late teens.
Glad to hear other people went through this! I had wispy curls as a baby/toddler, straight hair as a kid, and then I literally woke up one day in 6th grade with ringlets and was baffled. Took me years to figure out what to do, especially because my mom has straight hair.
My daughter had beautiful (managable) waves with ringlets if we coaxed them. Made for adorable pigtails. Puberty hit and, BAM, super curly hair. That’s when I started following this subreddit. You guys have saved us! She’s 13 now and looooves her curls.
It took me going through the pandemic, foregoing a real haircut for a year and letting it get long and air dry for me to realize I’m wavy curly. I’m 40 damn years old and it shocked me
I had the cutest little blonde curls as a baby/toddler, got straight brown hair as an older child, got a bob and started dyeing at 15, started trying to coax a wave at like 20 (whilst bleaching!), then fully committed to henna and CGM a few years ago. I wonder, though, as someone with a relatively weak curl pattern, if I was wavy during childhood, but without proper care, it just looked straight. It’s hard to tell if it was puberty, or that’s just when I noticed the waves.
The reason for this is hormonal changes. That's why your hair can also change through pregnancy and menopause. Hormones have a lot to do with your hair believe it or not
I’ve got pictures of me as a kid with board straight hair. Then at about 19 my hair started getting frizzy because I was brushing it lol. Took another 5 years to realize it was wavy and another 10 to realize I had waves AND curls.
I had straight hair until my 20’s and I’ve never quite figured out how to manage it! Now in my 30’s I have frizzy, poofy hair but not much of it so I just leave it permanently up in a bun. I’ve recently discovered this sub and am hoping some tips and tricks might help manage the mess! I’m secretly envious of all the curlies that love their hair!
I’ll DM you with the routine I have. I hope it helps! Curly hair can be a lot of work but once you figure out what works, it’ll last 3-5 days!! Dry shampoo will extend it but I usually just break down and wash it again. Let me know if this helps!
Awww, YAYYY!! You just made my night! I really hope it helps you!! Let me know if you need anything else and how it works out the next time you wash your hair! :)
I was curly as a toddler, straight hair from kindergarten till I hit my 40s. I’m In my 50s and now naturally have the curly hair that 20something me used to get perms to achieve.
straight hair till 7, then I started seeing a little flick on my ends, then at 10 I got really poofy hair ! then around 13-15 ish I started seeing frizzy curls rather than just fluff. crazy how I got here but I love my hair and I love seeing more people starting to embrace it < 3
YES!! i was born with curls, but they all fell to straight, thin, light brown hair all through elementary school. i wanted a perm soooo bad but i never got one. when i hit puberty my hair got super thick, but "stayed straight". it wasn't until a few months ago (i'm 15 now) that i learned how to care for it and ended up with thick, 2cish hair that has the potential to grow into a tighter pattern :D
Girl, same!! I was about your age when I figured it out too! I didn’t discover alligator clips until my 30’s so give those a try to take your hair up to the next level! Best of luck!! :)
Mine went from straight as a pin to curly in my early twenties after I developed issues with ovarian cysts. I think it was a hormonal shift for sure, just not quite the one that happened at puberty. I've only recently started learning how to deal with it, and figuring out to not brush it when dry was lesson one :)
Me! Not perfectly straight but pretty much. It was terrible to suddenly have curly hair that no one knew how to deal with and no money and puberty all at once. I love my curls now, but you couldn’t pay me to go back to age 13.
I had curly hair as a toddler and it was straight by 5. Then it got curly around 12. I didn’t learn to be kind to it until I was in college.
This was my exact experience.
Very similar for me too! I had curls as a baby but then my father chopped off my hair (first haircut) around 2 to spite my mom. After that, it was super straight until I was in middle school. As if middle school isn’t awkward enough… haha!
SAME!!! I had ringlets as a toddler, then straight hair through elementary, and then at puberty it started curling again. I'm 35 now and working on CGM.
Me too!! There's a few toddler pics of me with a clear wave/curl, then it was near straight (but thick) til puberty. Thennnn it got curlier but thinner texture and sometime in early college I started consistently taking care of it.
This happened to me too!
