Banding: Stretching hair without heat

I finally took LA's mini braids down. That was a long process.  I was going to do a post on LA's hair care regimen and how I was a detangle her hair but I forgot to take pictures.  I'll do that post next week.  This post is about how to stretch hair without using heat.  Heat can be very damaging to hair and can permanently change the curl pattern.  I have NEVER used heat on LA's hair.  There are alternatives for achieving a blow-dried effect. Take a look.  First, I washed LA's hair.

I used Kinky Curly come clean shampoo. It's sulfate free and costs $12 at Target.

Then, I conditioned and detangled her hair with Herbal Essences hello hydration conditioner. I LOVE this conditioner.  It is not all natural or anything like that but the way it makes my fingers glide through her hair is like nothing else. You can buy it at Walmart for $3.  

After I rinsed out the conditioner, I applied Cantu Shea Butter leave in.  I sectioned her hair off and put a generous amount on each section I was working with.  This is another product that is not all natural but it works for us.  Keep in mind that not all hair is the same and what works for us, may not work for you.  As with many things, you will have to try it out for yourself.  You can buy this at Walmart for around $5

Here's what banding looks like.  I section her hair off and wrapped hair bands around the sections, stretching her curls out.  I do this before she goes to bed so that her hair will be dry and ready to style by morning. You can make as little or as many sections as you would like, there are really no rules except do not use rubber bands or hair bands that have the metal piece connecting the elastic.

This is how her hair looks when I take the bands off.

After I ran my fingers through it a couple times.  You can see that her hair is stretched and has minimal shrinkage.  I achieved this WITHOUT heat and so can you.

As we know by now, you should never style dry hair so I oiled her hair and scalp really well with coconut oil.  I think I paid $8 or so for the one I use.

I then moisturized her hair with Shea Moisture Smoothie.  You can find it at Target, Walmart or Walgreens. It usually cost $10 but sometimes it might be on sale for 1-2 dollars off.

This is the finished look.  My child was not in the picture taking mood today so this is the best I could get out of her.

I didn't realize how much the front of her hair had grown so now I have to pin her braided bangs out of her face because she keeps pulling at them.  I wet her puff on top and used some eco styler gel to define the curls. And there you have it. :)

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below.  Thanks for reading.

Nace