Ahhh, the shrinkage!

[BattahZ]

My hair is currently at 26", when measured from the hairline and up over my head, which should definitely be BSL or past. But it SHRINKS when it's dry. Arg. I finally posted an avatar picture so you all can see. The layers aren't as obvious there, since they blend in when it's curly, but soon I'll post a picture of what it looks like brushed out so you can see the crazy layers :)

How do you set your goal length? Is it based on stretched or unstretched hair? How do you keep yourself motivated, since the shrinkage makes growth seem so slow? My hair actually grows pretty fast (I think an inch or so a month, at least), but because of the shrinkage it's hard to see it.

[evampr18]

i think you should definitely do unstretched just because when you stretch it or straighten it out(if you chose to) youll see an amazing difference and feel you grew 4 inches overnight ;p

[Loreley]

My hair shorter when dry, too. Every wavy or curly hair does. Mine is thigh-length when wet and about 2-3 inches shorter when dry (around classic).
So I decided to grow it to 50 inches, because I want lower thigh-length when dry but 50 is knee-length on me when my hair is wet. :)

[Dars]

Ah the joys of shrinkage! :) Setting your goals in respect to measured as is or stretched (or wet) is a personal choice. I don't measure but I go by what I see in the mirror. I don't manipulate it by stretching it, as nice as it is to see extra length, it doesn't feel real in the sense that's not how my hair usually sits.

Motivation comes plentiful from being here on LHC! There is great support and lovely pictures to aspire to.

[Arctic]

I always take progress photos with wet hair, often stretching one wave. That's the only consistent way of measuring for me. If I would measure with measuring tape, that would be same thing: wet, combed and stretched hair.

[manderly]

It looks like you and I have around the same "curly length". I can't stand it. LOL

In the shower when it's soaking wet I can feel it approaching waist. When dry and curled, it's just BSL. Bah!

I set my goal as this: I want my hair to look a certain way to people and in public, so it doesn't matter how long it is stretched or wet or whatever, because I don't walk around with soaking wet hair nor holding all my curls out straight :)

I don't go for measurments either (in all my time here I've never measured my hair once) and that's because who walks around with a measuring tape saying "oooooh, you have 34" of such lovely hair!!"

Nope, I go by physical markers. I'd currently like to be somewhere between BSL & Waist when curly. :)

[BattahZ]

I think you all are right - measuring it straight won't do me much good (except out of general interest in seeing how fast it grows), since I never really wear it straight. The only time the curl gets pulled out is if I let it dry in a bun or something, and even then it's not really straight, but straighter than usual.

I guess maybe monthly progress photos will be the way to go, rather than using a tape measure.

You lovelies (and all your gorgeous hair photos!) are great for motivation, I agree with that point. Thanks!

[cmnt831]

I also decided not to measure in inches because I was getting different measurements every time. I finally had to just go with a general measurement of BSL, Waist, etc. I'm at or a bit below BSL with my hair curly and almost touching waist with my hair straightened. My goal at this point is waist (more or less) depending on how much my hair curls that day. My hair some days is straighter, some days is curlier and I've just had to learn to deal with it and realize that it is growing whether I think it is or not. I've really been able to tell that it's grown since January, because when it's wet after I wash it it's almost touching waist and it certainly wasn't doing that two months ago! :) I find that's an even better gauge than taking pictures, because sometimes I get my angles wrong in the pictures and my hair either looks longer or shorter than it really is.

[misspriss]

Mine shrinks a bit, I think it is just above waist with shrinkage. But when it's dirty, or wet, or brushed out, it's a bit past waist. I'm not too picky.

I don't measure in inches for the same reason. Inches mean nothing to me, it's how long it is/looks on me.

[Merewen]

I'd be almost at waist if I had straight hair. As it is I am at a pretty solid BSL. I measure it stretched (when I actually do measure), but my goal length is based off of what it looks like curly/dry since that's what it will be most of the time.

[Naters]

omg i totally here you! shrinkage is definetely an annoying thing us curly and wave haired people need to deal with! it really bites! I'll get out of the shower and my hair when wet, and combed is almost bsl, and ill get soo happy, ill put it up in a bun, and the next morning ill wake up and take it down and it literally shrinks about 4 inches! That is why i found that its easier for me to just put my hair up for another year (lol) so that i wont have to think about it constantly and then see the progress then.

[Juliannaissance]

I base it on my hair "unstretched", though it makes me feel better when I stretch it out to see the length. :cheese: Since people won't usually notice how long your "stretched" hair is, they visually see your "unstretched" length more realistically.

[Sweetbaby]

My hair is wavy with curls in it randomly depending on the day. LOl

I loathe the texture and waves but the older I get the wavier/curlier and coarser it gets, so darn it I'm stuck with it.

Anyway yes it shrinks dramatically and that's a bad bad thing right now since I got scalped LOL

I am waiting for it to look normal , that's about the extent of my goal right now. I can't think about anything else till these short bangs and many layers grow out. ICK.

Once it's longer like it was before I don't really mind the shrinkage. I do relate to washing it tho and having it seem a couples to few inches longer. That was always weird to pull it down and see how long it was ( used to be ) .

Well here's to getting back to looking normal again. :-) All the pics of hair I see look absolutely beautful. You all have lovely hair!

[skarab]

My hair shrinks about 6". The inevitable reality of having curly hair, alas. My longest strands are at my tailbone when wet, combed, and stretched out, and dry they are just above waist. On really curly days they can dry at BSL!
My goal is CL curly, so I don't even know how long it'll have to be stretched to attain that.