4 Benefits of Shrinkage

Shrinkage is a double edged sword for me. I love it because I end up rocking some pretty BAAs w/ it. However, embracing my 4b hair type shrinkage also means more work on wash day, and more tangles (unless I totally keep my hands out of it — not likely).

Also, I’m an engineer and frankly, my fro doesn’t fit under the hard hats I have to wear. 🙁 le sigh. I have come to accept it for its pros and cons.

Shrinkage leads to more fairy knots :(. I’m transitioning and I already see them. wtf? makes me wonder if I should not continue.

My shrinkage is pretty bad so I just decided to stop fighting it. Instead, I have challenged myself this autumn/winter to protective styling and pampering my hair at every opportunity to grow it out to my desired length. I started this the first week of September and I am happy to report that the last time I detangled I was shocked at how little hair I had lost. I think Im on to something!

I have finally come to the conclusion that shrinkage isn’t a friend to my 3c coily curly hair. I went thru the summer basically wearing a wet-set bun or afro puff style (oftentimes with a hairnet covering the exposed puff), and after a couple of weeks I noticed that I would have to trim my ends more often because they would become raggedy (and this after minimum manipulation, oil treatments, no blow drying, etc). After co-washing I would seal in moisture with a castor oil and shea butter mixture, and it would feel and look great initially, but long term… Read more »

I think it depends on your hair type. When my 4b hair is in a shrunken state it does not fair well. I DO get knots. Wash and gos result in a time detangling on wash day. That is because my 4b is so tightly curled, when it is allowed to shrink, it curls up on itself causing knots. I believe my hair is better off in stretched styles, so I usually style on dry hair. But I can see how for someone with a different hair type shrinkage could be beneficial for the above reasons. As for me, my… Read more »

I have a hate/love relationship with shrinkage.….I hate how much shorter my hair looks but I LOVE the better curl definition I get with it. I recently starting wearing my natural hair out( got tired of hiding under weaves) and the complements I’ve been getting are great! Makes me want to kick myself for not going natural sooner.

I welcome shrinkage because it leads to less pressure to style, lol. I just really mastered the wash and go and now I have so much hair that it’s not really a viable option anymore. I feel pressure to accessorize when I didn’t really need to before.

I’ve found (and perhaps this isn’t for all hair but Cocoa loves it [yea, my hair has a name]) that de-tangling is an every day process: I try to do it whenever I’m in the shower. This is my second time around doing a BC and while I do miss my length, it’s a definite toot that my hair is much more durable this time around!

Also @ cassieo: Being natural was one of the best decisions I’ve made as concerns self. Don’t rethink your decision!!! It isn’t always glamourous but the payoffs are always amazing!

In reality shrinkage is a nightmare — there are no benefits to having shrinkage but it’s something naturals must accept without choice and we do. Those who claim to love it are just chanting open meditations to get them over the hatred and disdain most naturals (including they themselves) really feel for shrinkage. If shrinkage was so loved, we would not see people cooing over those with hair types that exhibit low-no shrinkage at all — the ones whose hair does not go from shoulder length to a TWA but rather from APL to just above APL. Shrinkage may not cause… Read more »

I just deal with it. One day I have a huge Afro and the next day I can have baby one( If I don’t tie it up at night) I used to really dislike it but then I realized the benefits of being able to have that range of different styles. The only thing is when I want to stretch it again it takes about 3 or 4 days to get it back to it’s longest length but other then that I love it now!

My shrinkage bothers me!! Only because my 4b/4c hair shrinks up to like… 75%. I just want to be able to put it in a ponytail sometimes and leave it alone! I big chopped on October 15 of last year, and I haven’t trimmed my hair at all. I really think that my hair tangles around itself primarily at the ends because of this. I plan to trim it and do a length check today and then I will keep it braided up for the better part of the next year and a half so that I can keep it… Read more »

@ Anon — You bring up some valid points about shrinkage, I don’t think people go to bed at night wishing for hair that shrinks like ours does, lol.

@Anonymous
I agree with many of your points, but I think you should stick to speaking for YOURSELF and not all other naturals. Everyone is different — different hair textures, practices, different attitudes, likes, and dislikes.

For me personally, shrinkage does cause more knots, so I end up doing a lot of twist outs. More manipulation, but less shrinkage and less knots.

