How much does hair weigh?

[maborosi]

In hard numbers, how much does your hair weigh?

How would you go about measuring that, anyway? A kitchen scale? For super-long hair would you use something a bit more substantial?

I'm curious to see since I don't know if I've ever actually seen how much hair really weighs. I imagine in actual numbers it's a lot less than it feels like.

~maborosi~

[Cowgirl16]

Interesting question! I've often wondered myself. I think a kitchen scale with a bowl would probably be the best solution. I think how thick or thin your hair is would also be a factor in the weight.

[kitschy]

It don't think it weighs much. How much does a wig weigh, or a scarf? I would think it to be less than 1 or 1 1/2 pounds even if extremely long.

[spidermom]

It doesn't weigh much. Mine came out at 2.75 ounces on the kitchen scale.

[evb]

Well mine seems to weigh a ton when it is wet o.0

Actually I recently had surgery on my neck and the PT wants me to cut off my hair. From just past waist to chin length. Apparently the weight is messing with my recovery. AND she made a big deal out of my doing side pony tails, all I can do with limited mobility atm, since it throws me off balance. I came home and ranted to my husband and he mentioned that many years ago he saw a Dr who claimed a good 90% of his patients were there because of putting their wallet in back pocket {men of course} since they sat slightly askew all day and it messed with their spine, caused pinched nerves, etc.

FWIW, all the gals in the office have longer hair. Well the PT's is past shoulder but her office managers is mid back so long for non LHC people. I am not exactly sure what to do about this situation :C

[spidermom]

I think the PT is full of beans.

[Viola88]

About 67 grams for me. I took my kitchen scale and pyrex bowl. I put the bowl on, tared the scale, gently put all my hair in the bowl (with the top of my head even with the top of the bowl), tared the scale again and brought my head up. The scale was -67 grams.

ETA: I am about 27 inches in length. I need to measure. It's been awhile.

[Chromis]

Even at knee length my hair doesn't weigh very much. It's not even heavy enough to get a good reading on our kitchen scale!

[neko_kawaii]

I couldn't get a reading off my kitchen scale. I have held a couple severed braids in my hands and the difference between the feather weight in my hand and the weight my neck said was gone was significant. I remember a school friend saying after she went from long hair to short that she didn't feel she was in control of her head, it kept floating. My best friend's mother cut classic length hair to a bob and that completely relieved her chronic neck pain, so the the PT is not completely full of it.

[maborosi]

neko_kawaii- that's how I felt when I cut my hair. I freaked out the day after because when I woke up, I just jerked my head up so easily and was expecting a lot more weight there!

evb- I'd think that wet hair would probably weigh a bit more. Hmm...an interesting experiment.

As soon as I can find some batteries for our kitchen scale, I'd love to see how much my hair weighs.

~maborosi~

[jacqueline101]

I don't have a kitchen scale but this is something I'm doing.

[jojo]

I've never weighted but ive heard no heavier than a hat!

[Kittykins]

Mine weighs about 60 grams.

[Mesmerise]

I think it depends a LOT on how thick your hair is! I doubt mine would weigh much at all, but I have a friend with long, very thick hair, and there are days when she gets a neck ache just because of her hair!! (That happened to me years ago when I got long extensions but never with real hair).

[Ligeia_13]

This is so cool! I just weighed my hair best I could with the kitchen scales and it's 40gr. I'm going to weigh it the next time I wash it to see the difference.

[browneyedsusan]

Been lurking and got curious.
An ounce is about as heavy as a AA battery. So, SpiderMom's fabulous hair is as heavy as 2 or 3 AA batteries? That seems trifling!? Maybe there are more things at play? Air resistance or overcoming the initial inertia of having it "at rest" when you move around? Hairtoys? (I'm only guessing. I've never used a hairtoy.)

[chen bao jun]

Well mine seems to weigh a ton when it is wet o.0

Actually I recently had surgery on my neck and the PT wants me to cut off my hair. From just past waist to chin length. Apparently the weight is messing with my recovery. AND she made a big deal out of my doing side pony tails, all I can do with limited mobility atm, since it throws me off balance. I came home and ranted to my husband and he mentioned that many years ago he saw a Dr who claimed a good 90% of his patients were there because of putting their wallet in back pocket {men of course} since they sat slightly askew all day and it messed with their spine, caused pinched nerves, etc.

FWIW, all the gals in the office have longer hair. Well the PT's is past shoulder but her office managers is mid back so long for non LHC people. I am not exactly sure what to do about this situation :C
I don't know about your case in particular but my next door neighbour cut off her hair to a pixie (it was ankle length) because she had neck problems. It turned out that the hair had nothing to do with it. It was a pinched nerve. Unfortunately, she still had neck problems (and still has the pixie). Cutting her hair off instantly aged her about fifteen years, as well.
I'd look into ways to put it up (you can do that even to the side) exercises (which have always helped me a lot when I have pain, but it takes a while) and see. You can always cut it off later, if necessary but I feel so bad for my neighbour and you don't want to do it unnecessarily.

[jojo]

I think it depends a LOT on how thick your hair is! I doubt mine would weigh much at all, but I have a friend with long, very thick hair, and there are days when she gets a neck ache just because of her hair!! (That happened to me years ago when I got long extensions but never with real hair).

With natural hair you would get used to the weight as growth is so gradual, though i can understand extentions giving you neck ache as its an instant weight. I never quite get how natural hair can give somebody neck ache. Certain buns can due to position or tightness and its just a case of readjusting them .

