"I keep my hair stretched." How? Please s'plain!

Charla

Charla

New Member
I'm tempting to gradually give up 100% protective styling, and I keep seeing references to ladies saying they keep their hair stretched. Like in the recent Naptural85 thread. When I give up PS'ing I don't want to just wear a puff. I want more elongated looks. Questions, please!

  1. How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.
  2. How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.
  3. How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?
  4. Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?
 
I wear my hair in WNG for the most part now but when I want to stretch it I use spiral rods, pincurls, or braiding. I worried about over-manipulation too but have not seen any damage to my hair. I rewet/cowash 4x minimal a week. When I wear my hair stretched, I use multiple pineapples.
 
[*]How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.

I usually keep my hair stretched by flat twisting my hair, sometimes regular twists and ocassionally braids if I feel like it. I used to blowdry my hair after washing but I've been trying to avoid using too much heat on my natural hair. I also want to try curlformers too but they are kinda expensive and I'm afraid my hair isn't going to be all elongated like I've seen with others' hair. I have super shrinky hair and think my curls with be all short like pigtails.


[*]How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.

I only wash my hair every 3-4 weeks (sometimes longer if I'm really lazy). I can't be rewetting my hair like some if I want it to stay stretched. I just apply a hair product (currently have Shea Moisture Curl & Style Hair Milk) and then retwist my hair. I think splits come from rough manipulation. I think as long as your gentle and treat your hair like silk, you should be able to avoid splits (something I failed to do over the years). Now single strand knots, I think that just comes from the nature of most natural hair that is tightly coiled...a strand of coily hair likes to curl around itself. I think keeping your hair stretched will help with those SSKs too.


[*]How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?

Retwisting most nights. When I'm lazy, I'll do the pineapple but sometimes it doesn't come out as neat and I may have some shrinkage, but it doesn't bother me too much.


[*]Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?

I think my hair is progressing in length and health by keeping it stretched. I know alot of people are advocates of protective styling but I truly think rough manipulation or wrong product/technique combos are the cause of breakage and splits, not our ends being exposed to the air and/or clothes. Sometimes, retwisting your hair every night sounds like excessive manipulation but I think being gentle is key if you're going to retwist or rebraid your hair to keep it stretched.
 
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  • How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.
I'm in twists now and not exactly keeping my hair stretched. Well, it is semi-stretched within the twists but I love shrunken twists so I wouldn't call this stretched per se. However, if I am wearing my hair out, I keep it stretched in braids. I have also stretched it with Curlformers but I've never figured out how to get the ends to separate w/o looking crazy. I am a no-product girl and so I prefer to stretch w/o product in CFs...and separating curls didn't really work.

  • How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.
Washing twice a week has always been my norm...but I think I can stretch to once a week--and just deal with the headaches I get if I don't wash my hair sooner. I am not really "obsessed" with the hair being fully stretched. I love S Curl which is a wet moisturizer and the hair will shrink while I use it. If I didn't use S Curl and used an oil, then the hair would stay pretty much stretched after I airdried in braids. And since I braid every night w/o fail, each subsequent braiding would stretch my hair even more so by washday, it'd be pretty stretched.


  • How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?
I'd do it by braiding it every night. I cannot wrap my head around how people can sleep with loose type 4B. I need it to be in firm plaits that keep the hair in a detangled state.


  • Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?
Again, I'm not sure how to answer this question. To me "stretched" means I'm not letting my hair curl up to it's most shrunken state. I keep it in a way that it's easy to comb. I use S Curl which causes the pre-stretched hair to shrink...but I still consider that semi-stretched...coz I know what my hair is like when it isn't stretched and a comb cannot go through it. A comb can go through my stretched hair even after S Curl shrinks it. And yes, my hair does well with my idea of keeping it stretched.

I find combing it daily means never have tangles. Never having tangles means less manipulation trying to remove tangles ie detangling. Keeping my hair stretched means, easy manageability. But I think low manipulation (putting it in a style and forgetting about it) is what benefits my hair the most.
 
