Umm ...Shrinkage :D

1/10/2013

Umm... How is this possible? LOL

    Having 4C hair means having a LOT of shrinkage!  Sadly, when I was little, this was the thing I disliked the most about my hair. Even though I wasn't a swimmer or anything lol, I still felt like it was just weird and awkward that my hair shrunk whenever it got wet or whenever I broke a sweat. I used to press my mother to straighten my hair ALL the time. (Even if it was just the bangs lol). I didn't feel very pretty seeing my hair in its tiny tight coils. I thought I looked like a boy. :(
    So, when deciding to go natural I knew that my hair would still have major shrinkage and that I needed to change my mentality on it. I tried to find ladies on YouTube with similar textures to mine because I really wanted to visualize what my hair was going to look like. I wanted to know that I wasn't going to be the only one out there rockin' this texture! LOL Watching videos helped a bit, but I still wasn't sure about what my hair would do. After awhile, I had a moment where I just had enough with the anxiety! I no longer cared whether or not my hair looked like someone elses... I wanted to see "me" and my texture. I decided to accept whatever naturally grew out of my head and embrace it! I decided to stop being afraid of my own texture. Now, I do prefer to "see" a little more length on my tresses most of the time lol, but I realize that the original way that God created me, is the way that compliments me the most :)
   My shrinkage amazes me! I still have moments where I'm like "How in the world does my hair shrink soooo tight?" LOL However, I honestly think that it is one of the coolest things my hair does!  And I ain't mad at it! LOL How do you feel about your shrinkage? (Pics below are of my shrinkage 100 percent dry :) )

18 Comments

Neonatural57

1/10/2013 08:43:47 pm

I have tried to leave a comment on your YouTube but I am blocked. I love your videos and you have a great personality. I have subscribed to you.

naturalme4c

1/10/2013 09:12:10 pm

Hi Neonatural57! I'm sorry that you got blocked, I'm not sure what happened. :( But I thank you soo much for your support! I'm gonna look into see what happened... Thank you soo much :D

Candy

1/11/2013 03:39:47 am

Ok, feeling like a kid in a candy store!!! I got my avacado oil and avacado butter today ! Yay me!! I'm gonna co-wash, and deep condition tonight. I think I'm gonna apply the avacado oil to my hair and then apply the Suave conditioner on top, then deep condition under the dryer. I wasn't too thrilled with the castor oil. Messy stuff! Can you believe I'm this excited about deep conditioning on a Friday night?

1/11/2013 04:10:54 am

Hi Candy!
Lol let me know how the avocado oil works! Lol. I've been thinking about trying it out. Yeah castor oil is pretty messy lol. I actually changed the way I apply it for deep conditioning and it was awesome. I hope to show that very soon :) Have fun!

1/12/2013 08:26:48 am

I really liked using the avacado oil for deep conditioning. I used the avacado oil with the V05 Moisture Milks, got under the dryer for 40 minutes, and my hair felt like cotton. I could comb my hair through without using a leave in conditioner. That's how soft it was. Now my only problem is frizz. I'm beginning to think the frizz is just my zig zag pattern that doesn't want to cooperate. Any tips?

NaturalMe4C

1/12/2013 08:43:46 am

Hi! I'm glad your deep conditioning session went well! For frizz I would try using silicone free conditioner as a styler or light gels.... even the Shea Moisture Curling Souffle might work. (I don't use the souffle right now because glycerin based products don't do well for me in cold weather... be mindful of glycerin in certain temps....sometimes it causes frizz and sometimes it causes hard hair lol) My hair doesn't frizz too much because it shrinks instead! LOL

1/13/2013 06:35:00 am

Glycerin makes my hair frizzy and poofy even in the summertime. My sister really likes the Long aid gel but I have not been able to get good results with it because it's like 27% glycerin. I got a great perm rod roller set last night. I used the Proclaim Tea Tree oil leave conditioner and sealed my hair with the Africa's Best Herbal Oil. I am certain that the co-wash plus deep conditioning treatment helped a lot. I thank you for introducing me to the Vo5 conditioners. I'm going to continue to use the Africa's best oil for daily use and save my avacado oil for deep conditioning. The evoo softens my hair but it's so light that it doesn't really seal the moisture all day long.

A friend at church told me that because I have a zig zag pattern, I'm going to have some frizz. She's been natural for 10 years now, but she suggested a braid out for me as oppose to a twist out to help with the frizz. Your braid out was so pretty, I might try it this week. Regardless, I'm going to embrace what God gave me. I love my cotton hair! I'm going to prove that it can grow long.

