I'm midback? I'M MIDBACK?!?!!?

[CurlyCurves]

EDIT: I took some pictures with a bra on and it looks like I'm BSL :-)

I don't really know why my hair was bottom-of-Saturn length in the original pictures and top-of-Saturn/BSL length in these photos but I think it's because the originals were taken on a self timer, and also because curly hair varies so much in length.

http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/379581_10201290123755531_1968923097_n.jpg

[jacqueline101]

I don't see why you can't.

[SerinaDaith]

Honestly I think you are there or crazy close, it is always so hard to tell because you'll have to pull your hair to stretch it but then seeing the very ends is impossible. So congratulations on either being there or being really really really close!

[CurlyCurves]

Thanks girls!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Well I think you're pretty close! Maybe even there, close enough to claim the victory, well done! It's really exciting reaching milestones!

[Jorja]

It's hard to tell, maybe if you had more pictures on? :p I would say yes, midback.

[Ocelan]

I thought MBL was the wasteland between BSL and waist (atleast so it was when I was growing from BSL to waist) but I guess some people call past APL midback. If for you the length from APL to BSL longer than BSL to waist I don't see the reason why you can't add this mini milestone to this point of your journey if it makes you feel like you are progressing more. :-)

ETA: Whoops it looked to me that you're not BSL yet (I'm on my phone and tiny pictures!). I see you did mean you were between BSL and waist but then again my bra rides much lower and straight on me and I count BSL to be on the bottom of the band. So I'm going to say you're still BSL but once you get past it you will be in the midback abyss!

[LoveAngelBeauty]

if you have to stretch it out that much, and if only a small portion of your hair reaches your midback, then no I don't think you can claim it...

[CurlyCurves]

if you have to stretch it out that much, and if only a small portion of your hair reaches your midback, then no I don't think you can claim it...

I measure my stretched length, not my curly length. My hair was straightened but in a wavy state. I was pulling one bit of hair, not the whole lot. How can I pull the whole lot with one hand? :S

[CurlyCurves]

I thought MBL was the wasteland between BSL and waist (atleast so it was when I was growing from BSL to waist) but I guess some people call past APL midback. If for you the length from APL to BSL longer than BSL to waist I don't see the reason why you can't add this mini milestone to this point of your journey if it makes you feel like you are progressing more. :-)

ETA: Whoops it looked to me that you're not BSL yet (I'm on my phone and tiny pictures!). I see you did mean you were between BSL and waist but then again my bra rides much lower and straight on me and I count BSL to be on the bottom of the band. So I'm going to say you're still BSL but once you get past it you will be in the midback abyss!

Thanks for your comment! I'm confused as to why people are saying I'm still BSL though. Are the markers I made wrong?

[hafattack]

I'm thinking that if my bra sat where you have labelled bsl it would be rather uncomfortable. It looks kind of high.

[lolar]

I'm really picky when it comes to my hair. I always said bsl was at the bottom edge of my bra (well fitting bra that was level all the way round - told you I was picky) and mid back for me was when it properly passed bsl. Its difficult to tell with your pics as you are not wearing a bra!

[spirals]

Mid-back is an inch or two above your waist, and you are clearly there. Measuring by the stretched length is perfectly acceptable for a curly.

[chen bao jun]

This is mid-back on you. The demarcations you made are right for you. You are quite high-waisted so on someone else this would not be mid-back (on me, for instance, my waist is very low). But on you, it definitely is. the definitions by their nature are going to be different on different people because of their heights, whether they are high or low waisted and how they wear their bra and the only way to get around that is to have people measure strictly in inches, which seems silly because it is not the inches that matter but the APPARENT length (how the hair looks). Your hair looks like its at the middle of your back when you stretch it (and I don't get the point of the complaint about that, that's how us curlies have to measure, exactly the way that you did).
I just want to add, your hair is beautiful and it is growing like crazy. Please keep posting, your photos are very encouraging to me as another curly. I love having curly hair and I know it is very attractive (people are always telling me so) but it can be discouraging when you are trying to grow, as it really takes so much longer to look like you have any length. It is so wonderful to look at another curly and get inspiration and encouragement, so thanks again.