Thanks, Ladies! I am going to take the plunge and try to keep it in an out-style stretched. The Curlformers are expensive, which is why I haven't bought them yet, but I'm going to take plunge. If I get it to act right, I'll post pics!:lol:

I see you ladies are making progress, so ya'll must be doing something right! But I guess with anything, it's going to take some trial and error to perfect a technique that my hair won't punish me for!
 
1. How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.I keep my hair stretched using twists. Its not super duper stretched; I still have most of my curl pattern, but its not super shrunken. I usually put in about 12 when I wash my hair. I PS during the day using buns or variations of buns (updos, etc)

2. How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.
I cowash my hair every 4 days on average. I finger detangle and comb and use plenty of conditioner. I use a spray bottle of water and a leave-in on my hair if it starts to feel dry. I have less SSKs this way than not stretching my hair.


3. How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?
Pineapple at night while GHE. Most of the time I retwist at night (usually 8 twists) if I need to moisturize and reseal my hair. I am very careful and use my fingers only.


4. Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?
I do. When I was a more frequent WnGer and did not stretch my hair. I experienced more breakage and knots.
 
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Reading through these replies, I'm seeing that I had my mind that a style must always start on freshly washed hair rather on hair that's always stretched and just refreshed. Maybe that's some of my carry-over thinking from my relaxed days?!

But the more it's stretched and refreshed before it's actually put through a full wash where maximum shrinkage overtakes it, the more stretched out it will be to make the next day's styling easier? Is that right?

Warning to people who only protective styled from jump like me: You end up not knowing how to do a lot of stuff with your hair because it's ALWAYS hidden away!

I always said that I'm not going to wear my hair out until I hit my goal of MBL, but I'm seeing that could be a huge mistake! If I don't learn to take care of my hair OUT while it's shorter, I'm headed for an inevitable setback when it's longer and try to be grown and sexy with my hair out then! LOL!
 
Charla - I think for me, I wash my hair so often that I never give it a chance to super stretch in order to give it a different style. I think if I were to ever do the twist out like Naptural85 did, I would probably do it on lightly blown out hair.
 
1. How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.

I wash and dc on my wash days, then stretch my hair in flexirods. I found curlformers to be time consuming. After I unroll them and my hair is stretched, I spriitz with a lil water so that my braidouts can set and give me definition. Not soaking wet, but slightly damp. I get a spray bottle of water and spritz my hand with it once. Sometimes twice and work it through the section I'm working with. Add an oil or a dime size amount of moisturizer then braid. When I unbraid I get the above pics. I rebraid every night and that makes it more bigger and more defined each day. I may add a lil water again to get it to revert just a bit if it gets too stretched out.

2. How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.

I wash once a week. I wet my hand with water just a spritz and run it through the section I'm working with. It doesn't cause it to revert. Just gives me a lil snap back. :lol: Cause overtime from me rebraiding every night it gets more and more stretched. Almost straight and I don't really like that look.

3. How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?

I rebraid everynight and throw on my bonnet. I like my style looking new and fresh every day. The pineapple didn't work for me. My hair was smooshed and a hot mess.

4. Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?

I think my hair is moving along just fine and growing nicely. I want length but not obsessed with it. I just joined the APL challenge and hope to get there this year.
 
I don't do much with my hair during the week except cowash since I wear wigs to work. On weekends I am perfecting my natural styling techniques. I used to cowash daily but my hair is no longer a twa, I'm now in the "awkward" stage and ssk's were killing me, so beneath my wig all week I wear about 6 cornrows and just let the water wash over my head during my nightly shower. My TWA had me accustomed to having water wash over my head every single night, so I continue to do that with no shampoo or conditioner. Afterwards I spray my hair with my leave-in mix and let it airdry. Keeping it stretched in cornrows = low manipulation, which is giving me better retention than leaving it to do what it wanted.
 
Err...the blowdryer and the denman brush.
Ive found that my hair does well with heat in moderation, manipulation, and grows just fine, I never even tried protective styling for growth or health, moreso out of laziness.
I just trimmed it for the first time in 2yrs the other day, I cut off about 2" of the length and am back at BSL.
I am more than willing to sacrifice 2" over 2 years to be able to wear my hair out, but something tells me I would have needed a trim after that long either way.

