The THICKNESS thread. Are you THICK?

[Babzilla]

Hey folks! Are you one of us thick, super thick or ultra thick haired people? All textures welcome!

I often find people complaining about layers but I need them so my hair won't "square" at the ends.

How do handle your lovely locks?

[HappyFoo]

I am not a thick haired girl unfortunately! I have baby fine hair but have massive amounts of hair follicles, hahaha. However I have seen a lot of super thick haired girls with long hair, and they always seem to pull off the v-shape in the back. So long as your hair isn't unruly, why get layers? Show off how thick your hair is, it's beautiful, and appreciate that you'll never have to worry about your hair being so thin it looks stringy and gets gaps in it :) Sorry I can't relate too well, just wanted to say that your thick hair is a blessing :D

[Babzilla]

I am not a thick haired girl unfortunately! I have baby fine hair but have massive amounts of hair follicles, hahaha. However I have seen a lot of super thick haired girls with long hair, and they always seem to pull off the v-shape in the back. So long as your hair isn't unruly, why get layers? Show off how thick your hair is, it's beautiful, and appreciate that you'll never have to worry about your hair being so thin it looks stringy and gets gaps in it :) Sorry I can't relate too well, just wanted to say that your thick hair is a blessing :D Aw thanks, Happyfoo! I love fairy tale ends, personally. Without a sleek taper at the end, my hair flies wild!

[Marbid]

I have medium thin hair. But I have enough of it to make one very fat braid. My ponytail is near 4" in diameter.

Personally, my hair seems to like fairy tailing. But I cult it to a slight u shape and no layers. Never liked layers. They make the braid frayed, And I like braids.

But hello. Lots of hair is cool. I like lots of hair.

[jeanniet]

I have medium thin hair. But I have enough of it to make one very fat braid. My ponytail is near 4" in diameter.

Personally, my hair seems to like fairy tailing. But I cult it to a slight u shape and no layers. Never liked layers. They make the braid frayed, And I like braids.

But hello. Lots of hair is cool. I like lots of hair.

Near 4" is not thin! It's bordering on thick. I don't think people should get too hung up on thickness (or density), because if you think about it, fine hair is going to take up less pony space than coarse hair, even if there's more of the fine hair in terms of number. You can have fine hair and a ton of it, like HappyFoo above, and maybe still not make the 4" pony criteria for "thick" hair.

I think having lots of hair is kind of a pain myself. You have to grow way longer to make any kind of decent bun and it takes forever to dry. Heck, my hair is at shoulder now (cut from past hip), and even with diffusing it still takes hours to dry completely. It is what it is, but if I had a choice I'd rather have something like a 3" pony instead of the 5-6" I have now.

[chen bao jun]

Yes. I am thick. Without bangs and without putting all of the front into a ponytail I measure 4.5-5 inches (I can never get it incredibly accurate as I'm curly) Because my hair is curly and poufy, it looks even thicker than it is and since starting LHC I am actually thickening up--I have all kinds of baby hairs sprouting. My poor hair care must actually have made me thinner than I am.
i have never met a hairdresser who was not shocked and upset at having to deal with my hair. I buy wigs to wear with costumes for Halloween and so forth (I like to dress Renaissance) and whenever I put on a wig, it seems thin to me, I have so much more hair.
All my life I have been ungrateful and considered it to be a serious pain in the behind to be so thick and was envious of my thinner haired sister who could be stylish with no trouble. When people remarked that my hair was thick, I used to try to hide it and felt it was meant as an insult. I could not believe it when people complained about having thinner hair (unless they actually had bald spots. I could see that that was not good, but could not see how thin hair was not good).
Now I am in my 50's I am embracing it and feel grateful to still have so much hair. Also, I am embracing my family traditions and my grandmother and aunts who had long and very thick hair wore braids and buns. I can definitely see that while loose thick hair looks out of control and unruly, and its hard to be stylish with thick hair, a fat braid looks nice and a large bun (which I don't have yet) looks nice.
Also, on this forum, I have actually seen people with hair MUCH thicker than mine.
so I don't feel like I'm so unique anymore which is always nice. Even when people say unique is nice (and with thick hair, they often don't) it doesn't always feel good to stand out.
I think the #1 comment that people think is positive I have gotten all my life about my hair (I won't go into the deliberately negative ones) has been: Oooh, your hair is so thick. why don't you get a style?

[Babzilla]

It is so hard to do a bun of any sort. I can only do a French twist at bsl.

[BrendaLoan]

Thick hair... It can be a blessing, or a curse on humid days (mine gets so puffy! I call myself Simba on those days :justy:). I cut it in a V shape, no layers (if I do, my hair turns so curly that I can't control it) and wear it in a bun at night (It has to be almost dry, otherwise it takes forever to dry). Still, I have learnt to love it the way it is :love:

[AMD]

I have 90% fine hairs but a lot of them! I consider my hair thick, even though the ponytail density would only say normal. To add to it is the curliness which makes it feel even thicker and I found a ton of new hairs that are about shoulder length! My hair is about to feel thicker than ever before. Oh and with my ends tickling waist, I can now make a decent cinnabun when my hair is straight. I can barely subdue it into a ponytail when its curly.

ETA
I need layers so my hair doesn't look like a large untamed mass.