I don’t like it. It’s make my short hair looks even shorter. Ive been fully natural for a year now so maybe when I get to the 3yr mark, I’ll be at peace with it? Idk
I find myself blow drying my hair at least twice a month before styling…
Oh well, I can only hope that I won’t damage my hair too much…
As for now, I’ll try and keep kinky twists in until I get over it. That way I’ll avoid the heat…

Oh, I forgot to mention that I have 4c hair

I Definitely Embrace It, Love Your Shrinkage! LOL

I’ll admit i too — I’m not a fan of how shrinkage looks on me, even though I do have noticeable length without manipulating it. I blew my hair out yesterday for several reasons. First, because I’d just trimmed for the second time in less than a month and I wanted to experiment with blow drying on a less intense temperature, and because I wasn’t even sure how long my hair really was. When I saw it, and the fact that it made styling my hair easier, I was content with that.

I’m transitioning, so half of my hair is natural while the other half isn’t. That being said, I like the shrinkage, lol! When my hair is all straightened out, it comes to about shoulder length (I got sick of the knotty transitioning two months ago and cut off six inches). But after I first wash it and condition, I do a two strand twist to set it, then finger-pull the twists out. The result is a curly crinkly short do. I think I love it so much because for years I kept my hair long and straight, so seeing it… Read more »

The ugly part of being natural is “SHRINKAGE”…

I think I kind of agree with anonymous. Not that everyone hates their hair but I still see the obsession with length, volume, and amount of hair as signs that a lot of people are not over their hair issues. They are trading one for another, using cleaned up language for all of the old-school expressions (e.g. good hair, straightening, etc.) And if your hair has a tighter pattern to it, it means that it has to be much, much longer to get that look that so many people are chasing. This is off topic, but why is it okay… Read more »

To, be honest, I like shrinkage. It has all the benefits listed in the original post. It’s so amazing. 🙂 I stretch my hair via braiding in order to style it into updos. The process of stretching lets me to moisturize my hair more effectively, cuts down and tangles and allows for a bit more versatility. The only think I don’t like about stretching is the lack of coils. But all I need is a spritz of water to bring them back to life. I want longer hair because I’ve never had it. With that said, I’m not obsessed with it… Read more »

I think all of this hating on shrinkage, hating on short hair/ shorter looking hair is stupid and it is a symptom of how stilllll we as black people do not embrace our hair. These posts are a shame to me. I wish all you lovely sisters could just love your hair, love yourselves. For me, shrinkage and hair that doesn’t “show its length” is just a part of being natural. I don’t stress over it, it doesn’t bother me…its just how my hair is. PERIOD. I have 4b/4c hair. It shrinks a lot…but so? So what if it looks… Read more »

I like my shrinkage, I don’t despise it. My hair shrinks a good 50–60% of it’s actual length. It’s tightly curly 3c/4a medium thick and mid-back length. I stretch my hair out via large braids/twists 90% of the time, when my hair is semi-stretched it makes styling much easier. Wearing my hair in it’s shrunken state 100% of the time isn’t too practical for me, I’m sure my hair would be knotted up all the time and it wouldn’t retain much length. I don’t have a need to see or show off my ‘true length’ all the time. I’m satisfied… Read more »

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster. I felt I had to mention that while I don’t fully agree with the whole 3c/4a hair categorization, I would have to describe myself as either 4a or 4b. I absolutely LOVE my shrinkage. Especially in response to Anonymous’ LONG post, and in partial agreement with netsirk, you don’t speak for everyone. I love my hair stretched and shrunken, it’s like two completely different heads of hair.

I love shrinkage, personally. Being able to shape my hair is the benefit I like the most. As my hair gets longer though, it’s harder to shape. Then, I just enjoy the curls.

I hate shrinkage, and I don’t think that it is a hair “issue.” I think it is legitimate to feel frustrated that your hair doesn’t look long when it really is. Like it or not (and please don’t interpret this an an invitation to debate cultural beauty standards), long hair is considered a sign of femininity and men are overwhelmingly attracted to it. I also don’t think there is anything misguided about stretching. I think comparing it to straightening is extreme. Should we glue our hair to our heads instead? Stretched styles such as twist outs, braids, etc. are unique to… Read more »

I don’t think shrinkage is a pain but I don’t appreciate it either. To me it’s just a property of my hair, similar to the fact that my hair doesn’t shine. If I had a choice, my hair wouldn’t shrink as much as it does, though I wonder if that would take away what I love about my hair. I just think of it as a package deal: I can’t keep the pattern if I take away the shrinkage.

