Hair Movement Tests: When Pictures Aren't Enough

[MeganE]

Hey everyone. I hope you're having a good Monday. :)

I was thinking about how hard it is to assess what your hair is really doing based on a few (or a lot of :D) photos. We know that pictures can be misleading as to the real state of our hair, and the way our hair looks can vary a lot from picture to picture.

So I'm wondering if anyone uses videos of their hair in motion in order to asses how their products are working, how healthy their hair looks, and how well a certain cut looks. A lot of digital cameras nowadays come with a video option, and it's fairly simple to select that and then to upload that video.

I wouldn't be surprised if there already are some threads about this, but for whatever reason I am not good at thinking of the right search terms to use to find what I'm looking for. I have found other threads dedicated to hair in motion videos, but mostly when people were sharing a video of someone else's pretty hair, or if it is a member's hair, the video isn't being used to assess the hair, but to admire it in its state of motion. (Which is awesome too.) But I'd like to try using video footage specifically to assess hair, and see where that goes.

I would imagine there's a lot of terminology that could be applied to how your hair looks when it's moving, "bounce" being the first word that comes to mind, but as I don't have very curly hair, I don't think that would apply to me. Another is how "piecey" your hair looks. Mine in particular definitely clings in clumps, and the video clips I've collected make that really clear.

I don't know many other terms to apply here. Anyone know any others? I'm trying to badger my video editing program into working with me well enough to post a video to demonstrate what I have in mind (I could post it right now, but I wanted to show you what it looks like when it's set to reverse slow motion... but my special effects aren't working right now).

I'll add that to this thread later. :)

ETA: I didn't say the first time through, but I'd also like to see your videos, if you have them!!!

[jojo]

Yeah i know what you mean; photos can be misleading, the only video ive ever done is in my blog, which was more for instructional use but it shows my hairs condition, which was better than i thought!

Videos are good do one!

[MeganE]

Okay, so I won the battle and beat the editing software into submission. :D It was a close call for a little while there. (Google saved the day.)

So the first few clips are just reference shots, I whipped my hair around a bit to try to get something that represents the condition it's in today. I'll do another video when I feel like the condition might have changed, and use this one to make comparisons.

After studying the video, I feel like I have a much better idea of what my hair really is doing. It's in better shape than I thought, although I'd like to figure out what's making it do that "piecey" effect.

I'd also like to see videos on wavy days, and I'll be curious to know how much the layers are affecting the overall behavior of my hair. And how different it might look/behave when it's more moisturized. I have yet to feel satisfied with my moisturizing techniques.

Then, serious business out of the way, I had a lot of fun messing with slow motion and reverse effects, and added some fun clips at the "end." There's a lot more time spent with the fun clips than anything else. :D

I love the whole "it's alive!!" aspect of it, seeing it bounce around apparently on its own like that. Lots of fun. I'm envisioning a future and very elaborate "hair dance" project.

Oh and I couldn't just let my hair fly around without something for it to dance to. So I added a Turkish song from my dance teacher's practice soundtrack, and obviously you're free to mute if you rightly think that it really has no place in this video. :D Sometimes the movements match the music so well that I'm really wishing I could control my hair like that on stage!!! That would be awesome.

ETA: Link removed.


Yeah i know what you mean; photos can be misleading, the only video ive ever done is in my blog, which was more for instructional use but it shows my hairs condition, which was better than i thought!

Videos are good do one!

I know what you mean Jojo, first time I made a how-to video, I was surprised at how good my hair looked from the back! Pictures just aren't as good as video. I liked your video, those screw pins look great!!

[racrane]

Your hair is really pretty. I'm terrible with video and editing but I know when I'm on webcam my hair looks nice - up to my high standards. I can see it moving and all.

[jujube]

Hair porn.

[pinkbunny]

One hair term I've thought of (but don't know if it's an actual term) is "swing" - I met a girl with knee length hair and I wanted to tell her that it had a nice swing to it, but I was worried she'd look at me like I was a loony. But that is really what her hair did - I envied how much more weight it had so she could move about with it down and it didn't catch on everything like mine. My fine hair "floats" from static or the slightest air draft...

Yeah, and I second the "hair porn" - be careful what you put on YouTube. I only did a couple of updo tutorials and I've gotten a few creepy requests for combing or playing-with-it-down videos... ETA: Ah, I see where it's unlisted... smart move! ;)

[EmmyNemmy]

MeganE, your hair is gorgeous! :p

[jojo]

your hair beautiful and I loved your video!

