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blackgothicdoll
December 23rd, 2018, 05:19 PM
And what is your hair type?

I'm pretty sure everyone with type 4 hair measures their hair straight/stretched, because then we would never ever grow past shoulder length. But I'm curious about other curly hair types. I see some wavies here who don't stretch their hair to measure, and their hair is very long as it is, so it made me curious how long it would be if they were to stretch it.

The curlier, the more shrinkage, so of course more curiosity there.

So curlies (and wavies), what is your hair type and do you measure the length of your hair stretched in its natural state?

Ylva
December 23rd, 2018, 05:25 PM
I'm 2a, so wavy but not a whole lot, and I measure my hair stretched.

lapushka
December 23rd, 2018, 05:31 PM
I measure stretched. It's about the hair you have, not what length it "seems" to be.

curlily
December 23rd, 2018, 05:31 PM
Both. I have one length stretched and one unstretched. Its rewarding to see them both progress.

Corvana
December 23rd, 2018, 08:01 PM
I do both! I'm barely 2a on the best days, and my shrinkage averages to a whole inch, so not too much! I took a few weeks of randomly measuring a section stretched out from the bottom of the not-stretched hair next to it to come to my average shrinkage of an inch. Now I just measure stretched and subtract the inch automatically for visual measurements!

I'm trying to only call when visually at a milestone, but it's so hard :laugh: It's two months behind! I want to, though, because I'd like to stop measuring entirely and just go by looks.

Simsy
December 23rd, 2018, 08:20 PM
I’m a 2c/3a and I personally measure both. When I’m getting frustrated with growth or lack thereof, a wet measure while in the shower can be a nice little boost as I suddnley gain 2 or 3 inches that I won’t see once I get out. A stretched dry measure before the shower is usually the most accurate for my hair and it can be nice to just see the length that buns so nicely (sometimes). I call most of my milestones when I’m wet and curly, simply because I feel it’s a bit more personally honest.

I’m currently a solid classic curly but stretched and wet are both nearly palm length...I think I might be getting close to the first knuckle on one of them. I’m happy with the curly length, but sometimes you really need that little boost of “hey, look at all this hair :D”. It can absolutely save a bad day of considering scissors because you can’t see any progress.

Jo Ann
December 23rd, 2018, 08:36 PM
Stretched! With 2C/3A hair, every little bit helps :p

spirals
December 23rd, 2018, 09:03 PM
I measure stretched. It's about the hair you have, not what length it "seems" to be.

This; I totally agree. Plus, the longer my hair gets the closer my stretched length becomes to my curly length.

Ophidian
December 23rd, 2018, 09:41 PM
If I am measuring inches I do it stretched, but for some reason I feel like I’m cheating if I call a length based on body marker before it consistently looks like I’m there. I also have layers and I’m perpetually indecisive about whether the racers count or if the bulk of my hair should be theee first In other words, I’m forever on the fence :p. As a high 2, I find that the difference stretched vs. not is about 2-3 inches.
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Rowdy
December 23rd, 2018, 10:28 PM
I measure inches stretched but I only referred to how long my hair looked dry. With my natural 2c/3a I usually got about 5 - 6 inches of shrinkage which is a full milestone difference on me so I had a straight length and curly length that I called. Now that I do keratin straightening (2b ish) I get about 2-3 in of shrinkage so not that big of a difference. I'm also maintaining forevermore and I don't really 'call' things anymore so it's kinda moot now.

HaMalka
December 24th, 2018, 05:22 AM
As a 2a I don't have all that much shrinkage and I get a family member to measure my hair for me so its pretty much on the whim of whoever is measuring. I don't actually do tape measure measurements very often and I no longer have any bodily milestones to try and stretch to reach so I don't really check the length that often.

ravenheather
December 24th, 2018, 07:07 AM
I measure stretched for consistency.

victorian girl
December 24th, 2018, 11:25 AM
2c/3a, I measure both, but the milestones in my signature are called curly. It makes sense to me to measure the exact length stretched and to call the milestones curly - so I'm not that frustrated about my hair not looking as long as it actually is.

cjk
December 24th, 2018, 01:25 PM
Shrinkage is real. I'm only now learning how to care for my hair properly, and I can see it even at my length. Shoulder length actually shrinks enough to expose my collar!

