Photovampire

I've had type 3C curls (or tighter) since I was 10. I'm 23 now, and my hair is becoming more and more limp over the last year. I was always told that after I had a baby my hair might lose its curl, but I haven't been pregnant yet. However, two years ago I had a roommate who used a curling iron on her hair to make bigger smoother curls (she had practically no curl to start with). This technique worked beautifully on my hair, because it was already so tight and curly it held the curl perfectly all day... big bouncy perfect curls!
Now, a couple months back I moved from Arizona (nice and dry, great for no-frizz hair) to Nebraska (lots of humidity) and now my hair is losing its curl. Could it just be the weather, or maybe just the curling iron (I do the curling iron thing 2-3 times a week on average)? I'm scared I'm losing my curl!!! For the next two months I've vowed not to use the curling iron in an attempt to fix this problem, but I've gone from a 3C to a stringy mix... help!!!! Anybody else had this problem, or know how to fix it!!!???

P.S.
I'm already on the no-shampoo, no brush, no chemical diet for my hair... going on five or six years now. This is the big curling iron curls http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoma...1928/lightbox/
Here's my hair now, limp and gross http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoma...1624/lightbox/
And before... nice and bouncy http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoma...ream/lightbox/

bribrik10

did you use a heat protectant? the curling wand/iron damaged my top layer of my hair so I'm trying to deep condition to help the damage. If you stop using the iron it should grow in curly like it was before the iron.

if its not the iron im not sure what it is so maybe someone else knows if their good at that kind of stuff. It could also be the change in weather in Arizona too

Photovampire

I use Aussie Sydney Smooth Heat Protector + Leave-In Conditioner Spray... I hadn't thought about letting it grow in curly again. Thanks for that ray of hope!!

bribrik10

np

pprMACHEheart

It won't necessarily grow in curly once it's heat damaged even if you stop using heat as often as you used to/do. . . it doesn't work that way. I would say stay away from the heat, cowash/shampoo, condition as usual. Let your hair do its thing.

If you don't see improvement with that, try a protein treatment to see if that'll help repair the damage from the curling iron. If not you may have to eventually, gradually trim.

HTH

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rj16

Could it have to do with the water?

Photovampire

I wondered about that too... going from soft water to hard water... but it's a dramatic loss of curl. I try diffusing it, letting it air dry in curlers... no more corkscrews.

rj16

I think that hard water can really have a huge effect... But I'm not sure. I really want to buy a shower head filter, actually. If I were you, I would try an ACV rinse. They can really do wonders! HTH

want2bcurly

i used heat alot, hot rollers,flatirons,curling irons... for a year or two. i couldnt figure out why my curls looked so bad. less curl,dry,stringy.. i used alot of heat protection,great conditioners...so i thought everything was ok. i had my hair cut into a pixie last summer because i just couldnt deal with it. well,within a short time my curls popped back up. nice ringlets, or partial ringlets beause its so shortso my guess is your hair may be damaged a little.protien treatments,hair cuts,no heat may help.