[RainbowBowser]

My hair is relatively thin. A ponytail is approximately a quarter in diameter for me (1"). Its easy to manage and thats about as far as the advantages go.:(

[0xalis]

Nope, I've always had thin hair. My ponytail circumference is 3''. [Not including bangs but it doesn't matter since I'm not growing those out any time soon.]
I seem to have a lot of hair, but my strands are very thin. This is actually the thickest my hair has ever been. I think thick hair is beautiful, and I envy how strong it is in comparison, but I honestly wouldn't be able to deal with it! Too much hair would irritate the crap out of me :lol: Hats off to you thick-haired folks.

ETA: My hair still takes forever and a half to dry, even when it's short, despite being thin!

[jeanniet]

Nope, I've always had thin hair. My ponytail circumference is 3''. [Not including bangs but it doesn't matter since I'm not growing those out any time soon.]
I seem to have a lot of hair, but my strands are very thin. This is actually the thickest my hair has ever been. I think thick hair is beautiful, and I envy how strong it is in comparison, but I honestly wouldn't be able to deal with it! Too much hair would irritate the crap out of me :lol: Hats off to you thick-haired folks.

ETA: My hair still takes forever and a half to dry, even when it's short, despite being thin!

I'm not sure most people even know what "thick" and "thin" means. 3" is also not thin! That's right smack in the middle of medium, and for you that's without bangs. So you don't have thin hair at all.

[Seeshami]

I ama borderline thick and I let it tell me what to do and boss me around. But the naughty mess is a hair monster not just hair.

[Bun15]

WOO!!
I used to hate my thick hair, and would do anything to keep it thin. Not anymore though haha!

[Babzilla]

My circumference is 6.5". I never measured before!

[NaClH2O]

I belong here! I have insanely thick and slightly wavy hair. Both the individual strands are thick and there is a high density of hairs on my head. I need layers or my head is weighted down and my hair has no movement. I also have thick, straight-across bangs. So just imagine if I grew those out, it would be even worse! I will measure my circumference tomorrow to compare with everyone.

I rarely go to hairdressers, maybe twice a year, but I often get the comment "you have the thickest hair I've ever seen!" Which is fun for them but not for me! I wish it was a little less thick. It gets really hot in the summer and takes hours to completely dry if it's down. It I wear it in braids or a bun after washing, it will still be damp a day later.

And this is all at only slightly past BSL, just think how much worse it will get when I grow longer! My original goal was hip but we will see how it goes :)

[Babzilla]

If I braid my wet hair, it will smell moldy after two days since it just refuses to dry. Gross!

[BlazingHeart]

I have monstrously thick hair, with medium to coarse individual strands. I also have relatively little taper until around tbl, and wouldn't have much even there if I was more careful about mechanical damage. I couldn't do any buns that weren't anchored by a ponytail until I was nearly at hip. No matter the length, I have never been able to wear a high ponytail, my hair is just too heavy. And I've come uncomfortably close to being drowned by my own hair.

A 6.5" circ is almost unheard of! Was your hair tightly packed together like for a snug ponytail? My hair was at 5.9" before I started shedding because of health issues, and I don't remember seeing anyone on the board with thicker hair than that, not even the infamous Igor or Ultrabella.

[Stray_mind]

My ponytail circumference is just a wee bit over 3", but i had a lot of breakage lately, so i think i can reach 4" if i'm really careful with my baby fine hair...

[KittyBird]

I've been shedding a lot this spring/summer, so my circumference has gone down a bit, but it used to be 6". I don't like shedding and I certainly don't want to end up bald, but a bit of thinning is actually welcome. It seems to have stopped now though. My hair still feels monstrously thick and a lot of the time I hate it. I'm BCL and my hair is too thick and short to do anything fun. It's especially annoying when combined with a sensitive scalp. I have very few buns I can do, braiding is a pain because there's so much hair and I have to be super-careful or else the braid end up pulling. Twin braids is the only style that is guaranteed to always be comfortable, even when my scalp is tender.
Buns look ridiculously huge. Braided buns don't look like braided buns, but like extra-lumpy regular buns. Toys must be industrial strength and super-sized. I hate having layers, so I'm not getting any of those. :mad:

Sorry about the rant, but I looked at bun tutorials on youtube yesterday. Girls with thin/medium thickness hair making cute little buns and easily clipping them up with their cute little toys. I tried to do the same buns, and it looked and felt like I had stapled a mutated sea-cucumber to the back of my head. I always end up hating my hair after I try new styles. :mad:

[Stray_mind]

You shouldn't hate your hair! I'd give anything to have your thickness :D

[NoRush]

I think the triangle look depends on the texture of the hair, thick super straight hair won't square off too much, my own hair is borderline iii and straight so it's not too big of a problem for me but I think the best way to manage a very thick mane is a U or V hemline, maybe with a litte bit of layering at the bottom just the last inch or so, that, of course, only if one doesn't like the layered look.

[lapushka]

I have a 4.25" circumference, and have my hair layered ATM using one of the compact cut methods from the book, "Haircutting for dummies". It's the method with the ponytail on the forehead for shorter layers. I had those layers before, even tried the other method in the book (ponytail on top of your head for longer layers). I was layered for a long time, then grew my layers out and had a blunt cut for quite a while. Now I'm back to layers, and I *love* it. I really forgot how much I love layers. I think these methods are awesome for wavy and curly hair!

[chen bao jun]

Personally, I'd rather have pouf than layers. I prefer my hair up or in a braid and layers make those messy and impossible. I think layers are good if you wear your hair down a lot.


as to 'managing' my hair, I have been much happier since not brushing and not combing, only fingercombing, but that is because I am curly, more than because I am thick.

