Understanding Shrinkage

I’ll like to start this off by saying that shrinkage, although annoying to those with natural hair, is normal and a good thing. As frustrating as it can be, it's a natural part of any curly hair journey. Although it hides our hair's true length, shrinkage is one of the best indicators of textured hair health. Natural hair that is properly hydrated and moisturized will shrink. If you have tons of shrinkage, it's a sign that your hair hasn't been damaged by heat or chemical styling. Shrinkage is also a sign of your hair's elasticity and its resistance to breakage. But even though it's a sign of healthy hair, sometimes a girl just wants to show off her inches.

METHOD 1: Braiding/Twisting

One of my favorite ways to reduce shrinking is to twist my hair. To do this, I like to split my hair into 4 sections (they don’t have to be perfect), spritz them with D’Haute curl refresher mist, add my D’Haute leave-in conditioner, follow with our super rich moisturizer, and then I finger detangle. When twisting each section I make sure to gently pull on the hair so that it stretches out to its full length. After you have twisted your hair make sure to seal your ends with a small amount of D’Haute Serum. I love this method because the twists stop the hair from jumping back up, and once undone they result in beautiful defined and stretched curls which you can style in any way you want.

METHOD 2: Blow Outs

Although this method is very simple and effective, I personally don’t like to use it because I don't like to use heat on my hair. With this in mind, if you choose to do it make sure to use a good dryer, apply some type of D’Haute heat protectant, and set it on cool. If you follow those precautions then you should be fine. So basically what you do is use your blow dryer with the comb nozzle attached to stretch your hair from the roots. This style will definitely disrupt your curl pattern, but does work with making your hair longer. If you want a longer look without straightening your curls in the process, a diffuser is definitely what you should attach to your dryer. Use it after your hair has been air-dried halfway in order to get the best results.

METHOD 3: Banding

I haven’t done this style in what seems like forever, but I remember it working extremely well as a quick overnight solution. To do this style you simply detangle and part your damp hair, moisturize these sections with your D’Haute leave-in conditioner, take the individual sections and tie them up with lots of hair bands (opt for silk or satin elastic to prevent any breakage from friction). You wrap the hair tie at the roots of the hair, and leaving small spaces (about 2 cm) you continue making your way down until you reach the end. And just as with the twists in method 1, you want to make sure you’re gently stretching your hair as you go so that it's as long as possible. 

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