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View Full Version : Curlies: how much growth in a year?



Just_Isabel
September 4th, 2008, 04:18 AM
I'm trying to estimate how long I'll need to wait until I reach my hair goals, so I'm trying to make a good guess about how much my hair will grow in a certain amount of time. I'm talking about dry and curly lengths! I want to take shrinkage into account, because there just cannot be curls without the shrinkage. :p

I'm estimating about 7 cm (2.7 inches) per year - again, I'm taking about the curly length, not stretched. And I'll probably have a small trim (maybe 1-2 in of wet, strait-ish length) per year.

So... do other curlies think this is realistic? Too much? Too little? :silly: What's your average growth?

Thanks! :flower:

Kittee
September 4th, 2008, 08:57 AM
How much growth? Not enough =P

Nah, I'm not a 3c or anything but mine usually gives me about 6-7 inches a year. :)

Just_Isabel
September 4th, 2008, 09:39 AM
Ooooooh! 6 - 7 inches of dry curly length? :eyebrows: If I get that much I'll be very happy indeed! :D

Buddaphlyy
September 4th, 2008, 10:17 AM
My hair grows slow (4-5 inches a year), so dry and curly, it'll probably look like I gained 1 -1 1/2 inches. Therefore, I don't even have unstretched hair goals. I think trimming straightened hair won't really look all that different when it's dry, especially since you're trimming so littlw.

nappywomyn
September 4th, 2008, 10:22 AM
My hair grows slow (4-5 inches a year), so dry and curly, it'll probably look like I gained 1 -1 1/2 inches. Therefore, I don't even have unstretched hair goals. I think trimming straightened hair won't really look all that different when it's dry, especially since you're trimming so littlw.

Exactly that. I figure for unstretched goals, I think of my stretched goals, and triple the time. :lol: *sigh*

tinabcurly
September 4th, 2008, 10:30 AM
I usually get about 9-10 inches of curly growth per year. I find that the longer my hair gets past APL, I get less shrinkage. The weight of the ends makes it so I get more curly growth than stretched growth. If that makes any sense at all.

Fillette
September 4th, 2008, 02:15 PM
I usually get about 9-10 inches of curly growth per year. I find that the longer my hair gets past APL, I get less shrinkage. The weight of the ends makes it so I get more curly growth than stretched growth. If that makes any sense at all.

Woah!!! 9-10 inches per year?! oh how I envy you...

anna1850
September 4th, 2008, 02:38 PM
I think straightened I get about 6" so that's about 5" curly I guess. I'm not 100% sure on the measurements as I mostly just measure straight, when I measure curly the result seems to vary a lot.

My hair is not that curly though and also because the top is only wavy (because it is weighed down by the length) I'm not sure if the point at which my curls start will just get lower and lower and therefore the new growth will only be wavy if that makes sense so less length will be eaten up.

tinabcurly
September 4th, 2008, 04:28 PM
Woah!!! 9-10 inches per year?! oh how I envy you...

It's a blessing and a curse.... the faster it grows, the more I have to color my grey roots!

Shypii90
September 5th, 2008, 01:47 AM
I guess it depends on how big your curls are or how tight. 2.7 inches for a curl sounds like a bit in my opinion.. and everyone's curly hair is different! Usually the longer it grows, the more the curls relax because of the hair's weight. I just measure my hair when pulled straight.. it makes life easier! lol

Aries_jb
September 5th, 2008, 10:41 PM
I would think you would get more growth than that, especially when you take into account that the longer hair gets the looser the curl gets (for me, anyway). I would say about 1/2 inch of dry growth per month, so 6 inches per year?

30isthenewblack
September 6th, 2008, 02:12 AM
When I read your post, I was a little bit :confused: as I'd never really thought about it before ie that an average of 6" per year when measured straight, would be less if the hair was curly. In truth, it was a bit of a :( thought. I think more in milestones when I'm thinking about my growth. Given my hair has a maximum 6" spring factor (yes, it's a lot!), for my hair to reach BSL curly, it needs to be down to my waist & when my hair is at waist curly which is my goal, it needs to be down to my hip. It can be a bit :confused: at times but I am blessed with curly hair & I wouldn't have it any other way.