[spidermom]

Oh goodness no, never. I wouldn't be able to stomach seeing myself on video.

[Lianna]

Videos can look quite misleading, I actually look much better in videos than photos.

Oh, and if I whipped my hair around, it would be just a tangled mess. Are you checking hair health after a session of headbanging? o.O

I don't find my pictures or anyone elses here misleading though, we even make "hairtype untouched dried" photos, which, for me, is the ugliest my hair gets!

Not that I'm oposed to anyone making videos! I'll watch them all. ;)

[MeganE]

Hair porn.

Oh geez. I'm sure everyone knows that was not the intention.

ETA: Jujube meant it as a compliment, without reference to any ****** type videos.


One hair term I've thought of (but don't know if it's an actual term) is "swing" - I met a girl with knee length hair and I wanted to tell her that it had a nice swing to it, but I was worried she'd look at me like I was a loony. But that is really what her hair did - I envied how much more weight it had so she could move about with it down and it didn't catch on everything like mine. My fine hair "floats" from static or the slightest air draft...

Yeah, and I second the "hair porn" - be careful what you put on YouTube. I only did a couple of updo tutorials and I've gotten a few creepy requests for combing or playing-with-it-down videos... ETA: Ah, I see where it's unlisted... smart move! ;)

Yes, I made it unlisted. I was hoping it would be safely tucked away on LHC, but unfortunately the phrase "hair porn" is sure to make this thread come up in exactly the wrong kinds of searches. I'll be removing the link from this thread.


Videos can look quite misleading, I actually look much better in videos than photos.

Oh, and if I whipped my hair around, it would be just a tangled mess. Are you checking hair health after a session of headbanging? o.O

I don't find my pictures or anyone elses here misleading though, we even make "hairtype untouched dried" photos, which, for me, is the ugliest my hair gets!

Not that I'm oposed to anyone making videos! I'll watch them all. ;)

LOL, it actually didn't tangle too badly. It didn't take long to get some footage that I think showcase it's condition very well, and will help me with later comparisons. And it's not that pictures are misleading, just that I don't find them to be very representative of what my own hair looks like, and I've heard others express the same sentiment.

[JuliaDancer]

This isn't really just about hair, but my friend who filmed it ended up filming a lot of the back of my head because he likes my hair! Haha... There also some hair twirling around 2:21 (zar). I hope this link works, since I'm transfering from Blackberry to computer (no youtube at work... bleh...)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=tgNj6zcFQLE

If not, you can youtube Redd Julia and it'll come up.

I've seen some dancers with beautiful thick but lightweight hair that floats around them, but mine is very heavy, so the swing is much more blunt... =(

[pinkbunny]

Yes, I made it unlisted. I was hoping it would be safely tucked away on LHC, but unfortunately the phrase "hair porn" is sure to make this thread come up in exactly the wrong kinds of searches. I'll be removing the link from this thread.

Perhaps you could just move it to your blog - which is only visible to LHC members?

[alyanna]

Oh goodness no, never. I wouldn't be able to stomach seeing myself on video.

This!

I have enough problems with pictures. Luckily on this site, they need only be from the back (gotta make sure not to include too much butt)!

[MeganE]

Perhaps you could just move it to your blog - which is only visible to LHC members?

I thought about that, but now I'm all self-conscious about it. I'm tempted to add a "bow shikka bow wow" track. :eyebrows:

[tgagurl27]

hahaha yea jujube i was soo thinking that haha but if u look up hair vids on youtube (like i did to see if there were any tricks or routines id been missing) you come across like all these vids of people "washing their long hair" or "misty brushing her hair" haha cracks me up

[MeganE]

Okay, I put it in my blog. Titled... Hair Porn! :cheese:

Also, thanks pinkbunny for introducing the concept of swing. I was actually complimented once on the way my hair swings just after a performance a few years ago. I watched the video afterwards, and noticed that it did swing, but I didn't really know what that meant, or why it did that. I didn't realize until your comment that the alternative is floaty hair, that mine does it because it's rather heavy.

I think they are both great qualities, and I've been trying to go light on products to get more floaty hair. Mine is naturally wavy, but it weighs so much that the waves barely show when it's all "producted up." I'm hoping that I can get more moisture into it, which will give it slip and make it less prone to tangling without having to coat it with conditioners and stuff that weighs down my fine strands. I'm suspecting that fine hair doesn't hold moisture as well, although I haven't confirmed this anywhere on the boards yet.

