At shoulder curly...apl stretched out... What length to claim?

[Beckstar]

https://i.postimg.cc/DS3xpzP4/IMG-20190309-081638735.jpg (https://postimg.cc/DS3xpzP4)

Apl brushed out but shoulder curly.

[lapushka]

It depends on you, whether you want to measure stretched or curly.

There's no set rule for this. :flower:

However, I would go with stretched, because that is to where your hair grew, it's just the curls that make the length that you HAVE bounce up.

[H o n є y ❤]

Definitely stretched lol

[chomsky]

Stretched for sure.

If I called lengths curly, I'd be shoulder length the rest of my life. :lol:

[Kake]

I call stretched, so I feel like I've made progress.

Then I also call unstretched, as a wee inbetween bonus.

[Ylva]

I'd claim the stretched length. And I do so myself, too, even though I don't experience very much shrinkage. It's still there! :)

[erebus]

I mean, it's just for yourself right? Then it doesn't matter as long as you're consistent.

[cjk]

I'm about to go through this with my beard. I have a type 4 curl pattern and, straightened, it's below my nipples at breastbone length.

But the curl makes it much, much shorter.

What competition category, full beard natural, or full beard natural >8"? That is the question.

Your hair IS "so many" inches long. That it is spiraled up onto a curly spring is a secondary consideration.

[Groovy Granny]

I always call it stretched; it is what it is....shrinkage is real....and hopefully at some point our curls reflect the actual length ;)
I saw your APL pics and would definitely call it...IMHO :flower:...it looks great BTW :thumbsup:

[JennGalt]

I do what Kake does—a bit of both. My visible length is highly variable depending on a variety of factors like humidity, products, and length of time since last wash. I go by what it looks like on most days and list that in the length field under my avatar. However, pulled completely straight it’s longer. This is the length I’m dealing with when bunning, detangling, or obsessing over length in front of a mirror. That’s the length I list in my sig.

[victorian girl]

I do both too! But what I call wavy/curly is actually brushed-out 3rd day-ish hair, since that's its usual state. I don't even know if there's a dramatic difference in shrinkage between this and just freshly washed detangled locks - I hope not. The amount of shrinkage also tends to change as you gain length (there was a thread on this a couple of days ago), so that curly length doesn't even show your growth rate properly. So, I think, calling the milestones stretched (at least here on the LHC, where everyone knows what shrinkage is) is a perfectly acceptable thing to do:)

[enting]

If you're nervous about calling it stretched or feel like it's a false call, you can always list it as "x, stretched" just to be clear. I always call it when stretched. I wouldn't even know what to call it as curly because its unstretched length and curliness varies day by day and even hour by hour sometimes.

[Longlegs]

Straight, curly hair often grows in a spiral.

[JennGalt]

Apologies for hijacking, but I have a related question. At what point does a curly graduate length-related threads? Stretched or unstretched? Since I call both, would that mean I belong in two length threads at once? Curly hair is confusing.

[blackgothicdoll]

I will be calling my goals stretched. I'm not sure about any rules or what not, but my natural hair could be floor length and would probably shrink to shoulder so... That's what I'll be doing lol.

About calling both, i guess it depends on what your goals are. I don't think anyone would tell you not to. :) but it'd be weird to be in the SL thread with hair that's actually HL haha but again I really think that's personal.

Hope some one who has been here longer can chime in :o

[Simsy]

I call mine twice. Once stretched for the sake of feeling some kind of progress; and curly for graduating to new threads. My ends can lose an entire milestone if the curls are feeling good; so I sometimes just need the little glow of making a new milestone. I also monitor length when wet, as that’s usually a month or 2 ahead of the stretched length.

Really comes down to what you want to call. Graduating threads at curly felt a bit more personally honest for me.

[LadyCelestina]

I will go against the grain here: I call lengths unstretched.


Although some might find it harsh, but imo the stretched length is irrelevant unless we're talking about manipulating the hair while wet or the age of your ends. Or if you wear your hair straightened a lot.

That being said, this applies mostly to my own hair. I can definitely see why someone with a tighter curl pattern would claim lengths when stretched, if only considering how demotivating it can be to not see progress.

[enting]

I kind of straddle the length related threads. I will still call the next length, but if there's shrinkage and the hair behaves like a shorter length, some of the conversation about what damages the hair at that length when down will be more relevant in the previous length thread and not in the next one yet. But again, I do call it and do feel I have a right to be in the next length category when I reach markers stretched. As I said before, my shrinkage is too inconsistent to have any real idea of where to call it unstretched.

[BerrySara]

I have been going by my unstretched length for similar reasons to LadyCelestina but I really think I want to stop doing that and just start going by my stretched length. Because I really feel like my progress is so dang sloooowww and its upsetting at times seeing most move past at a much faster rate.

Perhaps I do what you are doing enting and straddle the two different length threads. And I couldn't agree with you more, shrinkage is so inconsistent!! Sometimes my hair looks shorter than a picture taking months before with no trim in between. :justy:

[Groovy Granny]

I kind of straddle the length related threads. I will still call the next length, but if there's shrinkage and the hair behaves like a shorter length, some of the conversation about what damages the hair at that length when down will be more relevant in the previous length thread and not in the next one yet. But again, I do call it and do feel I have a right to be in the next length category when I reach markers stretched. As I said before, my shrinkage is too inconsistent to have any real idea of where to call it unstretched.

