Theories on shrinkage?

[ms-gg]

I have some of the coarsest hair strands I have ever seen (if we did a strand off I know I will be the winner lol) and I be dern if my shrinkage rate is not at least 80-90% if I let my hair do what it wants to do. I pulled a "beady bead" in the back, thinking it was super short and it stretched down my shoulder so I don't know about the weight theory. At no time ever in my hair journey over the last almost 5 years has my hair ever hung naturally without some form of manipulation. Now pichas from 2008 for the visual folks:

Hair in braided roots twists like this (over apl hair):

Morphed into this twistout, shrunken fro dealy over the course of a week or more (what happened to my length?!?!?!):

http://public.fotki.com/ms-gg/secondyear/month22/


Nappy hair just shrinks because that's what it does. It has to do with elasticity of the hair strands and the tight bends and curves of the hair strand. The tighter the bends and coils, the more shrinkage you have. Biologically, our hair shrinks because our hair type was meant as protection against the hot African sun. So it shrinks to protect our skulls from frying.

 

[Poohbear]

ms-gg, your hair and the shape that it shrunk into! I wish mine could shrink into a cute shape. By the way, I have those earrings that you are wearing in this picture!

 

[ms-gg]

Thanks Poohbear I've always loved your hair , you were one of my first hair idols

Girl I love those earrings so much lol! Wish I would have bought two pair

 

[Amoreofcurls]

I'm saying what if their hair is NOT curly? It's naturally straight with light weight fine strands. How come it does not shrink? Maybe it's staying straight because straight strands have more moisture on the inside?

that has nothing to do with moisture....fine wispy hair just has a harder time holding a curl...when I press my hair wont hold a curl for shizzzzzz

and of course straight hair isnt gonna shrink because it isnt curly....

 

[Amoreofcurls]

Oh and heres a pic of my shrinkage, my hair is dry with giovanni direct leave in...like I mentioned before, if I let my soak and wet hair air dry and not touch it...I get less shinkage, and plumper curls... Im a layered APL and my longest layer shrinks to the bottom of my neck...my hair has a tendency to be wispie'ish when dry...

 

[Amoreofcurls]

Then heres a pic of my hair actually in the drying process, here you can actually see that my ends are the last to dry , and the elongation I got because of that


and oh yeah heres another possible factor...porosity

I have low porosity...

 

[celiabug]

My hair is very fine and I'm mbl but it shrinks up to shoulder or above that but if I put a lot of product at the ends of my hair it doesn't shrink up as much and I think that has to do with the weight. I used to think it had to do with hair type but I'm a 3 type hair and I've seen some people with 4 type hair that doesn't shrink as much as mine. I also think that the bigger the curl, the shorter it looks because it makes a bigger O if you know what I mean?

 

[SND411]

Biologically, our hair shrinks because our hair type was meant as protection against the hot African sun. So it shrinks to protect our skulls from frying.

This is just a hypothesis. There are other regions where the temperature is scorching hot, yet the people do not have afro-textured hair. And no it's not because we "evolved" in hot weather longer. Chimpanzees and other animals related to us do not possess afro-textured hair either and many of them are found in hot weather. Plus, Africa is a huge continent, different regions have a different degree of "African sun."

Human evolutionist actually do not know why Afro-textured hair developed. There is no consensus.

 

[ms-gg]

and oh yeah heres another possible factor...porosity

I have low porosity...

The more bends and curves you have in your hair strand, the more likely you will have highly porous hair due to those bends and curves where the cuticles are not lying flat. So someone like me with more bends and curves (smaller coils and kinks and napps) will have more porous hair naturally than you.

 

[Embyra]

The weight of the strands and the curl size determines shrinkage IMO...

Heavy, thick hair will hang more and of course the straighter the hair, the straighter it will hang.

My hair will hang out to waves within a few days after washing, water and moisture makes it curl up again.

yup pretty much

 

[ms-gg]

This is just a hypothesis. There are other regions where the temperature is scorching hot, yet the people do not have afro-textured hair. And no it's not because we "evolved" in hot weather longer. Chimpanzees and other animals related to us do not possess afro-textured hair either and many of them are found in hot weather. Plus, Africa is a huge continent, different regions have a different degree of "African sun."

Human evolutionist actually do not know why Afro-textured hair developed. There is no consensus.

