How do you measure your hair?

[ClareDee]

I'm sorry if this has been discussed here already, and it probably has. Feel free to point me to a past thread. I'm just a bit confuzzled.

I measured my hair last night and got 17.5"... which is, obviously, a whole inch of difference from the 16.5" I got a couple of weeks ago. I know my hair is not particularly fast-growing, and an inch in 2 weeks would be bizarre, so I can only conclude that I'm crap at hair-measuring.

Do you get someone else to do your measuring for you? I was measuring my own, since most people I know will think I'm a nutjob if I ask them to measure it... Though I can see how getting someone else to do it would help.
Do you measure when dry/wet? And do you stretch out your longest hairs to make sure you are measuring it completely straight? Or just let it hang naturally?

All help appreciated.

[Arctic]

Here a article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=9) about it.

It IS a bit difficult to get trustworthy measurements, many feel photos are better way to see growth.

I think it's most important that you do it in a similar way every time you measure, to get results that are comparable with each other. I always measure wet, right out of shower after I comb it. My fiance helps me.

[ClareDee]

Thanks so much for the link, Arctic. It's a very helpful article.

It makes me want to buy a horizontal-striped top! Or go to Etsy's Alchemy page and request that someone please make me a top with inches marked all the way down the back. I'm sure it could be done :p

[Arctic]

He he, that's a great idea!

[30isthenewblack]

Thanks so much for the link, Arctic. It's a very helpful article.

It makes me want to buy a horizontal-striped top! Or go to Etsy's Alchemy page and request that someone please make me a top with inches marked all the way down the back. I'm sure it could be done :p

Haha! I've got a skivvy (winter here in Australia) with two stripes on the top. I was wearing it when I got my photo taken in May this year, a week before I joined the forum. I could see that the tips of the hair when curly was just reaching the first stripe. The next week my hair was cut by a hairdresser & I was really upset that a lot was cut off. When I wore the skivvy again, I had to pull my hair straight for it to reach the same length. However, today I wore the top again & my hair is now almost reaching the second stripe when curly & it is now 2" past the second stripe when pulled straight & a lot thicker. I've measured my hair & it's grown 1.5" since I cut in May when I measured on August 1. However, it seems like it has grown more when I look at my hair when wearing this striped skivvy. Very handy! I like the inches on the top idea :D

To answer your question, my mother kindly measures my hair for me. My hair is curly & layered so I wet my hair, pull it straight & she measures the longest part with a cloth measuring tape from the start of my forehead. I make her measure it three times for accuracy :D

[insideitall]

personally, I like measuring the length of my ponytail. That's all that's changing, anyway, since my head is staying the same size :D

[insideitall]

though just for clarity's sake, the measurements I have in my profile are from forehead, since the directions told me to do it like that.

see, I can follow directions. sometimes ;)

[ClareDee]

30isthenewblack, I am gonna buy the next cheap stripey top I find, to be my official hair-measuring gear. I can see that some people here would need a stripey dress to do their measuring though *jealous* :)

insideitall, Makes sense to measure your ponytail. I think I'll just keep going by the general trend on the forum though, with head included. It gives me nice big numbers like 17", so I can feel like I'm already a longhair ;)

[Shanarana]

I did the "inches" thing and found it very confusing...many people with the same inch amount would be longer or shorter than mine. I just use body parts now. ;)

[tinah]

With a measuring tape!:D
sorry, I had to!

[Holland]

Ah! Finally. I have been digging all over for that article. Thanks.

[LadyLongLocks]

I usually measure it myself. It is easier to measure now that it is longer ( knees) I use a soft vinyl tape held at the hairline with left hand. I hang the tape down my back. I then slightly pull my hair grabbing the hair and the tape together behind my back and draw it downward. I lift it under one arm and smooth the last few inches towards the end. I do this about 3 times to be accurate. I usually do it after I wash my hair and it is well combed and dry. After I started measuring my hair in this manner It gave me the idea of a way to self trim it too since it is done by smoothing it and going under one arm the same way I measure. Now I self trim too.

