Measure your curly/wavy shrinkage!

[Nae]

Shrinkage, it is the bane of all the wavy/wurly/curlies. So I decided to measure my hair wet this morning and it looks like I am regularly getting 4-6 inches of shrinkage in the length, dependent upon humdity ect.

I was wondering how much shrinkage you are getting and if it is pretty regular across the different hair categories. For example, a 1b getting an inch or two and a 4a getting a foot or two lol. (I am exaggerating I hope, or maybe not.) I would just like to compare to see if we can decide upon "expected" levels of curl shrinkage for each hair type.

I found other threads that had pictures of curl shrinkage, or complaints about curl shrinkage but no real thread dedicated to the numbers involved. If my search skills are off please merge me!

[kitschy]

I get about 6" of shrinkage. Actually one way to tell your curl type category is by shrinkage. The higher the number the more shrinkage.

[Pixna]

I was just thinking about this the other day and contemplating a thread about it, so you beat me to it! I'm a wavy, and I get at least 2 inches of shrinkage.

[Capybara]

I have straight hair, but when I curl it tightly (3a-3b), it takes me up from tailbone to mid back. When I have looser curls/braid waves, (2b-2c), I am at about waist length. With 2a waves, I'm about hip. Not sure what the difference between them is, as I've sworn off measuring until November :)

[Nae]

I get about 6" of shrinkage. Actually one way to tell your curl type category is by shrinkage. The higher the number the more shrinkage.


I agree this would totally make sense. I just haven't seen hard numbers anywhere to really look at the differences. This will be interesting, it may allow me to more correctly pin point my hair type. I am guessing at a 2c but it is hard to decide some days ya know?

[Pixna]

Nae, as a side note, you can't tell my wave type from my avatar. I bun my hair every day, so my hair is much straighter than it would be otherwise, and my waves are all distorted. The avatar shot was taken after a week without washing and a week of daily bunning. Just wanted to clarify that in case you were comparing my waves and shrinkage to yours.

[torrilin]

I'm at least 1b, and I haven't got detectable shrinkage. Looks like at maximum waviness, I have maybe 4 full wavelengths in my BSL hair, and it stays solidly BSL at max wave. At absolute maximum wave, I have veeeeeeeery gentle corkscrews at my temples, so I doubt I really am anything higher than a 1c.

So we're talking 1" or less of shrinkage... not worth worrying over.

It seems to me like shrinkage really kicks in when you've got corkscrews or there are enough waves that it's kinda dumb to count how many you have over the length of your head. I definitely get shrinkage from braidwaves, far in excess of what I get naturally.

[girlcat36]

I'm 3a.
I get 4" shrinkage on a good hair day, and 3" on a frizz fest day.

[2peasinapod]

When my hair is wet (and therefore straight), I am solidly APL. When it's dry, I'm about an inch away.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

If i pull my hair straight, it hits the next length milestone. When i was SL, it hit APL. When APL (now), it hits BSL when wet.

[LilYaYa56]

My hair is naturally very wavy so when I straighten it I get about 3 inches of shrinkage.

[NickalNack]

My hair always looks about half it's actual length. Maybe less than half. I used to really care about that a lot, but I don't anymore.

[lillithnight]

i have about 5inches of shrinkage and my curls are 3c/4a. Its kinda odd. I have alot more viible grath then other people with my hair type have, but it deff isn't my little sisters 3b curls. On the plus side i also got the thickness. my lil sis is 3inch pony, and mine is 4- 4 1/2 inch. ;)

[bunzfan]

I am a wavy and i think i get about 2 inches of shrinkage ,as wet my hair is BSL at the bottom of my bra strap and when dry it just reaches the beginning of my bra strap.

[luluj]

Great thread, Nae! I just trimmed off one and a half inches and not one person noticed due to the fact that my hair shrinks up so much, especially when it is humid or rainy, so they just assume it's one of my curlier hair days! I have never thought to measure just how much shrinkage I get, though. The next time I wash my hair I will be sure to measure it wet and then again when it dries. I'll report back with the numbers!;)

[Alix]

With cones I shrink about an inch and a half.

Without cones I loose about two and a half inches.

[pepperminttea]

I tried to work this out today; I get between one inch and two, with soaking wet hair compared to mostly-dry waves.

[StormVixen]

my hair shrinks from my waist up to, and sometimes above, BSL... so that would be about 4 - 6 inches...

[rags]

Well, I'm only a 1c/2a, but I get between 1 and 2 inches, depending on how much it wants to wave that day! Like Pixna, I never wear my hair down and my siggy was taken after being bunned for a few days and with a bit of oil in it. I also comb my hair while it's drying to try and straighten it more.

[09robiha]

mine ranges for 2-3 inches

[dfotw]

Cool thread! :cool:

With 'normal' curls (hair dried in a braid, worn up in a bun all day), I lose 4,5 inches in curl shrinkage. I'll have to measure after plopping and air-drying, because I'm sure it'll be a lot more! :D

ETA: with plopping and some air-drying, I get 6 inches in curl-shrinkage... no wonder I feel that my hair just doesn't grow! :rolleyes:

[redcelticcurls]

I'm a middle of the road 3b that leans 3a looking when it gets longer.

By using LHC style measuring, mey wet hair is 33 inches (hip length on me), and my dry hair is 27 inches (BSL on me), for a difference of six inches.

Perhaps a shrinkage percentage would be more accurate? If my wet hair length was the top of my shoulders, I don't think I'd still have 6 inches of shrinkage.

My dry hair length is about 82% of my wet hair length, so I am losing about 18% of my length from shrinkage.

[rosek]

I'm only a 1b, but at 44'' its about half an inch to an inch. So not much, but enough to make a difference :p

[Cupofmilk]

2-3 inches on me. I am a 2a

[Kaijah]

I lose about 4 inches on the 2c bits, closer to 5 on the 3a bits. So dry length is around 88-86% of my wet length. Not bad.

[dfotw]

Today, after letting my hair dry loose inside a sleep cap, I lost 11 inches to curl-shrinkage... :bigeyes: That's nearly 30% shrinkage! Pretty curls, yes, but at this rate I'll never make it to classic when dry! :justy:

[Lollipop]

I barely hit APL with my natural curls, but they stretch to the top of my bra strap. So, it works out to over 4". One of my friends has gorgeous 3c hair, and I remember when we were in middle school her curly hair would fall somewhere around her chest, but she stretched it to show me how long it really was. Her hair was past hip length :agape:. And past hip length when pulled forward over her shoulder. It is even longer noe when curly, so she might be at classic. I love her hair.

(note: she also happens to be between 5' and 5'2")