Stretched vs Unstretched: Curly, Wurly, and Wavy Hair at Different Lengths

[Daydreamer.]

For those with tightly curly, curly, wurly, or wavy hair, how does your stretched hair compares to your unstretched hair? How much shrinkage does your hair experience? First, tell us your hair type(s). Then, show us your stretched and unstretched hair (side by side) at your current (or nearest) milestone (SL, APL, BSL, WL, etc.). If you have pictures of past milestone(s), show them as well! If you do not have pictures, describe how your stretched hair compares to your unstretched hair.
Bonus Questions:
Do you wear your hair stretched or unstretched? Why?
Do you measure hair stretched or unstretched? Why?

[Daydreamer.]

As for me, I have 3c hair. My hair is a couple of inches past shoulder length stretched. It is neck length unstretched. I guess I wear my hair stretched since I wear it in a single braid or a bun. I measure my hair stretched because it is my actual length.

[lapushka]

I keep seeing vids of people with major shrinkage complaining about their shrinkage! I always think, then grow it out some more, but that might be too long when wet... so...

Mine doesn't shrink that much. I'm 2b/c'ish and if the shrinkage is about an inch it's a lot.

[Anya15]

I don't have very recent pics, I'll take some soon!

I am 2b/c.
My shrinkage is anywhere between 2-3 inches. Which is a lot. Stretched, my hair is past waist. Unstretched, it is still an inch away from waist. :lol:

I wear my hair in a braid or bun most of the time these days because it's very hot! Braids shrink even more for me. My regular english braid is an inch past BSL if i stretch the tassel. :cry:

[diddiedaisy]

I have 2a hair. When I wear it curly I can lose up to 3 inches, straightened I still lose an inch on average, I don't heat straighten though. Maybe I get a fair bit of shrinkage as my hair has no weight to it.

Lapushka, how do you only lose an inch on 2b/c hair? Is it because it is heavy? What sorcery is this?????? :)

[lapushka]

Lapushka, how do you only lose an inch on 2b/c hair? Is it because it is heavy? What sorcery is this?????? :)

I'm guesstimating. I don't think it's more, but I moisturize a lot. I condition twice and then I do the LOC method, and sometimes I use the rinse-out oil method too. So lots of moisture in there.

[littlestarface]

I only measure unstretched why? cuz I think measuring stretched makes no sense to me. I just call it where I see it at. I bet if I straightened my hair it'll be abit longer but my hair is wavy and that's how i'm gonna measure it. No point in taking a tiny lock of hair an trying to stretch it beyond belief for me.

[Anya15]

Lapushka, how do you only lose an inch on 2b/c hair? Is it because it is heavy? What sorcery is this?????? :)

I was wondering the same!!!

[H o n є y ❤]

I have type 4a/3c hair. I just cut my ends but I am still brushing APL. My hair shrinks up to my neck as well.



I keep seeing vids of people with major shrinkage complaining about their shrinkage! I always think, then grow it out some more, but that might be too long when wet... so...

Mine doesn't shrink that much. I'm 2b/c'ish and if the shrinkage is about an inch it's a lot.
For some, especially those with type 4 hair, hair grows up and therefore you could be past WL and your hair could still shrink up to SL or just past it. The hair just gets bigger and bigger but not "longer." It's crazy!

[H o n є y ❤]

My hair is a little bigger unstretched, which I am so happy about because I have fine thin hair so the shrinkage gives me a little more volume.

I prefer to wear it semi-stretched. It allows me to show a little more length while keeping some volume as well.

I also measure my hair stretched, if I measured it unstretched I would be measuring the same length every month lol.

[Hairkay]

I've got 4a/3c hair. Shrinkage is about 50%. I think that would be worse in a more humid environment. I don't straighten it. It'll get a little stretch from plaiting/braiding. I'll sometimes tug a bit down when it's wet. It's almost to my waist. It's BSL in plaits. It's APL-BSL loose. I'm getting more of hang to it now. I've only just begun to experiment with banding which seems to give a bit of stretch without taking away the curls.

[Totty]

3a hair wet at TBL 93 cm .dry unstretched hip+ little over 73 cm. Almost 8 inches spring factor

I wear my hair in a bun or braid. If it's loose unstretched. I measure wet stretched because otherwise it can vary too much.

