Well, the answer is…a lot. If you have coily curls one moment and limp curls after heat usage or having it straightened for too long, the good news is - you can get your coils back with time and patience. I promise- your hair starts to LOVE you when you start implementing consistent, *productive* routine with quality products that compliment your hair type. Your hair knows how to behave - it will tell on you!
So the picture on the left shows my hair after I straightened it and left it straight for 4 days and repeated the same thing a week later. So it can go without saying that I was being extremely lazy. Wash day came around both times and I was so sad to see my coily curls had practically peaced out on me. So after this, I kicked it back into high gear and launched myself back into my full hair care routine.
I had worked so hard over the past 4 years to get my curls back. And what is crazy to me is that I thought I had looser curls because those are the ones that started to come in first. But then, as time went on, I got some super coily ones. At this present time, they have started dominating my head in some places (when I don't straighten my hair, HA). It's amazing at how sensitive hair can be, and in my case, I wasn't nurturing my hair enough for it to be at its highest potential, hence why I was so surprised to see super coily curls! And it was only patience and productive quality routine that showed me this lesson.
The picture on the right shows my hair after I did my hot oil treatment using the Royal Oil Treatment, shampoo and deep conditioner, apple cider vinegar rinse, Majestic Leave-In and Chebe Crown Butter (all in the high porosity version. Since our product line does not yet have shampoo, I made sure that I used a shampoo that cleanses due to the oil treatment but also does not strip of moisture). **chef's kiss**
I have low porosity hair now, but I always had high porosity before recently. Growing up, I was always straightening my hair and chemically relaxing it, so my hair was severely damaged and porous. That being said, because my hair tends to be lower porosity now, I will use the high porosity as needed if I notice my hair is behaving differently, which usually is a result from too much manipulation.
This side by side is eye opening. The left is my hair before my routine (it's been looking scraggly for 2 weeks at this point) and the right is after my routine, done the same day. I think it's amazing at how quickly our curls react to heat exposure. And what is even more amazing is that our hair knows how to behave - and like I said, it can (and WILL) tell on you. It remembers its natural patterns.
I have been natural since 2018 and it was not until 2021 that I started having coily curls appear. So with that, keep in mind that if you are just starting to go natural, this will most likely not be your result until some time has passed, depending on your hair. But with the right nourishment, routine, and products that actually work for your hair type, your hair can and will bounce back!