Does Natural Hair Have to be Stretched...

What is the best way to stretch natural hair?

  • Braidouts

    Votes: 29 31.9%

  • Twistouts

    Votes: 15 16.5%

  • Blowdrying

    Votes: 21 23.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 26 28.6%
  • Total voters
    91
  • Poll closed .
Austro-Afrikana

Austro-Afrikana

Well-Known Member
...in order to retain length? I was thinking about blowdrying my hair to stretch it a little and wondered whether this was a good idea. I have been dealing with so many knots, single strand knots and multi strand knots; I normally do braidouts to stretch my hair and then wear it up but am still dealing with these issues. I don't know whether blowdrying would reduce these knotting issues or just cause more damage.

Any advice?
 
Austro-Afrikana said:
...in order to retain length? I was thinking about blowdrying my hair to stretch it a little and wondered whether this was a good idea. I have been dealing with so many knots, single strand knots and multi strand knots; I normally do braidouts to stretch my hair and then wear it up but am still dealing with these issues. I don't know whether blowdrying would reduce these knotting issues or just cause more damage.

Any advice?
Click to expand...
Yes! In order for my hair to grow without setbacks such as those pesky knots, I need to keep my hair straigtened in some form of fashion. The emergence of BKT has made it easier for people like myself to continue on my journey. What I was doing previously was BKT and then putting my hair in straw curls and Caruso rollersets. Beautiful and no knots.
 
When I 1st BCd and my hair was about 2.5", I had no issues with SSKs. Now that my hair is 4", they are in abundance! I do twistouts to keep my hair stretched and keep it very, very moisturized with hair butters and oils. These products "melt" the SSKs away and I don't have as much of an issue with SSKs now. I hope this continues to work as my hair gets longer.
 
I stretch out my natural hair by doing rollersets. I find it be the best option for my hair. I may or may not flatiron after my hair dries.
 
For my hair yes. My shrunken style were not causing breakage but they made my ends look and feel ratty, also coupled with SSK. which eventually made me trim.
 
I find that being moisturized and NOT sticky keeps the SSK at bay. The minute I let it get sticky or gummy from buildup I get them. When I co-wash frequently I don't get them but when I go longer between washes I get them more. I rarely stretch my hair.
 
I've only been natural for 5 months but I have seen consistent length retention and very few knots by keeping my hair in a bun. I cowash and wet bun every morning, which stretches my hair, but does not require me to use heat.
 
Being that you wear braid-outs it makes your hair more susceptible to SSK even though you have it pinned up because your hair is in a textured state. I consider that style to be a low manipulation style . I think the only way to completely avoid them is to wear your hair in a protective style while your hair is natural or straighten (blow dry or however else you can get your hair straighter).
 
I plan on testing out this theory this fall/winter. I am amazed as to how many SSKs and tangles I get. I keep my hair fairly moisturized and sealed, as well as doing braid outs/twist outs. But I STILL get them.
I will also be trying rollersetting like BostonMaria to see if this helps.
BTW, my hair grows very well, however, because of the ends, and my impatience with detangling, I tend to pull more hair out. Also the times I've gone to the stylist for a "trim", they tend to cut more inches off because the ends look "bad", rather than for splits.
 
I am going to start lightly blow drying my hair every 2 weeks or once a month.
The longer my hair gets the more knots and tangles I get. Doing no heat styles leaves my cuticles very raised even though I rinse with cold water and use a leave in with a good pH.
I am too impatient with detangling anr normally rip through my hair. I am going to need a good trim soon because of this, so I am thinking that it is time to use a little heat and slightly let go of the fear of heat damage.
 
In my experience, no it doesn't have to be stretched. Once I started using protein treatments my hair stopped having those little coil thingys hanging off the ends.
 
Yes and no. My sister is a 4b, and when she keeps her hair stretched via braids with extensions, it flourishes a lot better than when she has two-strand twists or something similar. I myself had a lot of issues with SSKs in the past, but this is because I was mostly rocking WNGs and twistouts. I have been wet bunning for most of the summer and my SSKs are few and far between. However, I am planning on wearing my hair straight this winter, partly in an effort to not have to worry about SSKs (or wet hair in the winter).
 
stretched styles have helped me preseve length and I never have a ssk problem anymore.