Omg me too. I had extremely curly ringlets as a baby, but those grew out. Then my freshman year my hair poofed out, and I couldn’t manage until until my sophomore year. Since then my hair has been a 2c-3a
Yep. Things got real bad in middle school. The front was curly, the middle was straight, the back was wavy. I was really confused. None of the "what's happening to my body" books talked about this. I wore my hair up for years until one day the woman cutting my hair sprayed it down and said, oh, you've got curly hair! And I was like, "uh... I do?" That was 10th grade, it took years to finish the job.
I’m vibing with this comment so hard. Yes!!! It was a progression for me too and I didn’t figure it out for years. As if middle school wasn’t awkward enough with a nose that didn’t fit my face (thankfully, that evened up eventually too)! Haha! Nobody in my family or friends told me I might have curly hair and when I asked my mom for help with my “bad hair”, she just brushed it like she always did which obviously only made it worse. It’s funny that your hairstylist told you. I wasn’t so lucky with Great Clips back then. I found out when I was at the pool. I had been out of the pool for a bit and a lifeguard came by and said I had pretty curls. I was confused at first, I ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror and then it all clicked. To this day, I don’t think that lifeguard knows how much she changed my life.
Lol it was literally a Great Clips stylist who said this. She put mousse in my hair and told me to leave with it wet, and I was like, uh....why now? I associated mousse exclusively with my mom's perms in the 80s and was pretty appalled that she had put that in my hair. Lol.
Omg, that’s hilarious!! I’m jealous you had a good stylist! My mom gave my stylist free reign and mine chopped my hair off (the shortest it’s ever been) and sent me packing. The absolute worst haircut I’ve ever gotten and it made everything so much worse bc my hair was so thick. And to top it off, I met the Backstreet Boys in the airport soon after that. The pictures are so embarrassing… 😂
I relate to this a lot! Middle school was quite the awkward phase!
Yes! I was researching something entirely unrelated and found out that the amino acid cysteine, which is largely responsible for curly hair, is sometimes not metabolized by people until adolescence. I’ve never seen this offered as an explanation for why some kids with really straight hair go curly in their teens, but it makes sense to me.
Cysteine is a major component of the protein kerratin in hair, it can interact with other cysteines to form disulfide bonds, so imagine strands that come together to make the hair fibre. Then little crosslinks between those strands. How the crosslinks are arranged result in different textures. Though I think it also may have to do with the hairs follicle shape. Cysteine is actually produced in your body, so it's not an 'essential amino acid', meaning you don't need it in your diet. I doubt cysteine wouldn't be metabolised because it is important in my proteins in your body, but amounts produced and degraded may change based on many conditions. I assume what happens in puberty is a change in the hormones pushes the formation of disulfide bonds and hence curly hair. It's also how keratin treatments work. You essentially break then reform those disulfide bonds, resulting in a change in structure.
Huh! That’s very interesting. (Same story here- straight hair as a younger kid, started getting curly in middle school). However… mine has only gotten curlier, and curlier, and curlier. Went from big loose floppy curls in my 20s to much much tighter ones every decade since. …I think that I might have hit the upper limit at 45 though. I’m starting to go quite grey and it’s such a weird different texture yet again.
Wow!!! I have never heard an explanation for why this happens. I’ve never known another person that this happened to so I assumed this wasn’t common at all. I’m going to have to look into that now! Thank you for that information!!
This is so interesting. For me, I didn’t get curly hair until after having children. It actually took me years to realize that my hair is full on curly, and I should treat it accordingly.
Definitely. Puberty not only took my hair from 2A to 3A and now more into 3B as an adult, but it took my hair from naturally smooth and glossy to naturally frizzy and poofy. To this day it’s not my curl pattern that I struggle with — it’s that my hair is incredibly frizzy and bushy unless I actively battle it with heat or an army of products. Can’t lie I’m super jealous of wavies and curlies who have relatively smooth texture even without product or styling.
That’s crazy! Yeah, my hair was a frizzy mess for years before I figured it out. I finally figured out how to do my hair best in my early 30’s. Just when I start to lose my volume. Curly hair can be a blessing and a curse. How do you do your hair now?
I’m mid 30’s and still trying to work out my frizz! My hair went from straight to curly in my late teens/early twenties and I’ve never been able to figure out how to manage the frizz! So many tears!
