Been thinking about this (measuring hair)

[Amber_Maiden]

I've been wondering about this; It seems that everyone has a different method to measuring their hair- some pull it straight to determine what length their hair is at (in terms of BSl, Waist, TBL, Classic, etc), others look at it when it's wet to figure out where they are at, and still others wait for it to dry and don't pull it straight. My question is, what do the majority of LHCers do? Is there a norm or a standard way of doing it?

I measure dry and not pulled, and I'm a bit past waist. Pulled straight my hair is almost at hip and wet it is at hip. I prefer measuring dry, since I figure it's more honest, and I can't walk around pulling my hair to show how long it is... Anyone with me on this?



(To the Mods- feel free to move to the poll section of the board... I didn't even think of adding a poll, until after it was a thread on the Mane board- sorry in advance!)

[Amazinggrace]

I prefer dry no pulling, for your reason exactly. :)

[novemberfoxtrot]

I measure wet, and I pull it. My hair is curly and the curls vary each day so I figured this is the best way to be able to make comparisons of growth.

[Madora]

I prefer dry, with no pulling. Wet hair has a tendency to stretch and so the reading isn't accurate.

[AcornMystic]

I measure dry and pull it straight. I have this stubborn cowlick up into the back hairline thingy and if I don't pull it straight the measurement could come out a number of results depending on how cow licky it's feeling. lol Also, when it's dry it's more pleasant to mess around with for measurements. More and more I am finding I don't like the feel of wet hair, especially as it is getting longer. I'm turning ever more into a cat. XD

[jeanniet]

I don't measure, but if I did I would pull it just because with wurly hair it can vary several inches from day to day. If I really want to assess my growth, I do it wet in the shower because then it's about as straight as can be, and I get a better idea of changes.

When I list length in my stats, though, I use the visual length. So I say I'm at waist because that's what I see when my hair is dry, although stretched it's at hip and wet it's a bit past hip.

[proo]

Does the measurement start at the forehead hairline, or the crown?

[jacqueline101]

I pull mine straight because my hair is naturally straight.

[Amber_Maiden]

Does the measurement start at the forehead hairline, or the crown?

From he hairline in the middle, and pulled back over your head to the ends of your hair.

[Carolyn]

I measure dry and pulled straight. I don't have much of a wave but I still pull it straight. I guess I'm not interested in "honesty". I want to know what my exact, real measurement is. Measuring is for my own personal hair data, nothing else. I like to keep monthly records to chart my growth. As long as I measure the same way each time I think my records are accurate.

I've measured wet and dry and I only get 1/4" difference in wet and dry measurements so I don't think my hair stretches much when wet.

[fridgee]

Measure with a tape measure when dry and stretched because of wave variability and wanting to know how long my hair actually is rather than what it looks like. For body markers tho I do it unstretched as in what it would look like normally to everyone else.

[Woods Nymph]

I don't bother pulling it straight--not for honesty's sake, but for exactly the other reason you mentioned, Amber Maiden, but because that's what it looks like anyway.
Actually, I think I'd only gain about 1/8" by pulling it, since it's pin-straight anyway... :shrug:

[torrilin]

My hair has occasionally managed a whole inch of wave shrinkage as it's getting more moisturized. But when wet, my hair is pretty straight, so I measure that way. I'm mostly looking for consistent results, and that's a reasonable way to get them on my head. But I also don't measure often... maybe as much as 4 times a year?

For the most part, I think curlies should take a relatively straight measure if their curl shrinkage changes a lot. And mostly, the curl shrinkage does change. Some curly hair will look straight when wet, so that can be a realistic way to do it. For other curlies, pulled straight when dry might work better. But look for something that lets you get consistent results, or there's not a whole lot of point in measuring.

[moxamoll]

I don't pull it straight because I don't have to! I measure freshly washed and dried, so it IS straight! (Even my braid waves aren't ambitious enough to change the measurement, though.)

[ladylovecraft]

Dry and not pulled. That's what my actual hair length is going about day to day. As you said, I don't go through life stretching my hair like "See guys?! I'm WAIST LENGTH!"