[Ocelan]

Thanks for your comment! I'm confused as to why people are saying I'm still BSL though. Are the markers I made wrong?

I think it's mainly just because many people (like myself) measure BSL from the bottom of their bra band or me and some others are confused by the fact that you are wearing a bra with a rather wide band in the picture, so I guess that's what's throwing people off. If I were you I would probably put BSL about an inch lower, but I probably can't turn your head on this one. ;)

Now that I looked at your pictures again on a proper screen I think I got first confused by Jupiter and Saturn and the fact that I was just looking at the planets and the markers don't seem to be at exactly the same spot (planetwise!) on each picture. I think you're definitely at the ring of Saturn point which in some photos is MBL and some photos isn't quite yet. So I'm going to say either way you're past BSL based on the markers you've drawn so you might just aswell say you're MBL.

I also think that's a perfectly good way to measure for a curly or in fact anyone with some wave to their hair, since this is about measuring the stretched length.

[spirals]

I do think there are some differing opinions overall as to BSL, which is fine. I tend to think of the general BSL area as the top of the band to the bottom of it. It's funny to think that no one in the "outside world" even knows what BSL means, much less to debate where it falls. :cheese: If only they knew, they'd think we're all nuts. :lol:

[lapushka]

What you call MBL, I actually call BSL; below or at the bottom of the bra-strap equals BSL.

[goldloli]

hi curlycurves, i think any negative replies are due to you making this same thread last monthish. You're quite petite and you're bra strap rides up a lot, not to mention the fact you have a lot of shrinkage and your MBL markers in the first post are actually in different places :o ... All making it pretty hard to determine for people.

but considering that you're stretched length is somewhere around there, the fact you only have a few inches between true bsl/mbl/waist and how excited you are, just call it! i mean heck if it's not there already then it will be in a month or 2 so who cares! plus you know your reflection better than us, you see it more often so probably know if it looks mbl better than we do. i know i called waist when it was straightened and stretched so there was no volume bouncing it up, it didn't look solid waist while straight until 2 months later, whatever i got there in the end.

[palaeoqueen]

What you call MBL, I actually call BSL; below or at the bottom of the bra-strap equals BSL.

I agree, the place you've marked as MBL I would call BSL, whatever it is though you're there so it's up to you really.

[BrightEyes]

I agree, the place you've marked as MBL I would call BSL, whatever it is though you're there so it's up to you really.

I agree. Your hair is beautiful :)

[NymphSpirit]

I don't think you're past bsl yet. You're at a very solid bsl, even slightly past it, but it's straightened and stretched, so imo what you have now is not a honest mbl, and I'm not sure it'd be bsl either, considering how tight your curls seem to be. This has to do with the way I measure my own hair though, and I don't claim a new milestone unless my hair touches it solidly (not just the ends of the fairytale taper) while it's naturally air dried and fingercombed, but ultimately, if you want to measure your hair while straightened and stretched, it's all up to you and if you consider it to be mbl then so be it! Happy growing :)

[CurlyCurves]

This is mid-back on you. The demarcations you made are right for you. You are quite high-waisted so on someone else this would not be mid-back (on me, for instance, my waist is very low). But on you, it definitely is. the definitions by their nature are going to be different on different people because of their heights, whether they are high or low waisted and how they wear their bra and the only way to get around that is to have people measure strictly in inches, which seems silly because it is not the inches that matter but the APPARENT length (how the hair looks). Your hair looks like its at the middle of your back when you stretch it (and I don't get the point of the complaint about that, that's how us curlies have to measure, exactly the way that you did).
I just want to add, your hair is beautiful and it is growing like crazy. Please keep posting, your photos are very encouraging to me as another curly. I love having curly hair and I know it is very attractive (people are always telling me so) but it can be discouraging when you are trying to grow, as it really takes so much longer to look like you have any length. It is so wonderful to look at another curly and get inspiration and encouragement, so thanks again.

Thank you. This is why I am getting confused. My bra rides quite high, I guess. Though not super high like it's at my armpits, haha. I think in this picture, I maybe marked BSL a little high (it was during the beginning, I didn't know much), but the others are accurate for me.

