FroLOve: African Butterfly (The Shrunken fro & How To)

 

 Say hi to AB of The Kink And I who understands shrinkage and works beautifully well with it. 
AB Says... 

  

 

Ab's shrunken fro in February 2013

I’m in the TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro) phase and I’m only beginning to experiment with hairstyles. Almost all the time, I wear a shrunken fro- mostly because I’m lazy about styling. 

December 2012

The Technique

•     Spritz hair with water & glycerine (I skip this step if I just washed my hair)

•       Apply generous amounts of leave-in conditioner

•       Lightly seal with olive oil.

•       With a wide-toothed comb, I gently detangle my hair from ends to roots

•      Then I use my afro pick to fluff the hair out a little bit and to tease it where necessary

•      Pat and go.

Length check

 Maintain The Fro to Avoid Knotting

The downside to this style is that it is so easy for your hair to tangle!

So, before bed, I finger detangle and put my hair into chunky twists, as big as I can manage at this length, which is usually between 15-20 twists. By the next morning, all I need do is undo the twists, lightly spritz with water & glycerine only, comb & pat. The twists make a great difference than choosing to just sleep like that- with the fro out. My hair is less knotty and I don’t need to spend as much time combing.

 

Ready for bed

The Result

NatM Says...

Natural hair is something, right?! I think the most important products for this style are: Water, glycerine and olive oil. I think that the water and the glycerine are important for styling (shrinkage) and keeping the fro moisturized. Olive Oil on the other hand should be for sealing and keeping the strands away from each other to reduce knotting.
Her hair looks healthy and it is definitely growing so shrinkage is not such a monster. All we need is the right technique and products to out smart it.

 I will be trying this style the moment I settle down but I will include one tool- the blow dryer. I don't think I am strong enough to leave my house with damp hair. Bad things have always followed that move :).