Hair trouble? Not to worry, we’ve got you.
A bad hair day can ruin your entire mood, so we understand why many women emphasize hair care.
If you ever asked, “Why is my hair curly underneath but straight on top?” it could be several reasons. You need not worry. Not only are we here to explain some of the likely causes, but we also recommend protective hairstyles for better results.
So read on; let’s get right to our all-in-one hair care package and discover the root causes of mixed hair patterns and their solutions.
Reasons Why You’re Hair is Curly At The Bottom But Straight On The Top
Relax, It’s Most Likely The Genes
You should know that your genes play a crucial role in how your hair turns out.
If, for instance, one or both of your parents are black, you shouldn’t be surprised to have your hair curly underneath.
On the other hand, if you’re biracial, then there’s every possibility that the genes from both parents contributed to your straight and curly hair pattern.
So while new hair strands sprout, they could take the shape of either the dominant or recessive gene and then change the pattern as they grow. This change is especially true since you would probably regularly apply hair products and comb your hair.
Your Straight Hair Might Be Damaged
As your body produces new hair growth, you see the thickness and health of your hair strands. But when you apply harmful hair products to your head, it could make all that hair fall out.
Stress Is Always A Factor
Some people may not know, but your physical and mental health plays a vital role in how your hair turns out. Some women have developed gray hair as early as their 30s and 40s, just under a lot of stress.
In the same vein, stress can make your hair thinner with time and even cause you to go bald. Do you now see why it’s crucial to prioritize your mental health?
The same thing applies to your physical health. Specific illnesses that affect your immune system, like Syphilis, can cause your hair to become thinner. Also, hormonal changes during pregnancy can result in changes in your hair texture, making it thinner or even causing baldness.
Lastly, insufficient nutrients could stunt hair growth, making some hair strands stuck at their curly undergrowth level for more extended and causing others to get thinner.
What Should I Do If My Hair Is Curly At The Bottom?
Moisturize
Without adequate moisture, your hair will hardly grow. Breakage can also occur when your hair gets too dry.
While your undergrowth might receive a little bit of moisture from the hair shaft or root, the top strands of your hair may not be so lucky. As a result, your hair becomes dry and thin, which can easily break.
To avoid this, apply hair moisturizer regularly to your scalp and the top strands of your hair to prevent this. It’s also important to know your hair type to use the relevant products.
There are some products made specifically for thicker and curlier hair. It will do you good to use such products if they are best suited for your hair.
READ: Does Head and Shoulders Cause Hair Loss?
Tone Down Your Heat Styling
Whether it’s to turn your curl pattern into straight hair or change the straight hair to a curl pattern, you need to be wary of heat styling. You would be putting a lot of pressure on those hair strands, especially since heating them makes them weaker.
If you must use heat-styling hair equipment like hair straighteners or tongs, try to effectively apply low heat to minimize the pressure on your hair.
Never Underestimate Good Hair Hygiene
While some people believe that keeping your hair dirty would make it grow faster, we disagree entirely. You could be harboring dandruff, ringworm, or other bacterial or fungal infection in your curls, especially if you have very thick hair.
Failing to detect and treat these illnesses on time would damage your natural hair. Regularly washing your hair takes out dirt and other harmful substances. It also cleanses your scalp and gives room for air.
Use good shampoo and hair conditioning products. Do not comb out your hair while wet, as it can quickly come off. Conditioning your hair makes it softer and easier to comb. Use leave-in conditioners as well to retain moisture.
If you’re not in a hurry, we recommend that you towel dry your hair and then air dry with a fan or natural breeze. If not, you could blow dry it well, preferably with low heat. Remember to apply essential hair oils afterward to prevent hair dryness or breakage.
Try not to wash your hair too often, as too much hair manipulation is never okay.
Go Easy With The Combing
Combing your hair too often means increasing the risk of hair breakage. You should use a wide-toothed comb, as it can move through your hair with ease. If it doesn’t get the job done, relax.
Divide your hair into four or five parts. Use a smaller comb to comb through the hair until you reach those curly roots. Do this for each of the divided parts, then style as desired.
Lastly, choosing a suitable and long-lasting hairstyle can reduce your need for constant combing, brushing, and other regular hair manipulations.
Get The Right Hair Products
Everyone reacts differently to different products. Always do your research on hair care products before applying. Some products may contain certain ingredients you’re allergic to.
There are also a lot of fake products out there. Not conducting proper market research increases the risk of using a product that could have adverse effects and destroy your hair.
Lastly, if you must relax your hair, know that some hair relaxers can be harsh on your scalp. It’s even worse when your hair doesn’t settle, but your scalp gets burned.
You might have difficulty convincing the hair stylist that you had the relaxer on long enough. Some women have experienced this, and the results have been very unpleasant.
To avoid this, we recommend considering relaxers explicitly made for women with softer scalps.
Some brands like “Olive” and “Dark n’ Lovely” have alternative relaxers. You could also try using relaxers made for kids instead. Such relaxers tend to be a bit milder than products made for adults.