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/557174_4243748612379_1882356067_n.jpg

I don't understand that complaint either. My hair is truly whatever length it is here (BSL/MBL - whatever), it's not a lie, they're just all coiled up in ringlets. Why should I consider the length of my curls my actual length, especially when that can vary dependent on how my curls are that day?

And thank you so much! I hope to continue to inspire and encourage you :-)


Mid-back is an inch or two above your waist, and you are clearly there. Measuring by the stretched length is perfectly acceptable for a curly.

Thank you! I feel like I am going a bit crazy over here lol


I think it's mainly just because many people (like myself) measure BSL from the bottom of their bra band or me and some others are confused by the fact that you are wearing a bra with a rather wide band in the picture, so I guess that's what's throwing people off. If I were you I would probably put BSL about an inch lower, but I probably can't turn your head on this one. ;)

Now that I looked at your pictures again on a proper screen I think I got first confused by Jupiter and Saturn and the fact that I was just looking at the planets and the markers don't seem to be at exactly the same spot (planetwise!) on each picture. I think you're definitely at the ring of Saturn point which in some photos is MBL and some photos isn't quite yet. So I'm going to say either way you're past BSL based on the markers you've drawn so you might just aswell say you're MBL.

I also think that's a perfectly good way to measure for a curly or in fact anyone with some wave to their hair, since this is about measuring the stretched length.

The 'bra' in the last picture isn't a bra, it's a crop top :) that's why the BSL marker is put a little bit towards the middle-top. I tried on my normal bra before taking that picture and noted where it lay, and that's where it was.

I understand what you mean about my planets. Of course, it's not possible to always sit or stand in the same way, especially when taking pictures yourself with a self timer so that might be a factor.

Thanks for your comment, hon!


hi curlycurves, i think any negative replies are due to you making this same thread last monthish. You're quite petite and you're bra strap rides up a lot, not to mention the fact you have a lot of shrinkage and your MBL markers in the first post are actually in different places :o ... All making it pretty hard to determine for people.

but considering that you're stretched length is somewhere around there, the fact you only have a few inches between true bsl/mbl/waist and how excited you are, just call it! i mean heck if it's not there already then it will be in a month or 2 so who cares! plus you know your reflection better than us, you see it more often so probably know if it looks mbl better than we do. i know i called waist when it was straightened and stretched so there was no volume bouncing it up, it didn't look solid waist while straight until 2 months later, whatever i got there in the end.

I did make a similar thread in April, yes, but I didn't use my planets for reference, making it more arbitary. Now my hair has grown a little more and I can show length using my planets and previous length marker photos, I made a new thread. My MBL markers are in slightly different places between the two bath pictures, yes. That is a mistake of mine I made when making the picture. However, my tattoos don't change and most people would agree that my Saturn planet is quite close to, or is, MBL on me. That is more important than where I put the lines.

Thanks for calling me petite btw! :D


I agree. Your hair is beautiful :)

If this is to me, thank you!


I don't think you're past bsl yet. You're at a very solid bsl, even slightly past it, but it's straightened and stretched, so imo what you have now is not a honest mbl, and I'm not sure it'd be bsl either, considering how tight your curls seem to be. This has to do with the way I measure my own hair though, and I don't claim a new milestone unless my hair touches it solidly (not just the ends of the fairytale taper) while it's naturally air dried and fingercombed, but ultimately, if you want to measure your hair while straightened and stretched, it's all up to you and if you consider it to be mbl then so be it! Happy growing :)

If I was to only measure my curly length, I'd be at APL somedays, shoulder length other days and neck length on other days! Why isn't stretched length valid? The length is not a lie, it's just hidden. If I waited until my curly hair reached MBL to claim MBL, I'd be waiting about 3-5 years, and my REAL length would be around hip or tailbone. Do you have curly hair?

[chen bao jun]

I do think that its hard to understand how the length of curly hair is not only different every day but sometimes different from hour to hour depending on the weather, amount of time passed since you washed--a myriad of things. I don't think people can 'get' this unless they either are a curly or are very close to curly. I'm never really quite sure how long my hair is, unless its flat ironed. And I don't want to flatiron,not even on one day to measure, not only because of the damage but also because of the annoying fact that every single time I flatiron, I get a bunch of people telling me, "oh, you should always do this, your hair looks so much better" and its a confidence-buster for me. It's also really irritating to be growing and have my hair look as if its staying the same length, just getting thicker and to have people tell me that my hair is not long, and tell other people whose hair is actually shorter how long their has gotten. However, none of these things matter as much to me as the fact that I love my hair since I went curly, I love the soft feel and the spring and I myself think I look better. Not going back. And there are also a bunch of people, even strangers, who just walk up to me randomly and say that they love my curly hair.

