Are monthly measurements a good idea?

[jera]

After reading many posts from members frantic because their hair doesn't seem to be growing as fast as they believe it should, I've come to the conclusion that monthly measure-ins are not such a great idea for everybody. :o

With an artist's eye, I can usually tell whether or not my hair has grown each month and it doesn't bother me if it seems to stall because I've also experienced those hair growth spurts where my hair suddenly seems to grow like weeds and before I know it, I'm achieving my goals.

It may not be for everyone here, but I'll pass up the monthly measure-ins. :) Why depress yourself unecessarily.

[joyellen]

I don't measure my hair for that reason. I use body landmarks to judge my growth.

[kirky]

I usually measure every two months.

[spidermom]

I measure every 3 months. Every month was too often. As you say, it caused me needless anxiety when I showed no growth or even - HORRORS! - shrinkage.

[susiemw]

I agree.
it's too easy to have variability in your measurements
from month to month that will make you crazy. I'm a
"benign neglect" kind of gal... if I leave it alone, it grows.
no need to measure.

I joined LHC may 2008 and I finally got around to measuring
for the first time two weeks ago! For me, measurements like
"shoulder length" "waist length" "bra strap length" work well for me. :)

Susan

[Roseate]

I had never measured my hair pre-LHC, just happy to watch it grow. Never felt like it grew particularly slow or fast.

But I was curious to see what my real growth rate was, plus I was trying something to accelerate growth, so I measured at the beginning and end of February. Total stall! Aargh! It made me feel bad enough that I don't think I'll measure monthly ever again.

I know I average 6" a year between spurts and stalls, so I'll just eyeball it, maybe measure a couple times a year. It grows.

[Feng-Shui]

I do not measure each month.

I do not want to pressurize myself because of my hair.

That would be more damage for me than uses.

I measure two or three times in the year and that am sufficient for me.

[Teacherbear]

I don't measure my hair. I think the last time I measured the length was about a year ago. I'm just not that interested in keeping track of it. Of course, I've grown my hair to my personal extreme-length and have cut back to something I enjoy more. I didn't measure my length on a regular basis even when my hair was at its longest. It just occured every now and then.

eta: when I was measuring regularly I got less than 0.5 inch of growth per month.

[marajade]

I measure once in a while, when I remember! That seems to be enough!

[Anje]

I measure sporadically, when I notice that it's definitely longer. I don't even know how fast my hair grows, but it seems to be a bit more than 6" per year.

I think measuring would be more important if I were trimming regularly, so I could ensure that I didn't trim off more than I grew. But I trim more sporadically than I measure, and my hair's getting longer. That's good enough for me.

[twilight_faerie]

I measure whenever I remember to...which is not very often. I think I last measured sometime late last year. I try to eyeball differences in my hair length, but it doesn't really work. My hair always looks the same length to me, though DBF is always telling me how long my hair has gotten.

[dearladydisdain]

I agree. Plus there are so many discrepancies due to cloth measuring tapes, the texture of your hair, etc. I always see people say "My hair shrunk!" but I just think it is very, very hard to keep all the variables the same to get an accurate measurement.

[Honey39]

I take a LOT of photos of the back of my head, which is kind of weird, lol. I have it mind that I would like to put together a load of photos showing my hair growing to make a short video, so I take a pic every couple of days.

But it's fascinating to have a look and see what works the best in terms of conditioner, styling - and also, it really does show me more than anything else that my hair has grown such a lot in the last nine months.

I've never really got how you would measure your hair, to be honest.

[HairyCarrie]

I'm the real oddball here. I measure all the time. I'm not stressed about it at all - just enjoy seeing the length come on after years of being a shortie. I'm still short relative to others, but oh so long compared to my own history. So I love measuring and celebrating each little quarter inch I get.

By the time I meet some big goals that may change, but for now, where's the tape?

[curls2grow]

When I first started growing out, I measured monthly. I had some months where I measured no growth and some where the measurement was even a tad shorter than the prior month when I didn't even trim. I found it unmotivating and depressing so I stopped. Since my curls eat a lot of my visible growth anyway, I just don't pay attention anymore and I'm hoping at some point within the next year that I will see my ends at APL.

