3 Tips for Preserving Your Stretched Natural Hair

In our community spaces, we often get asked what is the best way to preserve natural hair at night that has been stretched.

Instead of applying heat to your hair daily potentially increasing your risk for thermal reconditioning commonly known as heat damage, there are actually a few tips that you can do at home that are really easy to do.

This blog post will outline 3 tips for preserving your stretched natural hair.

Tip #1: Tie Your Hair Down Nightly

There are various nighttime accessory options available on the market such as buffs, scarfs, bonnets, etc that you can use. We suggest that you choose the option that makes you feel the most comfortable sleeping in.

Before bed, we recommend bantu knotting your hair or braiding your hair into large plaits to keep it stretched out. Either option will help to minimize tangles, keeps your hair from matting, and also allows you to easily fluff and polish your hair daily.

We have video tutorials for bantu knots and how to apply different nighttime accessories available to view in our digital course community—The SeeSomeCurls Visual Library.

Tip #2: Use A Serum for Lubrication

When wrapping your hair at night, we recommend using a serum for extra lubrication and slip. Hair serums also provide a protective layer over the hair, helping to smooth frizz. It can also leave you with a shiny, non-greasy finish.

“What’s a Hair Serum? According to L’Oréal, professional hair serums are a liquid-based treatment usually formulated using silicones that provide a protective layer over the hair fiber, assisting in smoothing frizz. This smooth layer then reflects the light, which is how serum gives your hair a shiny, not greasy, finish.”

Please refer to our Five Product Must-Haves to Blow Out Your Natural Hair blog post for specific product recommendations.

Tip #3: Use A Hair Spray With Hold

As naturals, we likely haven’t even thought about hair spray since our relaxer days. Hair spray is a pivotal product that helps to minimize frizz and shrinkage—especially when wearing your hair stretched.

Many hair sprays available on the market offer a firm, but flexible hold. We suggest using hair spray when fluffing your hair when you wake up in the mornings.

Please refer to our Five Product Must-Haves to Blow Out Your Natural Hair blog post for specific product recommendations.

In need of more tips for how to stretch your natural hair? We have a variety of detailed blow out video tutorials and more in our digital course community—The SeeSomeCurls Visual Library.

Our 1.2K+ course community of tight curl + naturals are shaving more than 50% of time off their wash day, being showered left and right with hair compliments, and are receiving direct support of a very encouraging community of tight curlies + naturals who have been exactly where you are.