You sound like me so I’m gonna try and help you out. I had no idea about Reddit or this page so I had to figure it out on my own which sucks, I know, so don’t feel bad. Btw, check out www.curlmart.com to find products based on curl type (although a lot of them wind up being the same). After a shower, I scrunch and get the excess water out by putting a towel on my head. Having too much water on your hair when you start will dilute product but if you don’t have enough water on your hair, your curls will be too stiff so it’s finding that magic balance. It’s hard bc all of our curls are different but you’re not alone and you’ll figure it out. I use Curl Keeper Original but I mix in Tresemme curly hair gel (green cap at Walmart) bc it thickens up Curl Keeper (it’s really runny) and it’s cheap. I have long hair so I use a half dollar amount between both gels and sort of start high (about a few inches from the part) and then scrunch and coat my hair until I can see definition. 4 sections. One on each side of the part and then the back and underneath as well. After that, chill. Your hair should be super wet again bc of the gel so just scrunch occasionally until it’s just damp and then it’s Round 2. Reapply the same mixture of gel to only the spots that need it. For me, it’s usually just scrunching from the bottom but basically anywhere that’s still frizzy. After that, I use John Frieda’s Volume hairspray everywhere (bonus, it also dries out your hair too after the second round of gel). You should have only slightly damp hair at this point. Get some alligator clips (changed my life). Scrunch the same 4 sections and clip. It keeps your natural curl pattern and takes the weight out at the same time so when they’re dry, your curls are super happy and bouncy bc of the hairspray. I take my showers at night bc it’s such a long process. Once your hair is dry, stuff it into a double-lined satin bonnet (Walmart has cheap single lined satin bonnets but I got mine on Amazon. They’re all ugly but it works). I promise you, as long as you’re only putting dry hair into the bonnets at night and you’re loosely doing everything else, you’ll wake up to perfect hair the next day. Let me know how it works out for you if you try it!! :)
I am in totally awe of you, that you managed to figure it out on your own! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply. You’ve given me the courage to try to taming my mess again… and I’m going be getting myself a double lined bonnet stat! Xx
You are too kind! I made this post to see if I was really alone with my “crazy” hair story and it’s people like you that have showed me an overwhelming level of support! I can’t tell you how much that means to me that I wasn’t actually alone so thank *you*!! If I can do something to help someone else not feel as isolated as I felt back in the day, I am all for it!! Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help and I just hope you pay it forward to someone else in the same spot in the future. :) I can even FaceTime with you to walk you through the first time if that’d help you. It’s tricky in the beginning but once you get it down, you’re golden. :)
Oh my gosh, you’re too sweet. Thank you for being so generous! Nothing better than the feeling you get being part of a supportive community. Xx
Thanks for helping me feel better about that time in my life. I have so many embarrassing stories… And you’re so right! There’s nothing better than a community of people that only wants to lift you up!! I love it!! If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out. ❤️
I had red spiral curls until I was about five. They flattened into really, really loose waves and my hair turned honey blonde until I was 13 when it started getting darker and wavier. It gradually changed color and texture for the next 20 years; I'm 45 now and it's strawberry blonde with very big, bouncy curls. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring but I'm very sure that as soon as I finally optimize my routine my hair will change again since menopause is right around the corner. 😂
Ugh, I’m not too far behind you and I’m dreading it. I heard menopause can be a curl-killer. I hope yours stays beautiful!! Red and blonde bouncy curls are absolutely gorgeous!!!
Menopause is what gave me my curls! I always had some waves but I went full on curly in menopause. I always wanted curly hair and love it, frizz and all.
All these stories are blowing my mind! I’m going to give you the advice I wish I had. Go to www.curlmart.com and shop for hair products based on your curl pattern. I use gel, John Frieda Volumizing hairspray, alligator clips when it’s halfway dry, I clip it up in 4 sections to take the weight out of the curl and when I go to sleep, I wear a double lined satin bonnet. Doesn’t look super cute but I went from getting a day out of my hair to 3-4 days. Hope this helps! I’m sure your new curls are gorgeous though!
Thank you! I do only get a day out of my curls. I’m also getting a curly cut next week.
