Solutions For Natural Hair Shrinkage

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Dianne Austin

Dianne is the co-founder of Natural Haircare News and Coils To Locs.com. She's been blogging about natural hair ever since she made the decision to break free of the creamy crack in 2012.

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Shrinkage is a problem for many naturals. The natural makeup of curly and kinky hair is what makes it shrink as it dries. This is a problem because it makes detangling and styling hair a lot more difficult and frustrating.

The blow dryer is the go-to solution for many naturals but stretching hair using heat all the time is not recommended because it can be damaging to hair. And heat-damaged hair is impossible to repair. So what to do?

Black Naps suggests the following solutions that can make dealing with hair shrinkage a little easier:

Choose the right conditioner for your hair to make it easier to comb through
Try styling your hair after it has air-dried instead of while it is still wet
Stretch by pineappling your hair

I have to say, in terms of tip #2, it never dawned on me with the severe shrinkage I was getting with my go to style – the wash n go (and an occasional wet twist) – I was causing more than normal detangling issues and hence more breakage.

It makes sense though when I see my sister Dianne’s hair growth versus my own even though I started my journey well before she did. I always chose the previously mentioned options. She the twist and braid outs. Although my styling option looked good I was loosing hair on the regular. She was retaining hair… on the regular.

Now that I’m following her lead and the advice of other respected bloggers I’m actually seeing the results with my current desire for fullness and length.

Read more about these shrinkage solutions, as shared by fellow Naturalista, Black Naps here.

Author: Pamela

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural.