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What causes hair shrinkage and why you should embrace it
While textured hair varies in thickness and curl or coil pattern, one pretty universal thing is that it’s prone to shrinkage, and the more coily, the more shrinkage. But what causes it, and should you pay much attention?
What causes hair shrinkage?
Shrinkage is common with textured hair types. When hair is wet it is elongated, but it will shrink when it dries. You can avoid shrinkage by using heavy moisturizing products and keeping your hair conditioned and moisturized at all times. Some hair types can shrink up to 75% of their length when pulled taunt. If you straighten this hair type with heat, moisture from the environment can affect your style and your hair will return to its natural curly/coily state.
The main thing to remember with shrinkage is that it isn’t an indicator of healthy or unhealthy hair, it’s just a characteristic of certain hair types. When it comes to Black natural hair, shrinkage is normal and should be expected at some level when moisture meets your hair.
How to prevent shrinkage
If your hair is in its natural form, then hair shrinkage is inevitable. The only way to stop shrinkage is by heat and leave-on products to keep hair conditioned and help to delay shrinkage. But with these products, once washed off, your hair will revert to its natural characteristics. Shrinkage just shows the natural elasticity of coily hair and elasticity is the indicator of healthy hair.
Utilizing styles like braid-outs and twist-outs will help to elongate hair if you prefer your hair stretched. Style your hair when damp, adding products such as curling cream or holding gels liberally as you go. Then, allow it to dry and this will set your hair in a stretched way.
If you’ve skipped these steps and allowed your hair to dry with shrinkage, you need to re-wet your hair and style it. This is because the hair’s bonds temporarily reset as it dries.
If you’re happy to use heat on your hair, you can use a hairdryer with a diffuser attachment to dry natural curls more quickly. For looser curls, use leave-in conditioner and creams.
