Style Photo: Dry Braid Out (The Cure For Shrinkage)

Shrinkage is an inevitability in the life of one who has decided to embrace their natural hair. Having said that there are ways to reduce the amount of shrinkage one gets. There are many ways such as banding, the ever controversial heat training of the hair, and even just plain straightening it. I have tried a few of these but the one method that I use most often is simply styling my hair once it has already dried. Seems simple enough and honestly it is, but it took me a long time to get to the point of doing so. I guess because you have to wait for the hair to dry and I usually just wanted to get done with my hair and be done. I'm glad that I finally found a system that works for me because I simply love it.

Here is what I do:

I usually wash, condition, and detangle my hair and then follow up with my aloe vera juice as a leave in and then apply my shea mix. After doing this I usually put it in about 4-6 twists and pin it on top of my head in some way and go about my day.

Once my hair has dried about 85-90% I begin sectioning my hair into 5 parts being sure to place my part where I want it. I then french braid my hair and leave it to dry overnight. I want to add that even though I usually do this on 85-90% dry hair you can absolutely do it on 100% dry hair. It will take a while longer to take on the braid out texture though. This is why I like doing it on slightly damp hair.

Once I take it down, which is usually the next day, I get beautiful results that are elongated much more than normal. I love the volume. It's just fantastic even if I do say so myself. Btw, I have no idea what was happening with my blush that day so please know that I know it was a bit off :). I put myself out there for you guys. Crazy looking makeup and all. Lol.

I maintain this braidout by remoisturizing it with my shea mix and then rebraiding each section. I know it may seem like alot, or maybe not, but it is so worth it because the style will last much longer. I used to be opposed to any style that required me to retwist or rebraid at night but since this is only about 5 braids I decided to try it out and it really wasn't so bad.