I brush it out and retwist/braid nightly normally, but I flat ironed for the trim, and I have just been throwing the flexirods in it at night.

My issues with knots and tangling come in when I do not keep it stretched.
 
How are you "keeping" it stretched?

Braids ("Celie" and cornrows) and banding
Never wash or wet my hair loose.

How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch?

I wash weekly. I never wash or wet my hair loose. I do my water routine in braids and then when it's about 75% dry, I take each braid down, moisturize n seal and rebraid. My hair is not fully stretched after take down. It stretches out throughout the week as I band it at night.

I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.

I definitely worrry about those things as well. When stretched, I only manipulate my hair at night (to band or braid) and in the morning (to take them down). And I mainly use my fingers to style.

How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?

I band my hair at night into 3-4 banded ponytails and cover with a satin bonnet or satin skull cap. Now that my hair is getting longer, I can do 1 or 2 ponytails.

Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?

I PS 95% of the time so I am progressing. I stretch maybe once a month for a date night. Once or twice a year, I wear my hair out for a week or 1.5 weeks.

I don't have any shrunken hair pix b/c I never allow my hair to shrink while loose.

ETA: Pix

Banded Hair
IMG_0053-vi.jpg


Hair after banding
IMG_0057-vi.jpg


IMG_0058-vi.jpg


This is the only recent set of pictures I have of my texture almost unstretched but you can TOTALLY see the difference from the banded hair:
IMG_0061-vi.jpg


IMG_0062-vi.jpg
 
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Charla said:
I'm tempting to gradually give up 100% protective styling, and I keep seeing references to ladies saying they keep their hair stretched. Like in the recent Naptural85 thread. When I give up PS'ing I don't want to just wear a puff. I want more elongated looks. Questions, please!

  1. How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.
    Before, during and after water touches my hair, it's in 4 big twists or plaits. If I'm in twists/box braids and I'm trying to maintain them then I wash/cowash in that style but these are also in sections too.

    My routine for hair that is not going to be straightened: I loosen one braid/twist, wash/condition then redo it before going to the next section. Using curlformers or anything other than twists or plaits is just too much trouble and effort to do consistently. That's it. My current siggie photo is the result of braiding soaking wet hair and letting it air dry until damp then using blowdryer on cool setting and rebraiding. No heat, no combs or brushes just fingers/hands and had no breakage!
  2. How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.

    If hair is in braids or twists, they'll get rinsed off every few days. If it's not then it can be anywhere between 1-3 weeks. It just depends on the style, time of year, etc. I never allow my hair to dry without being in some sort of twists or braids. Never Ever!!

    Splits are minimal and SSK's are there and probably will always be if it's unstraightened but the health and length of my hair has not suffered from them. I snip when I notice them and dust regularly. Worn ends will always occur no matter what you do so just dust or trim when you notice your ends look or feel a little off normal. Keeping hair stretched also avoid huge mats and tangling.
  3. How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?

    I do wear a satin scarf at night. I, like Nonie, rebraid or retwist at night. Usually anywhere between 2 big twists or braids up to 4. I usually just moisten my hands with water or water/conditioner before doing them. Again no to very minimal breakage
  4. Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?

    I'm not trying to sound silly or arrogant or any of those things but usually anyone who sees my hair is usually wow'ed (or horrified at the thought of styling it LOL) whether it's in 2 plaits/twists, a ponytail or 2, box braids or a head full of mini-twists. Healthy shine/sheen, thickness and length really don't need a formal style to look super nice if that's what you're going for (sometimes there are days when I just don't give a dern :lachen:).

    My hair has shown nothing but progress since May, 07 when I bc'd to shoulder length, it works, the proof is easily seen and I won't be changing my routine any time soon.
Click to expand...

BC'd May, 07 to barely shoulder length hair:

2qtiyyc.jpg



This is what works for me/ We all have to find what works for our hair and our lifestyles.

Hope that helps!!
 
MzSwift said:
How are you "keeping" it stretched?

Braids ("Celie" and cornrows) and banding
Never wash or wet my hair loose.

How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch?

