Height and Hair Length

[Annibelle]

I was thinking about my hair goals this morning and realized that maybe I should take my height into account. I definitely want to reach hip, but whether or not I go beyond that partially depends on if it would look right on me. I'm "short" (5'3", which I would consider average... but the rest of the world doesn't :p ), and I don't want my hair to weigh me down... how do you guys feel about long hair on shorties?

[jojo]

I think long hair looks lovely whatever your height, in fact I think it looks cute on shorter people.

[vanillabones]

I'm 5'3" as well and I agree it looks so cute on shorties! I love it. I personally only want to maintain hip-tbl length someday thought. And it's true it could end up making you look shorter say if you go past classic length, but that wouldn't matter because you'd have long beautiful hair! I want to wear mine down sometimes though so that wouldn't be for me, it's all up to you.

[Beatnik Guy]

and I don't want my hair to weigh me down

I think this is a spurious propaganda by people who don't like long hair. I don't think this ever happens (and I've seen very long hair on less that tall people). ;)

[schweedie]

I'm only 5'2, and I've been wondering about this myself. But I think we can look good with long hair! Mine should be creeping up on waist now and I'll probably keep growing for another couple of inches, but almost certainly not past hip length - just for convenience's sake.

What can be both an upside and a downside is that we might reach the milestones quicker than someone who's taller (depending on how fast our hair grows, of course) - but waist length hair on me doesn't look as long as waist length hair on someone who's taller, which bugs me. *g*

[Annibelle]

I think this is a spurious propaganda by people who don't like long hair. I don't think this ever happens (and I've seen very long hair on less that tall people). ;)

I like the way you think! ;)

[nucleardelusion]

I'm 5'3"... and no one is taking away my princess/mermaid/vampire/belly dancer hair just because I'm short. I will yell. :p

[Theobroma]

I'm 5'3"... and no one is taking away my princess/mermaid/vampire/belly dancer hair just because I'm short. I will yell. :p

Best rejoinder ever. :)

[весна]

Don't pay attention to what others think. Long hair looks good on everybody (I have never seen anyone with long hair that I thought looked bad because of their height or anything of the sort, honestly). And, shorter people reach their goals much faster for which I envy them. :D

[Cowgirl16]

I'm 5'2" and my hair is past classic. I'm short, my hair is long :cheese:

[celebriangel]

I call BS to anyone who says that "X kind of people can't have long hair" whether that's because they are male or young or old or have fine hair or too thick hair or curly hair or if it's just wierd to have hair that long or whatever.

All of it is wrong. All of it. It's just society trying to keep people in a narrow little ditch called "acceptable". You are absolutely free to wear your hair however you like. Perhaps if you had a giant afro it might swamp you, but I do not otherwise see how long hair could make you look shorter. Surely, with straight hair, the long vertical line would just make you look taller? And even if it didn't, I am sure the people's amazement at the beauty and rarity of your extremely long hair would make them totally gloss over your height.

[Mina17]

I'm only 5'0 and was wondering about this too. I have a long way to find out how I'll look with long hair but I can't wait. And I have to admit I get a little bit of satisfaction out of breaking the "rules."

[Firefly]

I'm 5'1" and very petite, but it never occurred to me that height had anything to do with how long I'm growing my hair. I was at hip last summer (recently cut back to waist) and I think it looked good. I plan to get back there, and maybe beyond!

[Islandgrrl]

My little sister is 5' tall and had knee length hair for quite some time. It looked amazing. She's very petite. She looked tiny then. She has shoulder length hair now. She still looks tiny.

So do what you want to do with your hair and forget about everyone else's opinion!

[squiggyflop]

boy i would love to be shorter.. i am only 3 inches taller and that 3 inches to classic has been so hard getting to

[alyanna]

Interesting.

I was talking to one of my husband's relatives, she's SUPER tall and lanky, like 6'2" maybe, and has very thick, dark, lush, wurly hair that's between APL and BSL. It used to be in a bob. I told her I thought it was lovely longer and she said, "well you know, I'm so tall I need to balance out my height". I'd never really thought of it that way.