Exactly the same with me :thumbsup:
I can be 1c sleek and then when I have my humid weather curl explosions and get 2c curls, I can lose 2 inches of length at least. :doh:
So I call it stretched but always have the goal of unstretched in mind as a secondary, and find straddling the two threads encouraging.

[spidermom]

I call what's visible in the mirror or a picture. I don't stretch. Of course my hair isn't very curly so I don't get a lot of shrinkage. I might call it differently if I did.

[Pearly~91]

We have this discussion every once in a while. I call body markers when I get there in mirrors/pictures and inches stretched. But I keep an eye on the threads for both lengths if I feel I qualify for both. (I mostly lurk though...)

[JennGalt]

I wouldn’t say the stretched length is completely irrelevant; it matters quite a bit for buns. I have to pull my hair pretty taut to get buns to stay put for longer than a few mins and to keep hair toys from dislodging. I have enough curl to do this without feeling like my scalp is being yanked. My hair is bunned 98% of the time, and sleep buns are a little loose, but during the day my hair is usually stretched out. It’s just that no one sees that length when it’s up in a bun.

[blackgothicdoll]

I wouldn’t say the stretched length is completely irrelevant; it matters quite a bit for buns. I have to pull my hair pretty taut to get buns to stay put for longer than a few mins and to keep hair toys from dislodging. I have enough curl to do this without feeling like my scalp is being yanked. My hair is bunned 98% of the time, and sleep buns are a little loose, but during the day my hair is usually stretched out. It’s just that no one sees that length when it’s up in a bun.

Yep. Basically a different length every day. Freshly washed is one length, bun stretched is another length, braid waves is another length, braid waves after 4 days of washing is another length, combed out is another.... @_@ The list goes on. That's why simply stretching it with fingers keeps me sane - that's one length, freshly washed is (for the most part, but with its own variables) another.

But yeah, different styles are still possible, shrinkage doesn't mean that the hair isn't there at all, it still is very much so. Like a garden hose, you don't measure the length while it's rolled up xD

[Deborah]

I would go by where is is visually; unstretched.

[LadyCelestina]

After years of paying attention to my hair, I get a rough idea of what it is "normal" state, so I can gauge when it's curlier or straighter than normal on that particular day.

When I hit a marker with looser curls but not quite after a wash (with tighter curls), it's "can I call this ..." length.

I don't count hair that is very much outside the "normal" range, for example if I do any heatless styling, or use a lot of gel and a diffuser...similarly to how a straight haired person would not call markers with curled hair :)


And about the buns - idk about others but if I feel like I have to really stretch my curls to do a certain bun, then it's likely damaging.

But as I said, this is what I feel is best for my hair :shrug: and I do try to indicate when I'm talking about stretched length vs. normal length :) ETA: And it might also be that although I've had long hair for years, I've straightened my hair only once in my life, when I was 8 or so. The only time I ever see my lengths is under the running shower :) Then it curls right back up. So I'm not very interested in how long it looks for the 2 minutes while I rinse my hair :) I mean it's nice to see progress but what ultimately counts to me is how long it looks curly.

[BerrySara]

And about the buns - idk about others but if I feel like I have to really stretch my curls to do a certain bun, then it's likely damaging.


Why is that? I have to stretch my hair with my hand to do the few buns available to me at this length if I am using a hair stick but I didn't think it was damaging. Maybe I have been under the wrong impression...I was happy that I could finally move away from hair ties which I thought were far more damaging.

[blackgothicdoll]

^ I'm guessing by really stretch, she's referring uncomfortably pulling. I can do a disc bun easily on hair that has been flat-ironed, but I can't do it at all on any other hair or I feel myself pulling at my ends or really struggling to get the stick in. Only can do half-ups. So I think as long as you're not pulling or wrestling, and it kind of naturally comes together as it should, it shouldn't be damaging.

[lapushka]

Apologies for hijacking, but I have a related question. At what point does a curly graduate length-related threads? Stretched or unstretched? Since I call both, would that mean I belong in two length threads at once? Curly hair is confusing.

You just have to pick one or the other. :shrug: And decide, consistently, at that goal. Stretched is a "better" marker for me personally, because after all it's hair that is "there". The other length is an optical illusion if you will due to the bounciness of the curls or waves.

[BerrySara]

^ I'm guessing by really stretch, she's referring uncomfortably pulling. I can do a disc bun easily on hair that has been flat-ironed, but I can't do it at all on any other hair or I feel myself pulling at my ends or really struggling to get the stick in. Only can do half-ups. So I think as long as you're not pulling or wrestling, and it kind of naturally comes together as it should, it shouldn't be damaging.

I see, thanks for the clarification. I guess I just have to be a bit more aware and careful as I do sometimes pull a bit and can also struggle getting the stick through. Who knew hair was this complicated.

[enting]

I do stretch out my curls when bunning. I don't yank them or anything, but my wurls/curls are the type that I touch them and they loosen and sit at a different length. They stretch out with next to no effort on my part. I also often comb before bunning and that totally stretches out any curl I have. I'm somewhat envious of curls that bounce up to the same spot all the time unless yanked.

[LadyCelestina]

Yes BerrySara, blackgothicdoll put it down perfectly - what I meant is aggresively forcing the hair into the bun

ex. if I put my hair in a ponytail and then stretch/pull it straight with my hands, I could kinda get it into a very tight nautilus. If I put it up normally, I can barely... loop it around the big loop once ...sorry as you can see I'm excellent at explaining stuff :lol: