Hair Shrinkage & New Growth
Men and women of color, particularly those with tightly curled, textured hair types, are very familiar with new growth and shrinkage. When hair is tightly coiled, it appears shorter in length than when it is fully straightened.
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What is New Growth
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Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Angelo Juan Ramos
New growth is hair that has emerged from the scalp during the normal process of hair growth. This hair is untreated by chemical processes such as hair coloring or chemical relaxers.
What is Shrinkage
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Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of G20 Voice
Shrinkage refers to the tendency for tightly curled hair to grow out and re-curl back onto itself, rather than demonstrate its true length by growing straight. Overly curly hair may appear to be quite short due to this erratic growing and re-curling pattern.
Solutions
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Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of William Warby
Shrinkage of new growth, or unprocessed, overly curly hair in general, can be remedied by straightening the hair with heat styling or chemical relaxers. Overly curly hair can also be lengthened by braiding, wetting, or "banding" sections.
Considerations
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Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Klaus Post
Heat styling and chemically treating the hair to reduce shrinkage can damage the hair. Great care should be taken when using heat or chemicals to straighten overly curly hair.
Embracing Shrinkage and New Growth
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Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of foundphotoslj
Many natural hair styles celebrate the inherent tendency for overly curly hair to shrink back toward the scalp. The afro is a classic hair style that uses shrinkage to achieve a tight, round silhouette.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Vox Efx Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Angelo Juan Ramos Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of G20 Voice Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of William Warby Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Klaus Post Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of foundphotoslj
