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View Full Version : Straight hair shrinkage?



Kiramariel
January 16th, 2016, 02:31 PM
So I don't have very long hair, it's 20inches at it's longest parts and the others are around 19 and 17 in the back. But my hair shrinks so much it looks like it's 18 all the way, and it only looks longer when I stretch it. No one believes my hair is even this long. What can I do to make it look longer? I didn't know straight hair shrinks this much.

Arctic
January 16th, 2016, 02:53 PM
What's your hair type?

lapis_lazuli
January 16th, 2016, 03:07 PM
Are you comparing your dry hair to your wet hair? If so, then yes, all hair has 'shrinkage' as water stretches it out :) It could also be a result of waves in your hair after braids, buns, etc. Another possibility, you have layers and thus pieces of hair that are shorter than your longest, giving it an overall appearance of being shorter. I wouldn't worry about what others think, though. You know how long your hair is, and that's what matters :)

ETA: Do you have thick hair? Thick hair can have the illusion of being shorter than it really is.

lapushka
January 16th, 2016, 03:14 PM
Yes a picture of the back of your head would be helpful. Straight hair can't have shrinkage - impossible.

CurlyCap
January 16th, 2016, 04:09 PM
Straight hair can have shrinkage, but it's usually very little, less than 1/2 an inch.

Maybe you have some sections that aren't completely straight? Or your longest bits just don't visually outweight your shorter hairs?

chen bao jun
January 16th, 2016, 05:34 PM
what's your hair type?
Do you have naturally straight hair or are you a curly (specifically a tightly curly) with straightened hair?
I can attest that when I had my hair flat ironed in September to appear to be at least 1B if not 1A, I still had shrinkage. At least 2 inches of it, maybe even 3. It had to do I think with the poufiness I still had at the roots, even though my hairdresser did flat iron from the roots.
I also still had ssks.
That's why I think its misleading when people state as their hairtype the hairtype they have after it's been manipulated in some way. Their hair is still actually not behaving the same as someone who naturally has that hairtype. The people I know with perms do not have hair that behaves like my naturally curly at all, even when it looks similar (which it usually does not) and when my hair is heat treated or chemically treated to appear straight, it doesn't behave the same at all, it retains many of its natural characteristics, including yes, shrinkage (though not as much as when it is natural).
So my answer to the OP would be, if your hair is not naturally straight, yes, your straightened hair will still shrink. And I don't think there is anything you can do about it.
If it is naturally straight, then I don't understand, and I hope another person of your hairtype with the same issue will weigh in.
the problem of your hair not looking as long as it is won't matter much once it grows to be long hair, which it ought to, that just takes patience.

Arctic
January 16th, 2016, 05:40 PM
I'd say that only 1a type isn't really shrinking because it lacks any volume, wave and body, but even 1b has some body and bendy ends, which might well eat a little length. I wouldn't really call it shrinkage per se, it's just the way hair is.

Sarahlabyrinth
January 16th, 2016, 05:46 PM
I know that my wet hair is about 2" longer than my dry hair.

yahirwaO.o
January 16th, 2016, 10:13 PM
I'd say that only 1a type isn't really shrinking because it lacks any volume, wave and body, but even 1b has some body and bendy ends, which might well eat a little length. I wouldn't really call it shrinkage per se, it's just the way hair is.

Only when my hair is flat ironed I see maybe an inch more, but yeah my bends and wanna be waves do have a tinny bit of shinkage. And yeah my hair is longer when wet too!