Natural Hair "How To" Videos

natural hair stretching

Here are some tips on natural hair stretching that you can use if you are wanting to combat hair shrinkage. Wearing your naturally kinky coiled hair can be an issue at times when you are trying to wear certain styles that calls for longer hair. What makes it so crazy is that you probably have enough length for the hairstyle, but due to natural hair shrinking up to 80% of it length, it may not seem like you have long hair. Well try out one of these methods that I researched about to help stretch those curls.

  • Twisting: Using two strand twist to loosen your tightly coiled hair. While wet, twist the hair in medium sized twists. When completely dry, your hair will be semi-stretched and visibly longer in length. Not too small because that could curl the ends of your hair too much, and not too big because that will leave the roots of your hair still tightly drawn up.
  • Braiding: Very similar to twisting the hair. The only difference is braiding the hair and the results can be slightly different depending on your hair texture.

 

 

 

  • Banding: Is a very popular method of stretching natural tightly coiled curly hair. This process is done by sectioning the hair and while wet combing the each section, then adding an elastic band around the hair to form a ponytail. You then continue to add more elastic bands down the length of the hair of the ponytail. Hence this will stretch out your curls. You do as many bands as you like around the whole head. Typically 4-8 sections.
  • Pinning Ponytail: This is somewhat like banding, but you put your hair in one or two ponytails and then pinning the loose ends down with several clips (like the elastics in the banding method) to stretch the hair.

 

 

 

  • Bantu Knots Out: You can use bantu knots to stretch your hair by sectioning off the hair in diamond, triangle or square shapes and twisted into knots  and then after it dries, the knots are taking out to achieve defined loosely curly hair.

 

 

 

  • Heat: Ok you know the last choice is the most obvious. Using a blow dryer to loosen up the curls, or a hot comb or flat iron to straighten the curls completely. Using heat is potential to damaging hair, but if you use the right tools and heat protectant you can minimize the damage.

 

 



Get Naturally Crowned T-Shirt



About the author

thirsty roots®

Our goal is to share the beauty of Afro-textured hair and to have a place where we can come together to get examples, advice, and information of black hair growth and hairstyles. Whether you have permed, pressed, or natural hair it's still black hair and it's beautiful.

7 Comments

  • So glad to have found this site. I’m growing out my natural hair after over 25 years of relaxers. My 13 y/o daughter also has long natural hair and is trying to find different styles to rock.

    Thanks!

  • wow i love how you did her hair. this really makes me wanna go natural, im in the transition on goin natural but if i can have styles like dat wit my natural hair i wouldnt mind it at all..

  • Im so glad i came across this site. Im in transtion from having relaxed hair for about 15 years. I really wish my mother wouldn’t have relaxed my hair lol!. i wouldn’t have to start all over. My (3) daughters have natural hair and I’m keeping it that way,If they decide when they get older thats what they want then that’s their choice, but I will be trying very hard to help change their minds. God bless!

  • Thanks for sharing. I’m happy to be on the natural hair journey and bringing my daugher along. I will definitely try some of the techniques mentioned to stretch my 4C and daugher’s hair.

  • I noticed that there are some fros that appear to be asymmetrically cut or bobbed. My question to you is, should I have a barber create a shape for me or should I pat it that way? What is the best way to get that geometric type of shape? I love it.

Leave a Comment