[gthlvrmx]

For those with tightly curly, curly, wurly, or wavy hair, how does your stretched hair compares to your unstretched hair? How much shrinkage does your hair experience? First, tell us your hair type(s). Then, show us your stretched and unstretched hair (side by side) at your current (or nearest) milestone (SL, APL, BSL, WL, etc.). If you have pictures of past milestone(s), show them as well! If you do not have pictures, describe how your stretched hair compares to your unstretched hair.
Bonus Questions:
Do you wear your hair stretched or unstretched? Why?
Do you measure hair stretched or unstretched? Why?

I have enough shrinkage in my hair that I choose to measure stretched. In my mind, I am measuring the actual hair length, not what the curls hide. I forgot how much shrinkage I experience, but I think I am at midback length and when I take my bun down before washing it, I am at around arm pit length unstretched. I usually wear my hair in a bun (except for right now, I have my hair in loosely untied twin braids) and I measure stretched.

[H o n є y ❤]

I have enough shrinkage in my hair that I choose to measure stretched. In my mind, I am measuring the actual hair length, not what the curls hide. I forgot how much shrinkage I experience, but I think I am at midback length and when I take my bun down before washing it, I am at around arm pit length unstretched. I usually wear my hair in a bun (except for right now, I have my hair in loosely untied twin braids) and I measure stretched.
I'm not sure if it's the same for you but when I take my hair down from being up it becomes stretched...just not completely. So maybe you have even more shrinkage than you thought! Ultimate shrinkage is usually seen in the form of an unstretched wash n go. I agree with you about stretching hair to measure.

[pili]

I have 2c/3a wurls. The spring factor is 5 inches. I am currently APL stretched and it springs up to just below shoulder length dry. I always measure stretched because the dew point is such a huge factor. When I lived in FL I had even more shrinkage! If I were to measure dry and curly, I would get different results on different days, sometimes varying more than an inch.

I always wear my hair up stretched when down. I figure if my hair is huge, I'm not going to hide it. Plus, my hair turns into an evil mess if I ever do anything but let it be itself.

[chen bao jun]

I'm a 3c.

My hair is roughly shoulder length most days, unstretched.

When I straighten it, the longest parts are now below brastrap bottom, roughly 4 inches from waist.

I say, most days because it can shrink less or more depending on--I don't know what. It's very erratic.

I live in a somewhat humid climate (mid-Atlantic) but when I go to different places, Niagara Falls, Houston Tx, where there is more moisture in the air, my hair can shrink up to my EARS and stay there.

In answer to Lapushka, though I don't complain (well, not that much) about mine, IF the main thing you are seeking is length, tightly curly hair is not really made to EVER look long. There are people, I swear (my mother is one) who could have waist length hair and it would look like a teeny weeny afro (like a pixie, except an afro, right next to her head). My hair is the loosest possible kind of tightly curly hair, and I'd have to have hip or tailbone length to look like BSL, unstretched. And it wouldn't be consistent. There would certainly still be days that it would look like shoulder or less. So its not just a matter of growing some more. It's growing a whole lot more to look like very little longer and still not long. Also, tightly curly hair does not look longer in the shower when wet, it actually looks even SHORTER there. When the water hits my hair in the shower, it's instantly ear length. I mean, instantly. It only gets to shoulder after I've put it in two braids and let it dry that way. If it dries unbraided, it will not only stay ear length but will have tangles like you would not believe. I usually actually wash it while in braids to avoid the truly horrific tangling. When I say horrific, I mean that it can take two to two and one half HOURS to detangle if I don't take steps to make sure it does not tangle. If I try to detangle dry, my hair breaks off. There are just short hairs all over the place.

On the other hand, if looking like you have length is not your only goal, tightly curly hair is a delight. I can't go out without getting showered with compliments from strangers on what pretty hair I have. It may shrink to a fraction of its length when its wet, but it shrinks in these pretty spirals, perfect little corkscrews that look like they took hours to put in artificially. I naturally have what Shirley Temples's mother used to spend hours achieving with rag curls and my hair just does this. It needs no product, no curl creme, no gel, no nothing. It's like miraculous. Worth a little shrinkage (or a lot of shrinkage). When I braid my wet hair into two braids to dry, it does not destroy the spiralling, just makes it slightly looser. People have stared in shock when I do undo the two braids to reveal all these springy sproingy curls.

Once i got over the idea that a person HAS to comb or brush their hair, I was fine. Detangling for me is hell because my hair wants to stay in its perfect little spirals and I have to fight it to unspiral. Why should I do that? fight for two hours to end up with ugly frizz? I don't have to comb it out to put it in the two braids.

One could also see as it as an asset that a person can either have shoulder length hair or mid back length hair with the exact same hair, without having a hair cut, but just by washing from one day to the next. It really is like magic. (I have heard tightly curly hair called 'magic hair' before for this reason).

Being long, or rather, being able to show all the length that it has is not the only way that hair can be beautiful. It took me a while to get this, probably some of the other people complaining will come to understand it also, as they get used to their natural hair.

My hair does not grow upwards, by the way. Not even when its very short--it will not stay up in the air for love or for money. Type 3 hair does not have that particular quality. Even though type 3c hair counts as tightly curly and is rarely found in found in people who don't have some African ancestry, there are some things type 3 hair of any kind just won't do, and growing upwards is one of them. My hair doens't even really grow outwards. It definitely grows down--but in such a way that I am very prone to have 'triangle head.' that's one reason I prefer it longer. Even though it may not look as long as it actually is, the longer it grows, the less it triangles. The weight does something.

I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I think triangle head is attractive. I like upwards growing hair (my husband has it) and I like downwards growing hair and I kind of tend to think that hair should do either one or another of those things, not be in between. But that actually is the best description of 3c hair that there is. It's in between truly tightly curly (afro) and curly hair (non afro) in this bizarre way and while its not actually hard to take care of, people with 3c hair (and their parents; its a really common hairtype for biracial or mixed racepeople to have) can really suffer from lack of knowledge of what to do with it, since its neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring.

[LongCurlyTress]

3b
about an inch from TBL.. just trimmed off 1.5 inches last week... ;)

Pic in my siggy was just taken- dried stretched out-- last week after my trim... It dried in a lwb, detangled and brushed out. If I let my hair dry curly, (I wish I could!!) It gets matted and tangles and breaks more after the next washing... It is very, very thick and tangles and matts very easily, unless I let it dry in a lwb, detangled and brushed out periodically throughout the day with my tangle teezer, gently from tips to scalp then rebun until it dries. But then, I still leave it in a bun to keep it protected and have fewer tangles. If I go out fancy, I do a half up with a small cinnabun for the top part. I only use coconut oil as my leave in and this has enough hold in it. Some frizzies, but hey, I have curly hair and curly hair frizzes. :)


I usually, always wear my hair in a bun of sorts, so I guess it is detangled and brushed out so that is stretched... I also only measure my hair stretched since it isn't accurate to measure it curly because of the spring factor... the hair length is the length of the actual hair imo.

June, 2015 A year ago...dried curly with coconut oil (on dresser!! ;) Hubby took this pic without me knowing....:)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23364&d=1465425115

[gthlvrmx]

I'm not sure if it's the same for you but when I take my hair down from being up it becomes stretched...just not completely. So maybe you have even more shrinkage than you thought! Ultimate shrinkage is usually seen in the form of an unstretched wash n go. I agree with you about stretching hair to measure.

When I take my hair out from a bun, the ends are curled up or in the shape of the bun I had. I have "bun curls" or "bun waves". Usually really tight ones. The only part of my hair that is stretched out is the top part of my hair that is against my scalp and neck. Past that, it's all bun waves and bun curls. My freshly washed hair looks a bit longer than my bunwave/curl hair. I think I showed that years ago in a bun wave thread years ago with a photo or two.

[faery_braids]

My hair's 2c/3a. :3 Its length really depends on the weather, what I've done to it and when I last washed it... The first time I hit waist I freaked out in joy, showered and went to sleep. I woke up all excited to see it--and was crestfallen when I saw in the mirror that it had decided to curl up to my bra strap. Like wtf. (I met a friend later in the day, and she admitted she had seen me earlier and hadn't said hi because she didn't realise it was me with my hair so much shorter! *sigh*) For whatever reason my hair had chosen then to say, "Yes, you had curls when you were younger. Let's bring them back!" *facepalm*

