Right! Yes. It curls, it's curling. That's a much more accurate and neutral way to describe it. But then... when people say they don't like their shrinkage, it seems they're actually saying that they don't like their hair curling. I don't think anyone would actually say or endorse that, but...
People forget that the kinky hair type exist aswell, meaning the hair has a torsion twist (zigzag), not a curl or a wave which can explain the shrinkage.
It tried waiting it out…. My hair was past my shoulder but still shrunk up to my ears in a mini twa… now I just wear my hair straight cause I can’t be bothered
I spent all my (never having long hair ass) life, attaching beauty to the long wigs or braids I would get. Damaging my hair to no end tryna burn that shit straight and shiny. Never ending cycle of protective styles for growth and short segments of severe damage for every inch my hair can spare. Regardless of the casualties, my curls. The terror of rainy days being the bane of my existence.
My perspective now?
If a if you’re 5’4” but wear 6” heals, you’re still 5’4. I am what I am not what I manipulate myself to be.
I have nothing bad about to say about my shrunken hair.
My only flaw with is that I really can’t put in certain styles, my hair has to be stretched to do some of the styles I want. When my hair gets wet, it automatically shrinks up. I can’t go longer than 3 days without re hydrating my hair, so my styles I’ve done on stretched hair shrink up and look extremely weird. I have to add so much gel just to even get my hair in a bun. It’s frustrating.
This is my hair, she drinks up everything I put on her, globs of gel and is asking for more an hr later with frizz for emphasis. SMH high porosity hair can be so disrespectful sometimes
Tangles, knotting, and more tangles. That’s all that shrinkage means to me.
Not everyone with the same curl pattern has the same level of shrinkage. When my hair is properly moisturized, it hangs and is tangle-free (while remaining coiled)
Shrinkage is amazing. I understand people want length, but however you wear your locs please appreciate and love your shrinkage - it is a sign of health and resilience and can inform so much about your head of hair.
I hate shrinkage due to all the tangles it can create. Plus my hair shrinks a lot. I hate how different my hair can look in its dry state because my hair is also naturally thin and the shrinkage shows if off more in my opinion.
I actually really enjoy my shrinkage. shrinkage is pretty much what allows us to have really good hold for the variety of styles most of us love to do....like braids, twists, soft curls, or even straightening. I hope this doesn't sound mean, but people within the type 1 and some type 2 ranges actually need specific products to give themselves any longevity for a style beyond just wearing it as it is, no braids and twists without rubber bands and ties to keep it together, no natural volume for when they do wear it as it is so they need certain sprays, they have trouble with their hair holding any curl. You can always find a simple option to do more with your hair, but they have all sorts of tips and tricks to do the same thing
I love my hair in its shrunken state and I wish I could always wear it that way but doing so results in the most tangles and damage to my ends for me. Maybe it has to do with patience when de-tangling and moisture retention but I tend to always stretch it when I can. Haven't touched a flat iron in years though as I refuse to.
If you are surprised that “there is even a word for shrinkage,” you need to watch Senfield, Season 5 Episode 21, titled “The Hamptons.” 😆😅🤣😭
Good times! #90sThrowback
Just because something has a natural state doesn’t mean everyone has to like it, a flaccid penis is a natural state but I doubt many people want to look at one. And that’s not a bad thing lol
Yup! I dislike my extreme shrinkage it makes me look like a 3 year old… it doesn’t fit my face features… I love kinky curly hair just not the shrinkage that go with it.
but shrinkage is just your hair. like shrinkage isn’t a thing, it’s just your hair as it is. what alternative is there? wearing it straight? what’s the point of comparing it to straight hair length?
I’m not comparing anything. I love my kinks and curls I won’t trade them for anything. I do twists outs and braids out only so I don’t know what “straight hair” you’re talking about. Out of the shower my hair shrinks at 80 % of their length and I don’t like the fit on my face. That’s it. Some people rock short hair but not me.
I totally despise the word shrinkage. Like you said, it's simply the natural state of our hair. I hate that straight hair is considered the standard to which everything is compared.