[Golden]

Maybe it would be easier to see if we could see your waist in the pictures, but I think you're MBL!
(don't know if it already has been said, I didn't read the whole thread)
Your hair is absolutely LOVELY

[PinkyCat]

Isn't it confusing being a curly longhair?

I usually describe my length both ways - I use inches for stretched - because that is your ACTUAL hair length. I use body markers for curly because it is more visually correct when i't curled up. So for instance, my hair is 39" inches stretched - but BCL curly. Does that help at all?

So when I say TBL is 40" on me - people think I have a really long torso - but no - just curly cair.

[Amorice]

Can I just comment to say that your back tats are awesome? :D

[Kherome]

Anyone can claim any length they like here on LHC, it's not a police state, just a hair forum. ;)

However, I would say you are just a bit past BSL when straightened, but probably in reality at APL. My feeling (everybody is different) is that your hair is the length it touches when it's in it's normal state...so if curly, where it is when curly, not straightened. If it stretches from BSL to tailbone, it's still BSL to me. I look at it as I can wear a corset and put on a size 6 dress, but in reality I'm still a size 8, KWIM? Just because I squeezed it (or in hair's case, stretched it) doesn't make it my true size. Also I agree with whoever said that I would only claim a length when all my hair reached it, so for a V hemline, the V would be at classic before I'd call my hair tailbone. That's my personal hair measuring philosophy. YMMV.

[PinkyCat]

Anyone can claim any length they like here on LHC, it's not a police state, just a hair forum. ;)
However, I would say you are just a bit past BSL when straightened, but probably in reality at APL. My feeling (everybody is different) is that your hair is the length it touches when it's in it's normal state...so if curly, where it is when curly, not straightened. If it stretches from BSL to tailbone, it's still BSL to me. I look at it as I can wear a corset and put on a size 6 dress, but in reality I'm still a size 8, KWIM? Just because I squeezed it (or in hair's case, stretched it) doesn't make it my true size. Also I agree with whoever said that I would only claim a length when all my hair reached it, so for a V hemline, the V would be at classic before I'd call my hair tailbone. That's my personal hair measuring philosophy. YMMV.

Exactly this - and exactly opposite also - where you say just because you stretch it, doesn't make it longer - I say, well that length actually does exist, it just springs up. If my hair measures 36" and your hair measures 36", both straight, absolutely does not make one longer than the other. Thats like comparing a pound of bricks to a pound of feathers: they weigh exactly the same.

[Kherome]

It's ok to disagree. :) Doesn't make one more right than the other. We each have our own personal ways of doing things. For me, as another example, I am 6'1" tall. I can stand on my tippy toes and become 6'5. (Maybe more, I never measured that Haha) Does that make me 6'5" for real? No, because "normally" people don't walk/exist on their tippy toes. So if curly hair is APL and I stretch it to TBL, is it TBL? Not to me, it doesn't reach there naturally. But again, this only applies to ME and how I feel it should be done on MY HEAD. Everyone else can have their specific way too.

[kitschy]

It like this (at least to me). I look at this photo and say, "Oh my what gorgeous shoulder length curly hair."

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6N4eJ0QrtQA0D75WE8XIgtcq2aquVd dyLPjSYKrIlMGmAMkoS1A

I don't look at it and think, "Wow, Her hair is so pretty at BSL."

Her hair is quite probably at least BSL when stretched and is quite possibly 24" long, but in her style she is at shoulder length. To say otherwise is just quite confusing IMO.

[Kherome]

Kitschy is saying pretty much what I was trying to say ;)

[Magalo]

I agree with Kherome and Kitschy!

[cheetahfast]

I think the same way as Kherome and Kitschy too. I know my hair is way longer than it is, but I call it at where the curls land for body markers. If I measured it, I'd do it straight.