I have come to accept shrinkage realizing it is curly strands way of protecting themselves. Even in coils and twists, shrinkage is present in my hair. So, I try not to fight against it and just let it be. I know how long my hair really is.…..lol;-)

Wow, I didn’t know that “shrinkage” (youtuber sumkindawndrful referred to it as “jump” which is a term I prefer) made so many people so angry. It doesn’t bother me, but then again I don’t do wash and go’s. I wear (protective) styles most of the time and I never have any problem getting my hair stretched when I do want to wear it out (I have medium thickness 4a/4b hair). My hair is still fairly short and I have length goals I hope to achieve in the next year or two, but even when my hair gets to that point… Read more »

Anonymous and Andrea act like the whole movement fails because everyone isn’t in love with every aspect of their god given hair. I really don’t see what’s the big damn deal about naturals wanting to stretch or straighten their hair. I also don’t see what’s the big deal with naturals not liking their shrinkage. As if black women are the only women with “hair issues”. ALL women have hair issues. Straight haired women are constantly curling their hair with heat. And they may not express that they wish their hair wasn’t bone straight all the time out loud but they… Read more »

Ditto, Efe. I don’t remember having any obsession about having long hair until probably about a year or so ago. Even now, I’ve tamped it down from what was more like a urgent desire to “it would be cool”. (I’ve been natural for 11 years and am growing it out for longer than I ever have.) My hair’s about 10 inches now, and like Efe said I like the ability to do updos and the occasional BAA. Because of shrinkage, I can let my hair get progressively smaller each day (if I wear my hair out) and fluff it each… Read more »

Oh, btw, I kept it cut for most of the 11 years. I went back and forth growing it and cutting it. I’m in a growing mood right now.

I have to agree with Anonymous and Andrea. Even this site that celebrates natural hair seems obsessed with curl, getting that curl pattern, maintaining that curl pattern, not to mention length. So we don’t want straight hair but we want curly hair…of a certain type? Even when I look at the style icons, natural brides they are gorgeous, but still mostly curly. I haven’t relaxed my hair in a year, this is my second time around and I still struggle(maybe I will name it like Cocoa). My style envy? That chunky, short fro. MAN if only I could get my hair… Read more »

@ Andrea — Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with straightening your hair — do what helps you achieve the look and hair goals you desire. However, I’m assuming you’re asking this question to address perception when your hair is straight versus kinky. I have kinky 4b hair — no pattern. When I stretch my hair, it is straight-like, but it still has a lot of texture! I actually prefer my kinked/shrunken afro over my stretched styles for some “looks” however wearing my afro leads to a lot of knots and tangles for me…thus it doesn’t help me achieve… Read more »

Um, Anonymous? You know they have these things called perms, right? The natural hair journey becomes a lot easier when you ACCEPT shrinkage and learn to work with it. If you can’t accept it, and are soooo obsessed with needing to show length, then maybe you should consider going back to using chemicals. It’s really no big deal…it’s your hair and you can do whatever you want with it. Not everybody’s ready or able to wear their natural hair AND accept it for what it is… Personally, I LOVE shrinkage 99% of the time. I’ve always said it’s the third dimension… Read more »

Shrinkage is difficult for me because it’s hard to manage at this stage. But, I don’t want the idea misconstrued, I am not obsessed with stretching my hair, in fact, my hair NEEDS water, so shrinkage comes with the territory. There is nothing wrong with wanting hair to grow to a certain volume or length whether natural or straight.

I honestly could care less bout the shrinkage. I wanted 2 b natural I bc’d in june and if shinkage is part of what I have 2 deal with 2 b natural then so b it.

The only thing I love about shrinkage is that it makes my thin fine hair look thicker than it actually is! I am not crazy about shrinkage but I understand and accept that it is the nature of my type 4 hair. Just because a person does not like every single aspect of their hair does not always mean that their sentiment stems from some inferiority complex, etc. Sometimes it really is not that deep. I don’t like the fairy knots that occur due to shrinkage but I love the feel of my hair, the kinks and coils, the blackness of… Read more »

@Who gives…I’m not sure why permanent styling is a big deal, or why people think that permanent color is okay but not relaxing. I don’t have a personal problem with any of it, but was pointing out what I’ve seen on this site and in the comments. Lots of obsession over length or hair texture but lots of comments about the evils of using chemicals (and yes, heat too by SOME people). It’s hyperbole to say that relaxers are bad for one’s health (or even one’s hair, depending on the results), but that isn’t the point of this post. As I… Read more »

Oh the thought police are out again. I said I would be honest in my post and I was. It’s is laughable to have someone who is oh so in love with natural hair tell another to go back to perms. I never had a perm nor do I want one. I like my hair but I’m am not going to pretend to love shrinkage to join the happy-clappy-natural-hair-has-no-drawbacks circle. I believe I also said that shrinkage is accepted because people have no choice but to accept that their natural hair will shrink. I don’t have to love that aspect… Read more »

Like everything else it depends on my mood. Some days I hate my shrinkage because it may interfere with a styling preference. But then on other days (equally) I love my shrinkage because it helps my styling preference for the day. Like today, I wore a wash n go pulled back with a headband, by the time my hair was dry it had 50% less length to it but I felt like a princess all day and couldnt keep my hands out of my tightly coiled hair! All of the responses about self hate and beauty standards or what not… Read more »

And why is it that everytime a black woman says that she doesnt like something about her hair people automatically gravitate to the conclusion that it MUST be because she hates herself or because she still thinks that EUROPEAN standards are better. I don’t like to see pimples on my face so I use Acne face washes and toners to control the oil that causes them. Does this mean that I hate my skin? I really don’t understand that! Just saying.

To be honest, I never gave it any thought. I just took it as one of the things my natural hair does when soaked. *shrugs*

It doesn’t bother me. When I was a girl, my pressed hair would be about collar length. But after shampooing it wouldn’t go pass the nape of my neck. I scared my friend in beauty school when she shampooed it for the first time. She was convinced she’d done something horribly wrong. lol It shrinks the most when it’s dried following a fresh shampoo. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when they spend the weekend at the ocean house and Jerry’s girlfriend sees George wet and naked. He keeps screaming about ‘shrinkage’. I have George Constanza hair. lololololol “It’s… Read more »

for the most part, its a benefit especially with the fact that i dont have to be on moistalert with my shrinkage.
I do have problems with maintaining shape because the left side of head has lower shrinkage than the other so my hair can look lopsided at times. but with the help of bantu snots or twistouts, I can get a standard size curl all over

while I don’t always love every single thing about my hair, I can onestly say I absolutely live shrinkage! I have only relaxed my hair for a period of about one year in y entire life ‑26 now- yet I have always had boy-short hhair. it’ my preference, because I really hate the feel of hair on my skin! three years ago, I decided to grow my hair and was ecstatic to find that thanks to shrinkage, my bsl hair shrinks right up to my ears. for me it’s truly the best of both worlds, and I really am not… Read more »

I love my shrinkage. But then again I love my hair. I’m not obsessed about length which probably has more to do with the fact that my hair grows pretty fast. So I’m not afraid of short hair at all. It grew fast when I relaxed it and it’s doing the same thing now. It’s genetic. I can’t help it. But my hair feels happier. The softness and texture gives me a joygasm of the spirit. So shrinkage or stretched out I give it an A+! I currently have a TWA. I think it has a lot to do with creativity and… Read more »

I am only 3 months natural today incidentally and coming across this post and comments made me think about my shrinkage. Hmmmmm.…. Well I can only speak for myself but I think I like my shrinkage. Reason being is I’ve realised I love my hair when it’s at its curliest and as I’m currently wearing wash and go’s at the moment, it’s pretty curly. The shrinkage makes it curly, for me, not frizzy so therefore I like it. I guess maybe when my hair grows a bit more my feelings for shrinkage will change but at the mo, I like… Read more »

I think that it is unfortunate that hair care routine and preferences (shrunken or not) remain a point of contention in the natural hair community. How one chooses to wear there hair is a personal decision. The beauty of going natural is embracing our own beauty. As oppose to the wholesale dismissal of our hair. I went natural last year. I have tightly curled hair. With proper care my hair easily grows to MBL. Will I strive to achieve that length? Yes. Does that mean that I think long hair is better or more beautiful than short hair? No. On… Read more »

@Andrea I completely agree with how you feel about women wearing weaves to wait till they get to a certain length. In fact I had really never given it much thought in that regard. I for one hate fake hair. But I wouldn’t bash another woman for wearing it. It’s not my place to…who am I to judge? But on the subject of hair relaxers and health, it is harmful. For one its highly caustic and if ingested (as it happened to a few children and a 17 year old) it burns through the esophagus. But more importantly, 97% of hair… Read more »

Wow. So if you don’t love shrinkage you don’t love your hair??? That’s preposterous. Everyone has a different hair type. And it is a FACT that for certain hair types shrinkage is NOT healthy. If that is not the case with your hair, so be it. But don’t go around telling others that they must not love their hair and they are obsessed with length… It’s not really about the aesthetic, although I don’t see anything wrong with that viewpoint either.But it’s about keeping a healthy head of hair. Why do we do protective styling? Why do we moisturize? We… Read more »

@who gives…I’m aware of the chemical properties and makeup of relaxers. I have a very LONG science resume. I went to medical school, have two engineering degrees, and an MBA, so yeah, I like learning too. I think the my premed classes plus the basic sciences in med school taught me plenty about chemistry and biochemistry. Hopefully anyone who relaxers them understands not to drink them. A lot of things that we use on our skin and hair would be harmful if ingested(including many “natural” products), and many, many things that we use in our daily life are suspected to… Read more »

I love shrinkage for getting my fringe without getting the scissors out.