I wash and DC in plaits as well as air dry. I style once my hair is 80%-90% dry. it helps me a lot. Some naturals have benefited tremendously from adding blowdry drying into their regimen. I believe longhairdontcare2011 on YouTube uses this method and if I am not mistaken Medwezi recently added this into her regimen.

I would say do a search but the new search is a lil "wonky"
 
im natural and i almost never wear protective styles. and i just started doing twistouts which dont last more that 3 days and thats only if i redo every night. my hair is growing and retaining just fine and i co wash and wear a puff pretty much eveyday. it depends on your hair.
i keep my hair moisturized and i know when my hair needs moisture and protein. and i properly detaingle all the time. i rarely get ssk.
 
For me the answer is Yes. The best way to avoid tangles and SSK is to stretch my hair out. I have avoided heat my whole journey, but now I think it is necessary for me to retain and maintain my hair.
 
That depends completely on hair texture and/or length. If you're 3b and below (even many 3c/4a silky ladies) leaving your hair fully shrunken regularly wont really stunt retention because there is less of a proclivity toward SSK's because of the size of the curl. Someone with type 4a/b hair that only has about 1-4 inches of hair can retain while leaving thier hair loose in that stage.

For my particular hair texture 4a/b tightly coily, coarse combined with my length, the answer is absolutely. It must be stretched 100% of the time. This doesnt always have to be accomplished through heat.

My hair likes being in protective styles based on cornrows (it truly flourishes in cornrows) flat-twist outs are good, kinky twist/senegalese twist protective styles are excellent. Still settling on a braid-out technique I'm happy with. I straighten pretty regularly. Right now I'm rockin a massive blown-out fro look. This weekend I'm hoping to do a straw set.

So I have alot of fun in the various ways I like to keep my hair stretched. This has been key to my retention. Stretch, protect and have fun along the way:yep:
 
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My hair does better stretched out by either blowdrying or braided up but blowdrying gives me better results. Also I keep by ends pinned up which has helped me perserve my ends.
 
My hair no longer tangles and knots up. I changed a few techniques. I detangle once per week, making sure that my hair is very well conditioned. At night, I braid my hair into 4 or 5 braids (without combing or brushing), to refresh my hair in the morning, I run down the length of each braid with leave-in and this process also removes shedded hair ( which if left in, creates many tangles). I do this until wash day. the knots and tangles that I used to experience prior to this routine were TREACHEROUS!
 
Stretching is necessary to prevent SSKs, which lead to breakage and less retention. So if a person's hair doesn't have a problem with SSK's, then they usually don't NEED to stretch to retain. It really depends on the hair type.

And you don't need heat to stretch your hair. Heat in itself is counter-productive for a lot of naturals. Air-dry rollersetting works way better for me (its very moisturizing and straightens my hair better than blow-drying). Blow-drying just caused dry, brittle ends that broke off more easily.
 
My answer is yes. I agree with BMP, not all natural textures need to stretch. For me (4a/b) its a must! usually I blowdry, but sometimes i rollerset or do a braidout, braidouts and twistouts dont help me much though. I am thinking of doing rollersets more often, they are better for my hair. Just need to find the right rollers to use.
 
WOW this has been such a helpful thread. I've been wanting to retain length but I get so many knots...

btw what is ssk?
 
Just to repeat, yes yes yes. I bought a tourmaline blow dry from baybliss 6 months ago. I do tension method blow drying is the truth.
 
Yes. It's helps prevent tangling and knotting, which is always a good thing. I only wear my hair in stretched styles. The most I've worn a WnG is like twice in a year.
 
stretching is a must, but blowdrying isn't always the answer...you have to see what type of hair you have. for example, I have fine hair and I *always* lose hair after blowdrying (tension method, comb, brush whatever)...its not enough to just find your hairtwin (mwedzi, lhdc, bmp) and copy exactly because a lot of those ladies have coarse hair, and can take more blowdrying "damage". If your hair hates the blowdryer, its better to stretch with braids or banding.
 
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