If you want to call it now, do it. I think some people here might not see it that way though. To me your hair looks much shorter than what you call MBL, I think tho MBL is the male BSL and between waist and BSL is usually called an abyss, which is probably why there is some confusion as well as the picture markers.

[NymphSpirit]

If I was to only measure my curly length, I'd be at APL somedays, shoulder length other days and neck length on other days! Why isn't stretched length valid? The length is not a lie, it's just hidden. If I waited until my curly hair reached MBL to claim MBL, I'd be waiting about 3-5 years, and my REAL length would be around hip or tailbone. Do you have curly hair?

I didn't say it wasn't valid, just not so by the measuring standards I apply to myself, because if I measured while straightened I'd be well past hip but considering how my hair springs back to a rather solid waist while air dried (and like you said, sometimes it is shorter or longer), I don't think the hip measurement to be the definitive one. It is valid and real, but I love my wurls and I feel as I'm not being realistic if I measure them while they're not in their natural state. As for the real length- that's where we differ, I think my real length to be the one I get when my hair's all natural and dry. But like I said, there's no reason for you to apply my guidelines, after all, we're different people and we know what's good for us.

Other than that I have to agree with Kherome and Kitschy, and I like PinkyCat's input too.

[Freija]

It's a personal thing, but I too take my body-marker length as being the place that most of my natural hemline comes to - so, I go by how it looks to the world as I'm walking down the street with my hair loose. My curls and layers make my length vary from day to day, too, but there is always a general region where the bulk of it it will tend to fall in any given month.

At the moment, if I sit with my spine straight, head up, and I stretch my longest layer down the way that you stretch yours, I'm only a couple of inches away from waist (and my waist isn't high) but when I'm sitting naturally and my hair is left to its own devices, it looks a solid BSL - so that's what I go with.

[spirals]

there is always a general region where the bulk of it it will tend to fall in any given month.The general region for me is APL to just above waist. With that much variance, I'm calling it waist because the number of inches from my neck base to my waist is the same number of inches long my hair is from my neck base to my waist. Math is math.


I look at it as I can wear a corset and put on a size 6 dress, but in reality I'm still a size 8, KWIM? Just because I squeezed it (or in hair's case, stretched it) doesn't make it my true size.I agree; even though the corset makes you appear to be a size 6--and by the way, I only wish there were a corset that would make me even a size 10! :lol:--you are still a size 8, just as when moisture makes CC's midback hair appear to be BSL. It appears shorter, but the reality is that it's longer.

I agree that most people would look at CC's hair and see it as "past shoulders," but for the intents and purposes of this community and the reasons we measure, she can call it MBL.

Besides all that, she asked the question according to her markers, and inserted pics of stretched hair. If I answer according to her criteria it is MBL.

And one more thing before I get off my soapbox: could we just get rid of BSL altogether? I'm sure not all the members wear bras, and they do have differing band widths, or sit higher or lower on other people. We are measuring according to body parts. A bra is not a body part. Couldn't we just call it LR--last rib? OK, I'm done now.

[chen bao jun]

People can think what they want. Clearly, there is not going to be agreement on this issue.
My question for those who think Curly Cap is claiming what she doesn't have though is--how come every time I flat iron my hair one of the main comments I hear from people is "Your hair is long--I didn't know your hair was so long--when its curly, I can't tell."
also, when those with straight hair curl their hair and it looks somewhat shorter (usually not as much as a curly's does, of course), do people think that their hair is now 'really' whatever length it appears to be?
Curly Cap is not 'stretching' her hair for the photo in the sense that one stretches a rubber band (and often snaps it). 'Stretching' is probably an unfortunate word, because what she is doing is more like straightening out a coiled up piece of string. The string won't show any length that it does not have.
I can't help but think that those arguing this point are either straight-haired, or very low shrinkage curlies. I mean, if you have 'shrinkage' but your hair appears only two or three inches shorter than it is, its a different thing that with those of us whose hair can easily shrink up to half its length. It can be important to a person growing such hair to know and state the unshrunk length to remind themselves that there has actually been progress. The sad thing is that no one would argue with CC about her length if she had totally fried her hair straight and taken a photo of it in that state without her hand pulling on it. It's only that (the fact that she preferred to cause less damage and use her hand to show the length) and the inaccurate word 'stretched' that's causing this "you can call it whatever you want but actually--" conversation instead of the straight congratulations she deserves.

