u/Stardust_016

hi! i’m 22 and have been on the pill (yaz) since dec 2023 (so a little less than 3 years) and within the past few days, i’ve started feeling like i need to get off of it.

i can’t really explain it, and i can’t tell if it’s my ocd or intuition. but before this week, taking my pill was just 🤷‍♀️ and now my heart drops whenever my alarm reminder goes off and i HATE putting the pill in my mouth. is my body trying to tell my something?

i mostly started it for PMDD and acne—im not sexually active nor do i ever want children.

but one of the biggest reasons i started debating going off is my hair. i used to have gorgeous, fluffy, curly/wavy hair that i ADORED. now its flat, straight, stringy, and dull, and i suspect the pill is part of the reason after doing a lot of research and reading other people’s experiences on reddit. (pictures attached: first is current, second is pre-pill). i’ve genuinely tried EVERYTHING (new products, new routines, new HAIRDRYER) and nothing is helping, so i don’t think there’s a surface-level fix.

i don’t feel like myself anymore. i don’t really even feel like a woman—i almost feel like a blank plastic robot? that’s the best way i can describe it lol. i used to have really deep emotions which were difficult sometimes and now that im on bc, i don’t really feel any crazy happy highs anymore and the lows are just low.

i love that the pill helped with my acne, anxiety, and pmdd, and im honestly terrified for all of that to come back. im speaking with my gyno soon to discuss all of this, but i wanted to hear some advice or experiences from you guys

title says it all. first three pics are what it looks like now (present day-mid 2025), last three are what it used to look like (early 2025-2024). it was even curlier in 2022-2023 with full-on ringlets. over the course of two years, my hair has gone from beautifully curly and bouncy to stringy and BARELY wavy. it now feels limp, lifeless, and dull rather than light, fluffy, and full like it used to.

here’s all the info—

texture description: soft finish, fine. not sure about porosity; hair gets wet fast but takes AGES to dry.

current routine—

frequency: every other day

shampoo: i cycle between a lot, but always double shampoo. l’oréal everpure thickening, l’oréal everpure volume, nym aura boost hydrating, nizoral, ag clarifying

conditioner: again, cycle between a lot. i always only about a quarter size on ends and i clip it up for 4-5 minutes to let it soak in. l’oréal everpure thickening, l’oréal everpure volume, nym aura boost hydrating, curlsmith strength. i clarify every 2ish weeks or when i notice it getting particularly heavy/greasy

occasional (every three ish weeks): oribe deep hydrating mask OR curlsmith protein salve

products: i honestly rarely use products, but when i do, it’s a TINY amount of ONE per wash day—and i always do it on soaking wet hair in the shower. ouidad curl revitalizing milk, ouidad out of thin hair gel, nym perfecting spray, ouidad climate control mousse

drying: plop with a cotton tshirt, then diffuse on medium heat and low speed

sleeping—either pineapple with a silk scrunchie or piled on the top of my head under a silk scarf. always on a silk pillowcase either way with my hair fully dry.

i USED to use the cake big wig and curl next door lines, but they’re no longer available where im at. i started taking birth control which is the most likely culprit, but i don’t know.

im really seeking ANY advice anyone may have about how to get my curls back OR what sort of haircut to get to help me cope with my wavy/straight hair and help me feel pretty again. i’m also open to product suggestions. i genuinely barely have any pictures of myself lately because i feel so ugly without my curly hair. i know i shouldn’t put as much value into something like hair, but it’s been hard to look in the mirror for the past year