Lastly, try to apply a protective ointment first, like Shea butter, to minimize the effect. It delays the reaction of the relaxer on your scalp, preventing it from penetrating quickly.
Shea butter gives it more time to work on your hair strands, producing a better overall effect for your scalp and hair.
Consider Making Protective Hairstyles
Some hairstyles protect your natural hair, while some do more harm than good. You need to figure out what styles can be safe for your golden locks.
Healthier Foods Mean Healthier Hair
Foods like eggs, beans, meat, shrimps, fish, and soybeans, contain protein and other essential nutrients that benefit your hair growth and body.
Fruits and vegetables like avocado, spinach, berries, sweet potatoes, and nuts also contain essential body-building minerals like Zinc, Vitamin C, Iron, and other essential vitamins and minerals.
Coupled with regular exercise, adding these to your diet can quickly get your heart pumping oxygen-rich blood to other parts of your body, including your scalp.
It’s a win-win for your body, hair, and overall health.
Protect Your Hair Before Bed
Whether you use pillows while sleeping, your hair is at risk if you do not protect it before sleeping.
As you lay down, you compress the hair, and while you change sleeping positions in the middle of the night, your hair is losing moisture and getting tangled. You’re likely to get one hot bundle of a tangled mess when you finally wake up.
Rather than risk this, always brush your hair gently before bed. Apply essential hair oils or creams to prevent your hair from losing too much moisture.
Next, secure those lush locks with rubber bands or into loose braids. Then you may or may not decide to throw on a hair bonnet or scarf. We recommend covering your hair to prevent hair products on your pillow and face.
Lastly, consider getting a pillow or pillowcase made with softer materials like silk. It would cause less friction on your hair if you instead leave your hair uncovered while sleeping.
A Little Trim Never Hurts
Having uneven hair lengths may seem like your hair is growing faster, but if you don’t trim them soon, it could affect the general hair growth.
If the curly parts of your hair are way more, consider trimming off the straight parts to allow your hair to grow in the same pattern.
If you have afro hair and you applied hair relaxers previously, you may decide to let your natural curls grow back. Trim off the relaxed parts of your hair to give the curly undergrowth more room to shine.
How to Find the Best Hairstyle If My Hair is Straight On Top snd Curly at the Bottom
The first thing you should consider while choosing a hairstyle is how protective it is of your natural hair.
For instance, if your hair is on the dry side, you should choose a style that keeps moisture locked in for more extended periods. You can avoid situations where your hair strands get too dry and ultimately break or get thinner.
It also doesn’t hurt to have a hairstyle that is easy to maintain and restyled quickly for each occasion.
Lastly, it should be a hairstyle that does not cause discomfort. There’s no sense spending so much money on a hairstyle that’s likely to cause you pain, stress, or worse still, make you lose more hair!
We put together a list of protective hairstyles that you can consider based on these criteria:
Afro
While afro hairstyles were the everyday hairstyles between the 70s and 80s, many hair products eventually flooded the market, convincing more people to use relaxers on their hair.
Hair relaxers have some benefits, but the results can quickly become harmful when you apply them too often. Relaxers work by breaking down the protein of the hair strand, so it’s like taking away the protective layer of the hair for it to work.
They do not only make your hair straight, but they make it a bit weaker and can harm your scalp too. Every time you have some undergrowth, you have curly hair underneath and straight hair on the top layer.
So if you like, you can decide to let your afro curls loose.
You can trim off the straight hair and let your natural thick curly hair grow. If you decide to rock your natural afro curls, you can use hair products made specifically for afro hair to moisturize it and keep it looking shiny.
This option is better than regularly using relaxers and other hair straightening products.
Wavy Hair
The truth is, you can never go wrong with wavy hair. Whether you aim to look professional, sexy, fun-loving, or casual, wavy hairstyles are always a fashion plus.
If you have wavy hair underneath, you can use a curling iron to curl the straight parts of your hair. This way, all aspects of your hair can look the same.
It would also help moisturize before using the curling iron to protect your hair strands from breaking immediately. With proper hair maintenance, you can always rock your curly long hair.
Deep Curls
If your hair is curlier underneath, then you’re in luck! Deep hair curls are so fashionable that many celebrities do not mind fixing several hair extensions to achieve this look. With deep curls, you get a fuller look, making you bolder and more beautiful at the same time.
One curly girl method to achieve this look is to use hair rollers. Wash your hair, apply the setting spray, fix the hair rollers and pins, then sit in the dryer for a few minutes until your hair feels dry.
Depending on how intense your curls are, you can pick larger hair rollers or smaller ones.
You should also know that deep curls are a few hairstyles that lock moisture in your hair, making it an excellent choice for a protective hairstyle. Plus, it encourages good hair hygiene since you usually would be required to wash your hair first.
Make sure you do not repeat this too often, so you don’t wash out all the moisture in your hair or strain your hair with too much heat and styling.
Another great thing about deep curls is that you usually wouldn’t have to comb, restyle or brush them every day. So if you’re the type who is always in a rush, curly hair could do wonders for you.
