Hair Texture Change: Why It Happens, And How To Deal With It

Change in your hair can be annoying and hard to deal with. You might think that once you get to know your hair and scalp type, you can adjust your hair care routine and simply move on and relax, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why you can experience a change in your hair’s texture; this can be frustrating and ruin your expectations for a special occasion, or leave you with frizzy, unruly and brittle hair if you don’t know how to deal with it. Let’s find out how and why your hair’s texture can change, and what to do when this happens.

1. Why Does Hair Texture Change?

There are many factors that can influence the way your hair changes in texture: let’s see them together.

Hormonal Changes

If your oestrogen levels are really high in comparison to your progesterone, it can have some serious side effects like weight gain, irritability and, of course, hair loss. Menopause, pregnancy and other health factors can affect your hair’s thickness. Women undergo a lot of hormonal changes throughout their lifetime, and this can change the way their hair looks and feels. Using products such as nano ring hair extensions and seamless hair extensions can be a great option to get your confidence back with a fuller, healthier-looking mane. Speak to your doctor about this type of change, as the right prescription can help you restore your locks. 

Pregnancy

As previously mentioned, pregnancy is one of those factors that can influence the way your hair behaves. Many hair extensions companies have developed pregnancy-specific top-up wefts that you can apply on the specific areas where your hair is thinning the most, without committing to more permanent solutions. Post-pregnancy hormonal changes can also cause one to develop baby hairs: short, thin hair growing around the edges of your hairline and the nape of your neck.  Find out exactly how to take care of hair in our Post Pregnancy Hair Care How To Fix Hair Loss After Pregnancy blog. 

Changes In Diet

If you’re changing your diet, this may affect your hair too. A lack of protein and fatty acids, especially omega-3s, will have a negative impact on your follicles’ health, resulting in dry, dull and lifeless tresses. Brussels sprouts, chia seeds, and walnuts are vegan-friendly options to reintegrate these essential nutrients in your diet and make sure your hair looks as fabulous as ever.

Ageing

As we grow older, our collagen levels tend to drop. This has a number of effects on the way we look, starting with wrinkles and hair thinning. If your skin is losing its natural collagen, your scalp may become drier and produce less and less sebum, the natural conditioner that makes your tresses soft and manageable. Ageing is a natural, irreversible process in life but its effects can be eased with collagen supplements and the right products, such as fibre powder for thickening.

Environmental Changes

Have you recently relocated? Every city and town has its own environment, and pollution and water quality have an incredible influence on the way we look and feel. Have you started smoking, or are you often in the presence of a heavy smoker? Exposure to cigarette smoke can affect your skin and hair’s health. 

Hard Water

As mentioned previously, hard water is often to blame if your hair feels rougher than usual. Notoriously harder to rinse out, this issue has nothing to do with your hair itself - the only solution is, if possible, to install a filter on your showerhead.

Product Build-Up

Misusing a product, even a goodie-goodie one, can result in product build-up - causing scalp irritation, greasy hair, hair loss, dandruff, and other issues. This problem can be solved with a good old scalp detox, that you can perform in the comfort of your own home with a good scalp scrub or even a DIY recipe.

Medication

Certain medications have a powerful impact on your hair. If you notice a significant change in your hair as you start taking a certain prescription, speak to your doctor and find out if there’s anything you can do to minimise these possible side effects, or if there’s an alternative medication available. If you're already taking medication and are interested in taking supplements, make sure they are compatible with your current medication.

Chemical Treatments

Relaxers, perms, excessive color treatments and bleaching can all change your hair’s structure. Dryness, brittleness and thinning ends are usually the symptoms of tresses that are desperately asking for help.Whilst you should definitely give your hair a break, you can start your recovery journey with a good trim and the aid of nourishing, repairing products. If your ends are looking thin and lifeless, adding Ultra Volume hair extensions will help you hide this condition whilst you wait to grow out thicker, healthier hair. 

2. What To Do If Your Hair Is Changing Texture

If your hair has suddenly changed, depending on the issue, there are many things that you can do.

