Five ways to stretch your hair without heat

Did you know you can stretch your hair without heat (blow-dry)? If you didn't know, you could stretch or as you may call it, half blow dry. With the social distancing, partial lockdown, and all that stuff happening due to the pandemic, there is a need for creativity and switch up on how we had our hair done, and on the bright side, you will save some coins.

No one likes shrinkage. We've got to show our full hair length, and styles like braid-outs and twist-outs that look juicier, lush and bouncy on stretched hair. Our African natural hair tends to shrink back to a beautiful and not appreciated Afro, and to 'beat' shrinkage, you have to stretch your hair. Here are a few ways you can stretch your hair at the comfort of your home, without heat and spending a penny:

Braids/Braid-outs(matuta)

Growing up in a Kenyan home and attending a Kenyan high school meant having matuta on your hair every day before bed to keep your hair straightened. Braids are the best way and my favorite way to stretch your hair, section your hair and braid 6-8 braids on your moisturized hair and let the braids dry before undoing them. The number of braids will depend on your hair volume and the time you got to do and undo them.

Twists/Twist-outs

I haven't had much success with these, but I know some naturalistas who can swear by twists. Just as braids, section your hair, moisturize, then twist medium-sized twists, and the number still depends on your volume and the time you got in your hands. Let your hair dry before undoing the twists to avoid frizz.

African threading

It's a time-consuming but most effective stretching method. We've got all the time to do African threading with the stay at home situation. All you need is a weaving thread, time, and your hands. Section and moisturize your hair and thread your entire hair length and let it dry before undoing.

Banding

Get all those hair bands you've got, section and moisturize your hair, band your entire hair length, but don't hold your hair too tightly, you don't want to weaken your hair do you? Remove the bands once your hair is dry.

Bantu knots

Besides Bantu knots being a classy and elegant style to rock on your natural hair, it's an amazing method to stretch your hair. Section and moisturize your hair and wear the Bantu knots. Please don't hold your hair too tightly and undo them when your hair is dry.

 

The importance of stretching your hair is that it gives you the length of your desire. You can bid goodbye to a shorter Afro since stretched hair is easy to style and doesn't tangle much, thus easy to detangle.