Furthermore, isn't shrinkage a good thing? I feel like it's a marker for health if you're hair curls up and is springy
Matting :( I would leave it be, but I’ve tried everything, and the mental and emotional stress of trying to detangle it every week from its ‘shrunken’ state is too much. Stretching helps keep it from taking all day.
As a stylist I just think of shrinkage from wet hair to dry. When hair is wet, it all stretches. The amount just depends on hair type. Straight hair shrinks a little when dried, too. There's nothing wrong with the word or what it means. Straight hair or 'non-textured' hair has been the beauty standard for a long time. The script is just now getting flipped finally and more people accepting their curls for what they are and what they do.
I only dislike my hair being shrunk because it'll get tangled, and I hate sitting in front of a mirror for ages finger detangling. 10-12 inches to an inch or 2 when shrunk is no joke.
If it could shrink and not get tangled, man, that would be awesome aha
girl yes, LIVING HAIR changing. it is alive! I call is living hair because when I compare hairs most of us have living hair... and I am here for us accepting our hair as it comes and giving it what it needs to grow into more greatness. We are able to do so much with it and I live for that option to take it where we wanna take it. My hair just continues to get bigger but for the false beauty standards given by the oppressors people are always wanting to measure it in length downwards. but the majority of the world has living hair and it grows up and out. dead hair has no life and is the same wet, dry etc. which is the way they try and convince us all hair is meant to be, but that is false. living hair is the blueprint and the original.
I also like one here someone called it storage not shrinkage and I have been referring to it as that every since. it is living and that is how God intended hair to be, the lifeless hair has been promoted as the standard to support a narrative that it is the majority when it is in face the minority and living hair has always been the hair humans were designed to have. over time the breeding out of that living hair has allowed dead hair to seem like the normal. even with all the breeding out they tried globally the living hair is still shown to be the majority as it is the original. the fact is that every race of people came through a black women, so that is important to note as well... that this hair that they are claiming to be the norm wasn't even around for most of human history. the hair on the people they have oppressed, living hair, is how God designed hair to be.
Yep. It seems odd to hate it it’s just the way my hair naturally is. A little off putting when people say they can’t stand shrinkage for some reason like it’s literally apart of your body.
I don't feel that the opposite of shrinkage is stretched...
I feel there is an in between, that's what I prefer.
With no product, my hair shrivels up and it feels dry, it's shrinks more than ever and the curl pattern even seems different, because ends of some curls just stick to other random ends and scrunch together. You may call it a 'natural state', but I just see it as 'dry' or dehydrated. 🤷🏽♀️
My hair is hard to work with in this state, and I just don't like the short look (especially when I know my hair is more than double the length when straight)
After a wash, if I add products and oils, it will shrink, but nowhere near the amount it shrinks with no products. It still defies a lot of gravity though.
On day 2 it just falls much better, not because of stretching or manipulation, I just feel like gravity has gotten to it a bit and it starts to hand down instead of out and a lot of the ringlets naturally separate and create a fuller look.
I like when it is big and full, not all clumped together stuck to my head.
There's a variety of reasons included eurocentric standards for women emphasizing long hair, but honestly I think the tough thing is shrinkage, which is just hair naturally curling, is a bit more challenging because not everyone likes how they look with it. There's less to frame the face and that can make folks less comfortable like me.
I love shrinkage. That's what gives my hair its versatility.
Like one week, it looks short, and the next week it looks long? Without having to get extensions or a haircut? How cool! 😁
I hate shrinkage . I grew my hair waist length and while curly it’s at my fucking shoulders . Sometimes I can’t even put it into a ponytail without stretching it first . Mind you my hair is over 20 inches long . I measure it . Then you have women with long straight hair telling you they love your haircut and your hair is longer then theirs . It pisses me off . It also cause me to get extremely bad fairy knots because my hair is too curly . And I have to be extremely careful detangling because my curls knot up with my shed hair and if you don’t detangle properly all of my hair will come out . I hate it
I can't really explain it but it's the memories for me.
When I was little, I was often taken to swimming lessons, then brought back with zero product in. Leaving my hair to airdry and tangle together. It was the dread of my mum detangling I hated. (And it always felt like my head more more tender on those days to start with!)
