How do you measure your hair?

[IvanaGil]

I always go by the length of my dry, untouched hair, but I've noticed that some people, actually A LOT, measure their hair stretched out. Is there a correct way? it doesn't make sense to me to measure it stretched because I'm not going to be walking around stretching my hair all the time :laugh:

[habioku]

But by measuring your hair you want to know how much it has grown. And you want a value that isn't influenced by humidity and the condition of your hair. Even if it doesn't describe the REAL length of your hair. ;)

[DarkCurls]

I stretch mine, because my waves/curls aren't the same two days in a row, and if I want accuracy, then I want it straight. It's to measure growth, not the actual length of your hair, and that seems the most logical way to me.

[Jesabel]

I also measure with it pulled straight, as since I'm 2a/b my hair is very easily manipulated, just combing will stretch out the wave so much and I do wear it like that sometimes if it's down so I like to get an accurate measure of the actual length of my hair, not just how it appears :)

[Zesty]

I also measure unstretched, but that's because I'm not tracking my growth so much as checking to see what I should put as my current length on LHC. I wouldn't say my hair is hip if it were only hip when wet, so I won't put down a number if my hair isn't there in its natural state. That being said, when people want to measure for monthly growth, it makes a lot more sense to do it stretched since that's more consistent, especially for curly/wavy haired people.

[auburntressed]

I don't think it is ever going to be perfectly consistent across the board. To me, it seems like the most important thing is that however you choose to measure, you do it the same way each time. So if one person stretches, another measures wet, and another measures dry without stretching... that is less important than each person doing it the same way each time she does it.

[ariesfairies]

I believe you either measure by exact numerical value, or you measure by description ie waist length, tailbone etc.
So if going by the stretched out/uncurled value doesn't suit you, just grow by name point! Some of us like to go by number because thats how our brains keep focused on the goal :P

[jacqueline101]

I pull mine straight to measure my perm I'm growing out curls more some days then others I also take natural pictures of it non stretched.

[IvanaGil]

I suppose for accuracy it is better stretched out, but I have 2c hair and even if it stretches out to classic when pulled, I would never label my length as classic because it's not at classic when dry and untouched.
And like auburntressed said, as long as you measure the same way each time, you can still see the progress.

[heidi w.]

The proper way that Guinness and George Michael, long hair enthusiast suggests (by the way, Mr. G.M. is now deceased...) is to measure hair dry. Place the beginning of the tape measure at the front of the hairline, draw the tape measure over the head and down the back length all the way to the end. If you're curly, stretch it out, and that is your measurement. It's best to do this with the help of another person.

heidi w.

[pepperminttea]

I do it on dry hair, and stretch it slightly. I comb when my hair is damp, and the wave I end up with is normally braid or bun waves, so measuring it dry and unstretched wouldn't be more accurate. I don't call a milestone until I'm there dry and unstretched though. :)

[IvanaGil]

I do it on dry hair, and stretch it slightly. I comb when my hair is damp, and the wave I end up with is normally braid or bun waves, so measuring it dry and unstretched wouldn't be more accurate. I don't call a milestone until I'm there dry and unstretched though. :)

That makes sense. It always bugs me because if someone with kinky hair stretched their hair out and it touch bsl but then it's no where near bsl when unstretched, I would never consider it to be bsl lol maybe I'm just being to touchy.

[pepperminttea]

That makes sense. It always bugs me because if someone with kinky hair stretched their hair out and it touch bsl but then it's no where near bsl when unstretched, I would never consider it to be bsl lol maybe I'm just being to touchy.

It must be so frustrating to have that much shrinkage though; it'd be like trying to grow between body milestones when you're 10ft tall and all the straight-haired folks are average height. And though visually you might have what looks to be shoulder, you still essentially have to deal with all the issues that someone with much visually long hair has. I guess that's the price of beautiful curls?

[IvanaGil]

It must be so frustrating to have that much shrinkage though; it'd be like trying to grow between body milestones when you're 10ft tall and all the straight-haired folks are average height. And though visually you might have what looks to be shoulder, you still essentially have to deal with all the issues that someone with much visually long hair has. I guess that's the price of beautiful curls?

Yes. I take my hat off to those girls because it would drive me crazy. shudder:

[eicamawa]

I measure my hair when it's at it's straightest, but my final goal will be defined by my normal hair.

[jeanniet]

Well, if you're talking about true hair length, then stretched makes sense, because that's how long the hair really is--but if you're talking about how long the hair looks, then that would be unstretched. I guess it's just personal preference. I don't measure at all--it would feed into the OCD part of me too much--but when I do milestones I judge by the unstretched length (which can be as much as 4" less than unstretched). I can understand why curlies might want to measured stretched, though, because it's really hard to wait so much longer than people with straight hair!

[Henrietta]

But by measuring your hair you want to know how much it has grown. And you want a value that isn't influenced by humidity and the condition of your hair. Even if it doesn't describe the REAL length of your hair. ;)

Exactly this. My hair can be straight or wavy and I don't want to get depressed or over excited because it didn't grow/grew so much this month.
So, although I don't walk around with it stretched, I measure to track the progress, not to show the length that much.

[Tia2010]

If I was measuring to chart actual- by the numbers- growth, stretched would probably give the most acurate reading. Waves, humidity and even sleeping on it can have an affect on how the hair lays that day, so pulling it straight each time just seems more accurate.

That said, I don't go by numbers for milestones..I go by looks. When I can see it at the milestone I'm going for, thats when I say I'm there. My hair wet and stretched can touch waist, but I wont say I'm waist till all of my hair with my natural wave is at solid waist when it's dry.

[Nikinka]

I also measure stretched hair. But I have straight hair so it doesnt matter... :)