Does Anyone Else think Shrinkage is a GOOD thing?????

[KizzieNapps]

I hear/see a lot of ladies complaining about shrinkage, saying things like, "shrinkage is the devil", "I hate you shrinkage", and "Why Lord, Whyyy Shrinkage???" because it gives the illusion of having shorter hair for a longer period of time and because it is SOOO resilient but.......I LOOVE it!! I just feel like there are so many benefits from it..for instance, I think with shrinkage it will be easier to get past shoulder length without all of the friction of my ends rubbing up against my collar. Also, its like the best of both worlds..so much versatility!! You can have shoulder length hair one day and mid-back the next. Come on now..who can't appreciate that?? Is there anyone else who appreciates shrinkage?? Or am I just crazy???

 

[Soliel185]

I have appreciated it at times. When I was natural I got frustrated when my hair started to grow out b/c it didn't look as short and boingy anymore, or frame my face as nicely.

 

[naturalgurl]

Yeah, I feel you. Sometimes shrinkage is cool. But most times my shrinkage makes my hair less manageable. It's like I'll style it one way, love it and then 20 minutes later it just looks like cotton candy. Some days I love the cotton candy shrinkage, but it just gets in the way of the versatility of wearing it longer sometimes.

ETA~ I didn't vote because I know what it is , I don't love it but I don't hate it enough to call it the devil...well sometimes!

 

[MizAvalon]

I think the only marginally good thing about shrinkage is the element of surprise that you get when your true length is revealed. Whether through heat or chemicals. The novelty of that wears off mighty quick though and the other 99% of the time I hate shrinkage.

Also, even when freshly relaxed and flatironed within an inch of its life, my hair is NEVER completely and totally straight.

Shrinkage sucks.

 

[Str8~Curly]

It sucks to me since I am seeking lengths that seem impossible to reach with it, and my hair doesn't even shrink that much. Plus, I could see if it were a consistent thing but some strands just hang lose at the end while others curl up.

 

[Nonie]

I love shrinkage. I love the illusion of having short hair while it creeps up quietly. One minute you're here:

and then next,

BAM!

I also love shinkage because I can pull off a short do if I want. I love wearing a shrunken puff because that's the only time I apply anything to my hair and it is nice not to have that rubbing all over my collar, neck. I love shrinkage when I'm wearing twists because it gives my very light hair some weight and movement. Shrinkage just adds to the versatility of my hair and I wouldn't change it for the world.

 

[NaturalBeauty87]

I like my shrinkage! Like you said, it keeps my hair off my shoulders, gives me "shorter" hair when I'm tired of my "longer" hair. Also how can you have curls w/o shrinkage and I love my curls!!

 

[Ediese]

I hear/see a lot of ladies complaining about shrinkage, saying things like, "shrinkage is the devil", "I hate you shrinkage", and "Why Lord, Whyyy Shrinkage???" because it gives the illusion of having shorter hair for a longer period of time and because it is SOOO resilient but.......I LOOVE it!! I just feel like there are so many benefits from it..for instance, I think with shrinkage it will be easier to get past shoulder length without all of the friction of my ends rubbing up against my collar. Also, its like the best of both worlds..so much versatility!! You can have shoulder length hair one day and mid-back the next. Come on now..who can't appreciate that?? Is there anyone else who appreciates shrinkage?? Or am I just crazy???

I think the only marginally good thing about shrinkage is the element of surprise that you get when your true length is revealed. Whether through heat or chemicals. The novelty of that wears off mighty quick though and the other 99% of the time I hate shrinkage.

Also, even when freshly relaxed and flatironed within an inch of its life, my hair is NEVER completely and totally straight.

Shrinkage sucks.

Yep, that's true. I only like the element of surprise because most times no one would think that my hair was that long.

OP: I think after your hair gets a certain length (BSL/MBL), shrinkage will be a bigger issue.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

I have shrinkage because of my texture...
I love my texture...
Therefore I love shrinkage...

Right?

 

[CurliDiva]

erplexed Right now my natural hair looks ear length although it is fast approaching APL!

I'm still of the George Konstanz’ mindset that shrinkage is NOT a great thing. Yes, my natural hair is amazing. Yes, my ends are not being damaged by draping down by back, but I want them to (DRAPE that is) at some point!

I'm starting to realize that I will have to straighten just to show ANY
LENGTH!

 

[ceedeelight]

I don't think it's the devil, but I'm not crazy about it.