I'm aware that it is a not a scientifically proven fact and the debate continues but I personally believe that it could have some truth to it until it is definitively proven otherwise....*shrugs*

 

[Nonie]

that has nothing to do with moisture....fine wispy hair just has a harder time holding a curl...when I press my hair wont hold a curl for shizzzzzz

and of course straight hair isnt gonna shrink because it isnt curly....

Poohbear, I agree with Amoreofcurls. I think this is where the elasticity she was talking about comes into play. Thin old hair w/ little elasticity will not ping back the way healthy hair with normal elasticity will. The hair you describe is like that overprocessed jheri curl that you pull down and it stays hanging down like an old weak spring that has lost all power to recoil.

 

[Poohbear]

My shrinkage 2/27/2011:

 

[ms-gg]

Poohbear's fine strand, tight coils, shrinks up tight

My coarse strand, tight coils, shrinks up tight...hmmm.....

shrinkage has to do with the bends and curves of the strands....

more bends=more shrinkage
less bends=less shrinkage

 

[Poohbear]

^^^ Yep!

I was looking on youtube at the ladies that were using that EcoStyler gel to stretch their hair in a wash n go style. I don't know if the type of gel makes a difference, but I tried it with Citre Shine Gel and my hair did not stretch. It shrunk even MORE! And I don't know how they have the patience to let their hair dry with that gel in their hair. I couldn't do it.

 

[wavezncurlz]

Poohbear's fine strand, tight coils, shrinks up tight

My coarse strand, tight coils, shrinks up tight...hmmm.....

shrinkage has to do with the bends and curves of the strands....

more bends=more shrinkage
less bends=less shrinkage

I still don't think this is it. I have very few bends and tons of shrinkage. I think my hair has always shrunk to apl no matter how long it is. I now wonder how long my hair was as a child - I never straightend much so I always thought it was shortish and curly.

I think it's more weight like FlowerHair said. Look at her and CelinaStarr. Very little shrinkage. We're all in the 3 range with differences in coarseness, fineness, silkiness - what have you. However, I am thinking that they may have "heavier" strands than me.

My hair is waistlength and it is this short without manipulation (coconut oil only)....

Same head of hair (not same time frame but you get the point) with some manipulation and lots of gel. It's also not dry here:

Same head of hair in twistouts that are dry:

And straight:

 

[Napp]

^^^ Yep!

I was looking on youtube at the ladies that were using that EcoStyler gel to stretch their hair in a wash n go style. I don't know if the type of gel makes a difference, but I tried it with Citre Shine Gel and my hair did not stretch. It shrunk even MORE! And I don't know how they have the patience to let their hair dry with that gel in their hair. I couldn't do it.

yes type of gel does matter. citreshine gel is like water in my hair ecostyler is very heavy and stretches the curl out even more than say KCC


thin watery gels are better for defining and thick heavy gels are better for elongation imo. technique matters too.

 

[faithVA]

I have some of the coarsest hair strands I have ever seen (if we did a strand off I know I will be the winner lol) and I be dern if my shrinkage rate is not at least 80-90%

Shrinkage or no shrinkage - I love your hair. Your twists are beautiful.

 

[SND411]

I'm aware that it is a not a scientifically proven fact and the debate continues but I personally believe that it could have some truth to it until it is definitively proven otherwise....*shrugs*

They way you worded your post made it seem like it was scientifically proven. There are things about that theory that just do not line up with genetic/evolutionary, biological data. I just think it's important to get out REAL information out there.

 

[SheenaVee]

yes type of gel does matter. citreshine gel is like water in my hair ecostyler is very heavy and stretches the curl out even more than say KCC


thin watery gels are better for defining and thick heavy gels are better for elongation imo. technique matters too.

KCCC actually made my hair shrink MORE than usual.

 

[Napp]

KCCC actually made my hair shrink MORE than usual.

kcc has a watery kind of consistency. that is why so many people love it for defining but the ones who want elongation complain about how much it shrinks their hair

i should have clarified.
watery gels like kcc,citreshine and many gels targeted for "clear" people" are better at defining than thick heavy gels like ecostyler which are better at elongation and curl clumping.


technique matters too.

 

[lovenharmony]

My hair will curl up when it's wet. The only way to keep it from turning into an afro fluff is to braid or twist while it's wet. The style in my siggy was from a damp twistout...once it dried, it turned into a curly fro It's just the nature of super curly hair. the looser the curl pattern, the less shrinkage. Also I believe the more fine your hair is, the easier it will curl up. Those with thicker stands tend to have less shrinkage the longer it gets than those with fine strands.