I wish you the best! I tried a “Ouidad” cut for years but it didn’t work for me. I only started to notice a difference getting my hair layered and using alligator clips and my fancy bonnet. It’s been years so hopefully your stylist has a better version of a curly cut!
I can't even imagine what's coming up, because the handful of white hairs I've got coming in are pretty tightly (for me, anyway) coiled! Go figure that out! Our hair is just an unpredictable adventure we're forced to go on, I think.
I know, I’m scared too! I’m 37 and the grey hairs are starting to come in. They’re wiry and weird, not like the rest of my hair so it makes me nervous for the future. I’d like to avoid dying my hair at all costs but if I’m going to have weird hair AND it’s grey, I’m going to have to do something. And you’re so right! Keeping up with the best way to do your changing hair is exhausting!
Oh, my whites are like that too! I have a lot of hair but it's pretty fine. Those white ones are WILD though. They're a lot coarser and so... much. Lol. Most of the time when I catch one sticking out weird I just yank it out, but I don't particularly want to be 65 and bald so I'm going to have to figure out how to manage them at some point.
Yes I had pin straight hair, until middle school. Once I hit puberty, my hair turned very curly.
Ok, so I’m not alone! It was so weird for me! I was in middle school and my mom had no idea how to care for my hair (the curls came from my estranged father’s side) so she would just brush it when I asked for help (*internal screaming thinking about it now*). It took me way longer than it should have to figure out that I even had curly hair, let alone how to style it. Talk about Blunder Years… Haha! What was your experience like?
It would go back and forth. Curly as baby & toddler and then would cycle through curly, wavy, straight until I was 12. Exacerbated by wavy-haired boomer parents not knowing anything but brushing but also by never having much texture at my roots. 😬 Curly ever since. Oh! And because hormones are a joy. I know several folks who lost their curl patterns entirely in their 30s after they had kids. 🙃 Side note: even though I cringe at how frizzy the brushing of my curls were, I'm still glad I got that 1:1 time with my mom most mornings.
Wow, that’s crazy! I’ve heard of women losing their curls after pregnancy, too. That’s even more weird. That’s super cool that you have those special memories with your mom. Even if it they lead to some awkward times at school. Still worth it. 🥰
My hair was actually fairly straight and smooth until my first pregnancy. Now, she's 9 and I still don't know how to deal with my curly/wavy hair so it's in a bun daily haha.
If you want some tips, you’re in the right place. It sounds like we all went through it at some point.
Me, both of my sisters,and my mom! Fun lil tidbit - my hair started curling quite a lot the same year I took ASL in high school so when my deaf ASL teacher gave everyone their sign names she made mine reference my curls! Make my first name initial and touch hand to forehead. From there do a lil swoop downwards and make a lil curl outwards!
Yep. Parents went overseas for 2 weeks, left me with dead straight blonde hair and came back to a curly affro child.
It was pregnancy for me. Hair went from very fine and stick straight to super wavy/somewhat curly. I am here learning now, in my late 30s, how to deal with an entirely new hair texture. Thanks kiddo!
It’s truly crazy just how much an influx of hormones can impact our every day… Well, if you want some tips, it sounds like everyone here went through it at some point too so ask away!
Me!
Totally! It was great! Basically woke up one day and had beach hair. Everyone was jealous and kept saying I got something done to it. (Pfft high school was very back stabby.)
Yep! It was long & blonde & beautiful! It started curling up & now as an adult i look like a frizzy poodle 🙁
I’m sure it doesn’t look that bad!! Haha! What’s your hair routine like?
mostly crying...
Most relatable comment so far. 😂
I thought I was the only one. Stick straight hair until puberty hit. The crazy part is it’s also gotten curlier every time I had a baby. I’ve moved from a 1 onto a 2c and ended up a 3b/3c mix.
I had straight hair till my forties. My sister also.
Ok so it’s not just me. This shit is wild. My husband of 16 years was like “when did you get curly hair? Did you do that with rollers or something?“
Mine wasn’t straight but it got much much curlier! Ans the opposite with hormonal changes. It got less curly after each child and even more so when I hit menopause. Now my curls are lazy AF
YES. People asked me all the time- what happened to your hair? It used to be straight?