You're not a length until that's how your hair is during your day to day activities.

[Kristin]

I measure mine dry and it's naturally straight. It isn't much longer wet, but I still think it might be stretched.

[swearnsue]

I measure the same hair(dry) gathered from the same spot on top of my head and use a tape measure. It isn't long enough to to use mileposts such as brastrap length etc. I like using a measuring tape anyway because it's more accurate. My brastrap is much lower than many others!

[Mopolop]

My idea of "measuring" is taking a photo of my back and see whether I am APL etc. Since my goal is dry, unpulled BSL, there's little point in me pulling or measuring when wet.

[A. Correira]

I haven't measured my hair in a long time. I do occasionally like to pull my hair straight just to see how long it is getting, but generally, I like to see how long it is curly because that is the texture my hair is everyday.

[Falcore]

I do it dry like you as that what my hair looks like to the eye. I try not to do it much as it can be disheartening as it varies with my waves.

What I DO do every month though is measure my regrowth - no so disheartening when I know it's growing :D

[turtlelover]

I don't measure because it just depresses me! HAHA I am better off just ignoring it.

[battles]

I measure dry and pull it straight. Visual markers and measured length are two different things to me, and I only measure because I'm curious to see how much my hair grows per month. I mark my length by body markers when my hair is unstretched.

[door72067]

I measure dry, with my curls combed (well, picked or finger-combed) out

[einna]

I voted "I measure dry, without pulling it straight." I rarely use a measure band though, I usually go by the body markers, to see where the hair falls naturally.

If I were to measure to calcualte my monthly growth or something I think I would measure dry but pull it straight, because my waves will be different each time.

[PrairieRose]

I measure dry and pull it straight. My hair is straight anyways, so I really don't have to pull it much.

[Zesty]

I measure dry, no pulling. A few months ago I decided to switch from dry and pulling because I don't really consider myself to be a certain milestone until it's there on a day to day basis, without my touching it, so measurements where I've pulled are useless to me.

[joliherb]

I measure dry and pull straight. I'm going for an accurate measurment. I don't care what people think. The measurement is for me. :oD

[snowfaery]

I measure dry and pull straight because of my curls and waves and layers. We measure to where the highest layer in the back falls to as the next layer down is like 2 inches further down. I'm trying to even out my layers so that I only need to do 1 measurement.

[auburntressed]

I measure dry, and I don't pull. I don't have curly hair, so I see no need to pull. My view is that what matters is that you measure the same way every time, not necessarily what that way is.

[AnimaSola3o4]

I don't measure! (where's the cheese option? lol)

I don't not measure purposely, I just never think about it. That and it's kind of a pain in the butt. I prefer to just see where my hair reaches on my back. The few times I've measured in the past, it's always been when I've rarely straightened my hair. I don't see anything wrong with pulling it while dry though, I'd probably get relatively accurate results.

[Loreley]

Dry, pull it straight. Otherwise I'd get different results every time, because after washing it is curly, after combing it's very wavy, then I have braid waves the next morning and bun waves in the evening. It's always changing. :D

[Kira94]

I measure dry pulled straight. Since my hair is wavy, the length varies, some days it's curlier, some it's straighter. So I prefer to pull to know what it actually is. :)

[Dragon Faery]

I measure wet because that's when I have the least curl shrinkage. But measuring the "correct" way isn't accurate on me because of my layers. So I measure the front, back, and crown separately. Eagerly awaiting the day when I can take a "true" LHC measurement and not feel like it's lying. :)

[Catlover]

I have been debating when/how to measure my hair - either wet or dry - wet it is heaps longer - dry it springs up - I just love the feeling of it against my back - but I wear it up in a Gibson Tuck most of the time (and this is getting more difficult the longer it gets) - but it is the least ouchy to my scalp :)

[hellucy]

I measure my hair when dry and I don't pull it straight as it's already very straight. I think if my hair had more kinks & waves to it I would pull it a little straighter to measure it.

[Mesmerise]

I measure my hair precisely to gauge how long it is in inches (and cm ;)) so I can see its growth. To me, the logical way to do this is dry and stretched, because it's the only way I can truly tell how long it's getting.

