Perpetually Stretched

[mysblossom]

Greetings!

This is my first thread creation. So glad to be participating here at the forum.

I've recently decided to take a break from daily Anthony Dickey Method wash 'n go's. I'm worried about possibly not being sufficiently detangled. I'm also concerned about mechanical damage from detangling after my hair shrinks up and re-tangles frequently since I'm constantly "washing and going."

I'm going to try wearing twist-outs, re-twisting at night, and washing and conditioning my hair in twists. It's my "keep-my-hair-perpetually-stretched" idea/strategy to avoid tangles, which I'm sure is not a new idea.

To the naturals and transitioners: Do any of you subscribe to the philosophy of never letting your natural hair fully re-shrink? In other words, do any of you follow the practice of keeping your hair perpetually stretched?

If you oppose the practice of keeping the hair perpetually stretched,

1. What are your reasons?
2. What do you do instead to reduce mechanical damage, if anything?

If you keep your hair perpetually stretched,

1. What are your reasons?
2. Has it made a difference in retention/health/your sanity to keep your hair perpetually stretched?
3. What techniques/products/tools do you use to keep your hair perpetually stretched, and what is your hair porosity? (High porosity? Low porosity? Medium porosity?)

Thank you so much for any tips, advice, information, links, resources, ideas, etc.

Many blessings!

 

[mysblossom]

Today was my first day of my "3-month perpetually stretched" challenge.

My thoughts?

1. Detangling was a BREEZE.
2. Hair loss/breaking/shedding was almost nil. Yipeeeee!
3. The whole process was quite time-consuming. (I had to twist at night and then twist again because it was wash day. I'm using to just washing and going. Maybe that made it feel longer than it actually was???)
4. I liked the twistout.
5. I'm worried about to much hair handling with all this twisting. I don't want to be slowly/gradually thinning out or damaging my hair with all this twisting.

And . . . has anybody used this product?!?? I don't even know what to think right now!

 

[sgold04]

I guess my hair is perpetually stretched, but it's not stretched stretched lol. I wash my hair in twists, and my styles consist of twists, twist outs or braid outs. Even when I do "wash n gos" I place my hair in 4-6 giant twists while it dries for a bit, it doesn't need to dry completely. I know that sounds like just another twist out, but because I don't comb through it before I twist, and due to the products used, the integrity of the curl is kept in tact, it's just a tad bit stretched with not as much shrinkage. Keeping my hair stretched has definitely cut down on the number of ssks I get

 

[Coilystep]

Welcome @mysblossom to the forum. I don't keep my hair stretched. I do wash n goes 99.9% of the time. I don't have tangling or ssk's. I cowash/wash weekly either with conditioner/cowash/sulfate free shampoo whatever I have out (I have several in my stash). I then layer whatever leave in and styler I want to use that week. I generally like to pair leave in with styler from the same product line. During the week I don't apply additional product however each morning I let my hair get wet(not soaking wet)at end of my shower and shake. When applying my leave in and styler I do so in five sections. I proceed to shingle products into my hair using just my fingers making sure I have full coverage I also separate curls and twirl around my finger( I learned this from watching Terri Laflesh tightly curly). As far as products I love as I am, mop top curly, Camille rose, and curls. I only been natural a little over a year I transitioned for about 17 months. It's definitely been an interesting journey, but I'm happy I made the decision to go natural.

 

[Saga]

I try to keep my hair perpetually stretched, but it doesn't work unless I manipulate it frequently or leave it in a PS.

 

[moneychaser]

H
I've been natural for 5 yrs but just started wearing my hair in its natural state (no weaves/unstraightened) in January. It's been a huge learning curve. After experimenting with wash n gos and banding, I figured out keeping my hair stretched works best for my tightly coiled hair.
At first I was worried that braiding every night would be too much manipulation but then I see waist length naturals like Eclark6 and Pashtash that twisting night with not retention issues.

1. What are your reasons? length, minimize knotting, predictable results every morning, ensure hair is getting thoroughly moisturized
2. Has it made a differencein retention/health/yoursanityto keep your hair perpetually stretched?Detangling is a breeze on wash day and my hair is always moisturized.
3. Whattechniques/products/tools do you use to keep your hair perpetually stretched) I apply leave in (ouidad) and put my hair in 6 chunky braids nightly. I only finger detangle on wash day.
4. (High porosity? Low porosity? Mediumporosity?) Med

 

[AgeinATL]

I keep my hair stretched. My hair is way too coily and thick to allow it to shrink up.

