What is your taper?

**harley mama** · August 28th, 2008, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by justme

I looked at that thread, but it doesn't tell where along the length the taper is. For example, do most people lose more thickness between waist and tailbone, or between brastrap and waist? Does that make sense?

Yes, it does. Actually, it makes a lot of sense!

**Eden Iris** · August 29th, 2008, 11:06 AM

Oh man, this is going to be depressing.

Here goes:

4.125.....nape
2.0.....bra strap
1.0.....ends midway between BSL and waist

It's been almost a year since my last cut, and I'm still growing out one slightly shorter layer that is now just below BSL.

Based on this exercise, my hair thickness reduces by one-half at every measurement. So if I stop measuring it, it will never thin! Right? (Quantum physics for the deluded.)

**spidermom** · August 29th, 2008, 11:13 AM

I don't have anyone around to help with the measuring, but I notice that my braid has a gradual taper from nape to ends, with the most taper occurring in the final inch. It falls off so sharply at that point that I think the majority of my hairs might have a terminal length of right about top-hip.

**Finoriel** · August 30th, 2008, 01:43 PM

Finally I got around to measure, there were going on some major braided-bun waves so I had to wait for washing day and wet hair to get halfwayexact measurements.
I took the measurements in centimeters and converted them later, that´s why they are somehow über-exact (x = length / y = circumference).

nape (12,2/2,99)
shoulders (15,75/2,6)
bsl (21,65/2,17)
waist (27,95/1,77)
tailbone (34,45/1,01)
classic (39,76/0,59)
thigh (44,09/0,2)
fingertip (46,06/0)

I haven't found out how to convert the diagram into a jpg and get it online

so the coordinates and a description is all I can give you for now. But it´s tapering in a shallow curve from nape to waist. Then it suddenly becomes steeper and +/- a straight line down to nothing at fingertip.
I guess waist is about the length when I gave up rough wet brushing with a ball tipped brush and started to care about so profane things like my hair

back then in spring ´06. So it´s probably a combination of old damage from overstretched hairs, excessive motorbiking and sailing with loose hair, ponytails and loose hair as only known hairstyles

and a poor student´s diet making those parts more prone to breakage. I´m sure the thinning out is more breakage than real hair loss for me, most hairs I loose are either my longest > oldest ones or those fine hairs from the hairline which never get longer than about 10-20cm.
I will definitely save this diagram and compare it with the one next year. It will be interesting to see if the curve-part reaches down more and if the straight line get´s steeper or stays the same.

**spidermom** · August 30th, 2008, 04:34 PM

Measured around a loose-ish braid by myself, in inches:
Nape: 3.5
Shoulder: 3
Armpit: 2.5
Waist: 2
Ends: 1

I realized why the bottom inch falls off so drastically. Duh! It's because the sides end up shorter when I pull them to mid-back.

**Finoriel** · August 30th, 2008, 04:46 PM

*squint* loose braid?
Maybe the ends are thinner, because they are not braided?

I´m pretty sure that it´s not really effective to measure the thickness and taper with a braid. Braid bumps, tassel and all the rest...

**spidermom** · August 30th, 2008, 06:23 PM

no tassel; I braid all the way to the end. I figure it's a pretty fair representation of my taper even if not measured as others might prefer.

**Elainehali** · August 30th, 2008, 07:44 PM

4.11 nape
3.25 shoulder
2.75 bsl
1.75 waist

and my chart cause I'm a nerd like that =D

**Finoriel** · August 31st, 2008, 01:48 AM

Sorry Spidermom for apparently offending you. It wasn't my intend to make you post a gnarly reply. It´s really not about my or your preference. Your hair > your preferences, are the only ones which count

Measure as it pleases you, it really wasn't my intent in commenting on that. But because you decided to post your data in this thread, I figured you´re interested in comparing and helping the OP, wondering about the odd numbers by yourself and maybe did not think about the problems with your experimental set-up. So I was just mentioning them. It was solely about the occurring measurement error and therewith comparability of your data. When it´s measured in a completely other way, it´s impossible to compare your taper to the one of the OP or to anyone else. And that´s what the OP asked for: to compare tapers to see in which areas it is likely and normal to become more. Sure, measuring more or less compressed ponytails with a not calibrated tape in inch on the back side of your body, etc. etc. is far away from being exact

I´m well aware of that. But measuring on a braid bump and on a braid dent can make a difference of roughly 0,5 inch at the thicker parts of a braid. Even two measurements of you own braid would not reproduce the same taper. A tassel was another logical point, couldn't know that your braid has none. As an avoidable failure in the measureing process I was just mentioning this. You see? That´s all I was trying to say.