by
Tori
Most naturals have SHRINKAGE, sometimes it’s mild and sometimes it’s intense. And while shrinkage serves many positive purposes, sometimes we just want to show off our length without applying heat. Here are four techniques I use to show off a little more length, without having to apply heat to my hair:
Double Braids
On days when I’m lazy busy and also wish to stretch my hair, I do two jumbo braids on previously moisturized hair. The braided pigtails help to stretch my hair overnight adding a little more length, with very little effort. It is also a quick way to keep my hair contained while I sleep, which minimizes tangles.
Bantu Knots
Another quick way I stretch my hair without heat is with bantu knots. I do 2-4 jumbo bantu knots and let them set overnight. In the morning, I have stretched hair with very loose waves. I’ve also found that the ‘jumbo bantu knot’ method adds extra volume to the hair. So, when I’m looking for both extra volume and length, I opt for this method. Again, this is usually done on hair that was previously moisturized a day or two before. Re-wetting or re-moisturizing the hair increases shrinkage. You might want to forgo re-wetting or re-moisturizing immediately before doing this will help to minimize shrinkage.
Banding
Using small hair ties, I band my hair to stretch and increase length. This method usually takes the longest but is also a fairly quick way to increase length without heat. This can be done on dry, moisturized hair. Or, you can try it on freshly washed hair.
Braidout vs. Twistout
One of favorite styles is the braidout. Not only do the results usually turn out better, braidouts also add extra length that twistouts don’t. My typical braidouts are usually done using 8-12 braids using a moisturizer and a shea butter-based sealant. So, if you’re looking for a style that shows off your length, try doing a braidout instead of a twistout.
How do you stretch your hair without heat? Have you ever tried any of these techniques?
27 Responses
All in all I suffer from shrinkage. This is what causes tangles and breakage in my hair. So she is also not wrong for saying suffer. If I allowed my hair to shrink as it pleased it would do so to oblivion and never pass a twa. I appreciate her tips and some are a part of my regimen already.
I’ll be honest here. If there were one thing I could change about my hair, it would be less shrinkage. Of course, I have to deal with it, and I do, but it still hate it.
For the women who were offended by Tori’s opening remark, why even bother reading an article on how to stretch your hair if you have such a benevolent, perfect, holistic relationship with shrinkage?
Shrnkage CAN cause more tangles than hair that is not shrunken. And just because some women don’t like or don’t have time for the de-tangling that comes post-shrinkage, or just because some women have taken the pains to grow their hair to bra-strap length or beyond and want to show off the fruits of their labor and not have it shrunken at all times that doesn’t mean that they are brain-washed, lost, or hate their natural hair. Because for that matter I could discuss how women who want to take pains to define and lacquer-up their curls are doing something unnatural to it and don’t like the way their hair looks without product or get. We can play that game all day. Tori’s article was informative and her hair came out lovely stretched.
Sorry for the rant but I’m tired of the oversensitive, some-naturals-are not-natural-enough team. It’s turning and going to turn a lot of women off. Retaining length while natural comes with enough rules without all of that. There will always be more Black women making non-Black companies rich with relaxer applications if some of us don’t chill out.
Natural means no relaxer. Shrinkage, no shrinkage, heat, no heat, stretch, no stretch, color, no color – if you have no relaxer, you are natural. Period.
There are about a million other more important things to be upset about or get offended about.
i love me some length…
i understand shrinkage..but sometimes i just want de length ive worked so hard for..
if u dont like ur hair stretched fine!
but pls dont attack the writer for being honest!
shrinkage ‘can’ be a pain sometimes
no
That braid out is just yummy! lol
Let’s stop being so technical about EVERYTHING. The author is a natural and of course doesn’t have an issue with shrinkage and clearly stated: “while shrinkage serves many positive purposes, sometimes we just want to show off our length without applying heat”…and then she goes on to show us how to get stretched out hair without damaging it…that’s it. Take the advice or leave it. Read the articles and if they don’t apply to you, then leave it. You don’t have to take issue with everything written…my goodness
It’s sad many women don’t elbrace their shrinkage and would rather tussle with their hair rather than letting it be.