[neko_kawaii]

People can think what they want. Clearly, there is not going to be agreement on this issue.
My question for those who think Curly Cap is claiming what she doesn't have though is--how come every time I flat iron my hair one of the main comments I hear from people is "Your hair is long--I didn't know your hair was so long--when its curly, I can't tell."
also, when those with straight hair curl their hair and it looks somewhat shorter (usually not as much as a curly's does, of course), do people think that their hair is now 'really' whatever length it appears to be?
Curly Cap is not 'stretching' her hair for the photo in the sense that one stretches a rubber band (and often snaps it). 'Stretching' is probably an unfortunate word, because what she is doing is more like straightening out a coiled up piece of string. The string won't show any length that it does not have.
I can't help but think that those arguing this point are either straight-haired, or very low shrinkage curlies. I mean, if you have 'shrinkage' but your hair appears only two or three inches shorter than it is, its a different thing that with those of us whose hair can easily shrink up to half its length. It can be important to a person growing such hair to know and state the unshrunk length to remind themselves that there has actually been progress. The sad thing is that no one would argue with CC about her length if she had totally fried her hair straight and taken a photo of it in that state without her hand pulling on it. It's only that (the fact that she preferred to cause less damage and use her hand to show the length) and the inaccurate word 'stretched' that's causing this "you can call it whatever you want but actually--" conversation instead of the straight congratulations she deserves.

My hair is somewhere between 1c and 2a and I get this.

Congratulations on your growth CurlyCurves! I've probably said so before, but I love your curls and your tattoos! Keep track of your growth how ever feels most consistent for you.

[Kherome]

People can think what they want. Clearly, there is not going to be agreement on this issue.
My question for those who think Curly Cap is claiming what she doesn't have though is--how come every time I flat iron my hair one of the main comments I hear from people is "Your hair is long--I didn't know your hair was so long--when its curly, I can't tell."
also, when those with straight hair curl their hair and it looks somewhat shorter (usually not as much as a curly's does, of course), do people think that their hair is now 'really' whatever length it appears to be?
Curly Cap is not 'stretching' her hair for the photo in the sense that one stretches a rubber band (and often snaps it). 'Stretching' is probably an unfortunate word, because what she is doing is more like straightening out a coiled up piece of string. The string won't show any length that it does not have.
I can't help but think that those arguing this point are either straight-haired, or very low shrinkage curlies. I mean, if you have 'shrinkage' but your hair appears only two or three inches shorter than it is, its a different thing that with those of us whose hair can easily shrink up to half its length. It can be important to a person growing such hair to know and state the unshrunk length to remind themselves that there has actually been progress. The sad thing is that no one would argue with CC about her length if she had totally fried her hair straight and taken a photo of it in that state without her hand pulling on it. It's only that (the fact that she preferred to cause less damage and use her hand to show the length) and the inaccurate word 'stretched' that's causing this "you can call it whatever you want but actually--" conversation instead of the straight congratulations she deserves.

Well she asked folks if they thought she had hit midback, and even included a poll. People responded with their honest opinions, which she is free to disregard if it doesn't suit her. No one is forcing anything on her. It just so happens that the majority (according to the poll) don't see her length as midback. That doesn't mean she can't claim midback if she wants to! To each their own.

[PolarCathy]

I didn't read anything, just scrolled down to the original post. My opinion is that you are not even at BSL. In my eyes it's the natural state of the hair that counts not how much you can stretch it. Sorry I sympathize with curlies but you asked...

[Anje]

What you call MBL, I actually call BSL; below or at the bottom of the bra-strap equals BSL.

Same here. Bras vary so much in thickness... Otherwise, I could have had BSL at armpit with a racerback! :-P

In any case, you can definitely say that your hair is at Saturn length, stretched.

