Hair Texture Change Or Heat Damage?

Ok so I was looking at the 20" of 4C hair texture thread and it got me thinking... I don't think my hair is the same it was when I first went natural!

When I first big chopped in Oct 2015, my hair was mostly 4A in the front and very little 3C in the back. My curls were tight and frizzy. As time went on, it started to loosen a bit and now I think the parts that used to be 4A are now 3C and the 3C bits are now 3B. I know that as hair gets longer the curls get more stretched out. When I BC'd, my hair was ~neck length stretched; now its an inch or two past APL. Maybe the extra length is stretching out my curls? Or is it heat damage (uh oh!)

Here are a couple pics. The first picture was taken a few days after my BC (sorry for bad quality pic- I felt self conscious of my short hair so I didn't take many pictures during this time period.) The second photo was taken a couple months ago. In both pictures my hair was in a slightly damp wash n go.




I'm a little worried it might be heat damage. I have flat ironed my hair maybe 8 or 10 times since I chopped, a couple times at home but mostly in the salon with a few questionable "stylists." Have any of you all experienced this? Do you think it's heat damage or just the natural progression of kinky/curly hair?

Your hair looks healthy and cute. Stop worrying.

It's just the natural progression of curly hair. Mine did the same thing as it grew longer and I haven't flat ironed since going natural.

My bc hair was pen spring size in some areas in the back and at most pencil size in the front. Now majority of my hair is pencil size and very little is around the size of the metal part of a screw driver. It also does like yours and waves most of the way down with just a spiral on the ends.

I told you all that to tell you don't worry. Your roots are the same texture as your ends which means it's not heat damage.

It looks fine to me, do you have any straight pieces?

When I first BC'ed my hair was an undefined kinky straightish fro with a few curls. After time my curls started to clump and pop. Length has also changed my texture too.

I agree with the other ladies, definitely not heat damage. Your hair has uniform thickness from root to ends. Heat damaged ends tend to take on a spaghetti noodle appearance and the thickness is different and much thinner than what is growing at the root. Your curls look different because it's longer. Your hair looks beautiful and healthy!

Doesn't look like heat damage to me.

Your hair is beautiful.

I'm not sure if you were relaxed before, but my hair did the same. I thought it was curl damage (my bang area is definitely).

I have 3.5 years (42 months) of natural hair. Of that, I stopped flat ironing 16 months ago. So 26 months worth of hair saw heat 2-4 times a year. The lower part of my hair (5-7 inches or 12 months worth) are looser, but the rest of the curls are tighter, though some were subjected to heat. So the looser curls weren't due to heat. Even after I stopped using heat, the curls after 12 months are the same as the curls that have grown in after.

I used to think relaxer/chemical damaged scalp was propaganda but not anymore. It could just be your scalp healing, if that was the case. Otherwise, it could be length playing mind tricks.

Your hair looks cute! My hair was a fuzz ball when I first did the big chop & now my curls are uniform and "hang." To me, heat damage is obvious because the hair goes kind of limp. Your curls are still popping.

doesn't appear damaged to me at all. i love the S shape of your curls.

BronxJazzy said:

It's just the natural progression of curly hair. Mine did the same thing as it grew longer and I haven't flat ironed since going natural.

My bc hair was pen spring size in some areas in the back and at most pencil size in the front. Now majority of my hair is pencil size and very little is around the size of the metal part of a screw driver. It also does like yours and waves most of the way down with just a spiral on the ends.

I told you all that to tell you don't worry. Your roots are the same texture as your ends which means it's not heat damage.

Click to expand...

Awesome, thank you!

Thank you so much everyone! It's good to know that other people have experienced similar changes to their hair. I just needed some reassurance that I wasn't damaging my hair. Now I will know what to look for in case I do actually get heat damage

It think it is the length. The heaviness of the hair will play a roll and length adds weight. A lot of 4c naturals who have long hair are often questioned as to whether their hair is actually 4c. Even I've looked at their hair a little confused, but I think the weight encourages clumping and elongates curls. Lol, it's just a theory I have. I might be wrong.

I also think people who actively retain length take better care of their hair over time.
When I first went natural, I could achieve a bodacious BAA quite easily. But then again, most of my product arsenal was Suave and Softee Coconut.
Now, the most my hair could muster is a "curly fro" look. But that's because my hair doesn't shrink as much now that it's so well conditioned.
The tightness of my hair was mostly dryness/improper handling.