Shrinkage; A word often said with some level of dread in the natural hair community.

We spend a lot of time trying to escape shrinkage. Our hair can shrink up to 70% of its actual length and apart from aesthetics (you grew your hair and you want to flaunt it) shrinkage can have practical implications. Shrunken hair is more likely to coil up on itself and lead to nightmare de-tangling sessions. This is why we advise that natural hair is kept stretched as much as possible throughout the washing and styling processes.

I always say that I love some level of shrinkage because it creates volume. I’m all about big hair; having said that I know not to let my hair shrink too much because it’s incredibly coily.

My coily hair after moisturising.

When I moisturised my hair this weekend it shrunk significantly. I don’t think I’ve experienced this level of shrinkage in a while and usually I’d tie up or braid it to stretch it out but this time I decided to embrace the reduced length and take the opportunity to show how someone with shorter hair might style their mini twists. I had a lot of fun playing with accessories.

I believe that shrunken hair is happy hair because shrinkage always occurs after it’s had a good dose of moisture.