It's all new to me.

And someone told me just the other day that I look like a 3c.

MusicalSpoons
December 24th, 2018, 06:58 PM
As a 2a I don't have all that much shrinkage and I get a family member to measure my hair for me so its pretty much on the whim of whoever is measuring. I don't actually do tape measure measurements very often and I no longer have any bodily milestones to try and stretch to reach so I don't really check the length that often.

That is just so cool - a goal in itself!

I don't actually belong here, though kinks and bends from wrapped buns really do cause shrinkage, as do waves from twisted buns :lol: the only time I can get a proper visual measurement is if I wash in the daytime and it dries before I go to bed - so, rarely! Actual measurements are okay though, because holding it along the tape measure stretches it out straight anyway.

MarPreciosa
December 24th, 2018, 07:41 PM
Pretty sure I am 2b but my ends curl in up in spirals. I measure both ways - otherwise I'm afraid I'd get discouraged. Imagine for the 4s it's a crazy challenge to really see the growth. How much is visible for you in a year v. your growth stretched?

blackgothicdoll
December 24th, 2018, 07:52 PM
Pretty sure I am 2b but my ends curl in up in spirals. I measure both ways - otherwise I'm afraid I'd get discouraged. Imagine for the 4s it's a crazy challenge to really see the growth. How much is visible for you in a year v. your growth stretched?

I wish I knew, but I don't even really bother trying to guage my length when it isn't stretched. I think I'll experiment, maybe take a picture of my hair not stretched every few months and see if I can notice a difference. But to put it into perspective, a section of hair that hangs around my earlobe touches my collar bone when stretched. :p

Hairkay
December 24th, 2018, 09:15 PM
I've got 3c/4a hair. The hair forms little waves and corkscrews which then spiral so there's a good amount of shrinkage. I check it by tugging some hair down to stretch it and see the length. It's not very consistent and it can take me quite a while to notice that the length of my hair has changed. Still I don't want to go through straightening my hair. I am content seeing where my plaited/braided hair falls. Even the length of that varies during the day from when I first plait it to days later after getting wet and dried. Right now plaits are bsl/mbl in the shower my hair will stretch down to my tailbone.

MarPreciosa
December 25th, 2018, 09:24 AM
I wish I knew, but I don't even really bother trying to guage my length when it isn't stretched. I think I'll experiment, maybe take a picture of my hair not stretched every few months and see if I can notice a difference. But to put it into perspective, a section of hair that hangs around my earlobe touches my collar bone when stretched. :p

Wow - so it's pretty much a year's with of growth. You must have amazing patience. Once you get to your goal your hair is going to be incredible.

Margrit
December 25th, 2018, 09:36 AM
I measure stretched. It's about the hair you have, not what length it "seems" to be.

I totally agree and in my case air humidity can make big difference.....

blackgothicdoll
December 25th, 2018, 02:45 PM
Wow - so it's pretty much a year's with of growth. You must have amazing patience. Once you get to your goal your hair is going to be incredible.

It's a bit of a fun game. Every one in awhile I pull a piece down and am surprised by how long it's gotten - then it feels like it grew overnight! I imagine at some point it might touch my shoulders, but that might be like 30 years from now lol!

So I do milestones by pulling down a section. My braid waves are what I really care about, but those vary from day to day too and still have a lot of shrinkage.

Reminds me of this comic:

https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/BWujQeSB4bn-png__880.jpg

Arciela
December 26th, 2018, 01:28 AM
I don't measure it with a measuring tape but I'll do length shots to see if it grew sometimes. I always do it in its normal state..so, wavy for me :)

MoonChildCurls
December 26th, 2018, 01:50 AM
I'm a 2/C, 3/A and I always measure stretched. I lose too many inches when it's curly.