[lilliemer]

This is mid-back on you. The demarcations you made are right for you. You are quite high-waisted so on someone else this would not be mid-back (on me, for instance, my waist is very low). But on you, it definitely is. the definitions by their nature are going to be different on different people because of their heights, whether they are high or low waisted and how they wear their bra and the only way to get around that is to have people measure strictly in inches, which seems silly because it is not the inches that matter but the APPARENT length (how the hair looks). Your hair looks like its at the middle of your back when you stretch it (and I don't get the point of the complaint about that, that's how us curlies have to measure, exactly the way that you did).
I just want to add, your hair is beautiful and it is growing like crazy. Please keep posting, your photos are very encouraging to me as another curly. I love having curly hair and I know it is very attractive (people are always telling me so) but it can be discouraging when you are trying to grow, as it really takes so much longer to look like you have any length. It is so wonderful to look at another curly and get inspiration and encouragement, so thanks again.
I agree with this, and what other posters have said, if you're going to try to measure curly hair in cms/inches to track monthly growth rate, etc., you pretty much have to straighten it. Otherwise each measurement would be different depending on humidity, days after wash, etc., and you would never get accurate or precise stats. I don't like straightening my hair as it's really sensitive to damage so I can't measure progress in this way. Therefore I'm marking landmarks according to how my hair is in its dry, curly, natural state - and just trying to ignore that feeling of growing OUT instead of DOWN. One way or the other it will get where it's going, I guess.

[Kherome]

Same here. Bras vary so much in thickness... Otherwise, I could have had BSL at armpit with a racerback! :-P

In any case, you can definitely say that your hair is at Saturn length, stretched.

Indeed! :)

[CurlyCap]

Personally, I measure just like CurlyCurves: Wet and tugging it down. Otherwise, my curl can shrink my hair anywhere from 2-6x and even wet, it has some spring in it that makes it impossible to measure length.

When I'm describing myself to someone (ie, to meet a stranger in a cafe), I say I have shoulder length curly black hair. However, for my LHC purposes, I measure my stretched length. Part of what makes my hair so awesome is that it spirals, and those spirals aren't magic. They are strand length consumed to make a 3-dimensional shape. So much like CurlyCurves, I have waist length hair that appears APL when dry.

CC, I actually think you are more BSL, only because where you marked MBL length in your piccies is where I would mark BSL (bottom of the bra strap counts as BSL for me). I think you're a lot like me in that there just isn't a of difference between MBL and WL. If I had to redraw your "by tattoo" measuring guide, I'd actually put MBL between where you current have BSL and MBL marked. Hope that helps.

Happy growing. Great length progress. And remember: No need to flat iron to do length checks!

[teela1978]

Isn't MBL the gender-neutral version of BSL? They've always been the same to my understanding.

ETA: I don't see a problem with pulling straight to measure. Hard to track progress when your hair shrinks so much curly.

[CurlyCurves]

Hi guys!

First of all, I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has replied :-) I really appreciate it! I would take the time to reply to everyone individually but I am just passing through as I have work to do (damn psychology assignment!), so this will have to do for now.

To be honest, I still can't understand some people's contention that I shouldn't include my stretched length for the purpose of hair measuring. My hair is BSL, it's just coiled up. Depending on how tight my curls are on any given day, my hair can be neck length or APL - so what length is it? Neck length? Shoulder length? Apl? The stretched length remains fairly constant. My hemline is not straight, so some bits are slightly longer, but I tend to grab the longest but, towards the middle bottom.

If I was measuring a spring, I would not just measure its coiled length, but also its stretched length. I also don't think this is comparable to squeezing a size 8 body in a size 6 corset.

I think it's hard to understand if you don't have as much shrinkage as I do, or if you don't have curls. I'm not going to pretend, it's a little bit upsetting. I first started in the natural hair scene with ladies with type 4 hair. If any of them decided to only measure their curly length, they could be stuck at shoulder length when, in reality, their hair is tailbone length. It's the same for me. My hair has been stuck in the shoulder length region for months, however, it's rapidly grown from ear length to BSL in reality.

Besides, I can do a lot with my hair and its length will vary in the range of the longest it can get (BSL) or the shortest it can get (probably ear length if I made really tight curls). As long as the length is physically there, whether it's visible at that point is there, it exists. Also, my hair was actually STRAIGHT in these pictures but had waved up a bit as it was 3rd day hair and desperately needed a wash.

