The ones with the curly hair; some love it, some don’t. It is not unusual for the ladies with the curly manes, to dread certain moments of their daily lives – especially upon waking up each day, when many feel as if their hair has grown out in every possible direction overnight!A bike ride with the hair uncovered also is much dreaded as well! Although such problems are amusing to read and are depicted in hilarious ways in pop culture and movies, the ones who suffer the experience on a daily basis may not always feel the same about it.

Why is the hair curly?

Imagine the cross section view of a strand of hair. If the hair follicle is asymmetrical, it leads to hair with an oval cross section which makes it curl, in the growing process. People who have perfectly straight hair have round shaped follicles.

The problems!

As mentioned earlier, curls could take a long time to untangle, especially after a night’s sleep or after a bike ride – activities that are most guaranteed to result in a grooming nightmare! Also, they take a long while to grow and appear ‘long’, as curly hair always appears shorter than its actual length. Curly hair also takes much longer than other hair types to dry out, especially if the weather is humid and isn’t helping much. Water actually gets trapped between the hair strands and takes longer for the air to get to these droplets and evaporate them off. Hence, though curly hair is actually perfectly fine and healthy, some (or say many) just don’t love it too much, because of the maintenance difficulties. Also, curly hair can cause a person to be the brunt of many jokes in social circles!

Can curly hair be altered?

In this modern day, quite a lot is possible. External means can be adopted to straighten out the hair to a degree of convenience via heat application methods. These could provide lasting results but would need constant touch-ups as new hair sprouts out. There are temporary straighteners available too and the effects last only till one’s next bath. Care must be taken not to heat the hair follicles while administering heat, as it can destroy them. Straightening out one’s hair can totally change the way one looks; hair appears to have less volume and also sticks close to one’s head and is very less prone to ‘sticking’ out. There are also chemical means available to alter the texture of one’s hair.

To know about hair care, please do feel free to get in touch with Dr Rasya Dixit.

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The information provided in Dr. Dixit's answer is for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice. The information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with a qualified health professional who may be familiar with your individual medical needs.