Hey you all!! Today I will speak on behalf of what every
natural hair lady or man has to go through on mostly daily basis SHRINKAGE!!
Even though most of us hate it, or we just want our true length to show. It’s
definitely not a bad thing. To be completely honest shrinkage is a GREAT thing.
Why is it great you ask? Well for curly, coily and kinky hair shrinkage is a
sign that you hair is in a healthy state. The day you should worry is when some
pieces hang down lower than normal or when you pull it it doesn’t bounce right
back into place.
Healthy hair has a high level of elasticity, this gives it
body and curl formation. If it doesn’t bounce back or pieces hang lower than normal
more than likely it is damaged. There could be a few reasons why it is damaged
either very dry(low in moisture) by not getting enough deep conditioning. More
common is heat damage, excess heat can cause your hair to stay straight when
you wash it and even when it dries it looks nothing like your original tresses.
In another post I will talk more on this subject. Another thing could be dying your hair using dye with chemicals or even henna can loosen your pattern and can end up damaging the hair if over processed.
For now don’t hate your shrinkage it’s a good sign. Also
what other hair textures have an automatic “halo” lol. Some hair types will
experience way more shrinkage than others. Type 4b hair which is coily crimpy
pattern and has a “Z” pattern can shrink up to 75% of it’s actual length. Ex: Lauryn Hill, Esperanza Spaulding and
Yvette Nicole Brown. Type 4c hair which is coily ziggly, tightly kinked pattern
and doesn’t have much of a curl pattern or lacks definition can shrink more
than 75% of it’s actual length. Ex: Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Aevin Dugas (has
the worlds largest afro)
Like I mentioned before don’t hate your shrinkage because
somebody can have it far worse than you.
Until next time.....