As for measuring, I normally measure it stretched just because unstretched can be so variable. :/ Like, it's wonderfully wurly and curly just after a shower, but I have to shower early in the day or sleep with my hair slightly damp to take best advantage of said curls. Finger combing keeps them mostly in tact, a comb will loosen many of the curls, and my bbb when I use it makes my hair wonderfully wavy yet with few curls (a few ringlets normally pop up here and there shortly after brushing or releasing from my sleep braid). If I combo my bbb and buns (heck, even buns by themselves if I wear them for long enough) I can mostly straighten my hair to like, minimal waves (luckily with my hair so long it doesn't get as poofy/fluffy as it does when it's BSL or shorter xD but it'll still usually puff out a bit further down the length), but I feel super weird like that. o.O So yeah, I wear my hair both stretched and unstretched and I normally measure stretched--I'm close to HL stretched, but unstretched, well...anywhere from WL to just above? From what I remember the worst of the humidity of the past few days had it about a cm/half inch or so above my waist unstretched, but it averages about WL I'd say.

[MINAKO]

My hair completely straight is about 2 inches longer. Unstretched it falls a bit past classic. I don't have volume on top and my ends are pretty much bone straight but the mid sections still hold a few deep waves.

[pailin]

My hair is 2 inches or so longer stretsched than unstretched. I measure stretched because it's the only way I can measure myself, but I've been calling my milestones unstretched.

[ephemeri]

I have 2c/3a hair that I measure both stretched and unstretched. Measurements in my profile are with it stretched but what counts the most (to me) is what it looks like unstretched since that's how I wear it. My shrinkage factor is 3-5 inches. :(

I wear my hair unstretched because I like my curls and because I think I look really weird with straight hair. It doesn't suit me at all.

[lapushka]

I have more stretch to it than an inch. Now, we only checked this yesterday, when my waves had already sagged, but 1-3 inches might be more realistic. It depends on how much product is in there (how heavy a product is) and what day of the week it is. I always think it doesn't weigh my hair down - my products, but apparently they do.

[Beborani]

6-8 or even 10 inches of shrinkage. I never measure curly-- I let it fall where it will and pay attention only when it gets caught in unusual places. Even measuring stretched gives slightly different results on different days but that variation is within an inch or so so I get better consistency.

[littlestarface]

My hair completely straight is about 2 inches longer. Unstretched it falls a bit past classic. I don't have volume on top and my ends are pretty much bone straight but the mid sections still hold a few deep waves.

Lol twin, I should cut my hair to your length :p

[MINAKO]

Lol twin, I should cut my hair to your length :p

I actually like a bit of a soft and whispy hemline but as soon as mine starts to fairytale the stick straightness of my ends becomes very obvious so i try to keep it slightly on the fuller side. If it would blend well i don't think i would bother to keep trimming them.

[Goatcraft]

Oh man, there's a massive difference for me. My hair is currently at tailbone (my photos on here are quite old), but you can't tell when it's curly. I would say there's a six inch difference. I don't even wear my hair down when it's curly. I just toss it in a bun. I don't think I'll wear it down curly until the length actually shows.

As for measuring.. I guess I would say I measure stretched, though I keep track of the natural curly length too.

[Hairkay]

Here's some with a huge difference in length from unstretched to stretched.

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2016/06/20-pictures-of-natural-hair-shrinkage-that-will-blow-your-mind/

[Sterlyn]

Here's some with a huge difference in length from unstretched to stretched.

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2016/06/20-pictures-of-natural-hair-shrinkage-that-will-blow-your-mind/

Shrinkage isn't really much of an issue for me. I just had to say how incredibly gorgeous the hair was is in these photos to the link you posted and the shrinkage(!) was :blueeek:

For myself having never experienced shrinkage like that, it's hard to wrap my mind around shoulder length hair stretching to waist, hip or even longer. Near the end there was a comparison pic a year apart, unstretched the length was still shoulder length, stretched it was clear she'd gained at least 4" maybe more.

[Hairkay]

Shrinkage isn't really much of an issue for me. I just had to say how incredibly gorgeous the hair was is in these photos to the link you posted and the shrinkage(!) was :blueeek:

For myself having never experienced shrinkage like that, it's hard to wrap my mind around shoulder length hair stretching to waist, hip or even longer. Near the end there was a comparison pic a year apart, unstretched the length was still shoulder length, stretched it was clear she'd gained at least 4" maybe more.

Yes, that happens. The hair can grow but still look the same length unstretched for years but when it's stretched out you can see the new growth retained.

