SHRINKAGE!!!! Ughhh… I despise that
word. In regards to my hair it totally
drives me batty… however with my waist line…sometimes I wish it would do more
shrinking; but that isn’t why we are here. Shrinkage with regards to fabric is
defined as “becoming smaller than its original size”, which can be caused when
the scales on the fibers come in contact with water or heat. WOW!!!!
This definition depicts how my hair reacts to water (not heat).
It wasn't until my hair started to
grow longer that I even understood what shrinkage meant and how it could
totally mess up my swag! I could go from flowing movable curls to a shrunken
frizzy mess in the matter of a couple of sprays of water. My hair texture is “fine”
on most of my head and therefore sometimes styles don’t hold without a product
that gives me tons of moisture with a holding agent. I have also struggled with
some sections of my hair being more stretched than others. When you couple
shrinkage with fine hair it is one uphill battle. It is so frustrating trying
to style hair that is shrunken, frizzy and lacks definition. Through styling
one day last week, I noticed the back-center section of my hair was especially
shrunken; much more than on the rest of my head. The curls are also tighter in
that section. I remember once my stylist
telling me that a natural client of hers would put a relaxer for 2 or 3 minutes
in that section of her hair to loosen the curl. I AM NOT ABOUT THAT LIFE! Lol!
Shrunken Hair... :(
Over time I knew I had to figure
this out and conquer the “shrinkage” without damaging my hair. So you might
ask…. What did you do? Well first… I add tons of moisture to hair; I also wear
protective styles as much as possible to stretch and also shield hair. I
workout three to four times per week and protecting the hair is very essential
for my busy life. Plus my “trainer” and friend Liz wouldn't appreciate my
taking years to get ready in the locker room. When wearing my hair curly, I do
12 twist-outs all over, then put them in a low pony tail to stretch overnight.
In the morning I take the twists out, fluff and go.
Fluffed Stretched Hair ... That's better :)
There are also some new products
out on the scene that claim to combat shrinkage. I recently received the Au
Naturale 10-in-1 Styles Gelee by Dark & Lovely in my February CurlBox. The product has anti-shrinkage
formula that defines and enhances curls. I gave the product a try and while I
like what it does, it made my hair more firm than I would like it to be. Stay
tuned for a review on that…..
How
have you combated shrinkage without compromising styling?
