'Stretching' Hair 101: Black Hair Care Advice

What is Stretching?

"Stretching" is a black hair care technique that means simply increasing the time between relaxer treatments. Most stylists recommend waiting at least 6 to 8 weeks before getting a touch-up. However, some women prefer to "stretch" for 10,12, 14 weeks or longer.

Stretching is a great way to avoid overlapping, which is when the relaxer comes into contact with previously treated hair. Relaxers are only meant for virgin hair so when it starts processing already treated hair, it further weakens the strands and can lead to breakage.

In addition, touchups can be expensive! Stretching is a great way to save your hard earned money!

Lastly, stretching can help you reacquaint yourself with your natural African-American hair texture. Learning how to work with your new growth, instead of against it, may introduce you to new hair styling methods and techniques.

Understanding New Growth

Your new growth (on average) grows about a half an inch in a four-week period. When your new growth starts to appear, you will have two completely different types of hair on your head; a weaker chemically treated section and a stronger virgin section. These two types of hair meet at the "demarcation line."

African-American hair tends to grow in spirals. The tightness of these spirals is dictated by our DNA -- some will have loose spirals, some tighter coils. Each new spiral strand grows next to another spiral strand. Naturally, these spirals will start intertwining and locking together. As you comb and brush your hair, this locking will cause you to put stress on the demarcation line and weaker, chemically-treated strands. This is why your hair seems to break more often around touch up time.

In addition, this locking will make it more difficult for the natural oils to travel down your hair shaft. When your hair is straight, the oils can just slide down easily. This is why when black hair is flat ironed or freshly relaxed, it seems to get dirty faster. When you have new spirally growth, it has to travel down the equivalent of a hair rollercoaster (often against gravity) to reach the ends.

How to Start Stretching

Ok, so how can we get some of the benefits of stretching (less overlapping, more shoes, etc.) while minimizing some of the negative aspects (breakage, dryness, etc.)? I'd recommend that you start by setting targets or goals. Each time, try stretching one week later than your previous stretching period. So, if you usually relax every 8 weeks, try to wait 9 weeks... then 10 weeks and so on. Keep a journal of the products and styling methods you used. This way, it will be easier to identify the "best practices" for your hair.

Maintain the Moisture/Protein Balance

Make sure to keep up your conditioning regimen. Pick a conditioner with protein and moisture and deep condition consistently, making sure to concentrate the product on the demarcation line. This will help strengthen that area and to prepare it for your next relaxer treatment. Conditioning will also help prevent dryness and breakage on the chemically treated strands.

Keep the New Growth Supple and Strong

Conditioning my roots makes stretching really easy for me. When my new growth starts to get thick, I use a conditioner that is designed to condition the scalp and roots like Keracare Dry and Itchy Scalp conditioner or Paul Mitchell Tea Tree conditioner. I apply this to my scalp and roots and let it sit for 10-20 minutes. It really helps to keep my new growth detangled and supple.

If you don't want to condition your scalp, try using a little bit of S-curl, castor oil or Wild Growth oil on the roots. This works really well on air-dried hair and braid-out/twist-out styles. However, some ladies do find that these products build up on the scalp over time.

Use Products to Help Smooth the Textures

There are some products that are designed to help blend or make your new growth more manageable. For a splurge, try the Mizani Thermasmooth system. For a save, try Soft and Beautiful Extend-a-Perm. Some other products are not exclusively designed to help with new growth but are still great picks. For instance, a lot of women have had success with Aveda Damage Remedy or the Paul Mitchell Skinny line.

Styling with New Growth

If you want super straight roots with a straight style, try roller setting and blowing out the roots or flat-ironing the new growth. Or, try blow-drying the roots to blend new growth and then allowing the ends of the hair to air dry. For a visual aid, check out the Healthy Textures' Guide to Roller Setting, which shows you how to wash, condition, roller set and wrap for a straight, sleek style.

If you don't want to use heat on your new growth, try curly hairstyles. A tight roller-set with small rollers or a curly twist-out/braid-out is a great way to blend new growth with existing hair. You make your hair sleek and smooth by slicking hair back and covering with a silk scarf. You can easily twist, roll or braid the ends for a curly up do.

Now, if you are doing everything and you still have breakage and excessive dryness, you might have a stretching threshold. Listen to your hair -- don't stretch just to stretch. Everyone's hair is different and some can tolerate stretching more than others. So, if you find stretching to be counter-productive than it may not be for you. Just try to wait at least 8 weeks before your next touch-up.

I hope this was helpful. For more styling techniques and tips, check me out at www.healthytextures.com. Thanks!