I got my hair cut some days ago and hated it immediately. My curls were not bouncy anymore. They were clumping weirdly. The ends looked frayed. I have always noticed that I have an adjustment period before my curls start behaving the way they should. So I wanted to find out the reasons for this curly haircut shock.
I haven’t gotten any solid scientific explanations here. More so because not all hair stylists agree that hair shock exists since hair is dead. But I totally believe in this concept because it happens to me every time.
Hair cut shock can manifest in the following ways in curly hair:
1. Unruly clumps – The longer your hair is, the more weight there is to hold it down into position. When the weight is removed, hair is not as controlled.
2. Not-so-wow curl definition – Hair has some “memory”. If you style your hair in a certain way all the time, hair will “memorise” that pattern to an extent. Hair gets used to a certain weight and length. Nature likes patterns and that’s the reason curls clump in the first place. So when the length changes, strands that used to clump together once may have become part of other clumps and they need the retraining time. Along with length, weight also changes.
3. Ends looking weird – With a haircut, the “S” formation of the curl is disrupted. Every curl clump should end in an “S”. So when the hair is cut off, you may end up with a quarter or three quarters of an “S” which isn’t how curls fall naturally.
4. Blunt thick ends –
1) Fat ends of curl clumps are not flattering. We want them to taper. In 2-3 weeks, the different strands of each clump grow at different rates and there will be wear and tear making them more tapered.
2) The ends absorb more water and plump up because they are newer than your old ends. The healthy hair will tend to retain water better than split or tough ends. Within a few days they will toughen up and become drier and less plump.
5. Product quantity – You will need to decrease the amount of products you use to suit the new length and this may take some experimentation.
It takes 1-2 weeks and a few washes for curls to adapt and blend into each other. Of course, if the haircut itself is bad, there’s nothing much to do other than waiting for months and growing it out *blah*.
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Hi! I am Anjana and I fell in love with my curly hair after years of hating it. YOU can too!
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Manna
August 16, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Hey anjana, my fellow saggitarian☺️.. I’m planning on getting a haircut( I’m sure you remember my curly hair from school).. Would you recommend Bblunt??
Anjana
August 16, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Hi Manna! Yes Bblunt has been good for my haircut the last 2 times 🙂 Go for it and let me know how it goes.
Indian Hair
August 16, 2016 at 6:07 pm
This is super curly haircut. i love this one.. really it is beautiful
GK
August 22, 2016 at 10:45 am
Hi Anjana,
I seem to be getting a few gray hair recently.
My friends usually apply henna on their hair to hide their grays but they have straight hair.
I have curly hair just like yours and i was wondering what would be a good option to hide the gray hair? Do you think henna is a good idea bcz i’ve heard it tends to dry curly hair and opens all the beautiful curls.
Anjana
August 22, 2016 at 1:28 pm
Yes henna has a curl loosening effect and it may stretch your curls/waves, weighing them down. An ammonia free hair color is a better alternative. Get it done at a salon or follow the instructions on the box to the T.
Lorena
March 9, 2017 at 10:30 am
Thats good but your hair is wavy not curly. Beautiful hair though.
Anjana
March 9, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Thank you Lorena 🙂
sarika devrukhkar
September 15, 2017 at 3:51 pm
hello please suggest me shampoo and conditioner for curly hair
Anjana
September 15, 2017 at 4:28 pm
Hi Sarika, please go through this – Start Here 🙂
Anjana
October 6, 2017 at 1:30 am
Hi Anjana
I’m new to this blog and I’m loving this site and trying to get started on a whole new way to care for my hair. Bt I can’t figure out my hair type.Could I send you some of my pictures?
Hope to hear from you.
Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Anjana
October 10, 2017 at 11:21 am
Please do send 🙂
Beth
July 29, 2018 at 12:11 am
Hi Anjana,
Beth from South Africa here. I really hope that you can help me in trying to find a better winter routine – I’m at my wits end. In Summer my (medium textured, 3a, highly porous) hair loves products with glycerin and it grows from strength to stength. In winter because of too high and too low dew points I have to avoid glycerin (it causes major frizz) and my hair is almost always aweful. I’ve used the LOC method to aid in the loosing of moisture but I need to find out what ingredients to look for to hydrate my hair in winter. Do you have any tips? Thank you for you time.
Anjana
July 29, 2018 at 12:42 am
Hey Beth, check this https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curly-girl-method/how-to-choose-the-right-products-for-the-weather-for-curly-hair
Beth
July 31, 2018 at 10:50 am
Thank you, Anjana – that’s exactly the info I needed. Thank you so much for an awesome website too.
Anjana
July 31, 2018 at 1:39 pm
:):)
Stuti
May 11, 2019 at 12:20 am
Hi!! I felt like all the three picture’s were perfect. Thats the beauty of curls. Messy is out perfect. Hey I cut my hairs about two inches yesterday after about 2 years and all of a sudden I found them more curly. But that was my own DIY because I have a lack of time to visit salon in this month. Also because I am worried that all hairdressers cut my hair like how they would with straight hair. It’s hard to find someone who does a curly cut. What regular cut do you suggest? Or what shall I explain to my hairdresser to have bouncy from the top, curly cut?
Anjana
May 16, 2019 at 2:35 pm
Haha true! https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/haircuts-for-curly-hair/
D
July 17, 2019 at 1:56 am
I wonder if it is because some hair stylists aren’t cutting at the right place of the curl. Doing it would probably make the haircut better but would take longer.
Anjana
July 17, 2019 at 7:58 pm
Yes, that’s what point # 3 mentions 🙂
Shreya
August 20, 2020 at 9:56 am
Hi Anjana,
I went thru your website by chance, while checking for reviews of shampoo and conditioner of vilvah.
Found your website really helpful..you are a motivation to keep on curly hair which i have been hating for so long..
Thank-you for inspiring many girls like me.
Well I wanted to take some tips from you on how to maintain my hair, on the day of shampoo my curls are amazing but a day or two later, I have too much of tangles and all curls are gone..could you please suggest what should be done…I feel that mu curls are opening …I have done temporary straightening in two or three occasions but never a permanent one… But,yes, coloured my hair thrice
Do let me know which shampoo and conditioner is the best for my hair which is rough, dry, frizzy and full of dandruff. I was checking for Vilvah Herbal shampoo and cream conditioner..what is your opinion about the same. And what other things should i do
Anjana
August 20, 2020 at 3:56 pm
You may have damaged hair from the straightening Shreya. Check point 14 https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/curly-hair-faq/
Check this for my recommendation https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/beginner-friendly-simple-curly-hair-starter-kit/