Eat The Right Thing

I cannot stress this enough: your hair, just like any other part of your body really, needs the right nutrients to grow full, luscious and shiny. Beauty starts from within, and glossy tresses are no exception. Certain foods, such as salmon, avocado, walnuts, berries, oysters, spinach and chia seeds, promote the growth of healthy hair in an all-natural way. Check our Foods To Eat For Healthy Hair blog to find out the secrets to healther hair. 

Stock Up On Biotin And Collagen

If your hair thinning or hair loss are due to a decrease in collagen levels or a (rare case) biotin deficiency, you may want to look into taking supplements to balance your diet out. Always make sure you speak to your doctor before taking any supplements, and ask for any recommendation about a specific brand specific to your condition.

Change Your Hair Routine

Perhaps you’re not one to stick to a weekly hair mask, or maybe you never tried a hair serum. There are many products out there designed to target a specific hair issue and to ease the manageability of a specific hair type. From anti-pollution sprays to essential oils for hair and nourishing serums, you can either buy pre-bottled options or experiment with some DIY. Did you know that you can make your own rosemary essential oil at home and use it as a remedy for dry scalp and dull hair?

Buy The Right Products

As your hair changes, your shampoo and conditioner will need to adapt. Your old high street retailer option may not cut it anymore, and you’ll need to invest in better quality, specific products. Dry and brittle tresses will need some extra TLC to seal in moisture and keep your hair soft and manageable. If your hair is getting coarser, you may want to look into getting a brazilian blow dry to settle things down for an extended period of time.

Change Your Haircut

If your hair has gone damaged beyond repair, a simple trim or hair dusting may not be enough - and this is where a big chop would need to come into play. Committing to your hair stylist’s shears doesn’t mean you have to forever say goodbye to long hair; you can always get nano hair extensions fitted to keep your hair looking naturally long and flowy, just as you always wanted it. Another great option would be tape in hair extensions, perfect if your hair is naturally thicker.

Give Your Hair A Break

If you’re used to heat-based styling tools such as curling wands, hair straighteners and curling irons, you’ll need to give your hair a break. This doesn’t mean that you can’t style your hair any longer; there are many heatless options to get the curly blowout of your dreams without damaging your tresses! Look into using a curling ribbon or velcro rollers as a friendly option to style your hair without the harshness of heated tools.

Find Your Protective Hairstyle

Harsh wind and other environmental factors can have a negative impact on your hair. Luckily, there are lots of trendy hairstyles to shelter your tresses from this type of attack; protective hairstyles such as plaits, braids and buns are a great option to keep things stylish without leaving your hair exposed to damaging factors.

Detox Your Hair & Scalp

You probably know about detox diets and detox facials, but did you know that you can also resort to a full spa day at home and detox your hair too? 

Detoxing your hair means treating your scalp to a deep cleanse, the kind of treatment that helps you restart your hair care routine after years and years of low-quality shampoo and conditioner, treatments, relaxers and what not. 

Reduce Your Washing Days

If your main issues are hard water and/or sebum production, reducing your washing up days can be an easy solution to minimise damage to your tresses. If your hair tends to lean towards the greasy side of things, you will need to use dry shampoo as your number one ally to go through your week without looking like a mess. Find your match on our list: the best dry shampoos.

Learn To Style Your Baby Hairs

Did you grow mysterious fuzz around your hairline during your pregnancy? Welcome to the world of baby hairs. A lot of people don’t like their baby hairs and go as far as waxing them out, but what about making peace with them and learning how to lay your edges? Baby hairs are gorgeous, and women of color have mastered the art of styling baby hairs a long time ago. If you’d like to know more about this, read our blog: No Problem, Baby! AKA: How To Tame Baby Hair & Edges In Style.

Use Human Hair Extensions

Remy hair extensions can be used to find volume and minimise damaged, thinning ends. You can go for temporary measures such as top-up wefts and seamless hair extensions, or get long lasting makeovers and get nano hair extensions fitted. Real hair extensions have a natural finish and can be styled like you would with your natural hair, without being obvious like it would happen with cheaper, synthetic options.

3. Conclusion:

If you’re unsure about what is happening to your hair, speak to a trichologist and find out together what the main cause behind your hair changing texture. If you’re considering getting real hair extensions but are unsure about what type is the best for your and your issue, come and speak to us - our experts are happy to give extensions advice and match you to the perfect shade to blend in your hair, completely free of charge.