Over 40 with combo type of Hair 2C/3A -- Help to Heal and Grow

BiracialGal41

I am over 40 and my hair feels damaged. I know that I haven't been good to my hair -- often doing tight ponytails as it is easier, not deep conditioning, no getting ends cut often, flat ironing at times, bad diet. My ends dry very quickly.

I think my hair type is between a 2C and a 3A. Though it is somewhat hard to tell. I am biracial and have naturally curly hair that has a lot more body and vibrant when it is shorter and curls that look a little more corkscrew. However, if I comb my hair I can usually end of with a wavy type of semi-straight looking hair.  I find that by the 3rd day of brushing my hair, it looks more wavy and slightly curvy, but nothing like my natural curls. Parts of my hair are far straighter than they are curly. 

When my hair is straightened, it is extremely thin/fine. I lost a lot of hair years ago after overdoing it with the flat iron. 

I grew out my hair a while ago and the new growth has been only flat ironed, no chemical relaxers or dyes. I really want to grow my hair out and regain a lot of the body it once had. I try to ignore those that say it isn't possible due to age, etc. I have been taking biotin, but not seeing a lot of improvement. Though, my hair has grown about 6 inches in the past 3 years.

Any recommendations on how to treat my fine/thin hair and restore it back to its previous glory? I am looking for an affordable regimen that can help me to feel better about my overall appearance. First pic is after a couple of days of brushing and using a little hair cream. Bottom photo is from 2000 when my hair was much fuller and healthier.

Guide 65

Welcome!  A lot of us here follow the Curly Girl Method.  Basically, we eliminate products with sulfates and silicones.  Silicones create a coating over the hair strand that initially adds shine and manageability to the hair, but is not water soluble, so it can build up.  It also blocks moisture from getting to the hair.  Sulfates will clear the silicones off the hair, but they're very drying and damaging to the hair.  So if we get rid of both, we can really start to moisturize and hydrate the hair, and well hydrated hair will curl to its full potential.

There's a book by Lorraine Massey called The Curly Girl Handbook.  It's a great place to start.  You can find all the information on the internet, but there's also a lot of misinformation, so I feel it's best to get it straight from the source to give you a good basic understanding of the principles. 

fefferknits

First of all, 100% ignore anyone who says it's not possible to get your curl back. I'm 41 and didn't start CG until 1 1/2 years ago. My hair has only gotten better and better as it's gotten healthier, and mine was quite thin bc of some medical issues. 

The book mentioned above will give you tons of info, but I'll say the things that helped me the most were 1) skipping wash days--I only wash 1-2 times a week, and 2) laying off the heat. I try to only heat style my hair 2-3 times/week at most. That means refreshing with a light spritz of water, or an updo, or sometimes just letting my hair relax with no product on a day at home. The less I stress it, the more curly it gets. But I haven't found that age has anything to do with the health of my hair...not at 40, anyway! 

Good luck!