When my curly hair finally passes the shoulder length stage, I will pay more attention to the curly length milestones but, right now, it's irrelevant. If I was to just focus on my curly length, I would be VERY frustrated as it barely seems to change and it's very, very hard to measure. My stretched or straightened length milestones change very rapidly, however.

Anyway, for this reason, I do include both the curly and stretched length in my signature.

Please forgive me if I sound offish or offended, but I really do not see the logic in only focusing on curly milestones when they only come few and far between when I can see much clearer progress in stretching my hair out to its actual length.

In regards to the actual length I am, I guess it's kind of arbitary. It would have been easier to determine if I wore a bra in the picture, so I will make note to do that next time I do a length check.

Oh, and before I go, does anybody remember my experiment with the hair dye? Here are the results from the past three months and this month vs last month. I use all methods to utilise growth tracking :-)

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/941908_10201288101384973_1670659602_n.jpg

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/970649_10201288071504226_1832626097_n.jpg

[CurlyCurves]

Okay, okay, you guys were right :P I'm BSL. I'm not sure why my hair was reaching Saturn in the above pictures, but they were taken on a self timer. However, I will get my Auntie to take some more pictures when my hair is straightened and I'm wearing a bra to confirm. I will probably do this next month or so.

http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/379581_10201290123755531_1968923097_n.jpg

[mzBANGBANG]

I always found it helpful when curlies did a straightened and natural photo personally. Best of both worlds, you guys are lucky!

[DarkSunny]

If curlies were to measure purely based on the unstraightened length, then they might as well change what length they have on their signatures daily. Even my somewhere in between wavy and curly hair can go from just above waist length to almost tailbone depending on humidity/if it got brushed/how many days it has been since I've washed it.

[UltraBella]

People can think what they want. Clearly, there is not going to be agreement on this issue.
My question for those who think Curly Cap is claiming what she doesn't have though is--how come every time I flat iron my hair one of the main comments I hear from people is "Your hair is long--I didn't know your hair was so long--when its curly, I can't tell."
also, when those with straight hair curl their hair and it looks somewhat shorter (usually not as much as a curly's does, of course), do people think that their hair is now 'really' whatever length it appears to be?
Curly Cap is not 'stretching' her hair for the photo in the sense that one stretches a rubber band (and often snaps it). 'Stretching' is probably an unfortunate word, because what she is doing is more like straightening out a coiled up piece of string. The string won't show any length that it does not have.
I can't help but think that those arguing this point are either straight-haired, or very low shrinkage curlies. I mean, if you have 'shrinkage' but your hair appears only two or three inches shorter than it is, its a different thing that with those of us whose hair can easily shrink up to half its length. It can be important to a person growing such hair to know and state the unshrunk length to remind themselves that there has actually been progress. The sad thing is that no one would argue with CC about her length if she had totally fried her hair straight and taken a photo of it in that state without her hand pulling on it. It's only that (the fact that she preferred to cause less damage and use her hand to show the length) and the inaccurate word 'stretched' that's causing this "you can call it whatever you want but actually--" conversation instead of the straight congratulations she deserves.


Personally, I measure just like CurlyCurves: Wet and tugging it down. Otherwise, my curl can shrink my hair anywhere from 2-6x and even wet, it has some spring in it that makes it impossible to measure length.

When I'm describing myself to someone (ie, to meet a stranger in a cafe), I say I have shoulder length curly black hair. However, for my LHC purposes, I measure my stretched length. Part of what makes my hair so awesome is that it spirals, and those spirals aren't magic. They are strand length consumed to make a 3-dimensional shape. So much like CurlyCurves, I have waist length hair that appears APL when dry.

CC, I actually think you are more BSL, only because where you marked MBL length in your piccies is where I would mark BSL (bottom of the bra strap counts as BSL for me). I think you're a lot like me in that there just isn't a of difference between MBL and WL. If I had to redraw your "by tattoo" measuring guide, I'd actually put MBL between where you current have BSL and MBL marked. Hope that helps.

Happy growing. Great length progress. And remember: No need to flat iron to do length checks!

I agree with both of these answers completely. I don't understand why curlies shouldn't use their full length to measure.