I wash weekly. I never wash or wet my hair loose. I do my water routine in braids and then when it's about 75% dry, I take each braid down, moisturize n seal and rebraid. My hair is not fully stretched after take down. It stretches out throughout the week as I band it at night.

I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.

I definitely worrry about those things as well. When stretched, I only manipulate my hair at night (to band or braid) and in the morning (to take them down). And I mainly use my fingers to style.

How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?

I band my hair at night into 3-4 banded ponytails and cover with a satin bonnet or satin skull cap. Now that my hair is getting longer, I can do 1 or 2 ponytails.

Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?

I PS 95% of the time so I am progressing. I stretch maybe once a month for a date night. Once or twice a year, I wear my hair out for a week or 1.5 weeks.

I'll post pix later, Fotki is acting a plum fool.

I don't have any shrunken hair pix b/c I never allow my hair to shrink while loose.
Click to expand...

MzSwift does the banding give you definition? I saw this video the other day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS8rMqZn914&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLsdBWkhc8rNaU_YnPkdnlsg
 
How are you "keeping" it stretched?
I rebraid or retwist my hair every night before I sleep. My hair gets more and more stretched throughout the week. It also helps me take out shed hairs that can cause ssk's.

How often are you washing/wetting your hair
I cowash and deep condition once a week.

How are you maintaining the stretched styles?
I maintain the styles by rebraiding or retwisting. For less manipulation try putting it into a bun. I always wear a satin bonnet.

Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched
I definitely do. When my hair isn't stretched it gets more tangles and ssk's. Keeping my hair stretched definitely gives me more styling options. I can also moisturize daily and still have stretched hair in the morning.
 
pookaloo83 said:
1. How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.

I wash and dc on my wash days, then stretch my hair in flexirods. I found curlformers to be time consuming. After I unroll them and my hair is stretched, I spriitz with a lil water so that my braidouts can set and give me definition. Not soaking wet, but slightly damp. I get a spray bottle of water and spritz my hand with it once. Sometimes twice and work it through the section I'm working with. Add an oil or a dime size amount of moisturizer then braid. When I unbraid I get the above pics. I rebraid every night and that makes it more bigger and more defined each day. I may add a lil water again to get it to revert just a bit if it gets too stretched out.

2. How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.

I wash once a week. I wet my hand with water just a spritz and run it through the section I'm working with. It doesn't cause it to revert. Just gives me a lil snap back. :lol: Cause overtime from me rebraiding every night it gets more and more stretched. Almost straight and I don't really like that look.

3. How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?

I rebraid everynight and throw on my bonnet. I like my style looking new and fresh every day. The pineapple didn't work for me. My hair was smooshed and a hot mess.

4. Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?

I think my hair is moving along just fine and growing nicely. I want length but not obsessed with it. I just joined the APL challenge and hope to get there this year.
Click to expand...

pookaloo83 thanks for those details, especially about how much water you're actually reapplying. When you rebraid at night, are you concerned with concisely regrabbing the same braid section or is it more random? Does that makes sense? Lol! My goal is to get my braidouts similar to yours in siggy.

greenandchic I see what you're saying, and like others mentioned, its all also a matter of what degree of stretch you're aiming for. I do think initially I'll be going for max stretch. If I can master and maintain that, then any lesser degree of stretch should be easier.
 
yorkpatties said:
I don't do much with my hair during the week except cowash since I wear wigs to work. On weekends I am perfecting my natural styling techniques. I used to cowash daily but my hair is no longer a twa, I'm now in the "awkward" stage and ssk's were killing me, so beneath my wig all week I wear about 6 cornrows and just let the water wash over my head during my nightly shower. My TWA had me accustomed to having water wash over my head every single night, so I continue to do that with no shampoo or conditioner. Afterwards I spray my hair with my leave-in mix and let it airdry. Keeping it stretched in cornrows = low manipulation, which is giving me better retention than leaving it to do what it wanted.
Click to expand...

Yep that's what ive been doing for several months too, celies under a wig. That's definitely. Been key to retention for me and keeping it untangled!
 
*i keep my hair stretched by placing it in braids or twist when i wash it. i never, NEVER let it dry loose :nono: wash n' gos are the exception but that's like maybe once a year.

