There are three things you want to protect against when you go to bed:

1. Matted hair as this leads to tangling and knotting.
2. Excessive abrasion and rubbing.
3. Hair getting drier.

The solutions are simple:

1. Spritz and moisturise hair before bed so that it's in the best condition possible. Don't use too much product so that you don't stain your sheet;
2. Twist hair to prevent matting and
3. Last but certainly not least, wear a satin cap or use a satin pillow case because contact between hair and cotton bedding draws moisture out of hair.

When my hair was medium length (i.e. up until just over two years of growth) I didn't always twist it before bed so I did have to deal with matting sometimes. Matting was not excessive every time but as my hair grew longer it became a real problem so I stopped going to bed without twisting my hair, even after a long night out!

Matting gets worse and worse the more nights you go to bed without twisting your hair.

I wish I had done this sooner. I shaved one side of my head about 3 weeks before I shaved everything off and I loved it. 

If you've been wanting to do this, don't hesitate, get to the nearest barbers and enjoy your youth.

What is a wash and go?

A wash and go involves washing, conditioning and moisturising hair and leaving your hair as it is without stretching. Wash & Go hair is usually loose

Normally, after the washing process you would plait, twist or curl hair in order to stretch it. With a wash and go you cut the stretching stage out.

Why would you want to do a wash and go?

• To save and time.
  
• To have your hair dry into an afro
  

What is the disadvantage of a wash and go?

Massive shrinkage. By day two I find that my hair has shrunk so much that the styles I can do are very limited.

In my opinion, wash and gos last longer on looser curl types (4B, 4A, 3C and lower) as even after a few days the curls are loose enough to achieve a variety of styles which is not the case for my 4C hair. Note that I have looser curls up front and at the back but most of my head is 4C.

How can you make a wash and go last longer?

Use gel!

I find that a good quality gel such as a homemade flaxseed gel makes curls last longer with less shrinkage. That said, by day four you would find that your hair is very shrunken and in need of a shampoo and condition. You might not even be able to just co-wash because of the buildup of the gel.

As your hair gets longer you might find that wash and gos don't work as well even on 4B hair or even 4A hair. It all depends... if you haven't tried washing and going, it's definitely worth a try.

What's wrong with shrinkage?

There's nothing inherently wrong with shrinkage but it causes irritation for some because:

1. Your hair looks MUCH shorter than it actually is;
2. Shrunken hair can be more difficult to style and manage.

How can you stretch hair?

When your hair is wet, typically after your weekly wash and deep condition there are many techniques you can use to stretch it:

• Corn row it if your hair is rather short.
  
• Plait it using a 3-strand plait. This is very effective at stretching.
  
• Twist it
  
• Band it along its length using hairbands as in the picture above
  
• Roll your hair using flexirods, twisting rods or anything else

If your hair is dry dampen it a little before stretching. Dry hair does not stretch well.

Why not just stretch natural hair with a blow dry?

You could but heat damages hair over time so many people prefer to avoid heat styling where possible. Remember that heat damage is cumulative so every time you apply heat you increase the amount of damage done the last time. If your heat use is very irregular you're fine but with regular use you'll quickly notice the toll on your hair.

Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.

If you're too aggressive in dealing with knots and tangles you'll get unnecessary breakage, snagging and frustration!

To detangle hair effectively here are a few tips:

• Don't rush.
  
• Don't do it on an empty stomach as you'll tend to be more aggressive and impatient.
  
• Plasticize hair before detangling. That is, dampen it with water and a detangler or moisturiser or conditioner.
• Always detangle hair tips first then move further up.
• Use fingers first as they tend to be more gentle on hair
  
• Once your fingers have done as much work as they can use a good quality wide-tooth comb, like the Neno Natural wide-tooth comb.

How can you avoid tangles?

• Twist your hair before bed so it doesn't get matted;
  
• Wear protective styles more often as loose hair is more inclined to wrap itself around neighbouring hairs.

Tangles and hair length? Long hair tangles more than short hair. My hair got a lot more knotty and tangly as is it grew longer.