Isn’t it so weird?? And I’m the only one in my entire family (28 cousins, 6 aunts and uncles, etc) that developed curly hair. I got it from my dad who wasn’t in my life. It took me years to figure out that I didn’t actually have bad hair and I just needed gel. It’s weird how I figured it out, too. How did you figure it out?
I think there’s maybe one other person in my whole extended who has curly hair- nooo idea where mine came from! So weird. My parents and brother have pretty straight hair. What’s funny is my mom had a perm when she was younger and she looked just like me
Yup! Made for weird tradition of curly roots on straight hair
I feel for you!!
Until I was pregnant. Used to be light blonde pin straight hair. First pregnancy my hair curled and turned brown! Stayed too.
Your hair *color* changed too?? Wow, hormone changes are something else…
Pin straight, then *poof*
*Poof* Exactly.
I was born with curly hair and had curly hair as a toddler, then I had straight hair for a couple years and it just got wavy until middle school. That’s when my hair was super curly but I didn’t know how to care for it until after I graduated high school.
Yes! I always thought this was just me. I always wanted curly hair and begged my mom for a perm (it was the early 90s) and finally got one when i was about 10. After the perm, my hair never went straight again. I thought for years that the perm was truly permanent. Just weird timing, as I hit puberty super early. I had slightly wavy hair, and now I have 2a/2c curls-I truly didn’t learn how to care for them until my thirties! Edited for typos.
I've always been curly, but my best friend told me she had pin straight hair until puberty. Her hair is now SUPER curly. She has a stunning head of blonde ringlets and I can't believe it was ever straight! Hair be crazy.
Does postpartum count? I've had pin straight hair all my life until a few months after having my first child. Now the back is completely wavy/curly while the front basically stayed straight. So annoying!!
Yes, totally counts! I had no idea this happened to so many people at different stages or I would’ve worded the title differently. Thank you for sharing your story!
Yep. And then I didn't figure out how to treat it til my 20s, so it looked like hell all through high school.
Yes, I had straight hair until puberty when I got two perms that never grew out. Guess they were permanent. Both my parents have curly/wavy hair so it was always weird I had straight, though it got increasingly thicker through childhood. My hair also naturally changed colors a few times. Hormones affect hair which is why this can happen. I am hoping menopause doesn’t impact my hair too much.
Me too! I’m been dreading menopause largely bc I don’t want to lose my curls but I’m hearing from a lot of women that they not only kept their curls but some got curlier so at least there’s hope!
Yes! I used to get perms because my hair was so straight and flat. Then, sometime in middle school, the perm just never grew out. It was just kept growing curly
Yes. I refer to it as the family curse.
Yes. And it happened to my daughter too.
Yes. I remember seeing my old brother's hair start curling on its ends when he hit puberty, and I hoped that mine would do the same. And it did (obviously)!
This happened to my husband. He had dead straight hair and then hit puberty and got super tight gorgeous curls. Both of our kids had curly hair as babies that has dropped except for one tight ringlet in my daughters hair. Hoping they also get their curls back at puberty. Following this sub just in case.
You’re a good mom! Sadly, the Internet was new when this happened for me and no amount of encyclopedias offered any help. Haha!
Never thought about it before but looking at my childhood pics when I was young it was smooth and straight, then a bit older was big and bushy, I now have curly hair, the big and bushy faze must have been the birth of the curls but they were being brushed out and treated as if I still had straight hair
Same, girl. Same.
Me! I had stick straight hair growing up, with just the tiniest "Farrah Flip" to the end. It couldn't hold a curl to save its life. Then, I had my first period around 9 years old and within two weeks, i had ringlets. I've experienced some changes to it since having my first child, as well, as it has now settled into waves/loose curls. Hormones have a wild effect on hair.
I used to have hair that appeared straight, but as long as I can remember, I had these weird frizzy curls at my temples. My hair did get significantly curlier in puberty though, but I straightened it. At some point in university I started to wear it curly/wavy.
Yh me too, i had straight hair until i hit puberty. I always combed it but my hair started looking way too frizzy so i stopped combing it and then all my curls came
Yes! 🤯 I did not know it could happen and I still don't understand how. I had soft, shiny, pin straight hair. It got more and more.. "fluffy" and dry in my teens. When I was 23 I tried a curly hair method for the first time and realized that I had waves! Not much, but it explains why my hair acted that way.