[zen_oven]

I measured at first, but then decided it was too big of a pain. For a while there I had my husband take a picture each month and compared them, but lately I've just been too busy to bother. I just use body landmarks now (not far from BSL!), and that works pretty well for me.

[Carolyn]

No reason to measure unless you feel you are getting something out of the monthly measurements. I feel it's a totally personal thing. I hate to see people feeling bad because their hair isn't growing as fast as they think it should. It might be good to measure monthly if you are beginning your growing out to see your growth rate. After that I don't think it's all that important. The growing should be fun and not stressful :)

[Cinnamon Hair]

Don't feel pressured to measure if it isn't helping you. Even though I am maintaining my length, I measure every month/most months for the scientific aspect. (I also weigh several times a week and always record the starting date of my period... hmm probably weird, but that's me) It can be disappointing not to have growth, so if that bothers you then don't measure, or do it less often.

[shaybabe8604]

I hardly ever measure my hair. It would bother me immensely especially since I just chopped it all off. I don't wish to purposely depress myself :D

[Ursula]

It's almost an inverse relationship. The more you care about the measurement of your hair, the more distressed you will be by doing routine measurements.

I'm a firm believer in "put it up and forget it" for anyone who is anxious to have longer hair. Hair grows slowly, no matter how fast your hair grows. People who make growing (as opposed to caring for) their hair a hobby tend to get frustrated - it's like watching grass grow, or paint dry. But people who are living busy, interesting lives are pleasantly surprised by just how fast their hair grew, while they were finishing the latest project at work, or the latest piece from their hobby, or the latest classes at school.

If you're the scientific sort, who'd be amused by having a chart graphing your hair growth over many years, then measuring could be an amusing (if long-term) hobby. Because your goal is the increasingly complex graph, not the hair itself. But if you're anxious to have long hair then paying attention to anything and everything else is your best bet.

[Hay22]

I measure on the first of every month because, well, I'm anal retentive. :p I enjoy making lists and keeping track of weird things (like the list of movies I've watched, including dates and where I saw them or the list of unneeded purchases I make), so the hair thing naturally fit into that. I can see how it would be annoying or disappointing to others to do it monthly, but so far I'm finding my measurements to be consistent and it helps that I'm seeing 1"+ of growth each month. It's a fun experiment for me, as I've also been able to see the benefits of working out, eating right, and taking supplements.

[viking_quest]

I never measure. The only reason I have a measurement for my current length is because I wanted to see how much hair I'd lost in my ponytail because of shedding.

[frodolaughs]

Monthly measuring isn't for me.

[Xandergrammy]

I don't measure any more either. Too stressful. :flowers:

[Elphie]

I measure once in a while, no rhyme or reason to why, I guess I do it when it occurs to me that I'd like to know. No stress :-)

[jivete]

I find measuring frustrating, so I shouldn't do it, but I always do, probably once a month. It's like, "don't stick your hand in the fire, don't do it, oh, too late."

[Gutterfayrie]

I haven't measured in over a year. I go by landmarks now :D

[feralnature]

I'm not really into measuring. In fact, my hair has only been measured twice, a year apart, and those measurements are posted under my avatar.

I go more by practical landmarks like "Oh, wow! I can get ALL my hair in a ponytail now and don't need clips on the sides!" :)

[s_tresses]

Yeah, measuring it won't make it grow any faster so I don't even bother anymore. Also, with my hairtype I have realized that the length could even be shorter on some days when the curls are tighter. I think everyone has an image of their dream goal in their head which you could define by body landmarks, so it doesnt really matter what the length is if its not upto there.

[Arctic]

My hair grows slowly, and I measured long enough monthly to learn how much it actually grows. Now I've decided to to measure less often. I try to avoid anything that would make me obssess with my hair, I try to be happy with what I have now.

[RancheroTheBee]

Yeah, I used to measure it almost twice a month. I couldn't help it. I don't know what I was thinking, but it only caused me unnecessary stress. I still occasionally glance at my roots, but I've found much better landmarks for assessing my growth. :)

[Heidi_234]

If you stress over your measurment then you really don't need to measure. It's just measurements ladies, no need to be stressed over them. You know you do your best to make your hair grow long as fast as possible, so you've done your part, the actual growth from now on is out of your hands.
I measure every month, I do it myself. The measurements proved to really inaccurate. Sometimes I have 2" of growth, sometimes it even digresses. I tried to measure every now and then, right now I get anything from 35" to 36". :shrug:
I found out that measuring the growth of my bangs is much more accurate and steady. I clearly see I grow from 1/3" to 1/2" a month, it doesn't fluctuate like the overall measurement.
I would suggest to you, who experience uneven measurements, instead of freaking out, do measure the chunk of hair from the center front (above your forehead, if you don't have bangs), by bringing it over in front of your face. That way you see the tape, you see the hair, you still measure from the same spot, and the measurements are much more accurate. Just a little tip :flower:

[Samitra]

I enjoy measuring. But I also enjoy making lists, organizing papers and things, and such. It's part of my personality :D I try to measure the 1st every month, but if I don't it's no big deal. I'll just do it later, or not at all. (that's another part of my personality, not fussing about all the lists an such, and very often forget about them)

But measurements is how I keep track of my growth, I like to see it in numbers as well as feeling it when I comb my hair or braid it. And since growing out my hair is all about having fun and care about my hair (not only make it grow) I've set up a large amount of mini-goals I plan to celebrate, and for the most part, these mini-goals are all about measurements.

But we're all different. :blossom:

[LutraLutra]

The one time I tried to measure I got hugely different lenghts depending on whether I was looking slightly up or down etc, so I don't bother. I find taking photographs really helpful - it's the only time I can actually see what most of my hair really looks like.

[Heavenly Locks]

I measured the first month because I wanted to see if I was close to 'average' growth or not. The number I got satisfied me and now that I proved to myself that my hair does indeed grow :rolleyes: ;) I am happy.

I'll probably measure monthly for a while until I get bored of it. I do worry that I will experience a stall and panic, but nobody's hair literally stops growing forever...so patience will save me.

[Noctifer]

I'm one of them how enjoys monthly measuring (so far) otherwise i would not see any growth, or so it was until today hair geting suck between clothes even in a pony tail.
so far has it grown 2cm every month even when i had the small trimming right before april's measuring. But i make sure to never measure more then once a month otherwise it would stress me to much.

[enfys]

I measure a lot, monthly for real, sometimes inbetween for kicks.

That said, it doesn't worry me too much. It did shrink once, but then unshrank itself. I'm really trying to gauge if it's worth spending money on supplements etc. 2 months and over two inches growth suggests it is, but it doesn't feel two inches longer so I'd not have known.

I think it's good if you changed something, or if you are trying to judge seasonal differences etc, or if you like science and maths. It's not worth worrying over though.

[jojo]

When I first found this site, I was a lot more obsessive and measured every month but i get disapointed. Nowadays I am sticking to 3 monthly measures if I can be bothered! My hair is past bsl now and I am much more relaxed about my hair, plus I think a photo is a much better guide to how much I am growing.

[florenonite]

I find measuring frustrating, so I shouldn't do it, but I always do, probably once a month. It's like, "don't stick your hand in the fire, don't do it, oh, too late."

Me too ^_^

When I first joined monthly measurements were fun because it was summer and I was growing an inch a month. However, lately it's been really frustrating because I've been stalling, and even ordinarily in the wintertime it can be bad as I tend to round to the nearest half-inch, so discrepancies can easily make it look like I haven't grown. On that note, maybe I haven't been stalling after all, just growing really slowly, as I managed my first ever real infinity bun the other day, it was brilliant! :cheese: My hair was never long enough for it before, so I must have grown somewhat.

I think, then, that that's a better way for me to gauge growth. Monthly measurements are fun in the summer but frustrating in the winter.

