Now you see it, now you don’t – the magic of Afro hair. I remember a white colleague of mine years ago say to me, “Lekia, I’ve just got to ask, you come into work with your hair long, then it’s short, so I think you’ve had a haircut, but then few days later it’s long again, how on earth do you do it?”
I had to smile. I told her it’s the nature of my hair, it’s able to shrink and stretch.
I had to smile. I told her it’s the nature of my hair, it’s able to shrink and stretch.
If you ask most women what is the one thing that gets them frustrated about their hair and they would say SHRINKAGE. When you live in a culture where long hair is attributed to femininity and beauty, it can be difficult to see beauty in short hair, and even more frustrating to know your hair is long but doesn’t look it.
But you don’t have to view shrinkage this way…
To get the best out of your Afro textured hair and enjoy it, you have to embrace this unique characteristic. Fighting it will only lead to frustration and resentment, and it is never healthy resenting anything that belongs to you.
But you don’t have to view shrinkage this way…
To get the best out of your Afro textured hair and enjoy it, you have to embrace this unique characteristic. Fighting it will only lead to frustration and resentment, and it is never healthy resenting anything that belongs to you.
The shrinkage makes certain styles possible, like preventing 2 strand twists from unravelling, or creating the roundness of an Afro, I call it the halo-effect. The curl pattern and shrinkage of Afro hair gives it an appearance of being really full, much fuller than naturally straight hair even though it has fewer hair shafts than straight hair.
However there is more to shrinkage than good looks – pay attention, here’s the science bit …
The tight curl of the Afro hair protects the head from intense UV radiation and provides an airy cooling effect because of its sparse density. This cooling effect facilitates the regulation of body temperature. When straight hair is wet, it sticks to the body, not so with Afro hair. It does not respond in the same way to moisture like straight hair, but just imagine if it did, it would be so uncomfortable in a hot climate!
However there is more to shrinkage than good looks – pay attention, here’s the science bit …
The tight curl of the Afro hair protects the head from intense UV radiation and provides an airy cooling effect because of its sparse density. This cooling effect facilitates the regulation of body temperature. When straight hair is wet, it sticks to the body, not so with Afro hair. It does not respond in the same way to moisture like straight hair, but just imagine if it did, it would be so uncomfortable in a hot climate!
The unfortunate thing is that we don’t choose to think this way about our hair and shrinkage. The indoctrination starts when we have no discerning power. The dolls we play with all have long straight hair, the children in the children’s books (think Disney princesses) and movies (still think Disney princesses) mostly have long straight hair, children in adverts (TV and print) and TV programmes have straight hair. The proportion of children with tight curls to those with straight mostly blond hair visible in the public arena, is so negligible, the tight-curled-hair children may not even exist.
It is a tricky task getting to love something that is completely ignored in the wider beauty circles, but not impossible. Re-educating ourselves about our hair and its unique characteristics is a great place to start.
Shrinkage should not be viewed as something to be remedied but something to be embraced. You are enough, enjoy your own beauty.