Perhaps, you have noticed that your natural hair has become curlier, straighter, thinner, or coarser over time.  As you grow older, your natural hair is bound to change. Stress, diet and hormonal differences can also cause changes in your natural hair texture.  

If you are experiencing changes with your natural hair texture, read along. We will tell you everything there is to know about what might be happening with your natural crown.  

Why is my natural hair texture changing?

While changes in your natural hair texture can be unnerving, it happens to most of us. Your hair changes throughout your life. Your natural hair texture can alter, when your hormones, your metabolism or your overall health swing. Here are some of the common causes of changes in your natural hair.

Genes

Genes play a large role in determining how much your natural hair will change as you age. Your curl pattern can become tighter or looser over time. Your hair can also become thinner and less dense and so alter the appearance of your natural crown.  

Your parents are a good starting point to determine if and how much your natural hair will change over time. If it’s part of your genetic makeup, it can start as soon as you hit puberty. 

Increased levels of androgens (male hormones) can cause your curl pattern to become tighter and coarser. Male hormones are also a common cause of hair thinning. Androgenic alopecia is hereditary and leads to an overall reduction in hair thickness and density. It typically starts at the top of your head, right where your hair follicles are most sensitive to changes in the levels of androgens in your body. 

Hormones

Hormonal fluctuations also have a big impact on your natural hair. When you are expecting a child, you often notice that your natural hair is thicker, longer and shinier. This is caused by the increased levels of estrogen (female hormone) and greater blood circulation that naturally occurs when you are with child. Once you give birth, those estrogen levels drop again and can cause sudden and significant postpartum hair loss. 

While you might get freaked out by the large amounts of shedding of your natural hair, you often do not need to worry. You typically won’t lose more hair than you would have naturally lost during your nine months of pregnancy. Your natural hair loss can feel more dramatic, because it is happening all at once! According to studies, new moms can lose up to 350 hair strands a day!

Heat, Diet and Stress

Your day-to-day routines also play a huge part in the health of your natural hair. If you’re noticing thinning toward the ends of your natural hair instead of at the roots, heat could be the culprit. This is because we tend to run our curling or flat irons over our ends, causing dryness and brittleness. Using excessive heat on your hair also frequently results in loss of curl pattern. Your curls can become looser and even straight at the ends. Luckily, this is easily preventable. Just cut back up on the heat styling and use heat protectors, when you do want to use heat on your natural hair.  

Your diet also plays a factor when it comes to your natural hair texture. If you’re not getting enough protein, iron or essential fatty acids like omega-3s in your diet, your hair strands won’t be happy. Your natural hair can become thinner and your curl pattern less bouncy. Natural  hair requires high levels of nutrients to reproduce, so make sure your diet reflects that.

Another big cause of changes in your natural hair is stress. Stress can raise the levels of male hormones in your body, causing your natural hair to shed more than usual and appear less thick and dense. 

How to combat natural hair texture change?

There are a few obvious things that you can do; make sure you pour enough of your time and energy into self care to manage your stress levels; eat healthy and follow a  diet that contains enough proteins. When you have those things covered, we also recommend using hair oils for your natural hair. A great remedy for aging natural hair or hormonal hair changes is castor oil. Castor oil is rich in vitamin E, proteins and minerals. Your natural hair will thank you if you give it a hot castor oil treatment every two weeks. The castor oil will leave your scalp moisturized and well circulated, which will ultimately lead to thick and healthy natural hair with a strong and defined curl pattern.