Another curly method is to apply some moisturizer specifically made for curly hair. You can give your hair shine this way, then comb it out with your fingers to detangle it, and voila! You’re a curly girl now.
READ: How to Hide Extensions in Very Short Hair
Go Shorter at the Crown
One of the reasons we love Rihanna so much is her ability to explore hairstyles. She blessed us with some of the best pixie cut looks in her music videos like “Diamonds,” Stay,” and “Disturbia.” Because of her, more women decided to give pixie cuts a shot, and you can do that too.
A pixie cut is a good option if you’re wondering how to even out your hair texture. It allows you to trim your hair, get rid of split or uneven hair lengths, and get a revamped look. Interestingly, you could always decide to cut it all off.
While many people see long hair as a beauty standard, more and more women are learning to detach their feelings of beauty from their hair. We admit it takes some courage to do this, but the most important thing is that it gives room for new hair growth.
There’s a reason why spring is one of the most loved seasons. Only a few experiences are as beautiful and refreshing as experiencing new growth.
Getting a full haircut also gives you the rare opportunity to thoroughly examine your scalp without any encumbrances and figure out what’s happened.
Overall, getting a haircut is protective because you can examine your scalp, treat infections if you have any, or get rid of bad hair and start afresh.
But even if it’s just to pour some cool water on your head or feel the breeze touch your scalp, getting a full haircut can be a rejuvenating experience.
Braids
Other hairstyles are great, but we believe braids give certain originality that’s just rare.
Braiding your hair defines your face, bringing out its shape perfectly. Although braiding originated from the black culture, it looks so good that several women of other races now wear them.
Even non-black celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Adele, and other fashion icons have rocked braids and Bantu knots on different occasions.
Braiding your hair is also healthy because it keeps your curls moisturized for more extended periods. Keeping moisture locked in your hair strands prevents them from getting thinner and less hair dryness or breakage.
It also means no tangled hair, no need for combing, constant blow-drying, or heat styling. Plus, you would give your scalp some room to breathe so your hair doesn’t get smelly from heat and sweat.
Overall, you get a cleaner scalp and healthier hair when you braid.
You also get a lot of styling options when you braid your hair. You could pack your braids in a ponytail without worrying about your hair pattern. You could even get creative with colors too.
Lastly, you can easily maintain braids. All you need to do is apply oils regularly.
If your hair type isn’t best suited for braids, it shouldn’t stop you from exploring. Just make sure to take them out as quickly as possible, so you don’t damage your hair. You could also do a few loose braids or braid your hair in two before bed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the most common questions asked by people who are worried about their hair pattern are mixed hair patterns, age factor on hair patterns, root causes of hair curls, and many more.
We’ve provided answers to these frequently asked questions.
I have straight hair, but some strands are curly.
As we noted earlier, genes determine your curly and straight hair patterns. However, you could also develop a few curly hair strands as you experience hormonal changes or your body begins to age.
If your curly hair is not natural, a proper diet and a healthier lifestyle will work wonders for your hair.
Is this called combination hair, and is there any way to treat this kind of hair?
Combination hair means that you have oily hair roots but dry hair ends. This hair type means that your scalp produces nutrients, but your undergrowth is curly and thick.
This hairstyle prevents the nutrients from reaching the more extended parts of your hair. You do not have combination hair unless you constantly have greasy hair roots but dry straight hair.
You can use a leave-in hair conditioner for the dry parts to treat combination hair. You can also wash your hair with apple cider vinegar to eliminate impurities.
Lastly, consider trimming off the dry parts from time to time.
What should I do if my hair is curly at the bottom?
If you’re sure it isn’t due to a lack of nutrients or overwashing, you can decide to use curling products to make a curl pattern. Also, consider any of the protective steps and hairstyles we suggested earlier.
Can straight hair turn curly?
Due to hormonal imbalance, stress, pregnancy, nutrient deficit, or age, straight hair can become curly.
Is curly hair rare?
Not at all. According to research, curly hair is usually the dominant gene, so curly long hair would be more if you have the genes for straight hair.
Does your hair get curlier as you age?
Our body metabolism slows down as we age, so we need more nutrients to help us keep up. You may notice some strands of hair looking withered with age.
What causes hair to curl?
Aside from genetic factors, other reasons your hair could turn curly include lack of nutrients, pregnancy, hormonal changes, and age. Your body needs a higher supply of nutrients during these periods to keep your hair healthy.
Why is my hair curly underneath but straight on top?
Some factors contribute to mixed hair texture, and one of the most substantial contributors is genetics.
Inherited genes determine your hair texture. When genes from your parents interact, they produce your unique hair texture, so this means that if one of your parents has curly and straight hair, you might likely have a mixed hair texture.
Final Words
We hope we answered your question, “Why is my hair curly underneath but straight on top?” Some factors are undeniably contributors to your hair texture, and the dominants of these factors are genes, stress, or damaged hair.
If your mixed hair texture bothers you, you might want to consider leading good hygiene and correctly taking care of your hair.
If you found this article helpful, check out other great articles on HairsAffairs.com to help you maintain healthy hair