1/13/2013 07:29:58 am

Hi Candy!
I'm glad you like the Vo5 conditioners and it's awesome that they are cheap! Seriously cheap lol! I hope your hair continues to do well and that your moisture levels continue to increase. When I first started cowashing, it took a few times before I started to notice a huge change in my moisture levels. BTW I think your friend from church has a great point with the braidout suggestion. It should defintely allow your hair to "hang" more. Maybe that style will work for your hair type. I guess we have to just keep trying to work with what our hair decides to do! LOL Yours frizzes....mine shrinks into a ball....lol At least it's growing! :) It's all good!

1/13/2013 07:30:07 am

1/15/2013 12:12:54 am

Hello, that was a very cute video about the TWA accessories. Thank you for the hair lingo. I was wondering, what in the world is a TWA? Sometimes I feel a little old. You play bass guitar, how cool is that?

1/15/2013 01:16:24 am

Hi Candy!
I'm glad you found the Hair Lingo helpful. There are soo many new terms used for hair now! LOL I tried to pick the most used ones. Let me know if you learn any new ones :D I just started attempting to play the bass back in Sept or Oct. I love it :) I've played the keyboard for a long time but wanted to try a new instrument LOL. I'm glad you like the video!

Yvonne link

1/29/2013 02:46:59 am

So glad I found you! I subscribed to your YouTube channel and now on your blog. I am a 4c curly too and my shrinkage is 80% girl (lol). Just like you, I searched out 4c girls for advice which helped alot but your channel/blog REALLY shows the life of a 4c curly. So excited to try some of your 4c hair regiments.
Yvonne~

1/29/2013 03:01:02 am

hi Yvonne!
I'm glad you are enjoying this blog and YouTube channel :D I really hope it continues to be helpful and fun to tune in to! Thank you soo much for your support :) God Bless!
BTW, shrinkage is something else! huh? lol

Michelle (LadyCaruso) link

1/31/2013 03:59:03 am

Like you, I used to be very frustrated by my shrinkage issues. My mom relaxed my hair when I was still a toddler, because her hair texture was much looser and she didn’t know what to do with her little 4C. When I BC’d in 2001, shrinkage was one of the coolest things my hair did, AND one of the most annoying! Now, I’m learning to love the “magic trick” as I call it, and everything that goes with it. Seeing other videos helped me only a little, because at first I kept finding people who said they were 4C, but were actually 4B/4A and I felt more “lonely” because of that. But now that I have found your channel/blog, and other 4C ladies, it’s really wonderful to see the different things that you do with your hair, and experiment with my own. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

1/31/2013 04:59:42 am

Hi Michelle!
I'm soo glad that our textures can relate! LOL They go through soo many changes but it really is a blessing :D Having this hair texture allows soo much versatility! Super short one minute Super stretched the next, with out going through damaging processes! It really is amazing! I'm glad that we are learning how to rock our hair in all ways now :) Let's do this LOL! God bless!

Edna link

11/14/2014 01:37:37 am

I agree completely. I would find videos on Youtube and the model would say she has 4c hair (or it would say 4c somewhere in the synopsis of the video) I play that video and say THAT IS NOT 4C. I can show you 4C. LOL

SouthernCurlsBTR

10/14/2014 10:21:05 pm

I discovered that I could use curved clips with gaps in them to air-dry my 4-inch 4B/4C TWA. Before bed, I use Jumbo Clips by Annie item # 3183 and Salon Care Shorty Section Clips item # SBS-292608, using 2 per section, and let air-dry while I sleep comfortably because the clips are curved. When I wake up, my soft fluffy afro is nice and dry, and stretched. I even made a video showing how I do it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXYdsMiQPdQ I hope this helps even 1 person. I wish I had known about these clips a year ago! Thanks for the inspiration, Kriss!

Deziyah

8/4/2020 07:58:31 pm

Hi there umm the problem with me is that i try to tell myself that i like my hair (mine has the same shrinkage as yours) but i dont even tho i’m only 13 i am very insecure about my hair. i just started online school because of the pandemic and they made it an requirement to show or face and they also said no hoods or hats. :( . that really upset me because now i had to show my hair. so one day i asked my mom can u flat iron my hair so it i was to comb it up it would look like a big afro and she said no because it was late and i have to wake up 8 am. so i cried myself to sleep because twisting my hair wasn’t do anything. I also remember a few month back i would comb my hair with no product it would just be dry because when i did use product the product would shrink it and i would do it every night until one day the middle of my hair got shorter and i was forced to moisturize it. i’m just trying to make myself feel better about my hair but i cant, i have cried myself to sleep because my friends had and big afro or had a looser curl patter. i don’t want to end up being in the state of mind where i’m depressed because of my hair. what do i do? <3

Umm ...Shrinkage :D

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