So I now have another thing to watch for in future videos, I'll be hoping to see less swing, and more floaty hair. Thank you! :blossom:

So... does anybody else think that they'd benefit from using videos to track their progress? Anyone else finding that photos aren't sufficiently representative of your hair on a given day?

[Bene]

Perhaps I'm a bit naive, but......






If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?



I say this because, well... If an oddball with a hair f*tish "enjoys" the video and doesn't tell anyone, how does it affect the one who makes the video?



I remember an acquaintance of mine once said something along the lines of "I don't wear sandals because of those creepy foot guys" and all I could think was "You're seriously going let one or two creepy foot guys ruin your sandal experience?" As long as they don't share their "experiences" with the person who unintentionally excited them, what's the harm?

[MeganE]

I think mainly because I hate thinking that's how everyone will view it, as if that was the purpose of it. It's just embarrassing to think that people will think I meant it to come out like that.

Plus, it's not fun to think of somebody objectifying you that way. I don't dress provocatively, and I am not interested in being the object of a stranger's fantasy, whatever kind of fantasy that might be.

[MeganE]

This isn't really just about hair, but my friend who filmed it ended up filming a lot of the back of my head because he likes my hair! Haha... There also some hair twirling around 2:21 (zar). I hope this link works, since I'm transfering from Blackberry to computer (no youtube at work... bleh...)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=tgNj6zcFQLE

If not, you can youtube Redd Julia and it'll come up.

I've seen some dancers with beautiful thick but lightweight hair that floats around them, but mine is very heavy, so the swing is much more blunt... =(

Wow, sorry Julia, somehow I missed your post before.

It's a great video, very well done and perfectly professional. I LOVED the hands in the beginning. Hands are so hard for me. :( You have really great facials too, such an engaging smile. It's a nice touch at the end too, when you leave with your sword nonchalantly at your side, lol. And that's a great Beats Antique song, I hadn't heard it before.

You must be combining footage over some amount of time, or wearing extensions maybe? I noticed the length changed. :D

[Lianna]

"Hair porn" is actually used in other hair forums just to refer to videos or even just pics of hair. Nothing sexual about it. I'm sure jujube meant it this way.

[teela1978]

"Hair porn" is actually used in other hair forums just to refer to videos or even just pics of hair. Nothing sexual about it. I'm sure jujube meant it this way.
Members of this forum have found their LHC pictures on ******ist sites. I'm pretty sure she meant it exactly the way it was received.

[MeganE]

I asked Jujube about it, she said she meant it in the sense that Lianna described.

Although the point stands, we have to be careful.

How awful to think of finding your pictures on a ****** site. :(

That would ... suck.

[Lianna]

Members of this forum have found their LHC pictures on ******ist sites. I'm pretty sure she meant it exactly the way it was received.

I know jujube for a while now, and I know she's not mean spirited, plus we talked about it.

We can even see thread titles with the expression "hair porn" on LHCF (Long Hair Care Forum), which is a respecful hair forum for many years now.

[MeganE]

I know jujube for a while now, and I know she's not mean spirited, plus we talked about it.

We can even see thread titles with the expression "hair porn" on LHCF (Long Hair Care Forum), which is a respecful hair forum for many years now.

Yep, she didn't mean it like that.

So... anyone else on the videos vs pictures topic?

[bahoban]

Perhaps I'm a bit naive, but......






If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?



I say this because, well... If an oddball with a hair f*tish "enjoys" the video and doesn't tell anyone, how does it affect the one who makes the video?



I remember an acquaintance of mine once said something along the lines of "I don't wear sandals because of those creepy foot guys" and all I could think was "You're seriously going let one or two creepy foot guys ruin your sandal experience?" As long as they don't share their "experiences" with the person who unintentionally excited them, what's the harm?

I agree with you Bene ;)

[teela1978]

I know jujube for a while now, and I know she's not mean spirited, plus we talked about it.

We can even see thread titles with the expression "hair porn" on LHCF (Long Hair Care Forum), which is a respecful hair forum for many years now.
I wasn't taking it as mean spirited, but as a warning. Perhaps you should be more careful on the LHCF?

[Lianna]

Perhaps you should be more careful on the LHCF?

Me? I didn't write anything there. I'm just mentioning it's a common practice around other hair boards (non-sexual ones), and that this "expression" isn't sexual.

[teela1978]

Me? I didn't write anything there. I'm just mentioning it's a common practice around other hair boards (non-sexual ones), and that this "expression" isn't sexual.
Sorry, that was a more 'global' you, for LHCF. It is sexual, and may attract interesting people to your forum who you might not want there.