With curly hair, I think you should measure it straight for accuracy & when taking photos, you should take photos of the hair curly & also pull down the hair straight as well. I was joking on another post that you should buy striped shirts when you photograph yourself but it really does show the difference in length. I wouldn't worry so much about the growth. I think 2.7" is very conservative growth in a year. I think that I will have more than 6" growth in a year but having said that, I do take two hair vitamins a day.

Just_Isabel
September 6th, 2008, 02:49 AM
I'm being "conservative" about the length because I don't want to be disappointed. :p

I think that the shrinkage may eat more length while the hair is short, and mine is still short, so I think that until I reach APL the growth (curly, dry) will be about 1/2 of the straight gained length. *sigh*

I'm not asking about hair measurements. If I start measuring my hair, which I'm not at the moment, I'll pull it straight to to so because that way is easier - curly hair is just too unpredictable. But I'm mainly going by what my hair looks like and where it usually is in its natural state (right now it's shoulders).

Yeah, before I cut my hair was almost at waist (just about 2 in away) when straight, but still at BSL when curly. :laugh: So I think hip length when straight giving WL when curly is about right - or will be for my hair.

I wouldn't trade my curls for no shrinkage, but it's hard to guess when goals/milestones will be reached like this! :silly:

Medvssa
September 6th, 2008, 04:02 AM
If you don't want to be dissapointed, best thing is to ignore it :D

Well anyway, this is the growth in a year for me:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=912&pictureid=10097
Note in this pic the hair is almost wavy, I don't know why. It got curlier.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=912&pictureid=14855

I think my hair is now about bsl when dry, two inches away from waist when pulled straight. More or less, because I have stopped measuring :tongue:

But what I have also noticed is that my curl pattern can vary a lot depending on my routines. When I used to henna and CO, my crown was very relaxed (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=912&pictureid=10094). Now that I use shampoo bars, I have a lot of root volume and my curl has tightened (this is my natural curl pattern that I remember from childhood), this pic (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=912&pictureid=18130)'s focus is not the hair, but you can see the root volume :p

Just_Isabel
September 6th, 2008, 04:29 AM
So one year from shoulder to APL? Am I seeing right? :D

Oh yes, I totally notice that, too. What I do with my hair is very important for the curl pattern.
Your hair is curlier than mine, but I'll give hard shampoos a try, maybe I'll get curlier at the top. :D

Medvssa
September 6th, 2008, 04:35 AM
So one year from shoulder to APL? Am I seeing right? :D

I... guess? :o I don't pay much attention really, It changes a lot. Some days it seems back over the shoulders, the next BSL? :confused:


Oh yes, I totally notice that, too. What I do with my hair is very important for the curl pattern.
Your hair is curlier than mine, but I'll give hard shampoos a try, maybe I'll get curlier at the top. :D

If you want to use shampoo bars, I recommend Serpentine Hair. I haven't tried other brands to be honest, but this was reportedly richer than others (used by some people as conditioner) so this is what I bought. I still need conditioner afterwards... I think curly hair needs more grease in general :D

I use a vinegar rinse after the shampoo (to eliminate soap leftovers) and another after the conditioner (for the hard water here).

Just_Isabel
September 6th, 2008, 05:40 AM
That sounds like a lot of work. :o
Did you buy the shampoo online?

Medvssa
September 6th, 2008, 06:35 AM
Nah ;)

Yeah I bought it online (http://www.serpentinehair.com/) :)

2luvmycurls
September 6th, 2008, 06:54 AM
Mine grew about 6 inches from last summer to this summer (I have pics in my albums), so I think you can expect more than 2-3", but it is kinda fun to by conservative, not expecting too great of results, and then surpass your expectations! :)