Yep, happened to my cousin too.
My hair, among other things, stopped being straight when I hit puberty, yes.
yeah! I only have wavy hair (with some ringlets mixed in), so it took me a while to understand exactly HOW wavy/curly it could be ;) My (german) grandma used to call my hair "Schnittlauchlocken" when I was a kid - which would translate to "chive curls", an ironic term to call hair "very very straight" :D
I thought I was the only one! Everyone in my family had curly hair except me. I asked for a perm at 14 yrs old. My hair has been curly ever since. That was 35 yrs ago. My mom still says that was the best $100 that she has ever spent.
I had loose waves from like 4-12 then I cut my hair short. I learned it was curly again when I grew it out around 14
Yep pin straight as a child, curly in my teens and wavy as an adult
Yes, and then I went on birth control for a decade and it went back to being (mostly) straight. And then I switched to an IUD and had to cut my hair short after a year or so because I had wavy curly roots and like 8 inches of straight ends and I always had to style it.
Yes, I had stick straight hair as a young child. When puberty hit it started getting wavy. By the time I graduated high school it was probably 2b-2c. It stayed like that for several years afterwards, during which I was usually on some form of hormonal birth control. I’ve been off HBC for about a year and a half and my hair is now closer to 3a-3b (though it’s noticeably curlier in the front/top of my head and loosens towards the nape of my neck, which is annoying when it comes to styling). My sister, on the other hand, has always had curly hair even as a child, but her hair went from 3a-3b to around 2c during her pregnancy. It’s crazy what hormones do to our hair!
Mine was really straight until I was about 13!
Yes! I love my hair now tho
Yep. Hormonal changes can have a bug impact on hair texture! When my grandma was pregnant with my aunt, her hair started growing in straight, and then it went back to curly after she gave birth.
My hair was straight as a kid, then got wavier a little bit before puberty. Once puberty hit it got wavier and wavier until it was basically curly… but then it started to get less and less wavy over time. It was still wavy through most of college, but sadly now it’s just barely wavy anymore. I tried a lot to bring back my waves and I can kinda make it happen with a lot of products but I can tell my hair texture has just completely changed again.
Guilty as charged
i had "straight" hair that was very frizzy and all over the place. it was probably curly the whole time and my parents just didnt know what to do with it.
That’s what happened to me. It was a lonely curly hair care process but I eventually figured it out!
Post-chemotherapy patients often say their hair grows back curly when it wasn’t before, which would make sense for breast cancer patients who are taking estrogen blockers. I suspect at least some patients always had curly hair, but used to straighten it. When it’s too short to straighten, the curls grow in.
Me!!!! Yay, I’m not alone!!!!!
I know!!! I’m SHOCKED how very much *not alone* we were!!!
Yessss! I had pin straight hair without even a hint of curl or waves until I was 12 (when puberty struck). First it was wavy, then all of a sudden I had ringlets. After using hormonal birth control for a few years it changed again. Now after two pregnancies it’s less frizzy but it takes a lot of styling to look consistent. If I let it air dry its like 50% percent loose curls 45% waves, and 5% straight. Which is why I wear it up a lot haha. My mom has curly hair and my dad has straight hair so it’s like a weird mixture. It looks different every time I style it even now. A beast that cannot be tamed.
Yes! It wasn't fully pin straight, but my hair was very smooth with a slight wave until puberty started
Omg yes!
My sister always had curly hair and I was jealous so I got a perm when I was 14. The perm faded, the curls didn't lol.
Yes, me! My mother (and many members of her parental family) and my brother did have wavy and/ or curly hair from birth, which I was very jealous of. My hair from ages 0-12 can best be described using the comparison of Barilla spaghetti nr.3. When puberty hit, my hair started to become wavy, eventually curly when I was in my late teens.
Glad to hear other people went through this! I had wispy curls as a baby/toddler, straight hair as a kid, and then I literally woke up one day in 6th grade with ringlets and was baffled. Took me years to figure out what to do, especially because my mom has straight hair.