Do you know, this is probably a quirk of mine, but I find myself getting irritated when people question other people's thickness. I believe that someone can have 6.5 circumference hair, jsut as I believe that my brother is 6ft7 inches tall (which he is) even if other people have never met anyone taller than 6 ft 5. I personally could do without the--are you sure you measured right,did you squeeze it really tight, maybe you just think your hair is that thick because it is curly and so forth. I can't really see how someone could measure circumference all that wrong (I get a little variance, having gotten from 4.5 to 5.2 depending on the day)and if someone can measure so that they are getting 6.5, I believe that they must be in a different ballpark than I am, if you know what I mean. We are not having a thick hair competition here, just thinking of ways to manage, so I personally really see no purpose in questioning others' numbers. Wherever we are in the iii's, perhaps we can help each other out, which I see as the point of this thread.

[chen bao jun]

P.S. My grandmother probably had at least 8 inch circumference hair from the size of her braids in her photographs (each of hers--she had two-- was as thick as one of mine, tightly braided), so I KNOW that hair somewhere around 2x as thick as a 5 inch circumference IS possible.

[Squiggy]

I fit in here! I am on the low side of the iii's, apparently, with about a 4.25-4.5 inch circumference, which, I will add, is still really thick. When I wore it shoulder length and above I would always have it thinned to help with the poof. Stylists always proclaim about how thick it is, how do I manage it, I should get it thinned, blah blah blah.

I do love long layers! Before my big chop, I had hip length hair, all one length, and it just looked like a cape. No taper, no movement, and it was so heavy! I could only do a low ponytail, couldn't even braid the ponytail or the weight just pulled so hard on my scalp! After I cut in long layers and went to a U-shaped hemline it was much nicer. I hope to get back to that someday!

All in all, though, I really like my thickness. There are some buns I likely won't be able to do until my hair is much longer than now but I have learned to do more braided styles that look really nice. I can't even imagine what I would do with hair as thick as some of you other ladies! 6.5 inches! Wow!

[kganihanova]

If I don't get long layers, I turn into Simba :) So as much as hate layers for braids/buns, they make wearing my hair down possible. Oh, I have a 3.5 inch ponytail circumference btw.

[Sharysa]

Yay, thick and coarse with a nearly four-inch ponytail! I like braids, but not layers, and my hair tends to grow in blunt going from my past year and a half of no trimming. I pretty much exaggerate my fairy-tale ends by doing what most people say NOT to do with split-end trimming--namely, I raze the last two or three inches of my hair.

Barely makes a difference. :P My hair is still ridiculously heavy, it takes forever to dry, and it gets everywhere when it's down.

On the plus side, I look really nice with half-ups because my hair is both thick and almost-wavy.

[jacqueline101]

I'm a 3 inch round pony tail. I don't know if I'm thick haired or not. I seem to have a comfortable amount of hair to do what I want. It's never stopped me from doing what I've wanted. The length has dictated what I can do.

[PrincessBob]

My hair is thick, and tangly, but not wavy or curly enough to be visually textured. I have several wiry twisty strands intermixed with the medium "normal" hair. My hair has been upward of 5.25" in the past in a pony, but I am closer to 4.25" for the past year or so. Stretching washes became a necessity, because my hair takes almost a full 24 hours to dry enough to style at all and I wouldn't know what to do with a hairdryer if I had one. They look like tangle machines to me.

Whose hair also explodes out of a style? I like to use an extra hair accessory most times I put my hair up. If I could "get away" with one stick, I'll use two at least, or I'll add a small hair fork to something already secured with a comb, or I'll use my bronze Hair Screw with any barrette or style that could use it like pair of sticks, just to help anchor and distribute the weight of my hair. I only own a few bobby pins anymore, because my hair just loves to spit them out and in return they tear my hair from my scalp (regardless of how carefully and gently I remove the blasted things).

I will also wait for the house to cool down to brush or comb out my hair. It's a few inches from knee now, so it gets super freaking warm.

[UltraBella]

I'm wearing my hair much differently now, it's shorter and thinned and always layered (love me some layers !!) but here's a pic or two from when my pony circumference was 5.9".

http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/1ac423ce.jpg (http://s908.photobucket.com/user/beyondbeauty76/media/1ac423ce.jpg.html)

http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/IMG_0715copy.jpg (http://s908.photobucket.com/user/beyondbeauty76/media/IMG_0715copy.jpg.html)
http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/IMG_0446.jpg (http://s908.photobucket.com/user/beyondbeauty76/media/IMG_0446.jpg.html)

[Babzilla]

I have monstrously thick hair, with medium to coarse individual strands. I also have relatively little taper until around tbl, and wouldn't have much even there if I was more careful about mechanical damage. I couldn't do any buns that weren't anchored by a ponytail until I was nearly at hip. No matter the length, I have never been able to wear a high ponytail, my hair is just too heavy. And I've come uncomfortably close to being drowned by my own hair.

A 6.5" circ is almost unheard of! Was your hair tightly packed together like for a snug ponytail? My hair was at 5.9" before I started shedding because of health issues, and I don't remember seeing anyone on the board with thicker hair than that, not even the infamous Igor or Ultrabella.
Yes. In a ponytail, it is just that thick. It's got a very thick strand diameter in addition to being densely populated. It has that 's' wave, almost curl.

It has thickened since starting the supplements and grown over an inch in 8 weeks!

[Babzilla]

My sister is just as thick as me, she is TBL and we think of ourselves as having hair monsters on our heads!

I can't do regular hair accessories. They hurt so much and I get headaches from any weight-bearing ponytails. I can do a French braid for sleeping and crown braids but I tend to wear it loose and free!

[BlazingHeart]

Coming across rarity is surprising. When you're talking about a measurement that is easy to get wrong (just look at how many people here have trouble figuring out how we measure things when they first start!), and someone pops up very high on the curve, I don't think it's unreasonable to make sure they're measuring right. Particularly curlies DO sometimes measure loosely instead of tightly. It's kind of like meeting people online who are very tall or geniuses or whatever - statistically it should be quite rare, and some people (like yours truly) do question accuracy, particularly when there aren't things like pictures that show the volume. I do apologize if my surprise and mild skepticism gets under your skin. No offence was intended.

FWIW, Chen Bao Jun, if your grandmother had twice the volume of a 5" circumference, that would give her a 7" circumference, roughly. Because the cross-section of the ponytail is roughly circular, one uses circles to approximate the area, and that means that volume per inch of circumference increases in a geometric progression that means that each additional inch increases volume by a larger proportion than the last. I hope that's making sense, I've stayed up rather late tonight and may not be at my best. But that's why the higher numbers give me pause - the sheer volume of hair required for that sort of measurement becomes less likely, and so I wonder if there is a measurement error. I certainly had one the first time I tried to measure my circumference (didn't pack it tight enough, ended up with something like 6.7", re-checked and was just over 6.0", and was probably over 6.0" until the first of several sheds that started a little under 3 years ago). It's simply noticing that the odds of someone's hair being that thick aren't high, and mis-measurement is an easy thing to do.

[PolarCathy]

I used to have 4.5", borderline thick hair. It was difficult to deal with it as I could never get past the triangle head state. However, now my hair is officially thin. I'm not sure which is more difficult to deal with. Honestly I think it's the thin state...

[BlazingHeart]

PolarCathy, 4.5" isn't borderline thick, it IS thick. That'd make you a solid III. Perhaps your hair is not as thin now as you think it is? Your avatar certainly doesn't look to have thin hair.

[PolarCathy]

It is 8cm now. Let me put it this way: my hair now is like ...not my hair, like I have no hair left; causing minor (on some days, more serious...) "identity" problems.

[BlazingHeart]

Ahhh...I can totally relate. I've lost a good chunk of my hair, and it has been rather upsetting. If it helps any, you're still in pretty solidly average territory? Yeah, I know that probably doesn't help much, but it is true...

[PolarCathy]

No, as you could predict, it really doesn't help, but thank you (meaning, I appreciate the intent)!


Ahhh...I can totally relate. I've lost a good chunk of my hair, and it has been rather upsetting. If it helps any, you're still in pretty solidly average territory? Yeah, I know that probably doesn't help much, but it is true...

[jeanniet]

Agree that the degree of thickness really doesn't matter much--actually, I don't think how big a ponytail is matters at all, except perhaps in terms of what updos can be done when. As for ultra-thick hair, oh yes, it's out there! If my son grew his hair out, I'd estimate that his pony would easily be around 6.5", maybe more. He has very dense hair, plus it's coarse, so volume-wise there's a crap-ton of it. But he usually buzzes it, so it's something of a moot point. But unless you're in a competition, I don't see what difference it makes whether you have a 4", 5", 6", or whatever pony--especially because individual strand thickness is a definite factor in that circumference. The true measure of thickness (or rather density) is the number of hairs per square inch of scalp.

[spidermom]

It's a matter of opinion, I suppose. My hair varies right around 4 inches, so I guess that's thick. It used to be crazy-thick when I was a lot younger, it's just normal-thick now.

[chen bao jun]

Coming across rarity is surprising. When you're talking about a measurement that is easy to get wrong (just look at how many people here have trouble figuring out how we measure things when they first start!), and someone pops up very high on the curve, I don't think it's unreasonable to make sure they're measuring right. Particularly curlies DO sometimes measure loosely instead of tightly. It's kind of like meeting people online who are very tall or geniuses or whatever - statistically it should be quite rare, and some people (like yours truly) do question accuracy, particularly when there aren't things like pictures that show the volume. I do apologize if my surprise and mild skepticism gets under your skin. No offence was intended.

On the internet, a person's tone cannot come across. I understand now that you don't mean offense. I have perhaps too often run into people whose 'questioning' was intended as a putdown but I know that not everyone who questions is doing that.
Skepticism just seemed odd because there's no reason for someone to lie about something like this, but of course someone could make a mistake as to how thick their hair was. I don't think someone could be mistaken, however, about having thick hair, even if they did not know how thick.

[chen bao jun]

FWIW, Chen Bao Jun, if your grandmother had twice the volume of a 5" circumference, that would give her a 7" circumference, roughly. .. It's simply noticing that the odds of someone's hair being that thick aren't high, and mis-measurement is an easy thing to do.
I'm sure your math must be correct. My granny is dead so I can't measure her hair. I have photographs. I can just repeat what I said, in photos she has two braids and each of her braids is as thick as one of mine.
I would be happy to post a photo of my hair if someone would help me --if I can email the photo to someone who could post it for me. I have not posted photos of my hair at all because I cannot make photoshack work for me, I think there is something on my computer that is out of date, so I can get photos up on it but then can't transfer them here.
I am sure that I do not have the thickest hair on LHC, or the thickest hair in the world, however, I do have extreme amounts of hair.
I do not have length yet and the ends are damaged so I have a sudden abrupt taper that I will cut off eventually, but I am not ready to do this yet, but thickness is very visible in both curly and flat ironed photos. I know that it is true that some people mistake curls for thickness and so it is possible that a very curly person can think their hair is thick while a person with fine, straight hair but lots of strands may think their hair is thin, when the opposite is true in both cases. However, whether straightened or curly, my hair has a great deal of volume,which, as I wrote before, has always made it difficult to deal with, before LHC.

[Venefica]

I have thick hair, my hair is about 4,3 inches around the ponytail, it would probably be about 5 if I grew my bangs out. I have medium coarse hair. I just let my hair grow, I like a sharp hemline so that works for me, my hair do take allot of time to brush and wash though, but I like having thick hair.

[wildkratt]

My pony measures a little over 4'', but it used to be thicker a few years ago. I absolutely hated it back then because it was so big and poofy and unmanageable; I think it became less thick maybe because constantly flat ironing might've weakened my hair or because I'm a little older and have more stress or something. But regardless, I'm currently happy with my hair's volume and thickness because having too much like I used to is painfully frustrating for me.

[Bagginslover]

I have virtually exactly 4" of ponytail :)

One of my friends however, has almost 8"!! I was amazed by her thickness when I was styling it for her one day, so I measured it, it measured 7", and that was after heavy thinning by a hairdresser, so I estimated it to be at least 8" unthinned! Her hair is coarse, and VERY dense, you can see barely any scalp when you part her hair. I wouldn't want to have hair as thick as hers, and try to grow it long.

[chen bao jun]

I have virtually exactly 4" of ponytail :)

One of my friends however, has almost 8"!! I was amazed by her thickness when I was styling it for her one day, so I measured it, it measured 7", and that was after heavy thinning by a hairdresser, so I estimated it to be at least 8" unthinned! Her hair is coarse, and VERY dense, you can see barely any scalp when you part her hair. I wouldn't want to have hair as thick as hers, and try to grow it long.
I do think coarseness makes your diameter more, given the same density of hair.
What you are describing is the sort of hair that me, my dad, his sister and my granny have (had). Coarse and dense and also some curl in varying degrees. My granny must have been pretty exactly like your friend, from her photographs. My aunt and me and my dad are somewhat thinner but still huge amounts. What you said about your friend and the parting reminded me that it was in style for men to part their hair when my dad was young, but he couldn't do it so that it was visible. You can see that my hair is parted only if I tightly frenchbraid it, otherwise the hair poofs up and hides the part.
Contrary to what you say, though, long is the only way to wear hair like this. Either very long or very very short (like pixie or crew cut, but then you have the problem of needing a hair cut every single week). The length drags it down and makes it more controllable after a certain point. It needs to be at least long enough to put up. My hair seriously looks better put up, then the thickness becomes an advantage.
I'm hearing that people are solving this with hair thinning or layers. This has not worked for me. Maybe because I have never been to hairdresser who knew how to put layers properly in very curly hair? I have always gotten a mess with layers. And my dad had his hair thinned once. It was a disaster. Our hair grows fast. within a couple of weeks all the thickness was back at the roots and because curly hair grows up before it grows down, the pouf was twice as bad as before. I really like my hair to be one length because then I can braid it and braids not only look very good with thick hair but they control it. In cultures where many many people have extremely thick hair (like Asian Indian and native central American) I think braids are the hairstyle of choice because they suit thick hair so well.

Oh, that's another thing. I don't think we should take the norms of thickness in the US for norms of human hair thickness everywhere. Even not counting that people here lose who knows how much thickness with the bad hair care, sulphate shampoo and heat and etc etc. hair thickness seems to vary by ethnicity to a certain extent. Indians and Pakistanis have enormous hair density, as anyone who has been around a lot of the traditional people knows, much more than your average Western European. (Though when you get to Eastern Europe, its different. I'm around a lot of Ukrainians and these girls not only have hair that grows long, they have seriously thick hair as a normal thing. so do Polish women, from what I have seen). I am from Latin America and you also see the very big heads of hair there so commonly that it causes no surprise or remark. My granny was very mixed race and likely had some of that in her recent ancestry,which possibly explains the super thick plaits (and also the fact that she tended to wear it in plaits, although later a bun. But my aunt, even though living in the US always wore just one single braid down her back, reached to waist in a braid, and it would be a job to get your hand to close around the whole braid.)

[chen bao jun]

double post

[bunzfan]

My hair circumference used to be dead on 3.5 so i measure today and somehow its just under 4" :happydance:

[HintOfMint]

I measured at slightly over 4 inches and has been described as thick my whole life. Last summer, my cousin and her roommate were in awe of how thick my ponytail was. I realize it's not quite as thick as some LHC members (ah! the Hair Anorexia thread!), but it's pretty thick compared to where I am in real life.

I'm pretty happy with it, thick and coarse hair can forgive a multitude of sins such as overlayering or a bit of heat. My hair is wavy as well, so an imperfect haircut looks completely fine.

[dulce]

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/chicaaa1/september12013.jpg (http://s1123.photobucket.com/user/chicaaa1/media/september12013.jpg.html)Here is Chen's pic..