 

[Poohbear]

wavezncurlz

To me, you have very little shrinkage compared to hair textures like mine and ms-gg. Also, FlowerHair and CelinaStar have longer hair than you.

I still don't think this is it. I have very few bends and tons of shrinkage. I think my hair has always shrunk to apl no matter how long it is. I now wonder how long my hair was as a child - I never straightend much so I always thought it was shortish and curly.

I think it's more weight like FlowerHair said. Look at her and CelinaStarr. Very little shrinkage. We're all in the 3 range with differences in coarseness, fineness, silkiness - what have you. However, I am thinking that they may have "heavier" strands than me.

My hair is waistlength and it is this short without manipulation (coconut oil only)....

Same head of hair (not same time frame but you get the point) with some manipulation and lots of gel. It's also not dry here:

Same head of hair in twistouts that are dry:

And straight:

 

[Poohbear]

yes type of gel does matter. citreshine gel is like water in my hair ecostyler is very heavy and stretches the curl out even more than say KCC


thin watery gels are better for defining and thick heavy gels are better for elongation imo. technique matters too.

Thanks Napp. I might try the EcoStyler Gel one day.

Edited To Add: I bought some EcoStyler Olive Oil Styling Gel yesterday and tried it on my hair this morning (3/9/2011). It worked! It did define my curls and elongate... However, I do not like how it looks on me. My hair looks anorexic with no volume. I like BIG hair.

 

[Napp]

My shrinkage 2/27/2011:

im starting to question if i have fine hair or not. at first i thought my hair was coarse. then people told me it wasnt so then i thought it must be fine but it doesnt look like that imo. i can tell we have a similar hair texture though my hair hangs much longer than that even when it was shorter. id say i have 50-60% shrinkage. my curls are just a little bigger than yours.this is when i was SL-ish

 

[Poohbear]

im starting to question if i have fine hair or not. at first i thought my hair was coarse. then people told me it wasnt so then i thought it must be fine but it doesnt look like that imo. i can tell we have a similar hair texture though my hair hangs much longer than that even when it was shorter. id say i have 50-60% shrinkage. my curls are just a little bigger than yours.this is when i was SL-ish

Interesting Napp. To me, your hair still looks to have fine strands, it's just that your curl pattern is looser.


Here's some shots of my natural shrunken hair when it was shoulder length:

WET SHRUNKEN HAIR 2008

DRY SHRUNKEN HAIR 2008

These shots below, I am stretching coils of fine strands coiled together. If you look closely, you may be able to see one fine strand by itself:

 

[wavezncurlz]

@wavezncurlz

To me, you have very little shrinkage compared to hair textures like mine and ms-gg. Also, FlowerHair and CelinaStar have longer hair than you.

You think?
Yes, they are like hiplength.
I have a ton of shrinkage. I go from wl to anywhere from sl to apl depending on what I use. I bet they had less shrinkage at my length. I guess what I'm saying is that the weight of your hair seems to make a difference regardless of curl size.

 

[ms-gg]

^^^ Yep!

I was looking on youtube at the ladies that were using that EcoStyler gel to stretch their hair in a wash n go style. I don't know if the type of gel makes a difference, but I tried it with Citre Shine Gel and my hair did not stretch. It shrunk even MORE! And I don't know how they have the patience to let their hair dry with that gel in their hair. I couldn't do it.

Yesterday I experimented with kinky curly again on two test section...the back of my hair has bigger coils than the front of my hair. The back hung down and the front shrunk up tight Def was not a good look....

 

[ms-gg]

They way you worded your post made it seem like it was scientifically proven. There are things about that theory that just do not line up with genetic/evolutionary, biological data. I just think it's important to get out REAL information out there.

Okay, that's cool *shrugs*

 

[Napp]

Interesting Napp. To me, your hair still looks to have fine strands, it's just that your curl pattern is looser.


Here's some shots of my natural shrunken hair when it was shoulder length:

WET SHRUNKEN HAIR 2008

DRY SHRUNKEN HAIR 2008


These shots below, I am stretching coils of fine strands coiled together. If you look closely, you may be able to see one fine strand by itself:

oh i see.its still hard for me to tell coarseness from looking at pictures.especially of tightly curled hair. i wonder if there is some type of equation that could be made for shrinkage.wouldnt that be fun



let me stop!my nerd is showing