I've actually been finding myself doing them less often as well because I don't measure wet, but dry, but I cannot have braid waves and as I braid my hair before bed this means I have to remember on wash day to do it, and I often put my hair up before it's dry.

Wow, I wrote a novel to a simple question :rolleyes:

[LadyLongLocks]

I measure my hair about 2 times a month now that I am so close to my hair goal. I am also on a long hair group "LHSR"- Long Hair Shelly Rapunzel where they have a monthly measure and the members post their progress. I think it is fun to measure. I get a little over .5 a month.

[Gingevere]

I measure every month because I find it motivating. It also gives me an idea of what's working and what isn't as far as my care routine goes. I don't use body measurements much because for me, they can be deceiving. And I don't have any problems with getting fairly accurate measurements. I almost always come up with ¾" of growth each month.

If measuring causes a person anxiety, they shouldn't do it! Stress isn't going to help your hair. For me, the point is to enjoy the journey. I don't make goals for my hair or feel pressure if it didn't grow as much one month. That's just a waste of energy, in my opinion.

[Unnamed]

I measure every month. I actually measured every week at first, just to see if there was any pattern to how my hair grew (there was). I might even go back to that as lately I've been shedding, and twice I've lost length come measure time. So it might have grown in there, but it shed more, so never saw it.

However, I don't really let the measurement affect how I feel. It's a number. Hair will either grow or not, grow a lot or not, and there's just not much I can do about that. It just is. I am also one of those that likes numbers and likes making charts, etc. So I measure because it's fun. I also measure thickness down the length every 3-6 months or so, again, mostly to compare, etc.

And, having said that, if measuring monthly makes one worried/stressed/anxious...don't do it. Stress doesn't help hair grow. Just measure every 3, 6, 12 months, or not at all and just go by rough lengths (BSL, waist, hip, etc.).

[JamieLeigh]

I've tried going longer periods of time with no measuring, but I can't seem to stop the curiosity! Lol. I don't think anything would really disappoint me, as I've reached the major goal I wanted (FINALLY.), short of losing about 3" all at once.

Ideally, 3 months is a good amount of time to wait between measuring, but I just can't make myself do that. :o

[leahrachelle]

I definately agree. I would say every 3 months maybe.

[Jules diamond]

I tried the past moth just measuring once. It felt like I wasn't growing! I think I'm going to try once every three months.

[Wicked Princess]

I only joined this community recently and that was the first time I measured my hair in my life! Even now, I'm not entirely sure I did it correctly. When asked about my hair, everyone seems content with me replying in vagaries such as "mid-back" or "lower back".

I'll be honest, though...I don't think I'll ever measure it again unless I think it's not growing at all. Tracking progress and charting growth is better left in my lab than having my hair as the subject, hehe! Besides...I'm afraid I'll start obsessing over it...which will likely lead to less healthy hair in the long run!

Instead of measuring my hair, I think I'll use that time to shop for hair accessories :) There is no such thing as "enough" hehe!

[chrissy-b]

I think they're a good idea so you know what your average growth rate is and so you can factor in certain things that affect your growth (diet, exercise, supplements, topical treatments, etc.). I measured every month for a year so I could see what my average growth was. Now I'm only measuring monthly because I'm using mega-tek and I want to make sure it's actually working. Once I'm done, though, I'm going to stop measuring. I think photos every six months is a better way to watch growth because it's much more exciting to see several inches than hardly anything at all.

[mhiap]

I measure my hair length as and when I remember, which is usually not very often! I would like to do it monthly for a while out of curiosity, as I have no idea how fast it grows. I just look at in the mirror and see which body part it's at but I never keep track of it. I just know it was chin length in July 08 and I know where it is now. I'm pretty lazy about it!

It's probably like when people are dieting and weigh themselves every week or day, the weight loss will fluctuate and you might get disheartened. Just like the hair growth may slow down one month for whatever reason. On the other hand it can be very encouraging to see that all your hard work is paying off even though you can't see by eye, you can see by measurements.

[wissles]

I only measure my outgrow every now and then, I don't really understand how you measure the length, so.. :rolleyes: