Natural Hair Growth Tip 8 - Dealing With Shrinkage and Stretching Natural Hair Without Heat

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Natural hair has a tendency to recoil towards the scalp.

Curls loosen when they are wet but as they dry they revert to a much more coily state.

Banding

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.

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