[Vrindi]

I am not a thick haired girl unfortunately! I have baby fine hair but have massive amounts of hair follicles, hahaha. However I have seen a lot of super thick haired girls with long hair, and they always seem to pull off the v-shape in the back. So long as your hair isn't unruly, why get layers? Show off how thick your hair is, it's beautiful, and appreciate that you'll never have to worry about your hair being so thin it looks stringy and gets gaps in it :) Sorry I can't relate too well, just wanted to say that your thick hair is a blessing :D

I have masses and masses of baby fine hair too. If it were thick, I'd have a lion's mane. I had very long layers for years and I loved them! Especially since I wore my hair down all the time. It seemed to bring out more of the waviness. I think layers look amazing, I just decided I was bored with them and the upkeep and went blunt. I can see why someone with thick hair would really like them.

[chen bao jun]

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/chicaaa1/september12013.jpg (http://s1123.photobucket.com/user/chicaaa1/media/september12013.jpg.html)Here is Chen's pic..
Dulce kindly post a hair pic for me, since my photobucket does not work.
This is my hair three weeks ago. I have bangs , and also I have a ribbon tied around all of my hair (its black and white, you can see it a little bit on the top left, which is containing my hair somewhat, so while you get some idea of the thickness, you don't really get the whole effect.
It looks very little different when flat-ironed. I used to perm it straight AND blow dry it AND flat iron it for years and then it looked a little thinner, but not very much and not for a very long time. That effect where my hair is as wide as my shoulders (and I have a big pair of shoulders) is basically how I look with loose hair.
My hair is actually parted in this photo also, in the middle at the top.
It's at the bottom of my shoulderblades (top of my bra) now when stretched.
You can see the damage very much on the bottom with the wispy, dry, kinky/frizzy looking pieces hanging down longer than the rest, but I have not cut it because the longer wispy pieces make it possible for me to put my hair in a cinnamon bun. they are so much thinner that they wind around.
Its the end of the week (7 days from washing) in this photo and you can't see my spirals, curls at all, they are braided out, so I could not be hairtyped from this photo.
I think its adobe acrobat not working, why I can't post my photos. thanks again , Dulce

[jeanniet]

I have masses and masses of baby fine hair too. If it were thick, I'd have a lion's mane. I had very long layers for years and I loved them! Especially since I wore my hair down all the time. It seemed to bring out more of the waviness. I think layers look amazing, I just decided I was bored with them and the upkeep and went blunt. I can see why someone with thick hair would really like them.

This is why I think density is a better measure than thickness (or pony circumference). If you have masses of baby fine or fine hair, your hair IS thick by any measure except pony circumference.

Chen, my son is 1/4 Indian, but definitely got the Indian hair gene. Facial hair, too--he could grow a full beard at 15. I think I'm pretty happy my hair is fine, because if it was coarse the volume would be impossible. My dad has been pretty bald most of his life, but when he was under 30 I imagine he had quite a lot of hair. He was raised Sikh, and somewhere there is a picture of him with his hair loose, but I haven't seen it for years. I agree that with high hair density braiding is probably the best way to contain it neatly.

[Emanuelle]

My hair is really thick... (5.9 circumference). Some updos are hard for me, and it's painful to wear my hair up. Even a low ponytail gives problems after a couple of hours...

Nevertheless I love my thick hair. :)

[chen bao jun]

My hair is really thick... (5.9 circumference). Some updos are hard for me, and it's painful to wear my hair up. Even a low ponytail gives problems after a couple of hours...

Nevertheless I love my thick hair. :)
Yes, difficult to handle does not mean you don't like it!
also, after a while you know how to handle your own hair and you're used to it.
What happens to me is that I hate OTHER people handling my hair, getting impatient, being rough--and complaining about it.
I imagine that just as I would be shocked and have difficulty dealing with if I woke up tomorrow and had half the amount of hair that I have, people who imagine they would like to be much thicker would be shocked and find that they were not too happy if they woke up and had to deal with hair like mine.
My mother, who has beautiful hair, is always going on about how thin it is, but when she had to comb my hair every day we almost both went crazy. Now, when I go to visit, she wants to fix my hair because she thinks it looks amazing, and tells me I'm lucky to have so much hair on my head--but when I do let her try to do anything with it (I love her so much I have actually let her BRUSH it, those of who you are curly know what I'm talk about), she is fed up pretty quickly and her song changes from 'how lucky you are' to 'how do you deal with this?' If she woke up like me, she would run and get a very short haircut, I am sure.
For better or for worse, its just yours, that's all. I love getting hints that make my life easier on here, but I don't want different hair.

[chen bao jun]

Also, I need to have big hair because I have a big head!
Is anyone else the same?
When I did get a pixie once I couldn't wait for it to grow out because my head looked like a watermelon. And my hat size was still HUGE.
Does this go together often?

[Sharysa]

Braids are indeed a godsend for me. Technically I'm Filipino, but Asians have a really similar hair-type to most Native Americans.

I can't help wondering if braids are the best for thick hair because not only are they contained (and more spread-out, in the case of French/Dutch braids), most of the weight is supported on your back or shoulders.

People tend to worry about the potential for breakage if your braid rubs on your clothes, but my hair is thick and heavy enough that it doesn't so much "rub" as "mostly stay put unless there's a very heavy wind or I'm working out a lot." XD

[jeanniet]

Also, I need to have big hair because I have a big head!
Is anyone else the same?
When I did get a pixie once I couldn't wait for it to grow out because my head looked like a watermelon. And my hat size was still HUGE.
Does this go together often?