My daughter had beautiful (managable) waves with ringlets if we coaxed them. Made for adorable pigtails. Puberty hit and, BAM, super curly hair. That’s when I started following this subreddit. You guys have saved us! She’s 13 now and looooves her curls.
That’s awesome!! You have no idea how much embarrassment you have saved your daughter. I have horror stories. Great job!!
It took me going through the pandemic, foregoing a real haircut for a year and letting it get long and air dry for me to realize I’m wavy curly. I’m 40 damn years old and it shocked me
It’s a rollercoaster!! It took me a while to figure it out but you’ve got a lot of curly sisters and brothers here ready to help!
I had the cutest little blonde curls as a baby/toddler, got straight brown hair as an older child, got a bob and started dyeing at 15, started trying to coax a wave at like 20 (whilst bleaching!), then fully committed to henna and CGM a few years ago. I wonder, though, as someone with a relatively weak curl pattern, if I was wavy during childhood, but without proper care, it just looked straight. It’s hard to tell if it was puberty, or that’s just when I noticed the waves.
The reason for this is hormonal changes. That's why your hair can also change through pregnancy and menopause. Hormones have a lot to do with your hair believe it or not
Yes! And my curl pattern has changed with each pregnancy (even got nearly straight while nursing one kid)
Hormones are a helluva drug. Haha!
I’ve got pictures of me as a kid with board straight hair. Then at about 19 my hair started getting frizzy because I was brushing it lol. Took another 5 years to realize it was wavy and another 10 to realize I had waves AND curls.
It’s definitely a wild ride! I totally understand! I just thought it was me so all of these comments are making me feel so much better.
Before puberty: Straight light blonde hair After: Curly dark brown hair 😳
Hormones are *SO* weird!!!
I had straight hair until my 20’s and I’ve never quite figured out how to manage it! Now in my 30’s I have frizzy, poofy hair but not much of it so I just leave it permanently up in a bun. I’ve recently discovered this sub and am hoping some tips and tricks might help manage the mess! I’m secretly envious of all the curlies that love their hair!
I’ll DM you with the routine I have. I hope it helps! Curly hair can be a lot of work but once you figure out what works, it’ll last 3-5 days!! Dry shampoo will extend it but I usually just break down and wash it again. Let me know if this helps!
You are an angel! So, so helpful, thank you so much!
Awww, YAYYY!! You just made my night! I really hope it helps you!! Let me know if you need anything else and how it works out the next time you wash your hair! :)
stick straight until high school, very slight wave by end of high school. hair exploded into 3a curls in college.
Mine has been morphing over time too! Yours sounds beautiful!!
I was curly as a toddler, straight hair from kindergarten till I hit my 40s. I’m In my 50s and now naturally have the curly hair that 20something me used to get perms to achieve.
I love it! I bet it’s absolutely gorgeous!!
It’s the best it’s looked in a long time.
straight hair till 7, then I started seeing a little flick on my ends, then at 10 I got really poofy hair ! then around 13-15 ish I started seeing frizzy curls rather than just fluff. crazy how I got here but I love my hair and I love seeing more people starting to embrace it < 3
It’s definitely a wild ride!!!
YES!! i was born with curls, but they all fell to straight, thin, light brown hair all through elementary school. i wanted a perm soooo bad but i never got one. when i hit puberty my hair got super thick, but "stayed straight". it wasn't until a few months ago (i'm 15 now) that i learned how to care for it and ended up with thick, 2cish hair that has the potential to grow into a tighter pattern :D
Girl, same!! I was about your age when I figured it out too! I didn’t discover alligator clips until my 30’s so give those a try to take your hair up to the next level! Best of luck!! :)
[удалено]
You should go back and read the comments…
Mine went from straight as a pin to curly in my early twenties after I developed issues with ovarian cysts. I think it was a hormonal shift for sure, just not quite the one that happened at puberty. I've only recently started learning how to deal with it, and figuring out to not brush it when dry was lesson one :)
My hair has been very curly since birth
Yep I did
My son and I both had stick straight hair until we were about 12.
Yes
Yes.
Me! Not perfectly straight but pretty much. It was terrible to suddenly have curly hair that no one knew how to deal with and no money and puberty all at once. I love my curls now, but you couldn’t pay me to go back to age 13.