Illusion of longer hair on more slender people

[Coriander]

I've been thinking about this a lot - and it's kind of one of my personal surveys when I'm people-watching.

I also have seen the same effect on me and my body. My waist-length hair on a thinner body looks longer than my hip-length hair on my now more curvy body.

It seems that the more slender the individual, the longer the hair seems. When I was at Walmart the other day (is it just me or does Walmart seem to be the meeting place of long hairs :p) I saw two lovely women within about five minutes of each other. One was tiny and slender, and had tailbone length hair while the other was more like me figure-wise, curvy and fuller, and had classic length hair. The woman with the tailbone length hair seemed to have longer hair to me.

How nuts am I? :confused:

[Euphony]

I think a lot may depend on how the people dress too. My hair doesn't seem as long when I have on a dress or long tunic as it does when I have on a normal length sweater and a pair of jeans.

I do however think my hair looks less full than it would if I was 100 pounds lighter <sigh>

[Sapphire'sWings]

A slender body just tends to look more elongated, so maybe that's it? Some kind of illusion?

Eta: Gee, stating the obvious, aren't I?

[HildeMV]

I don't know, but it does look fuller.

[LittleOrca]

I know what you mean Coriander. I thought that maybe it was because there was less body for the hair to rest against and therefor the hair looked to be more than it was.

It's probably the same idea behind taking a glass half full of water (where it looks taller) and then pouring it into a shallow pan. The water amount is the same, but the glass always looks like it has more than the pan.

I see this idea on myself with the two pictures I used in my hair rant post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=20470). The wave hair looks fuller and covers more of my back while the straighter my hair is (and less washed) it shows more of my back and I look to be larger. I thought it looked like I had gained weight in the second photo when I really was the same.

Hair creates all kinds of illusions for us, doesn't it? :D

[Honey39]

Yep, it's true. I also think that if you're slender your hair hangs down, whereas if you're larger like me, it lies over the curves, lol.

[Omens]

I've noticed that too. Have you ever seen children with very long hair? Even when it isn't all that long, it seems long. When they get it waist length or so, it seems like an amazing amount of hair because their bodies are so small.

[darkwaves]

Yes, there's also that short vs. tall illusion.

[Samikha]

A tall and slender person with long hair has a lot of vertical lines going for them - it draws them out, and makes them look longer. The curvier you are, the more you break those straight lines.

It's like straight and curly hair :) Neither is better than the other, just different. The important thing is health. That goes for both hair and body:flower:

[Darkhorse1]

Weird, I was just musing about that concept last night. However, I also realized it does depend on clothing and how long your torso is too. Many variables. I think seeing long hair in person looks longer than in a photo.

[lora410]

I haven't noticed this one..hmm I will keep my eyes peeled next time.

[Catladyintown]

Hi Coriander, I think the big the bottom the short the hair looks. When you have a huge bottom like I do the hair looks a lot smaller. Also the ends look thinner than what they really are because you have to spread them over a wide area.

[MsBubbles]

I agree with this illusion, even to the point where when I was younger I thought classic length hair was only 'worth it' on someone who was petite and skinny! Lucky I changed my perception because I grew up to be 5 ft 10 with 40" wide hips :doh:.

[Nightshade]

Yes, there's also that short vs. tall illusion.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/image.php?u=4317&type=sigpic&dateline=1234713811



Totally off topic but HOLY GODS, Darkwaves, look at your HAIR! Wow you've come a long way :flowers:

[Morningglory]

One thing that makes a big difference is the thickness of the hair too. I tend to think that thicker hair looks longer. Who had thicker hair? Or was their hair about the same?

[spidermom]

It seems that when you've got bigger curves, your hair clings to your body more. It looks longer when it's in more of a free fall. I told my DD that my hair would get to my thighs quicker if I were thinner, and she thought that was crazy. But I still think it would.

[BritHair]

Hi all,new here.

Funny enough I too see lots of long hair in Walmarts lol.

Anyway I too have noticed that hair seems to look longer on slim people vs larger people. It must be due to size and volume.....don't ya think? I am a heavy set girl and my long hair doesn't dominate the size of my body because I am large. Yet if I was slimmer I would be all hair......Hmmm.....guess I better keep growing and losing at the same time.

I mean look at cousin "IT" from the Adams Family. He is small and slim in size and has such length and volume in hair lol. I wonder if he CO's ? Sorry, just being silly....:eyebrows:

[RavennaNight]

I think it is an optical illusion caused by the narrower spacing between vertical lines.

[Heidi_234]

I wish lol. Whenever I look at my back with my hair down it seems so short!:silly:

[Katze]

yeah, I also think it's a perspective thing.

Since being pregnant, I've lost weight (better eating but mostly no sugar!) and my face has changed shape. Even when my hair is lying flat, as it is today because I brushed it a lot, it looks longer suddenly - a lot longer. While my boobs are bigger, my arms and legs have lost their extra chub, and I think I look 'longer' overall, as does my hair...

[jivete]

I agree. I also think thicker = longer looking. That may explain the difference between the same hair on a more slender person. Since it takes up more space in comparison to the person it looks thicker and therefore longer.

It's also why I prefer blunter ends on my thinnish hair. Blunter ends = thicker looking hair = longer looking hair.

[MadPirateBippy]

When I was around 14-16 a lot of my friends were short skinny girls, and I have never been short and have always been stocky.

It used to piss me off when they would go on about how their hair was longer than mine because it was, say, classic to my waist, when my hair was longer because it had another foot on it. We're not talking 4 inches, but rather substantial amounts of hair... but my hair was "shorter".

The one who made this comment the most often was kind of a jerk, too, so I stopped hanging out with her.

[Snakecharm]

Yup, I'm 5'10" and quite stocky and curvy with a long torso. My hair is currently 35" from root to tip, and it's right at waist-length now. I bet it would probably be longer on some of our shorter, slighter members.

Something that I always idolized as a child was women with long, gorgeous braids. There was just something mystical about them. Well, my hair is very thick and very coarse. Even at 35", when you cram it into a braid it looks woefully thick and stubby. That has always killed me. lol

[Coriander]

One thing that makes a big difference is the thickness of the hair too. I tend to think that thicker hair looks longer. Who had thicker hair? Or was their hair about the same?

I didn't get a long enough look to see who had thicker hair - plus they were both wearing black which made it harder to see. I agree, though, that thickness also has a role in it.


Hi Coriander, I think the big the bottom the short the hair looks. When you have a huge bottom like I do the hair looks a lot smaller. Also the ends look thinner than what they really are because you have to spread them over a wide area.

Agreed. I'm rather hippy myself and there seems to be, erm, more room to spread out on :laugh:



I mean look at cousin "IT" from the Adams Family. He is small and slim in size and has such length and volume in hair lol. I wonder if he CO's ? Sorry, just being silly....:eyebrows:

I hope he uses a wide-tooth comb at least ;)



Something that I always idolized as a child was women with long, gorgeous braids. There was just something mystical about them. Well, my hair is very thick and very coarse. Even at 35", when you cram it into a braid it looks woefully thick and stubby. That has always killed me. lol

I as well have envied those with long thick lovely braids. My braids always look so skinny and sad next to them.

Thanks everyone for your insight :D