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

[discodumpling]

Shrinkage was one of the first aspects of my nappy hair that I embraced. I like that I am the only one who truly knows the length of my hair.
I appreciate the versatility

 

[carib_n_curly]

some times i love it some times i don't
the longer my hair gets the more i don't mind.
some times having a curly shrunken curl ball is nice but other times i wich i would see my length.
maybe when i'm MBL or full BSL it won't bother me.
i don't mind it most of the time but it can be cool having it samll then someone pulls it and they can see the miracle of curls,coils and kinks

 

[LovinLocks]

This gets my vote:

No, Shrinkage IS the devil!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


" . .. maybe when i'm MBL or full BSL it won't bother me."

Well, of course, 'cause by then it's actually long, hanging, and everybody knows it; I agree.

 

[KizzieNapps]

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.

This is exactly how I feel!

I love my shrinkage.... true, I wish it came in a tangle free version, but I love it.

So true...tangles = no fun!!

Ok, so I found this video on youtube.com. She's giving a review of the denman(3) brush. But she stretches her hair out at the end to show how much shrinkage she has. Its so crazy!! I love it!! Here's the link (Her hair is actually APL in the front, MBL in the back)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF0f-LJ6Ml0

 

[stormy07]

I admit I'm one of the ones who says that shrinkage is the devil but I must admit I do enjoy that element of surprise..."OMIGOSH!!!! you're hair got so long!!!!!!" lol then the next day it's short as heck lol but it does get annoying sometimes when it starts out nice then you get outside and it's like what? NAW boo!!!! we going short today! and then you end up with some weird looking shrunken......something

 

[BillsBackerz67]

i dont mind the shrinkage...like someone said its mainly the tangles and knots I can do without.

 

[beans4reezy]

There's an elusive element in shrinkage that I feel makes our hair one of, if not, the most beautiful of creations. I've been relaxed for 16 years, but Oh I wish I had the ability to wear my hair in a magnificent afro puff one day and the next wear it straight down, touching my bra strap. I'm transitioning to texturizer now, but hopefully, I will know the full effect of shrinkage in years to come as a natural.

 

[*Muffin*]

I don't know why I'm commenting, because I'm not a natural . But I would have to love shrinkage if I was a natural because it's an indicator that your hair is healthy. If ones natural hair is damaged it might not retain it's curl pattern properly, and it might not retract back to it's original state. So the fact that the hair does contract back means it's healthy, right?

 

[msa]

I don't know why I'm commenting, because I'm not a natural . But I would have to love shrinkage if I was a natural because it's an indicator that your hair is healthy. If ones natural hair is damaged it might not retain it's curl pattern properly, and it might not retract back to it's original state. So the fact that the hair does contract back means it's healthy, right?

Good point. I know my heat damaged hair just hung there and barely had a wave to it.

I love my shrinkage, it's what makes my hair MY hair. When I wear my hair out it's in a shrunken puff 99% of the time.

I love it because it completely fools people. Everyone thinks my hair is so short but then when they stretch out one of the coils they see just how long it is. Surprise!

 

[Mook's hair]

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

Right?

That is the same conditional equation that I was running in my brain.

I find shrinkage absolutely fascinating.
Sometimes if you hear me complain, or if I throw out one of these comments:
"***Shakes Fist*** -or- **Grrrr**"
I am more so protesting the tangles and sometimes knots that come with shrinkage.

I especially love the coils on the ends of my twists. Without shrinkage, I would not have those.

I also love my mega afro-puff! Without shrinkage, I would not have that.

I don't know if I actually love shrinkage itself...but I love its offspring.
And mostly I just find it fascinating.

Does that make sense?

 

[Likeyouneverseenme]

Wow..Y'all are better people than me.
I absolutely HATE shrinkage.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Wow..Y'all are better people than me.
I absolutely HATE shrinkage.

I'm with you. I don't like it.

 

[luckiestdestiny]

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.[/quote]


Exactly. You bust your butt to get there and now whoops, it's shorter (or appears that way) How many years did it take to get there, but now you have to go that many to even get it to a length that will look long w/o the shrinkage. What if your MBL to WSl (me) and now you're thinking HOW MUCH LONGER BEFORE MY LENGTH SHOWS!!!!!!!!! COME ON! Will it be TBL or BUtt length before it even looks MBL to WSL?!!!!!!nono:


Sorry I just had a fit for a moment...you brought me back to my thought the other day, but I'm alright I'm not even going to get started on the detangling thing....I'll save that frustration for another day.

Glad you're looking at the sunny side, though

 

[Caramel Jewel]

I'm 4a with five or so inches of hair...my hair is totallly shrunken...I love my TWA

 

[mariofmagdal]

Shrinkage, I am used to it, not really complaining about it, it does not matter because my hair is always bunned. I agree with a previous poster, it is a pleasant surprise when you strectch that hair and the new length is breathtaking because you never pay attention. This is how it is for me anyway.

 

[ResultsMayVary]

umm, hmmm ... uhhhh

 

[that_1_grrrl]

I love my hair shrunken. Only when my hair is fully shrunken do all the little coils show. I can not wait until my hair is long, so that I can have the opportunity to mix it up with the lengths. I could wear short hair one day and long hair the next.

Plus, the best thing about natural hair is that I am only a braid or twist away from showing most of my true length. I just love that I can do so many different things with my hair. I can change its length or texture easily. Now, if I could only get it to change color at will, I'd be set.

 

[mscocoface]

I have tried to embrace my shrinkage I think I would even like it a little if I didn't have 99.9% shrinkage but I just don't care for it really.

If I could have shrinkage of 50% or 60% I may feel much different but when I work like crazy to show some length and then I know when it dries it will be up to my neck it steams me to no end.

I am learning and really trying to deal with it is what it is. I just drives me crazy to know that I have hair that length wise is down my back but I cannot see it because of the warp factor shrinkage I have.

The only fun I get out of shrinkage is watching peoples eyes bug out when they see the true length or when I beat it back into submission and shrinkage is up front and center.

I have twists in now and in the back area all my twists are circling my neck. Now if or when I make it to hip or waist length I want to know will my hair still show up to my neck when I use my own hair to make twists?

I truly don't know the answer to that and this is where my frustration is. How can I show my true length if I have this kind of shrinkage?

I thought at one point maybe my hair would look like sonce or sera252 and I would be able to do the thick braids and twists and put them in a bun or in an updo but I truly don't have a clue what this stuff will look like or when or if I will ever be able to sport those styles showing my real length. Right now the only way I see that happening is adding some heat either by blow drying, hood dryer and/or heating tool such as flat iron or pressing comb.

My other issue with having this type of warp factor shrinkage, is that my hair curls back on itself something fierce. So when folks talk about detangling I can detangle on a single braid over and over and I will still have kinks if I don't have the right products because of the shrinkage it coils back over on itself. I am just coming to terms with this new revelation because I could not figure out why I could still have this issue when I knew I had done a good job of detangling.

I guess in another 5-6 years I will have some idea, it is going to be one heck of a ride though.

 

[Ronnieaj]

I utterly adore my shrinkage. When I wash and condition my hair, and put just some oil in it and let it air dry, my hair is 2 inches long. If I add some KCCC to it, I get 4.5-5 inches. If I rock a fro, it can be up to 9 inches, depending on how much I pat it down. If I straighten and flat-iron it, it's 11 inches. How awesome is that?!?! Also, when I think about the length of my hair, I think about it on shrunken levels. So I want to be CBL shrunken, which will be probably MBL or close to WL stretched, but since I rarely straighten it, I don't much care. When people ask, I tell them my hair is around 5 inches long, not the 11 it is when straight. I guess that's just how I look at my hair.

 

[Vshanell]

I don't think shrinkage is the devil or bad but I do think it's annoying when my hair keeps getting longer and longer and longer and longer but my natural texture never moves!

This makes me get close to thinking it's bad because it makes no dang sense.

 

[afiya27]

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 TOTALLY agree ! When your hair shrinks it's like the transformers toy theme song from the 1980s (ie it's 'More-Than-Meets-The-Eye!') I think its cool! I love a two for one! And I totally looking forward to the stage that I bolded above. My plan/hope is that I can get to and maintain a full APL in about 4 years. That's probably going to be my maximum length though cause, like u said, I don't want my curls touching my shirts and drying out/breaking off. I figure my shrinkage should be enough to prevent it from doing that. I think average is 50%. But in fact, I hope I get like 75% shrinkage so I can grow it even longer (not sure how much I have now, I'm growing out a very short TWA).

Great Post!

 

[afiya27]

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!

The bolded above is GREAT news to me! That must be approaching like 80% shrinkage! Girl, u are blessed!

 

[LynnieB]

There are times when I really appreciate shrinkage and there are times when it gets on my nerves.

Overall, I think it's a good thing and I've learned how to take advantage of it especially when it gets hot outside and can't stand hot hair on my neck and shoulders and down my back.

 

[BostonMaria]

I hate shrinkage! Its the debbbbil!

 

[fyb87]

I don't have a problem with shrinkage. Maybe because I've always had longer hair??

 

[pookaloo83]

I don't have a problem with shrinkage. Maybe because I've always had longer hair??

I though you could have shrinkage no matter the length of your hair?

 

[Miss*Tress]

Shrinkage is a sign of healthy hair, but I do like my curls to look more elongated and show the length.

 

[BeautifulRoots]

I dont mind the shrinkage much anymore. I can pull off different hair styles depending on if I blow dry/flat iron or just air dry...it gives my hair variety.

 

[yamilee21]

I only wish my shrinkage was uniform so that I could occasionally wear my natural hair out without looking as if I were in desperate need of a trim. I have shrinkage that is SL, APL, BSL and about a dozen strands that clump together barely shrinking that are WL. The bangs that I am growing out are now about APL stretched, but they shrink to 2-3 inches.

 

[brucebettye]

I am texlaxed and my hair is almost apl and it will shrink up to neck length or sometimes even ear length. I actually love shrinkage because I like my hair curly.