However, this is sort of irrelevant to whether it's at hip/waist etc. In fact, at first I set my goal of 32" which is where hip is on me. However, I soon realised (duh!) that in order for me to have hip length hair in reality it will need to be 34" stretched because of the waves! Same with waist... on me waist is about 28", but my hair will need to be at least 30" to reach my waist.

So if I was going by whether I was "waist" or "hip" I'd do by looking at it to see where it hangs, and I'd leave it unstretched to do it. But if I'm gauging growth I'm going to measure it stretched and dry!

[Lissandria]

So if I was going by whether I was "waist" or "hip" I'd do by looking at it to see where it hangs, and I'd leave it unstretched to do it. But if I'm gauging growth I'm going to measure it stretched and dry!


Yes. This exactly. Especially if you're a curly or a wavy (which many of us are ;)) who often doesn't know if you have actually grown or not. That one time you measure stretched and find out that you have grown half an inch, can be so encouraging.

[Mina17]

I measure wet because my hair varies in how wavy it wants to be from day to day.

[mwedzi]

I usually do it dry, but oiled, and pulled straight. My hair is very tightly coiled, so the difference between its natural state and pulled is extreme. It has to be thoroughly detangled in order for me to pull it straight, and it has to be oiled or wet in order for me to thoroughly detangle it, so . ..

[Nev]

dry and pull. my waves are never consistant so I would get inaccurate measurements

[terylenerose]

I picked dry pulled straight, but I also measure wet. I would have picked "wet and pulled straight" if it was an option because my hair is still curly when it is wet. And I don't measure that often anyway.

[anikadear]

I pull mine straight and dry because my hair is very curly. When dry it's barely past shoulder length but when wet it's a little past BSL. I also not interested in honesty, because regardless of wet or dry,your hair is the length it is, pulled straight or not. So to me,that IS honest. It's still your hair coming out of your head right?

[kitschy]

The only way I have of gauging growth is to pull it straight and measure. I measure at 32 inches which is about hip length.

When my hair is dry and curly I can range from mid-back to waist length depending on when it was washed, if it has been in a bun or braid, etc. If I measured dry and unstreched it would vary daily from about 25" to 29" and wouldn't mean a thing.

[white.chocolate]

As a straightie, I don't know if my vote matters here (I don't need to pull). But what I've been curious about is why some people here, I've noticed, pull their hair to measure. Sure, it is rather unfair towards curly-haired people because obviously it will take them much more time to reach a certain length compared to straight-haired people. Still, if someone with, say, 2c hair claims that he/she has Classic-length hair, and then you see a photograph of that person but you see it reaches a few inches above Classic, that's a bit confusing, in my opinion. So, my point is, should there be a single standard method for measuring hair length, or should it vary anyway?

By the way, I'm not talking about hair length measures in a unit of length. I am referring to APL, BSL, etc.

[Amber_Maiden]

As a straightie, I don't know if my vote matters here (I don't need to pull). But what I've been curious about is why some people here, I've noticed, pull their hair to measure. Sure, it is rather unfair towards curly-haired people because obviously it will take them much more time to reach a certain length compared to straight-haired people. Still, if someone with, say, 2c hair claims that he/she has Classic-length hair, and then you see a photograph of that person but you see it reaches a few inches above Classic, that's a bit confusing, in my opinion. So, my point is, should there be a single standard method for measuring hair length, or should it vary anyway?

By the way, I'm not talking about hair length measures in a unit of length. I am referring to APL, BSL, etc.

Exactly what I think... I think it is confusing when people say they have Classic length Hair when in their photo they only have waist. I just go with what I see in my photos... That's why I don't stretch it- even though my hair is actually very wavy and has some coils.

[spidermom]

I don't measure. Tape measures lie.

[anikadear]

As a straightie, I don't know if my vote matters here (I don't need to pull). But what I've been curious about is why some people here, I've noticed, pull their hair to measure. Sure, it is rather unfair towards curly-haired people because obviously it will take them much more time to reach a certain length compared to straight-haired people. Still, if someone with, say, 2c hair claims that he/she has Classic-length hair, and then you see a photograph of that person but you see it reaches a few inches above Classic, that's a bit confusing, in my opinion. So, my point is, should there be a single standard method for measuring hair length, or should it vary anyway?

