Hair magically turns curly at age 40?

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gothchiq
gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
in Chit-Chat
So yeah this happened to me and I want to see if it happened to anyone else at some point in their lives. I'm 48 now. I formerly had mostly straight hair with some large cowlicky waves that had to be flat-ironed out so I didn't look like a slob. But around age 40 my hair texture started to get wavier and at this point it is legit curly. Makes styling convenient, add gel and scrunch.

It's just odd... anyone else?
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  • denversillygoose
    denversillygoose Posts: 708 Member
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    My daughter suddenly got super curly hair when she started going through puberty. No one in our family has curly hair.
  • rebel_26
    rebel_26 Posts: 1,826 Member
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    I was born with curls...you see where I am now so anything can happen I guess.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
    edited September 2016
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    My niece had very curly hair up till age 5 and then it went straight.

    Mind boggles.
  • Domino_75
    Domino_75 Posts: 373 Member
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    I've actually had the same thing happen. It works for me since I would always get a perm as a teenager to get the curl, but in my late 30's to now, my hair keeps getting curlier. I love it!
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    They say things about epigenetics and genes activating and stuff.... I'm no scientist but I wonder if this is part of why it happens. People are asking me if I got a perm. Nope, my hair is too fragile for perming... I guess this is a blessing of sorts lol.
  • MsRuffBuffNStuff
    MsRuffBuffNStuff Posts: 363 Member
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    I'm 42, my hair has always been a little "wavy" but it's definitely got a little more kink to it now ;-) It'll change again when it turns grey, I'm sure...
  • Just_J_Now
    Just_J_Now Posts: 9,551 Member
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    Just the opposite for me. I used to have thick full curls and now my hair is pin straight and very high maintenance. It's thinned out drastically too.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I used to have reeeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly wavy hair. In my late 30's (I think?) it got a lot straighter and more manageable.
  • MaGrl523
    MaGrl523 Posts: 101 Member
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    I was just talking to my hairdresser about this. I used to have super kinky curly hair and over the years its become more of a wavy (but not the nice kind). I figured it was from the many years of destroying it trying to have "normal" hair but she said over the years in addition to what do you do to your hair the DNA changes and you can certainly have a different texture as the years progress.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    gothchiq wrote: »
    They say things about epigenetics and genes activating and stuff.... I'm no scientist but I wonder if this is part of why it happens. People are asking me if I got a perm. Nope, my hair is too fragile for perming... I guess this is a blessing of sorts lol.

    I want my hair to go curly!
    I LOVE curly hair
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    Puberty. I used to have golden blonde wavy hair then puberty hit so it turned brown and curly. Then I turned 34 and suddenly found myself with blue hair but that wasn't quite so magical and more about the powers of bleach and hair dye :D

    Honestly, I think it's more due to changing hormones. That would explain it happening to some of us at puberty and others around 40.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    I had fine, very dark brown straight hair as a young woman. I kept it cut short through my 30s and early 40s, but it started to go gray, so I colored it. When I let it grow out in my early 40s, it was wavy and a bit unmanageable -- the gray hairs were much thicker and coarser, even with the coloring and conditioning. I needed a lot of product to keep a shoulder length bob in control.
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
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    My hair has made a gradual straight to curly transformation over the course of the past 5 or 6 years. It is now part curly and part straight. I have no answers for this.
  • jyotinaik
    jyotinaik Posts: 31 Member
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    Yes. It got wavy and then curly. It's the damage caused by hair dryer, processing and chemicals. Straight hair follicles are round. As they get damaged, they become oval shaped which is curly hair follicle shape
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
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    jyotinaik wrote: »
    Yes. It got wavy and then curly. It's the damage caused by hair dryer, processing and chemicals. Straight hair follicles are round. As they get damaged, they become oval shaped which is curly hair follicle shape

    Interesting. I rarely use any appliance or chemical on my hair. I wonder what is behind mine?
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    I don't blow dry either. My follicles shouldn't be damaged through any mechanical means. However in my family we do have hereditary hair loss issues. For this I use minoxidil foam and the (brand redacted so I don't get accused of advertising again) laser comb. I also make sure to take my iron and vitamins.

    Just out of curiosity, what's the scientific evidence behind the damage --> oval follicles theory?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I had wavy hair growing up but in the last few years it's started curling up when I let it dry naturally (which is all the time). I kinda like it! If I brush it again later it turns back to wavy though.
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
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    I wish. Mine "magically" started disappearing around 1975.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    yeah but mine started when I was like 38 or 39. I always as a kid has straight hair with a little bit of a wave. it was also strawberry blonde/dirty blonde(got darker as I got older). but yeah mine has become curly not tight curls but curls none the less.I think it has maybe something to do with changes in hormones? my daughter had ringlets when she was little and then it just became less curly as she got older. now at 21 its starting to get curly again.I dont hardly ever use any hair products(besides shampoo or conditioner) and I air dry because its colored. but I was never big on using the blow dryer or straightener.The only thing I ever did over time was dye mine. also any hairdresser I have been to says my hair is healthy and my hair follicles are as well because my hair grows really quickly(I was told if they were damaged hair would grow in slowly,have signs of breakage and so on(not sure how accurate that is though). I had an undercut over the summer and the hair that grew in there was also dark and curly

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