Lol, that's kind of funny. I actually have a pretty big head for a woman. I need XL hats usually or they squeeze my head. My son also has a big head, and when he lets his hair grow out enough so it's really curling (3b), his head looks huge, haha.

[Temme]

How exactly do you measure thickness? Gather a ponytail and wrap a tape measurer around it?:confused:

[Vrindi]

How exactly do you measure thickness? Gather a ponytail and wrap a tape measurer around it?:confused:

That's the general idea, but it's problematic for people like me with huge amounts of very fine hair. It compresses into 3", but there's more hair than that.

[lapushka]

That's the general idea, but it's problematic for people like me with huge amounts of very fine hair. It compresses into 3", but there's more hair than that.

I *have* huge amounts of fine hair, and it does compress, and still gets up to 4.25". So... I guess it depends. ;)

[KittyBird]

Also, I need to have big hair because I have a big head!
Is anyone else the same?
When I did get a pixie once I couldn't wait for it to grow out because my head looked like a watermelon. And my hat size was still HUGE.
Does this go together often?

I think my head is quite big, and I honestly don't mind it much now that I'm mostly doing buns. My buns are often ridiculously huge and head-eating, and I think having a large head balances it out and makes it look more 'normal'. :cool:

[chen bao jun]

That's the general idea, but it's problematic for people like me with huge amounts of very fine hair. It compresses into 3", but there's more hair than that.

Its really not a very accurate system for a lot of people in a lot of ways. Being a curly, I swear I get a different measurement every time so I just give a range.

I really think, if you have thick hair, you know it. Its not about the measurements so much as that you recognize the same sets of problems. this would also include people with fine hair but a lot of hair.

I did a friends hair who had hair like that two weeks ago (copious amounts of fine hair), and although she didn't think she had thick hair, still she was eying the ficcare before I tried to put it in--'it will break', etc. etc. Her hair is maybe 1b (she's from Turkey) but she was worried about 'pouf'. I have no idea which of us would come out measuring more on the tape measure, but it was doing many of the same things in spite of very different hair type. And although I combed another 1b friends hair this weekend, who had low density, I think I had more in common with the high density 1b than they have with each other.

I just think its one of those things you know--your hair doesn't suddenly become thick, it always is.
I think the only case in which it would be possible that you wouldn't know would be if you were somewhat less high density in a family of extreme thickies so seemed thin by comparison. But even then--it would be rare that you had never been to a hairdresser. THEY let you know, from my experience.

[Squiggy]

Also, I need to have big hair because I have a big head!
Is anyone else the same?
When I did get a pixie once I couldn't wait for it to grow out because my head looked like a watermelon. And my hat size was still HUGE.
Does this go together often?

I need bigger hair because my head is tiny! More hair volume helps balance my small head against my wide shoulders.

[sagremus]

I have very fine hair but almost 4 inch - 4.25 inch pony tail. It tangles horribly and is very sensitive to heat and damages easily because of it's fineness. Very difficult hair type and texture to deal with. Doesn't hold any sort of shape, spits out hair toys, etc.

[prettyinpink]

I wass VERY thick but it seems right after highschool my hair started shedding badly. a coupe years after graduation and now my hair is sorta thin -_- i wonder why

[teela1978]

Hanging around here I often feel like I have thin hair. My ponytail circumference is ~3 inches. Compared to some of my friends in real life though, my hair is enviably thick. I always feel like LHC gets way too hung up on thickness. As a measure to compare to others when looking at hairstyles and what buns you should be able to achieve at bsl vs waist they make sense. Beyond that it just gets to be silly.

[spirals]

it looked and felt like I had stapled a mutated sea-cucumber to the back of my head.I :lol: so hard at this mental picture because I can relate. And you are truly gifted with words. Also, my braided buns always look lumpy, too.

[wildkratt]

^I know right! Even the most simplest twisted cinnabuns end up looking lopsided and stupid on me. I remember that a while ago, my updos were so cute and diverse because of my short hair, and now it's so much harder with all of this hair to deal with!

[BlazingHeart]

That is indeed a big head of hair, Chen Bao Jun. I can only imagine trying to contain it - I don't have any real experience with curly hair, much less relatively tight curls like yours. My hair is only wavy, so it's more compliant. Also, once my hair has been kept in a direction, it stays that way. So it's painful and pretty futile to try to change my part, but on the whole my hair lays pretty smooth. For as thick as it is, it's pretty cooperative down...up is a whole different matter. My hair is coarse enough that it wants to stay where it is. I can tie an overhand knot in a small section of hairs and pull it tight only to have it undo itself the moment I release it. And my hair is pretty slippy to boot. My experience may very well make me believe that things like getting a bun to stay stable are more difficult than they are for the 'average' thick-haired person.

If you look at the volume around my head, I suppose I probably don't look like my hair is as thick as it is. I mean, people still notice I've got thick hair when I have short cuts (and for me, a cheekbone length cut is both easy to manage and flattering if cut well - yet another way that texture makes a difference in what it's like to have thick hair, I suppose!). But I think the thing that makes it the clearest just how thick my hair is is the massive cloak effect as it flows down my back. Even if I wear white, you can't see a hint of my shirt until you get down to the last couple inches, which I have not been kind to and are thus suffering from mechanical thinning.