By the way, I'm not talking about hair length measures in a unit of length. I am referring to APL, BSL, etc.

If I see someone that says they're at classic, but their picture looks waist, I automatically assume (if their hair is curly) they're at classic when pulled straight or wet. OR I'll go to their profile and look for myself, if I even care enough to do so. I personally, am not on a hunt to prove wether or not someone's hair is the length they claim it to be. who cares? I'm just semi-biased as a curly hair though also :shrug:

[Amber_Maiden]

If I see someone that says they're at classic, but their picture looks waist, I automatically assume (if their hair is curly) they're at classic when pulled straight or wet. OR I'll go to their profile and look for myself, if I even care enough to do so. I personally, am not on a hunt to prove wether or not someone's hair is the length they claim it to be. who cares? I'm just semi-biased as a curly hair though also :shrug:

True- but lets say, for the sake of argument, that you ask a question aimed at classic length people on the board. That person responds, claiming they have classic length hair, but really they don't... It would probably affect the answer they give you, depending on how much your question was directly aimed at classic length people. Just sayin... It could make some things confusing.

[Henrietta]

I measure dry and pull it straight. I KNOW i do not walk around pulling my hair to show how long it is BUT in the other hand, I never know how many length my waves eat up on a given day, so I could end up with getting results like minus half an inch of growth, just because rain enchanted my waves. Pulling is objective when it comes to numbers, although not the look.

[moxamoll]

True- but lets say, for the sake of argument, that you ask a question aimed at classic length people on the board. That person responds, claiming they have classic length hair, but really they don't... It would probably affect the answer they give you, depending on how much your question was directly aimed at classic length people. Just sayin... It could make some things confusing.
I've always just assumed that curly heads pull theirs straight to measure. I'm curious about the length of the hair - not where it ends on their body! As for the situation you posit above... a curly with classic hair (length) might have a suggestion or input that is helpful that a straight classic wouldn't think of - based on different experience. (And vice versa, of course!)
I've seen posts where people have specified actual length and "resting" length when it makes a difference. :shrug: The hair classification system already has so many components - maybe we should add one more?

[Night_Kitten]

I measure dry, starting from the front of my hairline, and gently pull down the ends to make sure my hair didn't get caught on my clothes...
I comb before measuring, so I prefer measuring dry to avoid damage from combing wet hair (as my hair is straight, there's very little difference if any between wet and dry lenght, so it doesn't really matter in my case)

[Amber_Maiden]

I've always just assumed that curly heads pull theirs straight to measure. I'm curious about the length of the hair - not where it ends on their body! As for the situation you posit above... a curly with classic hair (length) might have a suggestion or input that is helpful that a straight classic wouldn't think of - based on different experience. (And vice versa, of course!)
I've seen posts where people have specified actual length and "resting" length when it makes a difference. :shrug: The hair classification system already has so many components - maybe we should add one more?

That makes sense, but what if I was referring to leaving my hair down at classic length and wanted other classic length people's opinions?
I guess I'm just more interested in where hair ends on the body then actual inches... etc.
I have wavy/coily hair, so I know how it is... When I "measure" my hair for inches it makes sense to pull it straight- but when I measure for where the ends hit my body, I don't pull it. Makes more sense to me that way. I would be at hip if I pulled my hair straight, but I'm not going to consider myself really there until I hit hip without pulling. Does that make sense? No slight against curlies, since I'm practically one!

[TiffanieJean]

I measured mine dry. I only have wavy hair. I gather it up in the back and pull a little to be accurate.

[Of the Fae]

I pull because the waviness of my hair changes every day. Some days it is bone straight and others it is very wavy. Depends on how it dries.

[white.chocolate]

That makes sense, but what if I was referring to leaving my hair down at classic length and wanted other classic length people's opinions?
I guess I'm just more interested in where hair ends on the body then actual inches... etc.
I have wavy/coily hair, so I know how it is... When I "measure" my hair for inches it makes sense to pull it straight- but when I measure for where the ends hit my body, I don't pull it. Makes more sense to me that way. I would be at hip if I pulled my hair straight, but I'm not going to consider myself really there until I hit hip without pulling. Does that make sense? No slight against curlies, since I'm practically one!