Embrace*
You can embrace it and yet still want to stretch it on occasion; this is what this article is about.
All the methods shown are on dry hair. Will they work just as well on wet hair?
sooo let’s talk about why my hair never comes out looking like her braidout hair whenever i do a braidout…. 🙁 it’s not fair
I use to have the same problem until i realised it was because i was not separating right. So in order Fix this i used natural85 s braid out method but with fewer braids.hope i helped 😀
I put my hair in twists, pin them around my head like I would if I had straightened my hair and then wrap it. Learned that from Naptural85 🙂
African hair threading works too!
Cosign!
90% of the time, I embrace shrinkage and wear wash & gos. I’m obsessed with my coily texture and don’t often like to change it via stretching.
But when I do stretch my hair, I use one of these methods:
1. Low braid bun – I put my hair in 2 to 8 braids, depending on how much coil texture I’m willing to lose. If I want to reduce puffy roots, I’ll wrap a hairband around each section of hair before braiding it. Then I pull all the braids back and secure them together with a scrunchy. The next day, I unravel all the braids.
2. Stretched twists – Put hair into at least 8 twists (4 twists per half of my head). Take the left-side twists, wrap ’em around the back of my head to the right side of my head, and secure the ends in place with bobby pins. Repeat for the right-side twists. Tie a silk scarf over my head to contain everything. Next day, untwist everything.
If I don’t stretch my twists like that, my twistout will end up frizzier than I’d like, without much more length than a wash & go.
3. High knot – Pull all hair up into a pineapple and secure with a silk handkerchief (or a hairband, if my hair’s not wet or damp). Then twist all the loose hair, like I’m creating one big bantu knot. Tuck ends into whatever’s holding all my hair up. Next day, unfurl the knot.
I do this at night when I want length to achieve a nice big high bun or other updo styles. This doesn’t work for “let it all hang down” styles: once my hair spends a night pulled straight up, all around my head, it wants to stay that way the next day.
I was very much taken aback by your opening line to this article.
“Most naturals suffer from a well-known condition called SHRINKAGE”
Suffer…? well-known condition…? SHRINKAGE?
What a horrid way to describe the beautiful ability of our hair to rebound upwards into tight coils when touched with water. You’ve made the uniqueness of our hair sound like a DISEASE.
Hey, don’t get the author wrong! Shrinkage is what makes our hair able to do a million wonderful, unique things! But you have to admit: Shrinkage can be immensely inconvenient at times. Most naturals have issues learning how to work with shrinkage, and I think this article’s really helpful about that.
“…able to do a million wonderful, unique things” and yet it is immensely inconvenient at times? Hmm… I would have to say that the million, wonderful, unique things, makes our hair extremely convenient. I agree that there are naturals who don’t know how to style their bounce & recoil but there’s no need to see it as an inconvenience… and this article shows why.
Have to agree with you.
Thanks Sis. I couldn’t let that line slide without saying something.
That line was not meant to be offensive or downgrading in any way. No, I don’t really think shrinkage is a ‘condition’ and I don’t think naturals ‘suffer’. It was a mere attempt at being sarcastic. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Tori, you may not have meant to be offensive or downgrading but that is exactly how your opening line came across. I didn’t find it sarcastic at all. We have a bad habit of attaching negative words to ourselves and so using derogatory words as a joke, is no joke! We ought to be moving away from such a destructive way of thinking. All said and done, thanks for the tips on stretching out our hair from its unique bounce and recoil embrace.
thumbs up Edens Sahara, thumds up
Tori speaks for a perspective that I understand. Let’s face it when transitioning there’s a hard learning curve. And it is frustrating. One word was used and you chose to blow up the entire article over one word that was NOT derogatory. A link was also included on the positives of shrinkage. Now if Tori was feeling so negatively about our hair in its natural state I don’t believe she’d be a natural. She used ONE word you didn’t agree with and you chose to apply that to her thought process. How hypocritical of you. For me being natural is a challenge. It’s not all unicorns and glitter on my end but I’m still keeping at it. Thanks Tori for your contribution. Keep on doing what you do!
Thats right i love my shrinkage and the way my curls spring up its truly a gorgeous thing to have