Off the Beaten Path

A few years ago I began a journey of wearing my hair without extensions. Prior to this I hadn’t worn my natural hair or straightened natural hair out on it’s own for more than a few days over the course of 10 years. When I decided to completely go weave free due to a conviction I had I knew I would be starting from ground zero on how to care for my hair. So I did what any normal DIY girlie would do and I went to Youtube to search natural hair girlies along with straight natural girlies. Over the past few years I have experimented with ALL kinds of hairstyles. I have worn wash and go’s, stretched twist outs, braid outs on wet hair, mini twists, got blonde highlights and more and I noticed something. My hair does best when it is stretched with minimal product or when it is in mini twists. Now I love the convenience of mini twist but I have always wanted to learn to grow my hair without protective styling. I know so many get great results with keeping their hair in protective styles but I’ve always thought what is the point of growing my hair if I can’t wear it down how I like. I like loose hair and I always have so I decided to do more stretched styles since I noticed in the past that this worked for me.

Why Stretching Helps Retain Length For Natural Girlies

-If you have a coarse hair texture like me, or a type 4 hair texture you may find that our hair stands will curl on itself causing knots and tangles. So keeping it stretched helps to minimize this which then causes us to retain length because we all know hair always grows, the reason we don’t see it growing is because we aren’t retaining the length. Whether through too frequent trimming or damage caused by split ends and breakage!

-Stretching our help helps the natural oil, called sebum, travel down our hair shaft which causes leads to more moisture and hydration. I have found personally this to be key when I was growing out my hair before I had postpartum hair shedding and bleached it which caused damage and the need for trims.

-Easier de tangling is a benefit for those who stretch their hair because stretched hair is easier to comb through! To be fair, I have learned I have to be gentle and delicate with my hair either way but I have less hair in the brush after de tangling while my hair is stretched!

Now Lets Get Into Stretched Styles Ideas For Spring

If you haven’t heard, there is a bunch of women online talking about being a straight natural and how that helped them retain length! I can agree that when I wear a silk press it helps retain length but ONLY IF I straighten it once on wash day, any frequent heat regularly causes damage for my hair. Since I am recovering from bleached hair that needs loads of TLC I will cut back on straighteners and stick with a blow dryer or heat-less stretching methods for now!

Twist Outs & Braid Outs

This style can be done on both wet or blow dried straight hair and still be considered a stretched style. If you prefer to do a twist out or braid out on wet hair, right after the shower I like to add my slip product, de tangle, and then twist in chunky twist or braids. Then I take it down after its all dry. If you prefer to do it on stretched hair, blow dry hair first and then twist. I have tried smaller braids/twist and chunkier braids/twist and my favorite is chunky twist out on heat-less blow dried hair(instead of using a blow dryer I braid my hair in 8 plats to let it dry first and then I take it down and do my twist)! I find this way gives me lots of texture and volume which is great for my oblong face shape! Currently I am wearing a twist out on blow dried hair and it is cute but she’s flatter, although she has a bit more length which I like!

Flexi Rods

If you like the look of wand curls, this style would be perfect for you without using extra heat! It works really well on blow dried hair or wet hair but each way gives a slightly different result. Test it out for yourself to see which way works best for you!

Sock Curls

I recently watched a video by Joy-el on Youtube where she did a sock curl tutorial and it looked so easy! She stretched her hair with her rev air blow dryer and then proceeded to curl it with socs in ONLY 4 SECTIONS! And to be honest I loved how it turned out, it even looked better than the traditional silk press with curls. I don’t know what it is but lately I have moved away from the silk press, straight styles and started learning to embrace and more importantly, appreciate the fluff and volume that our hair can give! I think fluffy styles work best for my features even though I do like a blowout.

Wash & Go

I saw a recent video of a girl who put her wash in go into sections (not combing it out or anything) and proceeded to put each section in the rev air as it was. The result was an elongated wash and go with more length. She still had curls and texture but her stands were elongated. This would be a nice middle ground if you are someone who wants the benefits of stretching but love the look of a wash and go.

I have seen many girls get luck with wash and go’s and it is always a hit or miss. Some women retain lots of length wearing them and others deal with lots of tangles and breakage. I’d imagine having a routine that works and has little manipulation plays a big part here. When I did wash and go’s I had to use so much gel, which honestly probably helped the hair strands stay in place, but after 2 days my hair started to tangle. So if you haven’t tried it, try it out, because you may be able to find a system that works for you!

Bantu Knots

When I first started my natural hair journey, I’d straighten my hair for length and then do bantu knots. I loved the curls I got from it along with the volume. The idea is to section your hair in as many sections as you’d like, and then twist each section wrapping it around itself to form a knot. This can be done on wet or dry hair. Some people leave the style as is but I’ve always taken them down. This was my go to style when my hair was around shoulder length!

I hope these styles gave you a good amount of inspo to try on your hair and more importantly if you are on a hair growth journey like me, I hope it leads to results!