[Lianna]

Interesting that if we google just "long hair", we are in the first page. So anyone interested in long hair for whatever reason can find us easily.

[JuliaDancer]

Wow, sorry Julia, somehow I missed your post before.

It's a great video, very well done and perfectly professional. I LOVED the hands in the beginning. Hands are so hard for me. :( You have really great facials too, such an engaging smile. It's a nice touch at the end too, when you leave with your sword nonchalantly at your side, lol. And that's a great Beats Antique song, I hadn't heard it before.

You must be combining footage over some amount of time, or wearing extensions maybe? I noticed the length changed. :D

It was compiled over a couple months, but I happened to get a haircut during that time. I never wear extensions. It creeps me out when I see dancers lean forward or pick up their hair and I can see their extensions attached underneath... But maybe that's just bad extensions?

As for the song, my friend the filmmaker actually chose it. I hadn't heard it before either!

[pepperminttea]

Perhaps I'm a bit naive, but......

If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?

I say this because, well... If an oddball with a hair f*tish "enjoys" the video and doesn't tell anyone, how does it affect the one who makes the video?

I remember an acquaintance of mine once said something along the lines of "I don't wear sandals because of those creepy foot guys" and all I could think was "You're seriously going let one or two creepy foot guys ruin your sandal experience?" As long as they don't share their "experiences" with the person who unintentionally excited them, what's the harm?

Ditto. Do what you want with your hair; why let a few people worry you when it's something you enjoy so much? You can moderate the youtube comments, and stop any being posted that you're not comfortable with.

[MeganE]

It was compiled over a couple months, but I happened to get a haircut during that time. I never wear extensions. It creeps me out when I see dancers lean forward or pick up their hair and I can see their extensions attached underneath... But maybe that's just bad extensions?

As for the song, my friend the filmmaker actually chose it. I hadn't heard it before either!

Oh my gosh, lol, I never thought of what happens if someone SEES the extensions. I've never had a set, but I've thought about getting some clip-in ones just for stage. My troupe in CA got a stage makeup tutorial from a well-known dancer out there, and she had some extensions that had combs on the end that she placed in her hair for performance. I think she dances Egyptian style though, so there's not much opportunity for the audience to see what's happening underneath the hair.

They looked great, blended seamlessly into her hair, and she told us that when she first got them, she took them with her to the hair dresser and asked him to cut, color, and style both her hair and the clip-ins at the same time, so they would blend flawlessly, and they really did! I've wondered since then if she'd benefit from LHC, but I think she was using them mostly to achieve more thickness and to add to her already great length.

[teela1978]

Interesting that if we google just "long hair", we are in the first page. So anyone interested in long hair for whatever reason can find us easily.
lol, good point :)

[MeganE]

I've made another video, and I like the formula of this one a bit better. There's pictures in the beginning, then videos, then conclusions. The flipping and flinging of the hair has been reduced significantly, really only enough footage to get an idea of the condition, so it's shorter and less like videos that are made to be hair porn. :D

My hair was mostly straightish in the first one, and this time it's mostly wavy, so it's been interesting to compare the two. I feel like I'm really onto something, at least for myself. And seeing the pictures in the beginning compared to the video illustrates clearly to me how much more info you can get from a video.

Someone in my blog said they didn't really understand the point of a video. And I compared it to a hair product commercial. To sell a product, they don't just show you a picture of the hair while the model stands still, do they? No, the model flips it around, swishes it, turns with it, and all that motion gives the viewer a much better idea of the condition because of the way it moves.

But maybe it's not for everyone. I'm a visual person, so the more I have to work with, the better results I'll get. I also think that my hair type is particularly prone to changing on a day to day basis. It's 2A, so it can be wavy or straight, it's fine so it can be limp or voluminous, and there's layers, which can either lay flat or poof out. There's so many variables that have an effect that it was hard to keep track of everything. Video has been helping a lot with that.

Here's the link to my blog entry with the second video: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?b=88625

[Avital88]

This isn't really just about hair, but my friend who filmed it ended up filming a lot of the back of my head because he likes my hair! Haha... There also some hair twirling around 2:21 (zar). I hope this link works, since I'm transfering from Blackberry to computer (no youtube at work... bleh...)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=tgNj6zcFQLE

If not, you can youtube Redd Julia and it'll come up.

I've seen some dancers with beautiful thick but lightweight hair that floats around them, but mine is very heavy, so the swing is much more blunt... =(

This video is sooo cool!!! and your hair is super pretty and so are you!