[Aidin]

Hi, newbie 3b/3c hair here!

My curly hair is currently APL, but it is almost tailbone length when stretched... The shrinkage is very real and frustrating, because to grow from APL to BSL I will need double the growth as straight haired people...

Well, I look forward to learn from all of you :) and keep motivated!

[proo]

What is y'all's favorite heat free method to stretch?

[Gothic]

Hi!
My hair is 2b/2c I think, I'm not sure though.
My hair is just under collarbone lenght stretched but it shrinks up to neck lenght.
I measure stretched because a) my curl pattern depends on humidity and the products I use so it wouldn't be very accurate to measure unstretched. b) I would pretty much get the same number every 3 month and would think my hair stopped growing and I would panic lol.

[Aidin]

What is y'all's favorite heat free method to stretch?

I don't usually stretch my hair, but when I do it, I do banding!

[Aidin]

Hi!
My hair is 2b/2c I think, I'm not sure though.
My hair is just under collarbone lenght stretched but it shrinks up to neck lenght.
I measure stretched because a) my curl pattern depends on humidity and the products I use so it wouldn't be very accurate to measure unstretched. b) I would pretty much get the same number every 3 month and would think my hair stopped growing and I would panic lol.

Hahahahah, exactly what I do!
I tend to measure both curly and stretched otherwise I would be so depressed without seeing my hair growing!

[Apolli]

Hi!
My hair is 2b/2c I think, I'm not sure though.
My hair is just under collarbone lenght stretched but it shrinks up to neck lenght.
I measure stretched because a) my curl pattern depends on humidity and the products I use so it wouldn't be very accurate to measure unstretched. b) I would pretty much get the same number every 3 month and would think my hair stopped growing and I would panic lol.

Same reason I measure stretched for my 3b hair- it's just too frustrating otherwise when shrinkage claims up to 50% of length :p

Welcome to the forums!

[Gothic]

What is y'all's favorite heat free method to stretch?
banding, braiding and twisting but these methods damaged my fine hair before:(

[Salwety]

My hair is 3b/3c. It is shoulder length curly, and below APL stretched.
I am counting on the theory that when my hair is longer, its weight will weigh it down, and the curl pattern, and consequently the shrinkage, will be loosened.

[sanguinebread]

I have 3b hair at TBL stretched, and shrinkage takes it up 8-14 inches to BSL or waist depending on the fates. Braided it usually falls around hips. I measure it and call milestones stretched (with a hand, temporarily) because I'd bounce around too much trying to measure curly. It can be really frustrating to see a slow progress in how it actually looks even while it's growing, but I love my hair too much to actually want straight hair.

If it's loose it's curly, but I wear it up or braided most of the time. I've been thinking about trying a heat free straightening method out of curiosity but I'm worried about damaging it.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I lose about 2-3 inches to shrinkage and I am only a 2B :( If I wasnt "wavy" my hair would be at BSL. But I do not call milestones stretched.
I will measure stretched so that I can actually document growth and make sure I am not stalling. But when I call milestones I wait until its visual.
Which really really sucks because I have to wait twice as long to reach milestones that I technically hit 6 months before. It really sucks lol

[LadyCelestina]

My hair is mixed textures and generally varies between 2c/3a/3b(mostly the nape, where I can sometimes get very tight curls, like 3c even!), but I write 2c/3a since that is what it looks like most of the time. I have an odd hair texture :lol: Unstretched, it is always a milestone forward - for example right now it's hip length and waist length curly.

I 'measure' unstretched, but I only go by milestones, not by centimeters/inches. Personally I think that if you put in your measurement unstretched it might make you feel a bit better, but I think it causes some confusion when discussing buns, handling etc...

[lapushka]

I lose about 2-3 inches to shrinkage and I am only a 2B :( If I wasnt "wavy" my hair would be at BSL. But I do not call milestones stretched.
I will measure stretched so that I can actually document growth and make sure I am not stalling. But when I call milestones I wait until its visual.
Which really really sucks because I have to wait twice as long to reach milestones that I technically hit 6 months before. It really sucks lol

I always go for stretched to tell where I am, if not, classic would be doubly horrible for me, I think (and much too long). Of course when you wind it into a bun, every inch of hair counts. ;)

[Idreamlong]

I have 3C hair and unstretched/ curly it is SL/ APL, stretched it is BSL :-( it really gets me down. My curls are nice, and luckily for me are effortless but I can't wear it down curly (which my boyfriend hates as he loves my curls!) as it just feels so short and I feel ugly :-( I agree with the posters who said you have to grow it A LOT more to see ANY length difference at all. It's depressing!

