What are the different lengths of hair?

[LadyHazel]

Hey guys I'm new here and all of this APL and BSL stuff is confusing me! I started my hair journey in October so I've been at it for 5 months! Seen a lot of growth as I do take vitamins and follow all of the correct steps! HOWEVER, people are saying that they are at their bra strap at 21 inches- my hairs only 16 inches and it touches my strap so what is going on? I'm really confused I just need someone to clarify the different lengths to me without the abbrieviations and prebably with the correct inch measurements!!

[B-L]

Well it depends on how tall you are ;) and how long your torso is. Other things like how long the neck is can make a difference too..

[B-L]

Also.. Bra strap is acctually bra band that goes around your torso, not the strap that goes over your shoulders... It's a bit confusing!

[LadyHazel]

Yeah yeah that's the one! My hair touches the band at the back not the strap as in the two straps around the shoulders god my hair was at that length agggeesss ago took forever to grow past shoulders but what does APL and BSL mean? X x thanks so far guys x

[Guenever]

I'll "translate" a few of the expressions for you:

SL = shoulder length
APL = armpit length
BSL = bra strap length
WL = waist length
TB = tailbone length
classic = the crease where your upper thighs meet your buttocks.

Check out this link :)
http://www.ida.net/users/northstr/hairlength.html

[LadyHazel]

Absolutely perfect! Thank you. Just what I was looking for! Because my hair is in layers the majority of it is probably armpit length. I'm really tall (nearly 6ft) so perhaps I could have more trouble getting from where I am now to waist length which is where most people fall short! X

[PrairieRose]

Absolutely perfect! Thank you. Just what I was looking for! Because my hair is in layers the majority of it is probably armpit length. I'm really tall (nearly 6ft) so perhaps I could have more trouble getting from where I am now to waist length which is where most people fall short! X
I feel your pain! I am tall also and it seems to take sooo long to grow my hair to where I want it. I am now between APL and BSL and eventually would like to be at waist ( who knows maybe longer):D

[LadyHazel]

God you're at exactly the same stage as me! Being tall really kicks in my growth as it also looks shorter than what it is because of how tall I am :( I mean, my hair has got to be 3ft or more just to LOOK long. Gahh it is painful indeed.

[PrairieRose]

I am 24 inches and still two inches away from BSL! Booo:(

[LadyHazel]

24 inches what the hell! Maybe I'm not measuring my hair probably because I'm on 16 and at BSL length practically, just a couple more inches will ensure that. 24 inches is not far off my goal length I'm really suprised it must be long but short in appearance if you get me lol :p I'm very envious!

[B-L]

Wow that is amazing. Your current length is 16" and at BSL and your almost 6ft tall..? Are you sure you lenght is 16"? :ponder:
I'm 5' 6.1" and my hair is just bellow BSL and it's length is 26.8 in...

[freckles]

How are you measuring your length? If you are measuring actual hair length, i.e. the length of a strand of hair you can find, 16 inches seems plausible for BSL. But standard LHC measuring is from hairline (top of forehead), over head, down to tips. We do it this way because it gives a more consistent starting place, but yes, it inflates the numbers somewhat over 'true' hairlength :) Is this where the confusion is coming in?

[LadyHazel]

You know what, I'm going to up load a picture and let you guys be the judge !

[LadyHazel]

Ahh its not letting me probs cos I'm a new member but it is clearly on my bra connecter. I have considerably long legs and a long stomach but my neck isn't that long really. That might be why? Ill try a re-measurement :) x

[B-L]

I don't doubt that you are at BSL. I always trust my eyes more then measuring tape :) that's why I prefer saying BSL, WL, TB and so on, more then actual inch.

The only thing I'm questioning is if you are measuring it correctly.. There is a tutorial here (https://sites.google.com/site/habioku/about-hair/hair-measurement) on Habioku's page. :agree:

[LadyHazel]

Lol trust me I have got the picture I just don't know how to upload it my hair clearly falls over the strap i need to know how to upload the pic x

[LadyHazel]

I love your hair :O x

[LadyHazel]

Wooooo I measured it! 24.5 inches (did it like how it was instructed on the page) this all makes far more sense now, 2 more inches and ill have past over the strap with the majority of the layers (only the longest hit 24.5) and secured my place at BSL. Wooooo!

[B-L]

Wooooo I measured it! 24.5 inches (did it like how it was instructed on the page) this all makes far more sense now, 2 more inches and ill have past over the strap with the majority of the layers (only the longest hit 24.5) and secured my place at BSL. Wooooo!

There you go :cheese:

Off topic: I know that albums don't work until 25 posts or so.. But many here use other sites like ImageShack, Photobucket or Flickr to upload or link to their pics...

[torrilin]

and prebably with the correct inch measurements!!

The inch measurements vary. A lot. Like a lot of women, I'm 5'6" tall. On me, BSL measures 27". I regularly see other posters who measure 27" at waist. For me, measured waist is 32", and hair that has a solid visual appearance of waist is going to be more like 34-35". 27 vs 35" is... kind of a huge difference.

Depending on your build, even tho you're taller than me by a lot, you might have measurements that match up well with mine, or you might have measurements that are wildly different.

In terms of looks, most people will notice the body part milestones and they'll mostly notice the *shortest* part of your hair, not the longest. In terms of talking about the nitty gritty of hair styling, inches or cm are more useful. In terms of making yourself crazy coz you're sure your hair isn't growing... there's nothing like daily or weekly measurements ;).

[LadyHazel]

haha I swear I'm obsessed with my hair, I'm thinking about doing the hair up challenge but i'm worried that putting hair up all of the time may cause thinning? hmm... I know exactly what you mean torrillin, i think waist for me is going to be ridiculous (34) because it's from my back bra scrap to my hips that measures out the longest, even to my waist (i have a LONG stomach haha!) so I'll probably grow it out about 3 inches more until all of the layers are a definate BSL too, it does look funny right now if i'm being honest it's in the middle of being long/short so bit of a pain... I just want beautiful long hair like i used to have my hair used to be past my bum 5 years ago before I discovered bleach. God. NEVER dying/bleaching my hair again D:

[The-Young-Maid]

I'm glad someone explained the abbreviations! I was getting a little confused myself.:o

[LadyHazel]

haha! You must have felt like me, I first investigated into this forum a long time ago but it took ages for my account to be validated, and every thread that I went on seemed to have all of these: APL BSL and I was like: What? Is this some sort of secret code language? haha how I'm relieved to know that it's not morse code and now it's all been explained I can set the right goals.

[PrairieRose]

That's how I felt too! I had no idea what all the abbreviations were, now it's part of my everyday speech. My husband looks at me like I'm crazy!

[Gingerbear]

I know someone already posted a good link on the hair lengths and abbreviations, but I think this one with the body diagrams is really good too:

http://beautifulkinks.blogspot.com/2010/09/hair-length-chart-hair-forum.html