Everything You Need to Know About Natural Hair Shrinkage

Imagine using hours to style your hair for the perfect curls or coils, only for your bra-length hair to appear shorter.  Natural hair shrinkage, most naturals see it as “the enemy”. Some even wish it away, but is it really bad? 

Let's talk about all you should know regarding natural hair shrinkage. 

What is Natural Hair Shrinkage?

Natural hair shrinkage is the contraction of your hair from its actual length when wet to a shorter length as it dries.  Shrinkage is the reason why your hair could be 18 inches long when wet, but as it dries, your coils gradually tighten, and your visible hair length becomes as short as 12 inches. 

Annoying right? Well, yes, especially when you're looking to rock a wash and go, a twist out or a braid out the whole day.

 

Here is what you should keep in mind, though: shrinkage is part of the type 4 natural hair package. 

It's a good sign of healthy hair, amongst other things. Before we talk about managing or minimizing natural hair shrinkage, let's discuss the causes for it. 

Reasons For Natural Hair Shrinkage

1. The shape of your hair shaft

Natural hair with oval or zigzag-shaped follicles has a tendency to twist and curl. The curved follicles of type 4 hair make it prone to shrinkage.

2. The presence of water

Simply put, when your hair is wet, either from washing or moisturizing, the hair cuticle swells, becomes more elastic and looser. 

This swelling is what makes your hair length more obvious and makes styling easier.

Unfortunately, as this moisture evaporates and your hair becomes drier, cue in shrinkage, your coils and curls gradually retract towards the root and become shorter. 

These are the major reasons why your type 4 hair shrinks. Now it's time to discuss how to minimise or manage shrinkage.

5 Ways to Minimise or Manage Natural Hair Shrinkage

1. Stretch your hair

The easiest way to see the length of your hair is to stretch it out.  To stretch out your hair, you can use non-heat methods, like threading.

You can also stretch your hair with low heat. Remember to use a heat protectant before using heat. Read all you should know about heat styling.

2. Keep your hair moisturized

We already established that natural hair shrinks as it loses moisture.  One hack you can try to minimize shrinkage is to keep your hair moisturized. 

Use water and your leave-in conditioner to keep your hair “moist”, not dripping wet, just moist enough to keep the length. 

However, be careful not to drench your cuticle with water; this can lead to hygral fatigue. Remember to seal with an oil or butter to lock that moisture in.

3. Detangle properly 

The essence of detangling is to reduce knots in your hair. If your hair is matted and has knots, best believe your hair will shrink. 

Use a product that has good slip and gently work your fingers or a detangling brush through your hair to loosen those curls. 

4. Style before bed

Styling before bed is another hack to minimize shrinkage.  Putting your hair in chunky braids or twists before going to bed might make all the difference in preserving the length of your hair. 

Once you twist or braid before bed, slip on your satin bonnet or scarf to keep the style intact. By the next morning, you'll notice your hair didn't shrink as much, and you can style how you like.

5. Accept shrinkage

Now, this isn't necessarily a hack, but it's a management technique.  Accepting that shrinkage is a natural part of the curl or coil journey helps reduce the frustration you might feel.

Wrapping up

Is natural hair shrinkage bad? Of course not!  Your hair strands are unique in their own way.  Try styles that keep your hair stretched if that's your preference, or you accept the shrinkage and rock your hair in all its states.