Braid length versus down length

[roismireag]

I have been looking at all the pictures of hair braided and hair down. My own hair is just at my waist, but when I braid my hair it is quite a bit shorter. When I look other peoples pictures, their braids don't seem so short. Can anyone explain this for me? Am I braiding it wrong?

Thanks
Roismireag.

[GlassEyes]

It's because their hair is longer. xD;

Braided hair is usually, with some exceptions, shorter than hair that's fully down because it's woven in and out, cutting some length. Those with curlier hair, like me, sometimes look like they gain length with braids. I know I do. :rolleyes:

[darkwaves]

My hair is many inches shorter now when braided.

When it was above mid-back, though, it was about the same, braided or loose. And even, for a while, longer when braided. (The braiding stretched out the curl.)

[Denebi]

With straight hair, a braid normally is shorter than hair down. That's due to the fact, that braided hair makes a lot of curves. (Sorry, don't know how to explain better). But, if you have very curly hair, the braid also stretches the curls out of the hair, so the braid looks the same length or even longer.

I'm quite sure you are braiding correctly ;)

EDIT: Whoah, lots of cross posting ;)

[rhubarbarin]

My braid is just a tiny bit shorter than my hair down, as my hair is curly and thin. Thick hair can shorter up a braid a lot.

[Euphony]

My hair is to my tail bone when loose, the tips are barely to waist when braided. I do have to have about a 6" tassel though because of my layers, if I was able to braid it to the bottom it'd be roughly bsl.

[Haith]

My braid is a shorter than my hair when its loose. I loose a few inches of length.

[JamieLeigh]

It depends on how tightly you're braiding. I've noticed that when I braid loosely, I'm only really losing a couple of inches of length, at most, due to just plain old wrapping strands around each other in a non-vertical pattern. But when I braid more tightly, my near-thigh length looks barely tailbone-length again. :p

[Katla]

My hair is at waist as well, and you can see the length of my braid in my avatar and profile photo (head is tilted slightly, so the braid goes a little bit further down in reality, but still). Having wavy hair, the difference doesn't look as big when I compare in the mirror at home, but if I stretch it out, it definitely shows that braiding it takes away quite a few inches.

[aprilmay]

I will have to pay better attention next time I braid my hair. I imagine it depends on what type of braid you are creating. I don't do french braids, but usually a nape of the neck ponytail braid. OK, I just braided it and it is about 3.5 inches shorter braided than it was in just a nape of the neck ponytail. I have thick hair.

[Pixna]

When my hair was long (I'm growing it back again from chin length right now), I wore a braid regularly and it was always shorter (by several inches) than my hair was when it was down. That is perfectly normal for people with straight or wavy hair. Curly hair can end up looking about the same or even longer than it does down, because curls normally make hair appear shorter (due to the "sproing" effect), but when curly hair is braided, it stretches out the curls so the braid shows more of the actual length.

[HairColoredHair]

My hair is typically one milestone shorter when braided (ie. length almost to knee = braid almost to fingertip).

However, that being said, the length of my braid changes based on how tightly I braid. A loose braid is longer than a tight braid.

[Darkhorse1]

I lose a lot of length. I remember going to a hair dresser once to get a trim, and I had my hair in a braid. I took it out and the hair dresser gasped and said 'wow! That's mis-leading'. :)

[Coriander]

I lose a lot of length. I remember going to a hair dresser once to get a trim, and I had my hair in a braid. I took it out and the hair dresser gasped and said 'wow! That's mis-leading'. :)

I've had that happen :laugh:

I lose several inches in a braid, but that depends on the braid. If it's a "low" braid then I only lose an inch or so but if I do a Dutch, it's several.

[Charli800]

I also lose about a milestone when braiding, and a four-strand braid is worse. I don't notice much change with a french/dutch braid, though. I'm on the thick end of ii (9cm diameter), which means I'm probably losing more length than you would.

[Carolyn]

The thicker your hair is the more it is going to "take up" when you braid it. The iii's are going to lose more visual length than an i or a low ii. I'm in the middle of the ii group. My hair is closing in on tailbone when down and just past waist when braided. I braid on the loose side and have a longish tassel.

[HildeMV]

My hair is almost BSL when I wear a braid.

[roismireag]

The reason I asked the question was because of a picture that I saw on this site. Looking back, I see that the person had wavy hair, that makes sense that if your hair is curly that it doesn't shrink as much as straght hair. Of course my hair is poker straight and fine.

Thanks for all the answers.

Roismireag

[Curlsgirl]

I lose a few inches with any kind of braid too if you compare it to my blown dry length. It's about the same as my curly length though because it stretches the curls out. Did that make sense? :silly:

[MadPirateBippy]

Braids eat your length. It just makes those ultra long braids even more impressive.