I agree and all. But I don’t like the way short hair looks on me… I feel it heightens the fact that I have a chubby face and big head. But that’s my own personal self-acceptance battle that I’m trying to learn how to get past.

@ Andrea

There’s really no need to get defensive about it. My point about ingesting it was mainly for little kids whose parents use relaxers on their hair and they don’t know how dangerous of a chemical it is. But if your so bent on natural things being as harmful as relaxers when ingested, then why don’t you ingest some shea butter and then some lye and tell me how it turns out for you.

@who gives, too funny and i totally agree with you. for one thats why they have beauty sites dedicated to face shapes, some people look horrible with short hair. I’m one of those people, I wore my hair in braids until it was long enough to fit my style and look good on me. now i wear it all the time, except the winter because your hair needs protection especially in the CHI’s cold temperature and my hair is flourishing so, if someone doesn’t like that thats tough, no one is going to tell me how to be natural!! they… Read more »

I don’t mind shrinkage…my hair shrinks 50% or even more when its wet…I did my bc in june this year and have been doing wash n go’s since. i found my hair getting teeny knots on the ends but nothing drastic i only detangle my hair wen i washed it loool to the detriment of everyone around me 😀 and only with a denman brush.…but i found it really hard to do things like twistouts and braid outs myseff because i couldn’t pick it up myself…so what i’ve started doing now is washing my hair with loose braids in…taking them… Read more »

CALL ME CRAZY but i love everything about my natural hair including the shrinkage I find that like you said shrinkage adds a lot of volume and makes the hair appear fuller. I use a pick to pull out my roots to get bigger hair after styling. If i want a stretched out look I style on dry hair.I LOVE having options

my hair SHRINKS!!! because it is currently dry and brittle, there’s no benefit in that. when it shrinks, it coils and mats onto itself & makes it impossible to work through it painlessly. if I want to do anything with my hair, I have to stretch it.

I was self-conscious about shrinkage the first time I went natural. There wasn’t a lot of information back then and I hadn’t found what worked for me yet. I wore a lot of braids and I wasn’t brave enough to just embrace my texture. It still grew very long anyway and I cared about showing off my length so outside of braids I wore 2 strand twists after it was blow dryed. I ended up making the mistake of getting a perm. I hated my limp and eventually thinning and breaking hair. I just wore it slicked back in a… Read more »

I was self-conscious about shrinkage the first time I went natural. There wasn’t a lot of information back then and I hadn’t found what worked for me yet. I wore a lot of braids and I wasn’t brave enough to just embrace my texture. It still grew very long anyway and I cared about showing off my length so outside of braids I wore 2 strand twists after it was blow dryed. I ended up making the mistake of getting a perm. I hated my limp and eventually thinning and breaking hair. I just wore it slicked back in a… Read more »

I’m not a fan of the shrinkage. It may be my creamy crack mentality, but I love the long look of my natural hair after a blown out two strand twist.

I look forward to my hair being long enough to shrink with the length retained. I just hope it doesn’t take a decade for this to happen because it’s been two years now and it still shrinks to the same length!

But thanks for sharing the positives. Good to know.

A lot of the time I don’t mind my shrinkage; but there are days in which I wish my hair would stop living undercover. When I noticed the supposed shortness of my hair I was really worried because I was scared I wasn’t taking care of it. However, if someone were to stretch out my strands, they’d know: my hair definitely grows. So in a sense, I’m fine with the shrinkage as long as I know my hair is actually growing. The only time I hate it is when someone comments on how “I shouldn’t keep my hair short” or… Read more »

I would prefer my hair stretched or blow-dried because I like length, but it appears thinner at the top in that state. So I can’t rake a blow-dryer through my hair or use a flat-iron often. When I did, I got heat-damage in some sections after only a year of using heat — using heat once a month! Also I have fine hair. Most importantly, shrunken coily, curly hair is easiest for me to maintain and worry-free. I can concentrate on the events of my life instead of centering my lifestyle around hair. I loathe having to check the weather to… Read more »

I have about 30 to 60% shrinkage I don’t mind it as I love thick curly hair, I just want it to be a bit longer; the longest section is 5 inches now. If I keep my curls stretched with twist outs for a certain amount of time they start revolting by getting frizzy and dull so they prefer to be shrunken which means constantly moisturized. My hair “type” is between 3B and 4a, I have 3 different curl sizes that ranges from Sharpie to straw size but since Andre’s system is vague (imho) I prefer to label myself as… Read more »