Now once my hair reaches MBL at the shrinkage state, then I won't mind the shrinkage. LOL!

 

[Forever in Bloom]

I was just on the NP forum reading through some old posts on wet twists and shrinkage. I have always done twists on dry hair, but I think I'm going to try it this way 'cause I loves me some shrinkage. I have always wanted long hair, but ironically I hate the feeling of hair against my neck and in my face. Being natural gives me the best of both worlds!

 

[Cichelle]

If one of my goals was to make my hair look shorter without cutting it, then I'd love shrinkage. But seeing as I don't ever have that goal, it doesn't really do anything for me. I love my hair. I love having curly hair and I know shrinkage comes with that. But I can't say I think it's a good thing. It is what it is, so I try to "embrace" it. Some days shrinkage annoys me. Other times I don't care.

 

[LunadeMiel]

I love shrinkage....

 

[Neith]

I HAAAAATE shrinkage. It's what made me relax and I've STILL got it bad.


As my hair gets longer, I'll like it more.

 

[LadyKaypnyc]

I love my hair...shrinkage and all.

For some styles, shinkage is neccessary. I would never be able to wear a bang if my hair didn't shink as much as it did. When I'm not feeling it, I just stretch it with braids or twists and keep it moving. It's just not that serious to me

 

[Southernbella.]

I hear/see a lot of ladies complaining about shrinkage, saying things like, "shrinkage is the devil", "I hate you shrinkage", and "Why Lord, Whyyy Shrinkage???" because it gives the illusion of having shorter hair for a longer period of time and because it is SOOO resilient but.......I LOOVE it!! I just feel like there are so many benefits from it..for instance, I think with shrinkage it will be easier to get past shoulder length without all of the friction of my ends rubbing up against my collar. Also, its like the best of both worlds..so much versatility!! You can have shoulder length hair one day and mid-back the next. Come on now..who can't appreciate that?? Is there anyone else who appreciates shrinkage?? Or am I just crazy???

ITA! There are so many ways to stretch your hair out if you want to. I love that my hair is super short one day, past SL the next, then to my ears, then back again.Plus, shrinkage means it's coily, and I love my coilies.

 

[Maynard]

I love to see shrinkage! After heat styling, its so great to see, because that means I havent gotten any heat damage.

 

[anon123]

I hear you, OP. I went natural a long time ago and didn't learn the word "shrinkage" until I found hair boards. I never pulled on my hair to see how long it would be if it were straight. I didn't wear my hair straight, so what did it matter? And on the rare occasion that I did wear it straight, well, it was the length that it was, no pulling necessary. I think it's a mindset difference. For me, my hair was the length that you saw. If you asked me how long my 5" afro puff hair was, I would have said 5", if you see what I mean. I never imagined it as being the length that it would be if it were straight. The thought never even occurred to me. So when I heard people complain about shrinkage, I didn't get it.

I'm just now coming around to this new mindset where shrinkage is something one's expected not to care for, but still for the most part shrinkage is neither something I love nor hate. It just is my hair. Like, seriously, what people mean by shrinkage is my hair. Afro textured hair shrinks. It's not like there's any imaginable thing where you have an afro and don't have shrinkage. You have an afro because you have shrinkage. No shrinkage, no 'fro. It's just really hard in my mind to separate the two. So as long as I like afro textured hair, which I do, then why should shrinkage be something I hate? I mean, what would I be coveting? Something that doesn't even exist.

 

[naturalgurl]

We shouldn't hate shrinkage because our hair is what it is. I dislike shrinkage when I want to wear it straight and it just sucks back up in 20 minutes(and after all of that preparation). I think that's what most of the ladies are meaning when they say they hate shrinkage. Think of it like this too. You want a cute round fro but your hair keeps hanging into a gypsy fro. I have the evils of both worlds in that aspect. I love puffs but now my hair won't shrink enough. I want to wear a hanging pony but it shrinks too much to hang. You get it????

ETA~ Never mind, I'm off kilter again, the thread is about hating shrinkage...carry on.

 

[Neith]

I hear you, OP. I went natural a long time ago and didn't learn the word "shrinkage" until I found hair boards. I never pulled on my hair to see how long it would be if it were straight. I didn't wear my hair straight, so what did it matter? And on the rare occasion that I did wear it straight, well, it was the length that it was, no pulling necessary. I think it's a mindset difference. For me, my hair was the length that you saw. If you asked me how long my 5" afro puff hair was, I would have said 5", if you see what I mean. I never imagined it as being the length that it would be if it were straight. The thought never even occurred to me. So when I heard people complain about shrinkage, I didn't get it.