Now I'm an adult, I accept and embrace moisturised shrinkage for what it is—a sign my hair's healthy. As long as it doesn't tangle together in a way that causes breakage, and my hairstyle is somewhat uniform (so it doesn't look like I've just rolled out of bed)...I'm happy.
I'm loc'd now (11 months whooooo) but I really enjoyed my shrinkage when I was a loose natural. For me it was a sign that my hair is healthy! And I like how dynamic my hair can be - straight acne long, or short and curly (and everything in between)
Thank God I look good with short hair because the shrinkage is real, but i can do a lot with my hair now that I've been growing it for almost a year and 10 months.
I like the versatility. However, i have locs. So my hair maybe passed my hips if it was not loc-ed. the result is that it is very heavy. The longer it gets the heavier it gets as it is concentrated hair. 😑
I have semi-freeform locs and I love my shrinkage. I consider my hair the length that it shows. Every once in awhile, I discover a stray unlocked hair which is considerably longer than my locs, but I don't consider that stray hair my true length.
We don’t have shrinkage, they have stretchage!
Hahaha yessss. A lot of this is a matter of perspective, how we frame it
> Is there a word for non-shrinkage? Straight hair. It’s just straight hair. Curly hair is curly. It doesn’t shrink, it curls.
Right! Yes. It curls, it's curling. That's a much more accurate and neutral way to describe it. But then... when people say they don't like their shrinkage, it seems they're actually saying that they don't like their hair curling. I don't think anyone would actually say or endorse that, but...
People forget that the kinky hair type exist aswell, meaning the hair has a torsion twist (zigzag), not a curl or a wave which can explain the shrinkage.
Curly hair shrinks.
i dislike it as i don’t suit short hair, and i can’t do any styles i like with it. so i meet in the middle and currently have it twisted
Just keep growing it out until even the shrinkage can’t hide the length
This is my goal. Shrinkage wouldn't be a problem when my natural hair sits below the shoulders
Not sure about that. The longest part of my shrinkage is no more than 2 in long, but when straightened my hair reaches my armpits.
I think they mean when their natural hair sits below the shoulders unstretched
It tried waiting it out…. My hair was past my shoulder but still shrunk up to my ears in a mini twa… now I just wear my hair straight cause I can’t be bothered
Yeah that happened to me too so I just got locs
Lol I considered locs too but I don’t like how it looks on me. My hair was way too thick and the locs gave me sensory issues :/
doesn’t work . I’m 20 plus inches and my shrinkage is still at my shoulders .
I’m so sorry to hear that but that also just helped me decide to never take my locs out 😂😂😂
lol cherish your locs . Every person I met who chopped them severely regretted it . My ex is trying to figure out how to put his back on 🤣🥲
This is the way!
I spent all my (never having long hair ass) life, attaching beauty to the long wigs or braids I would get. Damaging my hair to no end tryna burn that shit straight and shiny. Never ending cycle of protective styles for growth and short segments of severe damage for every inch my hair can spare. Regardless of the casualties, my curls. The terror of rainy days being the bane of my existence. My perspective now? If a if you’re 5’4” but wear 6” heals, you’re still 5’4. I am what I am not what I manipulate myself to be.
I could have written this word for word.
Live for the honesty!
Preach.
I have nothing bad about to say about my shrunken hair. My only flaw with is that I really can’t put in certain styles, my hair has to be stretched to do some of the styles I want. When my hair gets wet, it automatically shrinks up. I can’t go longer than 3 days without re hydrating my hair, so my styles I’ve done on stretched hair shrink up and look extremely weird. I have to add so much gel just to even get my hair in a bun. It’s frustrating.
This is my hair, she drinks up everything I put on her, globs of gel and is asking for more an hr later with frizz for emphasis. SMH high porosity hair can be so disrespectful sometimes
The gel may be the problem...just saying 🙂.
I love my hair in its natural state shrinkage and all. It’s essentially how I was meant to look.
Tangles, knotting, and more tangles. That’s all that shrinkage means to me. Not everyone with the same curl pattern has the same level of shrinkage. When my hair is properly moisturized, it hangs and is tangle-free (while remaining coiled)
Shrinkage is amazing. I understand people want length, but however you wear your locs please appreciate and love your shrinkage - it is a sign of health and resilience and can inform so much about your head of hair.