[Annalouise]

I measure my hair stretched and wet for an accurate reading. I don't pull it hard, but just measure the length so I can judge whether I'm gaining length or not. This is important to me as I've had hair this long for 20 years, and I have to start to make changes if I ever will be able to get my hair past waist. My hair is very fine and thin and has low porosity and I live in a dry climate. So basically... its up to me if I'm going to be able to gain length or not. So measuring is important for me. 20 years at waist and its time to put the peddle to the meddle and see what this sucker can do if treated with UTMOST care!!:p:D

My length depends on what I'm doing to my hair. It can be as short as apl (leave-in's, plopping etc) or as long as waist (dry and brushed).
I've changed my routine to a curly hair routine so I expect my hair will look much shorter which is fine with me. I don't really care how it appears, I just care that I'm gaining ACTUAL length at the end of the day.:)

[LadyCelestina]

^^^^ This is what I'm talking about... for example I always thought that you lapushka have classic length waves! not stretched straight. :D

[Annalouise]

That's why I find a photograph, plus actual length measurement to be the best for seeing what a person's hair is.:D
Because then when people see pictures of curly hair, next to the length measurement, they would SEE how much curly hair shrinks.
And they would also know that it is in fact long.:)
You can have a person with straight hair, that is at their waist, but it might only be 25" if they are short. Versus you can have a curly hair person, who's hair looks like APL ,but they might have 32" of hair!

Which is why I am a strong advocate for putting down the ACTUAL length of the stand. Then it levels the playing field.:knit:

[LadyCelestina]

I think people should state what length they are refering to when it's relevant. For an exaggerated example: A 1b person complains that they have difficulty wearing their hair down at hip, then a 2c/3a person says they can wear their hair down at hip with no problem (yes because their hair shrinks to BSL).

[Erizu]

My hair is around 2c/3a (it gets curly the further down it goes) and is around WL when dry. When wet it reaches TBL. ^^ I wouldn't mind having TBL hair when dry, too, so it's a tad bit frustrating! :o

[littlestarface]

I was wondering, why you guys get frustrated? Is it cuz you wanna have hair at a certain point like yesterday fast?

I guess cuz I always had longish hair I don't see milestones so important, I always was like "okay it's here at knee or ftl and who cares" lol.

[cherrybird]

I was wondering, why you guys get frustrated? Is it cuz you wanna have hair at a certain point like yesterday fast?

I guess cuz I always had longish hair I don't see milestones so important, I always was like "okay it's here at knee or ftl and who cares" lol.

I definitely get where you're coming from, I know my hair is waist length, even though it dries a lot shorter! I figure that's where you get the bounce and springiness of curly hair, and I'm happy to trade.

I do get a little jealous of people who started out at the same length as me who are racing ahead because their hair is straight or wavy.

[Salwety]

I am happy that this topic exists.

[Simsy]

I was wondering, why you guys get frustrated? Is it cuz you wanna have hair at a certain point like yesterday fast?

It's the frustration for me. My hair is nearly TBL when it's wet, an inch into BCL when wet/drying and barely HL when autually dry. Coupled with the just-past-waist multiple braids; or the barely past BSL single braid; and I get unreasonably frustrated with my hair. I'm hoping to grow to classic because I might get proper hip length braids out of it.

Yeah...mostly the frustration of the length not matching the length, if that makes sense.

[Annalouise]

I hear you Simsy. My biggest frustration is the fairytale ends. It would take me FOREVER to have a hemline at waist, if that is even possible I don't know as it thins out to a tiny bit of hair at waist.

[lapushka]

^^^^ This is what I'm talking about... for example I always thought that you lapushka have classic length waves! not stretched straight. :D

Oh no. :) Well, if after a week I comb/brush out the waves, it hangs there at classic... uh *did* hang there. I just had 12 cm cut off and am back to a little past waist (stretched), so I should be there + waves. I can "just"... "just" manage a LWB. I'm not sorry. I just felt like a change. I might be in the no-trimming 2017 thread, I'm not sure, or I might even go shorter... although, it is nice to be able to do a bun!!!

[LadyCelestina]

Oh no. :) Well, if after a week I comb/brush out the waves, it hangs there at classic... uh *did* hang there. I just had 12 cm cut off and am back to a little past waist (stretched), so I should be there + waves. I can "just"... "just" manage a LWB. I'm not sorry. I just felt like a change. I might be in the no-trimming 2017 thread, I'm not sure, or I might even go shorter... although, it is nice to be able to do a bun!!!

Oh wow :D I'm glad that you are happy - sometimes only a cut can make having the hair fun again! And especially since for wavies and curlies, there's also the texture difference after a cut which makes it even nicer :D
Not so long ago I also cut my hair, 1st because I was annoyed with it not looking nice 2nd time I cut off too much during a trim. I couldn't do a bun- only a tiny braid! :D But I had a great time wearing my hair down a lot :D

[Annalouise]

I think people should state what length they are refering to when it's relevant. For an exaggerated example: A 1b person complains that they have difficulty wearing their hair down at hip, then a 2c/3a person says they can wear their hair down at hip with no problem (yes because their hair shrinks to BSL).

I'm not sure I understand the distinction.:) I think in a long hair forum length is relevant. Length = age. Age of hair is relevant to growth and hair care.:pegasus:

[LadyCelestina]

Maybe the confusion stemming from it is just my own problem, and one that I might be creating for myself. I'd love to add a couple cm to my hair by just measuring stretched, bam and I have hip+ length hair :D awesome! but I don't like to do so because I realise nobody ever sees my length straight, and my experience is similar to those who are at waist, regardless of texture, rather than hip. For example a person whose hair is actually hip length might not wear it down because it gets stuck in their belts or whatever, but I don't have this problem with my *technically also hip length* hair that's in reality at waist. Or they can do different buns than I do (because you cannot completely stretch out the curl when bunning curly hair).

[Annalouise]

I think you're selling yourself short. (No pun intended). You grew that length, regardless of how it appears. So you are almost being dishonest saying your hair is shorter than it actually is.;) You grew it! You should own it! :disco:

[Idreamlong]

I think you're selling yourself short. (No pun intended). You grew that length, regardless of how it appears. So you are almost being dishonest saying your hair is shorter than it actually is.;) You grew it! You should own it! :disco:

Totally Agree with this. Technical length is length!

[Simsy]

Lady Celestine, hair is personal and experiences doubly so. So your is hip and behaves like waist? Cool, you have hair you can wear down a bit easier, if you enjoy it like that. It doesn't mean you can't still contribute to discussions about HL, SL and all the spots in between. You have been there, you have managed that length and you have experiences that you can share. Someone else will benefit from that sharing.

The growing is what matters, not the final stop. I have nearly TBL but I still look barely HL. That being said, most people in RL don't even realise I have long hair because it's never left out when I'm at work. I still have family members that remember the SL triangle I graduated school with (don't ask, no one knew how to handle curls that thick and trial & error didn't work past about armpit) and haven't seen it since.

Hi, ho, hi, ho, it's up to shoulder we go!

That, and being able to do certain buns isn't a particularly good indicator since a lot more than length needs to be factored in. Thickness, curls, skill level and hair in general. Example, I still can't do a LWB and cinnibuns look ridiculous on my hair, but I have been doing a fairly decent Nautalis since before waist. Someone else might be able to rock a perfect LWB, but can't work a Nautalis if their life depended on it.

[TheCurlyMermaid]

My 3b hair is currently BSL-MBL curly, and waist length stretched/wet. I'd love to have waist length curly hair by the end of 2018, which means I'll likely need it to be hip-TBL stretched. My ultimate goal is to have Hip-TBL curly hair (classic length stretched)! I like to wear braids a lot because they show more of my length without the damage heat styling would require.

[TheCurlyMermaid]

My 3b hair is currently BSL-MBL curly, and waist length stretched/wet. I'd love to have waist length curly hair by the end of 2018, which means I'll likely need it to be hip-TBL stretched. My ultimate goal is to have Hip-TBL curly hair (classic length stretched)! I like to wear braids a lot because they show more of my length without the damage heat styling would require.

I forgot to mention! I think I have anywhere from 4-5 inches of shrinkage depending on the curl.