I'm just now coming around to this new mindset where shrinkage is something one's expected not to care for, but still for the most part shrinkage is neither something I love nor hate. It just is my hair. Like, seriously, what people mean by shrinkage is my hair. Afro textured hair shrinks. It's not like there's any imaginable thing where you have an afro and don't have shrinkage. You have an afro because you have shrinkage. No shrinkage, no 'fro. It's just really hard in my mind to separate the two. So as long as I like afro textured hair, which I do, then why should shrinkage be something I hate? I mean, what would I be coveting? Something that doesn't even exist.

That makes sense.

I'll admit I'm jealous of people with looser hair types in this respect. As a natural I would literally have to grow 4 times as much hair to have hair as long as someone with type one hair. Probably 2 times as much for a type 3.

That thought in itself sucks. Especially when you start fresh. It's a loooooooong process to get type 4 hair and tight type 3 hair to BSl, Waist and beyond in it's natural state.

Instead of 4 years for waist length, we're talking 6, 8 years for kinky hair. NOT because our hair is any shorter or grows slower, but because it appears to be shorter.

SUCKS!

but I get you... there is no other option. It just is.

 

[Anancy]

I love my hair, shrinkage and all. I think shrinkage makes my hair interesting and when i tell people my hair shrinks and that this is not my true length, i feel unique.

We are lucky to have hair that is so versatile, i can wear my hair in just about any style i want (just as long as i know how to create the style).

I think what's most important is learning how to deal with the shrinkage, once you've accomplished that shrinkage is no biggie.

 

[JustKiya]

I love my shrinkage.... true, I wish it came in a tangle free version, but I love it. Shrinkage is what makes my hair interesting - it's what makes it curly. Shrinkage gives my hair body and volume. Shrinkage allows me to do thinks with my hair that most people can't even attempt. Shrinkage makes me special.
But of course, I also hate having hair on my face or neck, cut off bone straight APL hair to above ear length, and don't ever plan on wearing my hair all loose and hanging down my back, sooo..... yeah.
If I didn't like shrinkage, I think I would be relaxed. I mean, shrinkage IS the difference between straight hair and kinky hair, by virtue of the curl. No curl, no kink, no shrink.

 

[Napp]

i do like shrinkage. i dont like when my hair touches me. i just dont like when the shrinkage is uneven

 

[prospurr4]

I love my shrinkage! The more shrinkage I have, the fuller my hair is, and I love big hair. My ultimate goal of full hipbone length is not-so-much that I want to wear my hair that long, but mostly because I want to wear shrunken MBL styles.

 

[spacetygrss]

I don't mind shrinkage. It is what it is. Like someone said, you can't really have an afro without shrinkage and I love my fro.

 

[Andy1979]

I LOVE my shrinkage. I think it's what makes us unique. and when I think about it, it's a lot easier for me to straighten my hair when I want it to be long than for a person with type one hair to try to curl it up into coilies for the curly look. I feel lucky that I can just wash my hair and it's already pre-curled so all the styles I wore when it was straight are even more fun and interesting.

 

[trj1922]

Shrinkage just is what it is. Sometimes I hate it but sometimes it's fine. It's just how my hair is. Since it has thinned so much recently, the shrinkage helps it to look fuller and I enjoy the mildly out-of-control look. If I had straight hair, I would have to wear a wig by now just to hide my scalp!

 

[RosesBlack]

My hair is texlaxed and has a lot of shrinkage. I have come to love it. the shrinkage helps keeps the overfluffy to a minimum.

 

[anon123]

I love my shrinkage.... true, I wish it came in a tangle free version, but I love it. Shrinkage is what makes my hair interesting - it's what makes it curly. Shrinkage gives my hair body and volume. Shrinkage allows me to do thinks with my hair that most people can't even attempt. Shrinkage makes me special.
But of course, I also hate having hair on my face or neck, cut off bone straight APL hair to above ear length, and don't ever plan on wearing my hair all loose and hanging down my back, sooo..... yeah.
If I didn't like shrinkage, I think I would be relaxed. I mean, shrinkage IS the difference between straight hair and kinky hair, by virtue of the curl. No curl, no kink, no shrink.

omg, that is exactly what i was thinking but didn't bother typing. i was gonna be like "now if she asked me if tangles were the devil . ."