Tangles and curl pattern: very curly hair will tend to tangle more than less curly hair.

Tangles and hair thickness: Thick hair will tend to tangle more than thinner hair.

You might also like:
Natural Hair Growth Tip 6 - Combing! When, How, How much?

Why would I, someone whose income comes from hair, shave my hair off? This is why…
 
In December 2014 I was fortunate enough to have my whole family come from Malawi to England to enjoy the birth of my son, Chester.
 
They all came at different times. My sister, Yolie and her son Christopher arrived first, on 8-Dec. My aunt Jayne picked them up from the airport and when they got to the house I was surprised to see that Yolie’s legs were so swollen that she couldn’t walk.
 
She’s naturally skinny so it was very obvious. She said her legs had swollen up en route. We all thought it was just the weird air conditions in a flight. She has lupus and is therefore prone to her legs swelling up at times.
 
Aunt Jayne (a former nurse) said she’d come by the next day to take her to A&E just to check if everything was alright.
 
When they got to A&E the doctor that saw them said that the swelling in her legs would go down, it’s going to be fine and she should just go home. As far as he was concerned, it was just another migrant trying to use the British health system for free.

My aunt insisted that my sister had left home healthy and was now in this state so they should at least run some bloods. A more senior doctor agreed. Begrudgingly, the first doctor took bloods and told them to go to a café or something whilst they waited for the results.
 
When they got back he was in a state of panic. He was pacing up and down asking essentially, “where the hell they’d been?!”
 
At 38 weeks pregnant I was at home babysitting my nephew so I wasn’t privy to these events as they unfolded.
 
Her bloods were not normal. Her potassium was 7.2 when the normal level was 3.5-4.5. Not only that but she was in a severe state of acidosis caused by kidney failure. The reason he was going nuts was that he’d never actually witnessed that level of metabolic derangement in a living being. He said in another 3 hours she would likely be dead.
 
My sister has had lupus since 2010 but you’d never guess from her spirits. She is so positive and spritely all the time. Even on this day you wouldn’t have known the pain she was going through.
 
In the end, she spent about 3 weeks in hospital when she was meant to be on holiday. Some of these days were in the intensive care unit and the resultant total bill which my parents have been paying ever since was about £12,000 ($20,000).
 
My sister’s kidneys are affected by lupus and she now lives with the support of kidney dialysis twice a week (reduced from 3 times a week).

So tomorrow, 2-Jan-2015, I am shaving my head to raise money into research to find a cure for lupus.
​
Every little counts, so please give whatever you can. No amount is too small.

What is lupus?
 
Lupus is an autoimmune condition in which something goes wrong with the immune system and healthy cells and in many cases vital organs are attacked by one’s own body.
 
Who gets Lupus?
 
According to lupus.org:

• 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus
• 90% of people diagnosed with lupus are women, aged 15-44.
• Lupus is 2 – 3 times more prevalent among black people, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders – than among Caucasian women. 
• Systemic lupus accounts for c. 70% of all cases of lupus.
  • In c.50% of these cases, a major organ, e.g. the heart, lungs, kidneys or brain, will be affected. 
  • Cutaneous lupus (affecting only the skin) accounts for c.10% of all lupus cases. 
  • Drug-induced lupus accounts for c. 10% of all lupus cases and is caused by high doses of certain medications.  The symptoms of drug-induced lupus are similar to systemic lupus; however, symptoms usually subside when the medications are discontinued.
• 20% of people with lupus will have a parent or sibling who already has lupus or may develop lupus.
• c. 5% of the children born to individuals with lupus will develop the illness.
• 10-15% of people with lupus will die prematurely due to complications of lupus

 
My sister has systemic lupus and one year ago nearly died due to the complication of kidney failure. She survives day to day with the help of dialysis twice a week and I am hoping and praying that a cure is found soon so that one day she might be able to live a normal life again for her and her son.
 
Every little counts, so please give whatever you can. No amount is too small.

BIG FAVOUR: please share my JustGiving page.