[30isthenewblack]

30isthenewblack, I am gonna buy the next cheap stripey top I find, to be my official hair-measuring gear. I can see that some people here would need a stripey dress to do their measuring though *jealous* :)

Seriously, it's a good idea :D I'll get one too with different coloured stripes!

[yogachic]

I measure from the hairline, and over my head to the ends like the article here. I still need help measuring, I don't do it half as often as I did when i first joined. Will be nice when I can do it myself.

[Arctic]

Ah! Finally. I have been digging all over for that article. Thanks.

You're welcome!

[ClareDee]

I am a woman of my word! :D

This is a poor photo, and I can never make my hemline lie down... but I am just past the first yellow stripe. :p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/frogmella/stripeyhairtop1.jpg

[paper]

:D Thats an awesome shirt for measuring.

[Arctic]

I am a woman of my word! :D

This is a poor photo, and I can never make my hemline lie down... but I am just past the first yellow stripe. :p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/frogmella/stripeyhairtop1.jpg


You got WAVES there! I believe you might be more wavy than you think ;) You might get better measurement pictures with wet hair, as it more tamed down then: but what ever you do, do it same way every time. That shirt is great measuring tool for you :D

[ClareDee]

Thanks paper and Arctic :)
I agree - I'll have to dampen it in future to take the pictures. I might end up being a 1c if the crazy hemline is anything to go by :D

[Anje]

OK, I love the hair-measuring shirt. I may have to get one, though I'm hoping to need hair-measuring pants in a few months. (Horizontal stripes! Just what my humongo-butt needs! :shake: Maybe in a few years my hair will hide it.)

Measuring is probably better done with an understanding buddy at this point. Somewhere around waist, it gets easier to grab the tape measure and middle clump of hair to pull around front and check the measurement.

Lengths on your body are also good, but it takes longer to see progress than if you have quantitative measurements.

[yuccalyptus]

I don't measure my hair. At least not with measuring tape. I just gauge my progress by seeing where my ends hit on my back. I'm 6' tall....20 inches of length on me will mean something completely different to someone who is 5' tall so I like sticking to visual measurements like BSL, waist, tailbone, etc.

[inertia]

I don't measure my hair either. My hair is heavily layered so I think it's most honest to describe it according to where it falls on my body. It's also colored and gets visible roots, so I don't need measurements to track my growth.

[Hedera]

I use a striped shirt for length pics as well - when I remember, anyway.

The only downside of it is that for some reason, it makes my hair look really thin; you can see the stripes through the length of hair.

Solid-coloured shirts close to your own hair colour are much more flattering, thickness-wise! :cool:

[TambourineDream]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a measuring-related question!!
The measurements I entered when joining follow the guidelines, ie. tape measure from my forehead to my ends - BUT I have SERIOUS layers, and that length is only true for a small proportion of my hair. 26" would make me over BSL, yet the majority of my hair is much shorter, I have layers that barely hit my shoulders! I eventually want to even out the super-layers and cut off the damage on the longest parts, so should I measure the shorter layers? Or take a kind of average?

Is this a really inane question?! Lol I just feel like a bit of a fraud saying my hair is 26" when most of it isn't!

[Arctic]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a measuring-related question!!
The measurements I entered when joining follow the guidelines, ie. tape measure from my forehead to my ends - BUT I have SERIOUS layers, and that length is only true for a small proportion of my hair. 26" would make me over BSL, yet the majority of my hair is much shorter, I have layers that barely hit my shoulders! I eventually want to even out the super-layers and cut off the damage on the longest parts, so should I measure the shorter layers? Or take a kind of average?

Is this a really inane question?! Lol I just feel like a bit of a fraud saying my hair is 26" when most of it isn't!


I guess it's up to you. I have seen some members mark into their profiles something like 19/26" which I think are longest and shortest layer measurements.

[TambourineDream]

I guess it's up to you. I have seen some members mark into their profiles something like 19/26" which I think are longest and shortest layer measurements.

Oh wow I never thought of that!! :rolleyes: That's such an obvious (and good!) solution. Thanks!