Tammycat said...
....I shall hopefully be getting my locks in July and i can't wait!! I was wondering if you would be able to explain what your hair has gone through(from the beginning right up to the present). There are some things i don't understand such as "shrinkage". How and why does that happen?
Hi Tommycat,
Thank you so much for reading my blog! I'm glad you like it. I must say I am very impressed with YOU! To already know what you want and to have the patience and courage to go after it at your age is wonderful! I'm looking forward to you getting your Sisterlocks too and checking in on YOUR blog.
Brunsli was right (Thank you, Brunsli), you can find out more about my early SL journey in the archives. In particular go to July 2001 through August 2003, but if you still have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
To answer your shrinkage question, I'd like to defer to a true hair expert, Pamela Ferrell. She is the author of one of my favorite books, Let's Talk Hair, and is the owner of the Washington DC salon, Cornrows & Company.
I discovered this book early on in my natural hair care journey and found it very helpful. I even had the pleasure of meeting Pamela in 1999 when she did a book signing and hair care demonstration at Macy's Herald Square.
The book she was promoting at that time was Kids Talk Hair and she demonstrated the proper way to comb a child's hair. I remember being pleasantly surprised to see that this event was well attended by caucasian Moms with biracial (bi-ethnic?) children, looking for help with their hair.
But I digress.
Pam has a passage in Let's Talk Hair on shrinkage:
"There are some things you can expect African American hair textures to do — curl, swell, frizz and shrink. Because there is a strong resilient curl and crinkle, certain climate conditions may encourage the hair to do any of these things. Any kind of moisture will make the hair shrink and frizz. Heat and humidity will cause the hair to swell and expand, more noticeably for curly hair. Heat makes hair swell and puff; cold makes it contract and feel inflexible. The hair strands inconsistent crinkle and curl is what makes natural hair appear frizzy. Frizz is simply a mass of curls and crinkles that give the hair a wrinkle effect." (p. 79)
"Your hair’s weight and curl size determine how much it will coil and shrink. Thin hair with small curls shrinks more than heavy hair with large curls. The shrinkage is judged y measuring the difference in the length of wet hair compared to when it is blown dry smooth or stretched out. If you were to blow dry the hair smooth or stretch a piece of wet hair outward, you would be able to see its entire length. For example, wet natural hair may appear to be five inches long but once the hair is blown smooth, it is 12 inches long. Blown dry smooth is like uncoiling the natural hair; except the hair still maintains some texture and crinkle." (p. 79)
"On average, African-American hair will shrink between 20-80%. The greater the shrinkage, the tighter and shorter the hair is when wet. You can measure your hair’s shrinkage on blow dried hair or stretch the hair while it is wet." (p. 80)
Tommycat, I hope this helps; and again I am looking forward to your journey!
....I shall hopefully be getting my locks in July and i can't wait!! I was wondering if you would be able to explain what your hair has gone through(from the beginning right up to the present). There are some things i don't understand such as "shrinkage". How and why does that happen?
Hi Tommycat,
Thank you so much for reading my blog! I'm glad you like it. I must say I am very impressed with YOU! To already know what you want and to have the patience and courage to go after it at your age is wonderful! I'm looking forward to you getting your Sisterlocks too and checking in on YOUR blog.
Brunsli was right (Thank you, Brunsli), you can find out more about my early SL journey in the archives. In particular go to July 2001 through August 2003, but if you still have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
To answer your shrinkage question, I'd like to defer to a true hair expert, Pamela Ferrell. She is the author of one of my favorite books, Let's Talk Hair, and is the owner of the Washington DC salon, Cornrows & Company.I discovered this book early on in my natural hair care journey and found it very helpful. I even had the pleasure of meeting Pamela in 1999 when she did a book signing and hair care demonstration at Macy's Herald Square.
The book she was promoting at that time was Kids Talk Hair and she demonstrated the proper way to comb a child's hair. I remember being pleasantly surprised to see that this event was well attended by caucasian Moms with biracial (bi-ethnic?) children, looking for help with their hair.
But I digress.
Pam has a passage in Let's Talk Hair on shrinkage:
"There are some things you can expect African American hair textures to do — curl, swell, frizz and shrink. Because there is a strong resilient curl and crinkle, certain climate conditions may encourage the hair to do any of these things. Any kind of moisture will make the hair shrink and frizz. Heat and humidity will cause the hair to swell and expand, more noticeably for curly hair. Heat makes hair swell and puff; cold makes it contract and feel inflexible. The hair strands inconsistent crinkle and curl is what makes natural hair appear frizzy. Frizz is simply a mass of curls and crinkles that give the hair a wrinkle effect." (p. 79)
"Your hair’s weight and curl size determine how much it will coil and shrink. Thin hair with small curls shrinks more than heavy hair with large curls. The shrinkage is judged y measuring the difference in the length of wet hair compared to when it is blown dry smooth or stretched out. If you were to blow dry the hair smooth or stretch a piece of wet hair outward, you would be able to see its entire length. For example, wet natural hair may appear to be five inches long but once the hair is blown smooth, it is 12 inches long. Blown dry smooth is like uncoiling the natural hair; except the hair still maintains some texture and crinkle." (p. 79)
"On average, African-American hair will shrink between 20-80%. The greater the shrinkage, the tighter and shorter the hair is when wet. You can measure your hair’s shrinkage on blow dried hair or stretch the hair while it is wet." (p. 80)
Tommycat, I hope this helps; and again I am looking forward to your journey!
4 comments:
Hi Leighann,
I've been stalking your blog for some time now and I really enjoy following your postings. I show your blog to anyone who will listen(co-workers, family, & friends. Girl you are part of the family(lol). My husband has had it! Anyway, your hair is gorgeous. So much so that when I read about your consultant, I called her IMMEDIATELY (told you I'm a stalker). I was too excited when she actually answered the phone. Anyway, she locked my hair on February 26. I am pleased with the results...she is wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing your story and inspiring me to share mine as well.
Lyriq
You look beautiful in that green top! What a lovely pic of you and your mom.
This is great information. I have this book and I am reading it.
Sis. RJQueen10
Otworzyła salon kosmetyczny i myślę o tym gdzie kupić infrazon kadus, konsole fryzjerskie olx i hydroloki instrukcja. Gdzie najlepiej szukać takich sprzętów? Czy możecie polecić jakąś hurtownie? Czy warto zamawiać przez Internet? Wybrałam sklep www.newfacebeauty.pl, lampa-lupa.pl/. Salon w Warszawie, zapraszam wszystkich. Rabaty dla klientów z bloga)
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