Airdrying and diffusing give me VERY different looks. I used to have trouble airdrying without frizz but I have figured it out now. If I airdry, I get clumpier curls. If I diffuse with a net diffuser (no fingers) I get flatter looking hair and more elongated curls. If I diffuse with a finger diffuser, I get big hair and tight very springy curls. I can add to these differences by using different products as well. Airdrying does sometimes give me that “block” effect as my hair gets longer. I find that brushing in conditioner/product in smaller sections and putting a scarf over my head or tying it up while it dries really helps.

Oh, you got the Suave Humectant? I hope it works for you as well as it does for me! As a leave-in, it was great. I used a lot of that, and no gel, but try it with your gel too.

I was thinking, why call it “shrinkage” when it is just what hair has to do to be curly? If it did not shrink at all, it would be straight. How about calling it “spring” or something?

[quote=anicetta][quote=urbancurl]I was thinking, why call it “shrinkage” when it is just what hair has to do to be curly? If it did not shrink at all, it would be straight. How about calling it “spring” or something?[/quote]
Isn’t that what Lorraine Massey called it in her book? “Spring factor”?
“Shrinkage” does seem to carry a pejorative connotation.[/quote]

I think that shrinkage is a different phenomenon than just being curly. For example, I don’t think that 3a hair shrinks as much as 3c hair (3b varies, and there are lots of hybrid types too). Also, it seems that Type 4 hair shrinks the most, and that is why it seems not to be growing, or getting longer, when in fact it is growing. Shrinkage is best seen by the difference in length between wet and dry curly hair, when dry curls are not stretched out or otherwise manipulated. Some curl types shrink less than others.

It does seem to have a negative connotation. I am all for re-naming 8)

[quote=urbancurl]

But doesn’t the amount of shrinkage/spring correlate with how curly the hair is? 3a does not shrink as much as 3b or 4 hair because it is less curly. So 3a hair, generally, has less spring than 4a hair. Lorraine’s book must be where I heard of “spring” before.[/quote]

That’s sounds right too! I guess it all comes down to how you think of/define curls. I think that a lot of people think of 3b hair (like that of Alex Kingston, Juliana Margulies or Melina Kanakaredes) as curly, and that 3a, 2c etc is more wavy or loose curls and 3c, 4a etc is more coily/kinky or very tight curls. But I could be wrong about that..

Anyway, it’s all part of one big CURL FAMILY, and spring is a good name for what curls do. 🙂