1. What are your reasons? It helps minimize SSKs, helps with manageability which minimizes breakage, and allows for easier styling.
2. Has it made a difference in retention/health/your sanity to keep your hair perpetually stretched? It has most definitely helped with retention and my sanity. I have MAJOR shrinkage, so trying to manipulate my hair in its shrunken state is asking for trouble, breakage and frustration.
3. What techniques/products/tools do you use to keep your hair perpetually stretched, and what is your hair porosity? (High porosity? Low porosity? Medium porosity?) I swear by curlformers. I love how well they stretch my hair and gives me a good canvas to do almost any style. I also stretch my hair in twists by putting them into a bun. I am low porosity.

 

[caliscurls]

I keep my hair stretched...

1. What are your reasons?
   • Reduces tangles and breakage at the ends. My length retention is greater when I keep my hair stretched.
2. Has it made a difference in retention/health/your sanity to keep your hair perpetually stretched?
   • Yes, cuts down on detangling time and increases retention.
3. What techniques/products/tools do you use to keep your hair perpetually stretched, and what is your hair porosity? (High porosity? Low porosity? Medium porosity?)
   • Low porosity
   • tension blow drying (last year)
   • Washing in large twists and keeping them in while drying to 70-80% under the dryer (spring/summer this year)
   • Loose twists (currently) - (following cipriana's routine for the most part just with different products)
   • Why the different methods - experimentation to find a routine that works the best with my lifestyle (I workout 4-6 times a week)

 

[Britt]

@JunMom2Be you said you put your hair in chunky braids at night... so are you wearing a braid out daily? I ask b/c for the past 2 weeks I've been cornrowing my hair instead of twisting it and it gives my hair more stretch/hang time. The cons are it takes longer to dry so I have to be reallllllly careful at night with the spray bottle when I spritz my hair b/c the braids really hold onto the water. Also, yesterday I washed my hair and let it dry some in a turbie towel and then added my product and braided it. I had to sit under the dryer for an hour to sop up some of the moisture/product. It also takes a little longer to take down in the morning as opposed to twists, but I find that braiding gives my hair more of a stretch.

 

[moneychaser]

@JunMom2Be you said you put your hair in chunky braids at night... so are you wearing a braid out daily? I ask b/c for the past 2 weeks I've been cornrowing my hair instead of twisting it and it gives my hair more stretch/hang time. The cons are it takes longer to dry so I have to be reallllllly careful at night with the spray bottle when I spritz my hair b/c the braids really hold onto the water. Also, yesterday I washed my hair and let it dry some in a turbie towel and then added my product and braided it. I had to sit under the dryer for an hour to sop up some of the moisture/product. It also takes a little longer to take down in the morning as opposed to twists, but I find that braiding gives my hair more of a stretch.

Yep I wear braidouts daily! I cannot Cornrow so I braid my hair up just like eclark demonstrated in that vid I pisted.
Twistouts provide awesome definition but I cannot deal with the shrinkage that comes with them at this length. @Britt

 

[almond eyes]

If you keep your hair perpetually stretched,

1. What are your reasons?

I think keeping the hair stretched during my sleep time is critical.
My hair is fine and I don't want tangles. Wash and gos and unstretched
afros are not good for my hair. If I want to style my hair I start off with stretched hair. All of my relatives that are natural and have long hair are stretched. Those that do not stretch (and I don't mean with extensions) have shorter hair.

2.Has it made a difference in retention/health/your sanity to keep your hair perpetually stretched?
I've tried wash and goes and when my hair was in the TWA stage I had to wet daily to prevent tangles and dryness because my hair was too short for a protective style.

3. What techniques/products/tools do you use to keep your hair perpetually stretched, and what is your hair porosity? (High porosity? Low porosity? Medium porosity?)
My hair is medium to high porosity. I just always make sure that at night my hair is in big braids.

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[ajargon02]

This is my first thread creation. So glad to be participating here at the forum.

I've recently decided to take a break from daily Anthony Dickey Method wash 'n go's. I'm worried about possibly not being sufficiently detangled. I'm also concerned about mechanical damage from detangling after my hair shrinks up and re-tangles frequently since I'm constantly "washing and going."

I'm going to try wearing twist-outs, re-twisting at night, and washing and conditioning my hair in twists. It's my "keep-my-hair-perpetually-stretched" idea/strategy to avoid tangles, which I'm sure is not a new idea.

In other words, do any of you follow the practice of keeping your hair perpetually stretched? Yes
--

If you keep your hair perpetually stretched,

1. What are your reasons? Minimizes tangles and knots. Helps elongate my strands to help w/ twisting/ styling.
2. Has it made a difference in retention/health/your sanity to keep your hair perpetually stretched? Yes less manipulation=less breakage. I REFUSE to let my hair shrink up it would be a nightmare to detangle. Hence why I don't really wear fros or wng.
3. What techniques/products/tools do you use to keep your hair perpetually stretched, and what is your hair porosity? Normal to high porosity depending on the section.I use the purple magnetic rollers after adding my leave-in and sealing with a butter. I put my hair in large twists as I go and roll those suckers up. I will either air dry or sit under my bonnet dryer

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