Natural 4b hair keeping it stretched....

[aniyashair]

Right now I am wearing twists under a wig when I am out.



you do that to . My hair is in twists all over my head but I have the ends each individually baggied and that has significantly help with little balls at the end. Your ends stay moisturized all the time so they don't get all dried and knotted and eventully break off. I baggy 1 1/2 inches of hair on each twist. I use CON argan oil leave in conditoner daily and that has really really helped with my hair not getting tangled while taking it down.

 

[kryolnapps]

I stretch my hair after washing (or co-washing) DC and leave-in. I put my hair in large twists with ouchless elastics at the base. I sleep with them on overnight. In the morning the twists are dry or still a bit damp in the center of the twists. I then apply an oil-based, low water content moisturizer and do smaller twists or a puff (I wait until my hair is completely dry for a puff). I maintain my hair stretched at night by gathering a few braids and doing bantu=knots after I moisturize.

 

[Nonie]

OP, I couldn't wash my hair daily. I don't even use leave-in products when my hair is in twist/braids and so the way I get "moisture" into my hair is from washing but even so, daily washing to me is overkill. Your hair doesn't need that much washing.

While I do believe in clean hair, I do believe that 4B hair LIKES to be stretched and left in a stretched state if one is to keep the hair in a state that is manageable. Wetting it loose is just asking for trouble. If my hair isn't in micro braids or mini twists, then it gets wet when braided and stays braided until fully dry. After that, I do not wet it again until wash day. Airdrying my hair in plaits keeps it stretched, especially if I also use products that don't have moisture in them.

This is my hair loose and damp:

This is how my hair would look if left wet to airdry loose (I have S Curl applied on damp hair here):

This is my hair if airdried in a plait (no product here), you can see an example of the plaits I used on the left:

When I use something NOT WET like coconut oil on hair that was airdried in braids (and I used a conditioner as well thinking it was a buttery moisturizer ), my hair stays stretched:

This puff^^ was made around the same time as the second image above. Notice I don't have as much shrinkage.

If I use S Curl, as I did in the first pic on damp hair, then once my hair is dry, I reapply S Curl to DRY HAIR to soften and braid my hair for the night and baggy. The puff I get in the morning isn't stretched like the coconut oil one (due to S Curl moisture)...but it isn't as tightly compact. I do not wet my hair again until wash day and because of braiding at night, in the morning my hair is so easy to comb that knots and tangles don't stand a chance. The puff I get with subsequent night braidings, is not as compact as the airdried puff...but it isn't stretched like the coconut one:

Yes, this puff, has no tangles or knots in it. So braids to me are how stretching is done.

 

[melissa-bee]

I always keep my hair stretched.
As soon as I have finished washing it, it goes in to 4 canerows to help it dry stretched.
Then every night, for bed, I will do 2 canerows. I normally bun my hair in the day time so that helps as well.

 

[proudofmynaps]

All I have to say is co washing ain't for everybody. When I used to co wash my hair broke off. I'm a 4b by the way. I keep my hair stretched by doing the tension method with the dryer or by doing braidouts. With twistouts, my hair doesn't stretch as much. The first braidout is stretched, but not stretched enough. By the second and third day of the braidout it gets more stretched.

Braidout on lightly blow dried hair. ^^

What is the tension method?

 

[pookaloo83]

What is the tension method?

@poudofmynaps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze5zxX4m-KE

 

[virtuenow]

Subscribing, there is some good info in this thread

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

I keep my hair stretched and in some kind of protective style (using my own hair every day). I'm trying out a water based care regime and so far I've had good retention and a reduction in tangling and ssks. The thread is here:http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=603013&highlight=water+only

Below is a quote of my last update post:

I've been working on my water regimen now for about 4 months and overall it's been a good experience for my hair.

The basic regimen:

Daily

Massage scalp
Run sebum on fingers through hair in sections
Comb+Brush sections to further distribute sebum
Braid or cocoon hair for bed

Weekly

Wash 1x per week with water and Queen Helene Clay Masque
Rinse 1x per week just water
Wrap in microfiber towel
Divide damp, detangled hair into 6 sections and apply coconut oil to each section follow with 1 drop of mineral oil on each section
Braid and air dry overnight
Protective style

Monthly

Color Hair

Changes to the Regime

I stopped spritzing with water nightly instead, I thoroughly soak my hair with water 2x a week

I put coconut oil and mineral oil on my hair 2x per week

Insights

I've found that my hair likes lots and lots of water. When I soak it rather than spritz it my hair feels softer and more moisturized.

I have to add oil in addition to sebum because I color my hair. By the time I've built up a good coating of sebum on my hair, it's time to color again and the color strips my hair of all the sebum I've worked so hard to accumulate.

My hair loves small amounts of coconut oil applied when it's wet. All I need is a few drops on each section. I'm still working on the same bottle of 16 ounce bottle of coconut oil I bought back in March.

I think the combination of removing shed hairs daily, brushing, moisturizing and protective styling has dramatically reduced the number of split ends and SSK's I get. My hair used to be full of single strand knots, now I rarely see one.

Mineral oil has been a surprise. I put approximately 6 drops on my hair after I wash. My hair ends up feeling very smooth. My hair used to have a tendency to cling together at the ends now my ends slide apart very easily. My dry hair seems to have some slip.

I bought a 3 ounce bottle of Johnson's baby oil in the last week of May. That will probably be enough mineral oil to last me for the year.

I find that the Clay Masque melts my tangles away in the shower. I don't spend a lot of time detangling when I wash and I don't need conditioner. I don't know why but the clay seems to cleanse, detangle, and condition in one step. I just comb through in sections under running water as I rinse out the clay.


Resources

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...&articleid=225

Some of my go-to protective styles:


Attachment 150099

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Some favorite tutorials:

http://youtu.be/FW_e7o2Ith8

http://youtu.be/hNqmvE4Gl1g

http://youtu.be/RAPHSAPshJE

http://youtu.be/xRd5nPv17VY

http://youtu.be/Kk-0tTYJxrs

Until my next update, happy hair everybody.

 

[Chameleonchick]

Wow this thread is old lol....

I have just been keeping my hair is twists with extensions to keep my hair from shrinking during washes. Or I'll wear twists without extensions under a wig. I also do NOT use the kimmay leave in any more. I have made my own which is way better. Been using it consistently for the past 8 months and my hair has responded really well to it. I have been in twists for all of 2012 so far. Except for a few days in between sets for a break with or without extensions.

 

[ellebelle88]

Wow this thread is old lol....

I have just been keeping my hair is twists with extensions to keep my hair from shrinking during washes. Or I'll wear twists without extensions under a wig. I also do NOT use the kimmay leave in any more. I have made my own which is way better. Been using it consistently for the past 8 months and my hair has responded really well to it. I have been in twists for all of 2012 so far. Except for a few days in between sets for a break with or without extensions.

Chameleonchick will you reveal what your own leave-in concoction is? i recently started using kimmaytube's leavein a month ago and I have had a lot of success with it, so if there is something that might work even better I would love to hear about it. you can pm me if thats what you prefer. thanks.