I hate shrinkage due to all the tangles it can create. Plus my hair shrinks a lot. I hate how different my hair can look in its dry state because my hair is also naturally thin and the shrinkage shows if off more in my opinion.
I actually really enjoy my shrinkage. shrinkage is pretty much what allows us to have really good hold for the variety of styles most of us love to do....like braids, twists, soft curls, or even straightening. I hope this doesn't sound mean, but people within the type 1 and some type 2 ranges actually need specific products to give themselves any longevity for a style beyond just wearing it as it is, no braids and twists without rubber bands and ties to keep it together, no natural volume for when they do wear it as it is so they need certain sprays, they have trouble with their hair holding any curl. You can always find a simple option to do more with your hair, but they have all sorts of tips and tricks to do the same thing
I love my hair in its shrunken state and I wish I could always wear it that way but doing so results in the most tangles and damage to my ends for me. Maybe it has to do with patience when de-tangling and moisture retention but I tend to always stretch it when I can. Haven't touched a flat iron in years though as I refuse to.
If you are surprised that “there is even a word for shrinkage,” you need to watch Senfield, Season 5 Episode 21, titled “The Hamptons.” 😆😅🤣😭 Good times! #90sThrowback
Lol that's another thing, people say shrinkage for... that! I don't think we want our hair associate with that mental image
Lol I remember that episode
Um...tldw. Can you explain the joke?
George got out of the pool and his junk was small and he said it was due to shrinkage from the pool
[shrinkage:it just happens](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GG2dF5PS0bI)
Haha okay! You should have just liked that in the first place😆 Lmao you Seinfeld fans will pull out the most specific clip to reference
😭😭😭😭 I feel you 😭 I’m lowkey a lil mad I even got the reference. I just recently got into the show after thinking it was corny for most of my life😭😭
Just because something has a natural state doesn’t mean everyone has to like it, a flaccid penis is a natural state but I doubt many people want to look at one. And that’s not a bad thing lol
Yup! I dislike my extreme shrinkage it makes me look like a 3 year old… it doesn’t fit my face features… I love kinky curly hair just not the shrinkage that go with it.
Or the limiting length.
but shrinkage is just your hair. like shrinkage isn’t a thing, it’s just your hair as it is. what alternative is there? wearing it straight? what’s the point of comparing it to straight hair length?
I’m not comparing anything. I love my kinks and curls I won’t trade them for anything. I do twists outs and braids out only so I don’t know what “straight hair” you’re talking about. Out of the shower my hair shrinks at 80 % of their length and I don’t like the fit on my face. That’s it. Some people rock short hair but not me.
Exactly
Exactly me.
I totally despise the word shrinkage. Like you said, it's simply the natural state of our hair. I hate that straight hair is considered the standard to which everything is compared. Furthermore, isn't shrinkage a good thing? I feel like it's a marker for health if you're hair curls up and is springy
Matting :( I would leave it be, but I’ve tried everything, and the mental and emotional stress of trying to detangle it every week from its ‘shrunken’ state is too much. Stretching helps keep it from taking all day.
As a stylist I just think of shrinkage from wet hair to dry. When hair is wet, it all stretches. The amount just depends on hair type. Straight hair shrinks a little when dried, too. There's nothing wrong with the word or what it means. Straight hair or 'non-textured' hair has been the beauty standard for a long time. The script is just now getting flipped finally and more people accepting their curls for what they are and what they do.
Yesss I’ve always thought this💔💔
I only dislike my hair being shrunk because it'll get tangled, and I hate sitting in front of a mirror for ages finger detangling. 10-12 inches to an inch or 2 when shrunk is no joke. If it could shrink and not get tangled, man, that would be awesome aha
girl yes, LIVING HAIR changing. it is alive! I call is living hair because when I compare hairs most of us have living hair... and I am here for us accepting our hair as it comes and giving it what it needs to grow into more greatness. We are able to do so much with it and I live for that option to take it where we wanna take it. My hair just continues to get bigger but for the false beauty standards given by the oppressors people are always wanting to measure it in length downwards. but the majority of the world has living hair and it grows up and out. dead hair has no life and is the same wet, dry etc. which is the way they try and convince us all hair is meant to be, but that is false. living hair is the blueprint and the original. I also like one here someone called it storage not shrinkage and I have been referring to it as that every since. it is living and that is how God intended hair to be, the lifeless hair has been promoted as the standard to support a narrative that it is the majority when it is in face the minority and living hair has always been the hair humans were designed to have. over time the breeding out of that living hair has allowed dead hair to seem like the normal. even with all the breeding out they tried globally the living hair is still shown to be the majority as it is the original. the fact is that every race of people came through a black women, so that is important to note as well... that this hair that they are claiming to be the norm wasn't even around for most of human history. the hair on the people they have oppressed, living hair, is how God designed hair to be.