And Chen Bao Jun, I haven't had good experiences with layers or thinning either. If my hair is thinned, I get a puffball effect - all of it poofs out and tries to stand up. Thinning is the only thing that makes my hair behave that way. If I have layers, I end up with uncontrollable volume - like triangle head but down the WHOLE length. I describe it as the '80s country singer look. Positively dreadful. I'm sure there are women who have flat hair who think they want volume like that, but I think I look ridiculous that way. Also, it's hard to cut layers past my shoulders that work with my waves. A tiny bit of layering near the ends is good for me - just gets the ends to curl under smoothly - but anything more than a couple inches from the bottom is...I don't have words for it. Bad bad bad.

I actually didn't realize how thick my hair was compared to the average until I joined here. I mean, I knew I had thicker than average hair, but I didn't believe my stylist's statement that I had three times the average volume until poking around LHC and playing with the numbers confirmed that was more or less true. I just never really thought about it before, other than lamenting about how bloody long it took for my hair to dry.

I'm also part of the giant head brigade. My dad's whole family are that way - the smallest hat size any of us wears is a large, and I tend to need an XL. My dad and my fiance both have even bigger heads than I do. I'm so used to making things for people with big heads that I have trouble knitting up hats that are the right size for more common sizes! I've been starting on Christmas presents, and of the 3 hats I made, I'm already having to re-make one and give the first one to my boyfriend because it won't fit the person it was intended for. Ugh!

[lapushka]

I have very fine hair but almost 4 inch - 4.25 inch pony tail. It tangles horribly and is very sensitive to heat and damages easily because of it's fineness. Very difficult hair type and texture to deal with. Doesn't hold any sort of shape, spits out hair toys, etc.

Spits out hair toys? I hear ya! :lol: Oh well, what can you do eh? :shrug:


Hanging around here I often feel like I have thin hair. My ponytail circumference is ~3 inches. Compared to some of my friends in real life though, my hair is enviably thick. I always feel like LHC gets way too hung up on thickness. As a measure to compare to others when looking at hairstyles and what buns you should be able to achieve at bsl vs waist they make sense. Beyond that it just gets to be silly.

3" of F hair is not thin, by any means! Just try 4" and above on for size... you would not want to go there. Honest. :lol:

[TheVegan6]

Hmm, is my hair thick? I wonder. It's not like it puffs off my head sideways and breaks ponytail holders when I don't even loop them around twice, nooooo, it doesn't do any of that...(sarcasm font)
MY HAIR IS SOOOOOOO THICK! It's annoying. I don't like layers AT ALL, but my ponytail circumference is 5.75 inches, and at the ends it's 3 inches, so I have some, and I HATE my thick iii hair! It puffs straight off of my head! That's why I don't like layers, because the shorter the hair, the more it stands off sideways! I checked and I have 2 or 3 hairs per follicle. I don't like it. At all.

[Singing Bird]

Measured very tight (this is the way I learnt to measure the circumference - as tight as possible!) - my ponytail is about 4,3 inches and it's still over 3" on the height of the shortest layer.

[chen bao jun]

That is indeed a big head of hair, Chen Bao Jun. I can only imagine trying to contain it -
I haven't had good experiences with layers or thinning either...
I actually didn't realize how thick my hair was compared to the average until I joined here. I mean, I knew I had thicker than average hair, but I didn't believe my stylist's statement that I had three times the average volume until poking around LHC and playing with the numbers confirmed that was more or less true...

Was interested reading your post, Blazing Hear. Yes, I do have a lot of hair. My hair stylists always make the same statement: about three times as much as average (and they are unhappy, which made me stop going to hairstylists) and while I'm not sure its actually 3x as much as what I mostly see on LHC, it is definitely MORE...I am not complaining, though. I used to complain when I was younger, mostly because I wanted to be stylish and that's pretty much impossible. Styles are made for 'average' hair. but that doesn't mean that what's not average is bad. My hair has a lot of advantages and now at age 56 I appreciate them. Some of them are:
Braids look great in my hair. they are really fat, and fat braids look nice.
Buns are very nice also--I'm enjoying the couple of buns I can do at my length and looking forward to more. Nothing ever looks 'skimpy' and I have no need for any attachments, nor do I have to do anything to get volume on top. It's already there. Sometimes too much, but oh, well..
I have learned by trial and error what does not work. I will never get layers again, nor will I ever get a haircut that's too short to put up, because now I know...
Also, I learned how to knit long ago and I can make my own custom hats, also and not worry about the fact that store bought usually don't fit.
Being very curly, my hair is easy to upstyle. Now that I know the proper sort of pins to use, I need very few. Hairsticks are great for me! I wish I discovered them years ago. Bye bye claw clips. It is really not an issue that I don't fit these, since I know now what else is out there.
God tends to match the hair to the face/head. Now that I know from LHC how to keep my hair curly instead of frizzy, it looks good on me. When I was trying to make my hair flat and straight, or even wavy, I looked miles less attractive. I need these curls around my face. God knows best!
I swear I am going grey more slowly because there is so much to go grey..
Of course it is possible for me to lose my hair, people have medical issues, as I get older I may thin, who knows. So I intend to keep appreciating it exactly the way while I have it. I have heard too many stories of people saying, I used to have really thick hair and didn't appreciate it to take it for granted anymore.
I've always been able to appreciate that people can look lovely with thin hair, now I love my thick curly hair, too, I think its all in not trying to fight it or 'fix' it...