I personally believe it has to do with a lot more than just your height: the shape of your face, your features, your body type and most importantly the way you carry yourself. I've seen BSL hair that looks ugly and unkept and in need of a cut, and I've seen BSL hair that just begs to be longer cuz its so beautiful.

If you're good-looking and confident, you're good-looking and confident. If you're frumpy and unkept, you're frumpy and unkept. Regardless of how long you wear your hair.

So it's about *how* you wear your hair not how *long* you wear your hair.

[Maria_L]

I'm short and I want to grow my hair to at least waist. I only see my height (or lack of height) as a good thing. My waist length hair will be shorter than waist length on a long person. That means I will get there faster and that it will be easier to keep healthy (it will only have to stay "alive" for so long before it reaches waist and it gets cut)

[Chetanlaiho]

I'm 5'10" and one of the reasons I'm sometimes jealous of 'shorter' people is that they don't have to grow their hair as long to reach a landmark xD (seriously, if I go to hip it'll take forever! xD)

I've never heard of anyone saying longer hair looks bad on shorter people, I've heard of it not suiting your face shape but even that I'm not sure I agree with so go with whatever you want :)

[leslissocool]

I knew girls who where 4'10 with hip length and their look beautiful. I also know someone with knee length who is about 6'0 and let me tell you, at first I thought it was freaky when down because of the way it moved. Then I started drooling over her virgin knee length hair and following her around :P. So really I think long hair flatters everyone honestly. People will look at the hair and not the height always.

I am short anyways, why does it matter if it "weighs me down"? cutting my hair to chin never made me look any taller...

[akuamoonmaui]

I'm 5'3" and I've considered this, too. As Alyanna said, it depends on your physical make up and how you carry yourself. I think where people say (and why is it they never have long hair?) that long hair doesn't look good on petite women is when it visually cuts women into two parts. I don't have long legs or torso so this is a concern for me; my goal is W- TB so I'm going to keep more of a soft 'V' or 'U' hemline, that way my hair is "pointing" down and is hopefully elongating me, rather than create a line across my torso.

[Kristamommyx3]

I'm 5'8" and I look even taller because my legs are so long ( I recently was fitted for a bike and found out I have a 33" inseam! Lol). So, I'm on the opposite end...my hair takes longer to look long. Grrr. It will be a full four inches between waist and hip for me, which is what I'm looking at right now. Eight months of growth with minimal trims, and I'll probably just graze hip. Sigh.






I'm only 5'2, and I've been wondering about this myself. But I think we can look good with long hair! Mine should be creeping up on waist now and I'll probably keep growing for another couple of inches, but almost certainly not past hip length - just for convenience's sake.

What can be both an upside and a downside is that we might reach the milestones quicker than someone who's taller (depending on how fast our hair grows, of course) - but waist length hair on me doesn't look as long as waist length hair on someone who's taller, which bugs me. *g*

[PrincessBob]

If it's looks you're worried about, don't worry. Very long hair looks very impressive on shorter girls. If you are concerned about medical/pain issues, then discuss things with your general practitioner. I had migraines since I was small, and my mom thought it was because my hair was so thick, and so she shaved off the under layer of my hair and kept my hair less than shoulder for years... it didn't help me, but everyone is different.

I had a friend in college who had very thick knee length hair. She ended up with some minor neck problems and headaches because of the weight constantly pulling at her head and she ended up cutting most of her hair off. It is possible for hair to get in the way or weigh you down. However, don't worry about your hair weighing you down until it starts weighing you down. It may not happen at all and you can always cut off a few inches if it ends up being a problem. :flower:

[Kumiko033]

I'm 5'3'' and I've had classic length before and now I've cut pixie people indeed asked me if I've grown allot haha! Even my boyfriend thought I'd had gained a good pair of inches, so it's indeed true that it can make you look shorter, yet..I don't give a crap i'm going BSL again :)

[MissManda]

I'm only 5'1" and I've had both very long and very short hair. I've observed that the length of my hair doesn't really seem to make me look any shorter and tinier than I already am. Actually, I think shorter hair might even make me look a wee bit shorter...

In addition to what other posters have said, I also think that since very long hair isn't very common, it can throw off others' perception of a person's height since they're used to seeing BSL and shorter.

Whenever I see a fellow short and/or petite person with long hair, the thought that crosses my mind is "Wow, that person looks great!" and only affirms that people around my height look fantastic with long, flowing locks.

[Lielananna]

I'm 5'3" and I've got knee-length hair and I don't think it makes me look shorter. I say grow to whatever length you want to and forget what other people's perceptions are.

[spidermom]

I'm sure that some lengths will be more flattering than others based on proportion, but I'm not a work of art, so personally I don't pay any attention to this.

[celebriangel]

I'm sure that some lengths will be more flattering than others based on proportion, but I'm not a work of art, so personally I don't pay any attention to this.

Yes. This. Go spidermom! :guns:

If you're really worried, with straight hair your could go for a soft U. I'm sure this would cancel any visual effects such as akuamoonmaui mentioned. But I'd still go with the "eff 'em all" option. :D

[invisiblebabe]

The pastor's daughter at my church is petite, maybe also about 5'3", and she has beautiful, thick dark brown hair that is between waist and hip. It is straight and looks to have no taper, it is thick all the way to the ends. I think it looks stunning on her!

[Mesmerise]

I was thinking about my hair goals this morning and realized that maybe I should take my height into account. I definitely want to reach hip, but whether or not I go beyond that partially depends on if it would look right on me. I'm "short" (5'3", which I would consider average... but the rest of the world doesn't :p ), and I don't want my hair to weigh me down... how do you guys feel about long hair on shorties?

You know, I think height shouldn't be a factor at all! We should be able to choose hair that WE like! I am only 4'11" so I'm short in ANYONE'S definition of the word :p and while being short isn't something I love about myself (I mean I'd be happy enough just being "regular" short... you know about 5'1" or 5'2" I really don't like being so super short that everyone and his dog feels a need to comment on it) I don't let my height dictate how I wear my hair or how I dress or anything else!

The truth is, I'm going to look short no matter what I do, so I may as well choose hair that I enjoy and not worry about what other people think of it. That being said, I have no desire to grow hair beyond hip (or possibly TB) length. That's just a personal preference though, and has nothing to do with my height (or lack of it!). I am sure if I wanted knee length hair, I wouldn't let my height hold me back (and hell it'd probably be easier for a shortie to reach knee anyway as there are going to be less inches to grow lol).

[Rivanariko]

The truth is, I'm going to look short no matter what I do, so I may as well choose hair that I enjoy and not worry about what other people think of it. This X1000

I'm 5'1 and while I don't get comments from strangers about how short I am, the people that I know and am close to "make fun" of it all of the time (in good spirit, not offensively). I am who I am and my height is unlikely to change any more, I don't know of many women that sprout a few more inches in their 20s! So why worry about whether my hair makes me "look short"? My body makes me look short! I am short! Huzzah! There are advantages to be short, like being able to fit well in small spaces and move through crowds easily (even if I can't see over people's heads, I can get in front of them pretty quickly). I am tiny and I am proud!

I'm aiming for knee-length. If it makes me look like a little fairy, all the better!

I am keeping the U-shape hemline for now though in the interest of not cutting my body in half with a blunt line. Once I creep past classic though, I'm going to start trying to even it out I think. We'll see how it looks and what I decide *I* like best. Not what anyone else thinks. Ultimately, my hair is for me. Besides, since it got past Hip I hardly wear it down anymore.

[boudica]

Hey there! I'm 5'2" and have gotten this a lot - mostly from the people who have an expensive relationship with their hairdresser. One in particular somehow manages to get me to come to pick her up at the hairdresser and they both have a go at me.

No one ever says boo about a child with super-long or classic length hair. While many children are taller than I am, most aren't, and no one complains about their super long hair being out of proportion.

They only say that to adults.

It would be interesting to see whether the people who are short and topheavy in other ways get this more than those who are less well-endowed.

I'm uncomfortably top heavy and have received this advice a lot, but not so much now that it's longer than chest - it reaches to the tips of my elbows now.

I wonder if the frequency of advice recedes for others after the length is long enough to cover one's chest.

Anyone ever notice?

[Dragon]

Today I saw two women which looked like sisters and they both are short and have tailbone length hair. It looked good on them. I don't think anyone can be to short to have long hair.

[Anivenin]

Yep, super shorty here...4'10" and my hair is currently 31" :) Planning to grow it out to 50" so it should only be a couple inches off the ground when I'm done [crosses fingers]

[bunzfan]

I'm 5'2" and my hair is past classic. I'm short, my hair is long :cheese:

I love this post your the same height as me, now i wished i had never listened to my mum when i was a teenager and cut all my hair from waist to a pixie :(

[ReadHeadGirl]

I am 5' 7"and my hair is 33 "

[CrystalStar]

I'm only 5'4 and waist length is 30" on me! I'm fairly top-heavy, but in general I don't get any nasty comments on my hair length. I have had friends say I am lucky to be short so that my hair looks longer!

[Lemur_Catta]

I have a friend who is quite sort (150-155 cm?) and keeps her hair in a cute bob which looks very nice on her. She told me she used to have long hair (waist-hip length) but she cut it because it made her appear shorter.
I am not that short, 165 cm is average at least where I live...but if I were shorter, I would still want my hair long.
If you want long hair, it's better to be short with long hair than short and with short hair! :D

[noelgirl]

Whether I look short or not, I'll always be short. Can I reach the top shelves? No, but that will be true no matter what my hair looks like.

[Lildove]

I'm 5'1" and I am committed to growing out my hair to hip or tailbone no matter how short it may make me look. I can't imagine giving up my love for long hair just because I might look a couple inches shorter. If other people think I look odd than so be it because I'm not cutting my hair. :p

[Misti]

Hey there! I'm 5'2" and have gotten this a lot - mostly from the people who have an expensive relationship with their hairdresser. One in particular somehow manages to get me to come to pick her up at the hairdresser and they both have a go at me.

Sounds like it's time to start suggesting that she take the bus.


I wonder if the frequency of advice recedes for others after the length is long enough to cover one's chest. Anyone ever notice?

I think that somewhere between shoulder length and elbow length there is a "point of no return" where people stop percieving us as "people who need a haircut" and start percieving us as "people with long hair".

It's different for different people and may never work on our mothers, but in general that seems to be the case.

[AnnaJamila]

Go check in on the Chinese long hair thread! Most Asian women that I've met are under 5'5'' and they pull it off smashingly! Lemmie go get a link . . .

And here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=69610) it is!

[Beatnik Guy]

I wonder if the frequency of advice recedes for others after the length is long enough to cover one's chest.




I think that somewhere between shoulder length and elbow length there is a "point of no return" where people stop percieving us as "people who need a haircut" and start percieving us as "people with long hair".

Yup. That or a lost cause. :wigtongue

[manateelynn]

I'm 5'1 and I plan on growing mine to knee length if I can!

[Red_Wednesday]

I'm 5'10" and one of the reasons I'm sometimes jealous of 'shorter' people is that they don't have to grow their hair as long to reach a landmark xD (seriously, if I go to hip it'll take forever! xD)...

I totally agree!! I'm 5'10.5"...feels like it's taking FOR-E-VER to grow this stuff out:rolleyes::p.

[PrincessBob]

Also, I'm 5'10 and my hair,though it is tailbone length, it is hardly something people ooh and ahh over... People certainly note that it is very thick.
Still, a friend of mine who is shorter has waist length hair and people often comment about how long it is. :shrug: People's perceptions are interesting like that.

[MrsGuther]

I'm 5 feet 11 inches tall. My goal is hair to my hips... that's a LOT of hair!!! lol

[Firefox7275]

You will never know unless you try; you can always trim back if you feel longer hair doesn't suit your personality or lifestyle. :)

[Misti]

Yup. That or a lost cause. :wigtongue

*laugh* yep, that, too.

Hurray for lost causes!:cheese: