Stretching

Stretching is something that you may find yourself doing without knowing, just to make your hair last longer in-between co-washes or shampoos.
Essentially stretching works great for naturals who want to change up their hair style, erase frizz or add some length.
There are multiple ways to stretch your natural hair — roller banding, roller setting (which I covered a few posts ago), flat ironing, twisting or braiding.

Right now, I'm going to focus on braiding, which has been the most successful type of stretching for me.
Because I my day-to-day style is twists after cowashing/shampooing, by day two or three, those twists can appear frizzy and out of order. So at night, I section my hair and rub my scalp down with extra virgin coconut oil.
I then apply half a tablespoon amount of Karen's Body Beautiful Hair Milk to each section and braid (If I've been stretching for one or two days, instead of using the KBB Milk, I use Miss Jessie's Curly Buttercream which is oilier and adds a bit more shine to what would then be 5 or 6 day old hair).

Once I've finished, I slip on a satin cap and go to sleep. In the mornings, I unbraid my hair and style. Stretching works really well, if you find you don't have time to wash, but the downside is that it does lead to plenty of product buildup. Which means the next wash will call for a rinse like an apple cider vinegar one, to clean out the build up.

Below I've posted photos from one of the days I've spent stretching (photos 1-3). The second group of photos (photos 4-6) are from one of the first stretches and then the third group (photos 7-8) is my hair after my most recent stretch.