[Nique1202]

With natural hair you would get used to the weight as growth is so gradual, though i can understand extentions giving you neck ache as its an instant weight. I never quite get how natural hair can give somebody neck ache. Certain buns can due to position or tightness and its just a case of readjusting them .

I had a friend once who would get near-constant migraines if her hair got beyond ear length, because it was so thick and heavy. She basically had to keep it shaved to about an inch or two the entire time I knew her.

I absolutely believe that really thick, heavy hair can cause neck aches. The body adjusts somewhat, but if that weight (even just a few ounces or a quarter pound, for medium to thick hair at, say, waist length) is swinging around, instead of tight to your head, your neck has to constantly compensate for that movement, and if it is tight to your head in a bun, then it's constantly pulling your head in a certain direction, even a tiny bit, which your neck again has to constantly correct for, and that weight is constantly growing until you reach terminal length. Even a few inches' trimming can make a difference of several grams, which is probably why many people feel relief from chronic neck pain with drastic haircuts.

[LadyLongLocks]

I weighed mine a couple years ago and it was 9oz. It was about 60" long. I want to weigh it wet, water squeezed out so it's not dripping. It feels so heavy then. I used a kitchen food scale.

[lydiajo]

Even if your hair is not heavy, you could be holding your head of center because of an unbalanced hair style.

[PraiseCheeses]

Well mine seems to weigh a ton when it is wet o.0

Actually I recently had surgery on my neck and the PT wants me to cut off my hair. From just past waist to chin length. Apparently the weight is messing with my recovery. AND she made a big deal out of my doing side pony tails, all I can do with limited mobility atm, since it throws me off balance. I came home and ranted to my husband and he mentioned that many years ago he saw a Dr who claimed a good 90% of his patients were there because of putting their wallet in back pocket {men of course} since they sat slightly askew all day and it messed with their spine, caused pinched nerves, etc.

FWIW, all the gals in the office have longer hair. Well the PT's is past shoulder but her office managers is mid back so long for non LHC people. I am not exactly sure what to do about this situation :C

I missed this thread when it started, but wanted to let you know that my sympathies are with you - I had a double discectomy and a fusion from C5-C7 last May. My hair was between BSL and waist at the time, and I was reassured by doctors and PTs that cutting would not be necessary. Washing was definitely tricky for a couple months; it was actually easier to bend forwards, detangle, and wash that way. I could support my head and neck with my hands much more easily; bending backwards really hurt and still does. Putting my hair up smack on the top of my head while it was drying made it easier to support the weight of wet hair. Braids felt much better balanced and more weightless than buns - and as you've mentioned, you can do them on the side without contorting too much. :) I really only noticed the weight of my hair when it was wet. Sometimes I'd notice the weight of a heavy fork, so I stuck with sticks for a while.

If your DH is able and willing, his help can go a long way. DBF learned to braid my hair and helped me support my head, especially while lying down and getting up from lying down. Personally, I imagine long hair would be a lot easier to deal with during recovery, because you can wash it, put it up, and basically leave it for four or five days. No constant restyling, no reaching up to brush hair out of your face, etc.

The doctor might be onto something about years of sitting askew on a fat wallet (a problem I'll never have - ha! :lol:) but unless you notice your hair specifically causing you pain, I highly doubt the PT.

Best of luck with your recovery! :flower:

[Ligeia_13]

This is so cool! I just weighed my hair best I could with the kitchen scales and it's 40gr. I'm going to weigh it the next time I wash it to see the difference.

Wow, it weighs twice as much when it's wet!

[Rimi]

It's almost 1 a.m. and I'm wanting to get out of my warm cozy bed to weigh my hair. Thanks, folks. Just thanks.

[anitacs9101]

Bishonenrancher did a video about this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduqBu1s44Y

[HintOfMint]

This thread reminds me of a little joke my friend made. When I was talking about having gained a bit of weight, he replied, "Where, in your hair? That's at least ten pounds, fatty!"

[Haziel]

7.4 ounces.
I'm somewhere below hip and above bum length. I'm probably going to cut it to shoulder blade length because it's to heavy to wear any higher
a low bun/pony/braid. Planning to donate it and do this over again.

[Panthera]

My hair weighs about 120 grams if I rest my head against my hands and throw the hair to a bowl. :D The number went up to 180g if I got really close to the bowl but I think I was pushing my hair against it a bit. I have a wash day today, I'll try to remember to weigh it when it's towel dry.

[MusicalSpoons]

Ooh what an intriguing thread! I put my hair into a bowl on the kitchen scales which went between 85g and 90g depending on how close I got to the bowl - BUT I weighed my fork while I was at it and in the bowl it barely registered; flat on the scales it weighed 24g. I'm not sure my hair weighs as much as the scales said to be honest, though going by some of the other numbers maybe it does. I'll have to try again with a flatter-bottomed bowl (most of the others were in the dishwasher at the time) and see if it does better with the hair fork too :lol:

[Elodea]

I just weighed mine; it's at least 250 grams/9 oz when dry (approximately) based on leaning over a bowl placed on a food scale and letting the hair fall into it. Next time I wash maybe I'll try to weigh it while it's somewhat wet and see how much heavier it is. I remember being curious about how much it weighed and weighing it in the past (it was a similar length to my current hair), but I don't remember what the number was.

At 9 oz (at least), that means my hair weighs as much as some pieces of steak do! It's about tailbone length with minimal tapering.

I've never cut off enough hair at once to have that "feels so much lighter!" feeling, but I guess I can see how that could happen. It's definitely heavy enough that I can feel the weight of it on my head/scalp, and an ill-positioned bun isn't always comfortable, but I wouldn't say the weight of it has been a major annoyance.