*I keep my hair stretched throughout the week by by keeping it in big twists or braids at night. lately i've been keeping it banded before bed because i find it a whole lot easier and quicker than re braiding.

*i wash my hair every 2 weeks. I will re moisturize ever other day, especially the ends, with a moisturizer.

*keeping my hair stretched is beneficial for length retention. i don't sacrifice style either. i can wear braid outs, for example, and will band my hair in 4 or 5 ponytails at night to preserve the style.

i'm now wearing my hair like the style below so my hair is constantly in a stretched stated. with a banded pony i don't even have to do anything at night but put on a scarf and bonnet.

bandedpony.jpg
 
Charla said:
@pookaloo83 thanks for those details, especially about how much water you're actually reapplying. When you rebraid at night, are you concerned with concisely regrabbing the same braid section or is it more random? Does that makes sense? Lol! My goal is to get my braidouts similar to yours in siggy.

@greenandchic I see what you're saying, and like others mentioned, its all also a matter of what degree of stretch you're aiming for. I do think initially I'll be going for max stretch. If I can master and maintain that, then any lesser degree of stretch should be easier.
Click to expand...


Charla it's random. But sometimes If I see it still uniform (the braidout section) I will grab the same piece and rebraid.
 
MzSwift Thanks so much for those details and pics. Banding really does make a difference! I completely forgot about banding. It's something I heard about way in the beginning of my journey. I was trying to tell from the pic, but what are you using to band your hair?
 
LynnieB

Da'gummmmmmmm! I almost screamed out loud when I saw your pic! No, definitely not arrogant sounding! Your proof is there.

Healthy shine/sheen, thickness and length really don't need a formal style to look super nice if that's what you're going for
Click to expand...
AMEN!

LovelyNaps26 is picture proof of that too! Her styles on her blog all look so beautiful, natural and effortless...a lot like Naptural85!

...sigh...can't wait to reach you ladies lengths! My current reggie has been working great (Celies under wigs, doing everything in sections, trimming before I notice damage, wearing hair out on occasion) I'm going to continue with that and incorporate these great stretching techniques when I do where it out. Currently, I only wear it out maybe once every 3 months. But at least I now know how to not only be in a puff during that time!
 
Charla said:
I'm tempting to gradually give up 100% protective styling, and I keep seeing references to ladies saying they keep their hair stretched. Like in the recent Naptural85 thread. When I give up PS'ing I don't want to just wear a puff. I want more elongated looks. Questions, please!

  1. How are you "keeping" it stretched? I'd like to try the curlformers.
  2. How often are you washing/wetting your hair and resulting in you having to re-stretch? I'm very worried about overmanipulation and all of a sudden having a ton of SSK or midshaft splits, worn ends...all the things I've been trying to avoid by PS.
  3. How are you maintaining the stretched styles? Pineappling? Bunched into a satin bonnet?
  4. Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched, or are you willing/or have to sacrifice those things for style?
Click to expand...


1. Twists pinned up. I want to straighten at least once a season.
2. I wash my hair once a week.
3. I tie my hair up in the pretty wrap(a scarf) nightly
4.My hair is progressing I am finally at a point that when I cut my hair it doesn't feel shorter because I will have just cut off the length I gained since my last cut or my hair still ends up being just a little bit longer than it was the cut before.
 
How are you "keeping" it stretched?
When I wash once a week I do everything in 4 braids, 1 braid at a time. It is in braids also when I moisturize and go to sleep, and when I air dry (4 or 6 braids). During the day I wear it in a bun or a braidout.

How often are you washing/wetting your hair
Once a week. I spray, moisturize and braid during the week before bed if needed. I would never spray without braiding because my roots get tangled that way.

How are you maintaining the stretched styles?
By ensuring that my hair is moisturized and braided from the roots in at least 2 braids now that it's longer, and protected every night.

Do you feel like your hair is progressing in length and health keeping it stretched
Definitely (no or less tangles and ssk). I trim once a year and it is reaching waist length. Keeping it stretched and moisturized is what avoids many trims.

Thanks to this thread I tried banding and I love it. Thank you to those who mentioned it.
 
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