5 amazing ways to deal with shrinkage.

          

Shrinkage!  That word is enough to get me pissed. With shrinkage, it's quite hard to determine the length of your hair. I feel like my hair is not actually growing most times when I look into the mirror and see that my mass of hair has diminished to a certain not so attractive level. It is totally not possible for your hair to remain stagnant and not to growing. Hair certainly grows. But it is what happens to it after the growth that matters. If you feel your hair is remaining at a certain length, it might be due to the fact that you loose more hair than you grow. 

Earlier on, I always hated the thought of shrinkage. It even got to a point that I cried out to my mirror saying 'Tiana, why is your hair not growing?' and the image in the mirror stared back at me. It always had no response to give me. To top it all off, I get the same question from family, friends and outsiders. I don't even know what to reply them because even then, I believed my hair was not growing. I felt like it was stunted in its growth. Now, I can say Hallelujah because I've added shrinkage to my natural hair vocabulary. So I'm not at loss for words when they ask me those sorts of questions. Even then, some of them do not still understand the concept of shrinkage but what do I care, hair is mine and mine alone. It requires love from only me to keep it happy. Gotta love it, gotta embrace it.

Amazing way 1: accepting that shrinkage is inevitable 

That is sadly the honest fact. Shrinkage is inevitable. You don't just need to know it,  you need to digest it and get it down to your psyche. Embracing our hair is the first step we need.  Embrace your hair, love it. The truth is shrinkage is one of the qualities of kinky hair. Kinky hair shrinks. The level of shrinkage varies from person to person. Might be up to 70 percent in some and lower in others. I have a 6 inch length of hair but my hair shrinks to the level of a TWA and I love it just the same and you should do same with yours.

Amazing way 2: periodic length checks

If you are so bothered about the length of your hair, then you could do periodic length checks on your hair. You could try doing it monthly. I'm sure it would put your mind at rest  when you discover that the length of your hair keeps increasing with each passing month. The truth is that hair grows at least half an inch every month. We feel our hair is not growing most times due to shrinkage or probably because we are shedding more hair than we are gaining. Although I know that it may be a little distressing not to see the outward signs. One sure thing is if we do periodic length checks, we will realize that our hair is indeed increasing in length. Trust me, it worked for me.

Amazing way 3: incorporate hair styles that suits your shrinkage level. 

 My deal with shrinkage initially was that I longed to carry my hair in a high puff like I see on instagram and Pinterest and all social media. I was pissed that due to the fact that my hair shrank so much, most times I couldn't achieve it. That changed ever since I accepted the fact that shrinkage is inevitable. Now,  I mostly leave my hair the way it is. A cute little afro. I've gotten so many comments on my hair. Another thing I do is to make twist out. Damn. I love this one. It's totally suitable for my shrunken TWA.

Amazing way 4: stretching your hair 

Stretching your hair is another thing you can do. You can either flat iron it or stretch it manually without heat. Anyone you feel comfortable with. Although, I wouldn't recommend frequent stretchingwith heat. Too much of that heat is absolutely a big NO for your hair. It causes hair damage in the long run. One thing I love about stretched out hair is that it actually increases the number of ways to style your hair. I once tried out a space buns with a shrunken hair, it was a total disaster. But on stretched out hair, hmmm, heavenly. Twist outs look more divine with stretched out hair and so do braid outs. There are so many ways to style your kinky hair all over the internet. If you want me to make a post on hairstyles for kinky hair, please leave a message in the comments section and I will certainly oblige you.

Contrary to the belief, there is no way to get rid of shrinkage permanently, except you want to relax your hair that is. Even if you stretch your hair, it comes back to its normal 'springy' state after a few days to a few weeks.  

A few tips to minimize natural hair shrinkage are to try braiding your hair when before going to bed, putting it up in a high bun, blow drying instead of air drying, flat ironing. Try as much as possible to minimize heat styling especially without a heat protectant. 

Amazing way 5: know that only healthy hair shrinks. 

I want to say it out loud that shrinkage is one of the signs of a healthy hair. You dig?  When you hair shrinks, means it's healthy. It means it's growing. It means your stands are happy. I know some girls that actually knew that something was amiss in their hair growth when it stopped shrinking. If your hair stops shrinking, I'm sure that it would give you a cause for concern and I also know that you would miss the 'kinkyness' of your hair. I know I will. 

So girl, the main thing is to strive to keep your hair healthy. 

Have a hair regimen that you follow to the letter, avoid too much heat styling, protective style to protect your edges, keep your manipulation level to a minimum, and do length checks if you want. For your peace of mind. Lol. 

 Don't forget to leave a comment. I would like to know how much your hair shrinks and what you do to minimize shrinkage.

Just bear in mind that all it takes is a little effort and change of mindset to turn that nightmare we all think shrinkage is into sweet experiences and remember, don't give up on your kinky Afro and #staynatural. 

XoXo