I think the same way. Hair length based on where it hits the body makes more sense to me, not because I find it more logical that way but because I'm simply used to measuring and judging it that way. I do not really comprehend inches or centimeters when it comes to hair. So, in my (humble :) ) opinion, if hair is to be measured in inches or centimeters, stretching the hair for curly-haired folk is OK, if they wish to do so, because it is "hair length". But for body markers, as its name implies, should be just it - where it hits the body when dry, not stretched and in its natural state. This is my opinion, again. So who claimed we should measure without pulling? Or who claimed we should measure by pulling? I don't know. And, frankly, the "who" part doesn't really matter to me because in the end we make the decision(s) ourselves as a majority. I just agree with the OP that measuring hair can get a little confusing.

p.s. Thanks for starting this thread. :)

[anikadear]

True- but lets say, for the sake of argument, that you ask a question aimed at classic length people on the board. That person responds, claiming they have classic length hair, but really they don't... It would probably affect the answer they give you, depending on how much your question was directly aimed at classic length people. Just sayin... It could make some things confusing.

Totally different scenario though, because you're saying they don't have classic length because you've already checked? Or because their pic *looks* waist, and you assume they're not classic? You see what I mean? I know for me I'm sure people see my sig pic and then see my hair in it's natural state (curly), and are like "what the hell?", but, I could really care less. I know what my hair is. But I guess my real point here is, I understand some people could have misleading information about their hair length, but is it really so confusing to go look at their profile pics if you're unsure? I'm probably confused so excuse me, if so. I'm just trying to clear it up :undecided

[HintOfMint]

I put that I leave it dry and unpulled, but in actuality I do both dry pulled and unpulled. I consider it a mini-milestone to reach my goal pulled, but I really only consider myself at my goal if it's there without touching it.

Keep in mind, I don't measure by inches, but rather by body landmarks, so I don't think about how many inches per year I'm growing. If I were thinking about that, then I'd measure dry, pulled because curls/waves can eat up length.

[Amber_Maiden]

Totally different scenario though, because you're saying they don't have classic length because you've already checked? Or because their pic *looks* waist, and you assume they're not classic? You see what I mean? I know for me I'm sure people see my sig pic and then see my hair in it's natural state (curly), and are like "what the hell?", but, I could really care less. I know what my hair is. But I guess my real point here is, I understand some people could have misleading information about their hair length, but is it really so confusing to go look at their profile pics if you're unsure? I'm probably confused so excuse me, if so. I'm just trying to clear it up :undecided

No, I'm saying that it's misleading if they claim to have classic length hair, give advice for classic length hair, and I don't check- because most of the time I assume the person is telling the truth about their hair, especially when they say their current length is at example: classic. I don't go and don't want to check out people's profiles to confirm anything, I just think everyone should be honest when they say what their current length is. I don't like to assume people are lying about their length (ie. MBL, Hip, etc).
Also, not everyone uses their own picture as their avatar pic, or updates it as regularly as their length (like if someone grew from BSL to MBL).
Is that more clear?

[anikadear]

No, I'm saying that it's misleading if they claim to have classic length hair, give advice for classic length hair, and I don't check- because most of the time I assume the person is telling the truth about their hair, especially when they say their current length is at example: classic. I don't go and don't want to check out people's profiles to confirm anything, I just think everyone should be honest when they say what their current length is. I don't like to assume people are lying about their length (ie. MBL, Hip, etc).
Also, not everyone uses their own picture as their avatar pic, or updates it as regularly as their length (like if someone grew from BSL to MBL).
Is that more clear?

Ah!! I see what you're saying! I was so confused. I've noticed sometimes someone's avatar or sig pic doesn't reflect what their stats say also,but I just assumed they may not have updated their pics. Interesting post!

[carabean]

I measure dry, combed strait. Pullling wouldn't make it any longer for me : ) !!!