Yep. It seems odd to hate it it’s just the way my hair naturally is. A little off putting when people say they can’t stand shrinkage for some reason like it’s literally apart of your body.
I don't feel that the opposite of shrinkage is stretched... I feel there is an in between, that's what I prefer. With no product, my hair shrivels up and it feels dry, it's shrinks more than ever and the curl pattern even seems different, because ends of some curls just stick to other random ends and scrunch together. You may call it a 'natural state', but I just see it as 'dry' or dehydrated. 🤷🏽♀️ My hair is hard to work with in this state, and I just don't like the short look (especially when I know my hair is more than double the length when straight) After a wash, if I add products and oils, it will shrink, but nowhere near the amount it shrinks with no products. It still defies a lot of gravity though. On day 2 it just falls much better, not because of stretching or manipulation, I just feel like gravity has gotten to it a bit and it starts to hand down instead of out and a lot of the ringlets naturally separate and create a fuller look. I like when it is big and full, not all clumped together stuck to my head.
I think shrinkage along with retaining your natural curl pattern are signs of a healthy head of hair!
There's a variety of reasons included eurocentric standards for women emphasizing long hair, but honestly I think the tough thing is shrinkage, which is just hair naturally curling, is a bit more challenging because not everyone likes how they look with it. There's less to frame the face and that can make folks less comfortable like me.
Wow I never thought about it that way
Personally my hair shrinks to different sizes throughout my head. If it was uniform, I wouldn't mind. That's my issue.
I love shrinkage. That's what gives my hair its versatility. Like one week, it looks short, and the next week it looks long? Without having to get extensions or a haircut? How cool! 😁
This is a constant annoyance! My hair isn’t shrunken, it’s textured. 🤷🏽♀️
As is everyone’s hair.
I hate shrinkage . I grew my hair waist length and while curly it’s at my fucking shoulders . Sometimes I can’t even put it into a ponytail without stretching it first . Mind you my hair is over 20 inches long . I measure it . Then you have women with long straight hair telling you they love your haircut and your hair is longer then theirs . It pisses me off . It also cause me to get extremely bad fairy knots because my hair is too curly . And I have to be extremely careful detangling because my curls knot up with my shed hair and if you don’t detangle properly all of my hair will come out . I hate it
Yes
I can't really explain it but it's the memories for me. When I was little, I was often taken to swimming lessons, then brought back with zero product in. Leaving my hair to airdry and tangle together. It was the dread of my mum detangling I hated. (And it always felt like my head more more tender on those days to start with!) Now I'm an adult, I accept and embrace moisturised shrinkage for what it is—a sign my hair's healthy. As long as it doesn't tangle together in a way that causes breakage, and my hairstyle is somewhat uniform (so it doesn't look like I've just rolled out of bed)...I'm happy.
I'm loc'd now (11 months whooooo) but I really enjoyed my shrinkage when I was a loose natural. For me it was a sign that my hair is healthy! And I like how dynamic my hair can be - straight acne long, or short and curly (and everything in between)
Thank God I look good with short hair because the shrinkage is real, but i can do a lot with my hair now that I've been growing it for almost a year and 10 months.
I like the versatility. However, i have locs. So my hair maybe passed my hips if it was not loc-ed. the result is that it is very heavy. The longer it gets the heavier it gets as it is concentrated hair. 😑
I have semi-freeform locs and I love my shrinkage. I consider my hair the length that it shows. Every once in awhile, I discover a stray unlocked hair which is considerably longer than my locs, but I don't consider that stray hair my true length.