So how do we combat shrinkage?
Heat
Typically we would say lay off of the heat because it can be damaging to your strands and don’t get us wrong we still say lay off, heat damage is nothing to snooze at. The fact remains that heat is one way to combat shrinkage and a pretty good way at that! Stretching your hair using heat, however, must be done in a responsible manner. You can try the tension blow dry method along with a very good heat protectant* to minimize damage to your natural hair.
On the more extreme end of the scale, you can do a single pass with a medium heat flat iron*, again with a great heat protectant*.
Styles that offer maximum stretch
Styles that give your maximum stretch include roller sets, straw sets or curlformers*, all of which do not require heat to dry. These tools are amazing because they hold the hair taut for you while your hair dries so that you can stretch your hair out without worry.
The key though is allowing your hair to dry completely, so many women use overhead hair dryers* or just air dry for a very long time, including overnight for the best results.
Styles that offer a degree of stretch
► Braid Out – This style will give you a stretched look along with kinky* curly definition. You will definitely see length with this method with just about 8 to 10 braids.
►Twist Out And Flat-Twist Out – Both are very easy and provide great stretch and lovely spiral curls. The smaller the twists that you install, the more curly your hair will become but the less stretched. Twist outs do not give as much stretch as braid outs but it is all a matter of preference.
Why combat it? Embrace it, it’s a beautiful thing!
As your hair gets longer shrinkage can cause breakage as the strands wrap around each other. Personally I like to do braid outs so my hair is stretched a little. Its still in a shrunken state but not as bad as my natural shrinkage. However we should love our hair at every stage but sometimes its nice to switch it up.
I have shrinkage really bad.
Bantu Knots gives my 4c hair style and helps keep my hair stretched.
I have 4A hair and twists/braids stretch mine pretty nicely. I have curlformers too but they make my hair straight like I flat ironed it! >:(
Twist outs are my best friend for stretching my hair and keeping a pretty style. On my most recent I added a little ‘jam’ styling gel to each twist along with my water, oil and leave in conditioner. Gave me much better and longer lasting definition. Curlformers are a nice change when I want a straighter looking style.
Pretty