How long was your hair as a child?

[CurlyCurves]

The other day I mentioned to my Mum that I was growing my hair to hip length. She said "your hair wasn't hip length as a child", which bugged me, but whatever.

But your hair length as a child doesn't mean you can't achieve long lengths now.

So. How long was your hair as a little 'un?

[battles]

I think the longest my hair was as a child was just above APL.

[Demi-Plum]

I don't know exactly how long my hair was before I got my first and only chop at 5. It was probably around BLS honestly. Ever since then it has only grown and now I'm at TB

[sunshine-locks]

The longest I had my hair as a child was when I was about 9 or 10, it was close to waist length and looked like princess hair :3 Completely straight and light golden blonde, but then I cut it when I was 11 -.-

[mrs_coffee]

Pixie or grown out pixie/shag my whole life. I was a competitive swimmer from fourth grade on so short hair was very necessary.

[torrilin]

Braidable. Barely.

I think the longest haired picture we've got of me before puberty shows APL on a kid length. Post puberty, there are a few BSL pictures. As an adult, I've hit elbow/waist length, and there's really no signs from my hair that growth rate will equal replacement rate any time soon.

I think on the whole, kids should have hair they can handle themselves with minimal adult help. And that tends to mean relatively short hair. That's fine. A kid who is careful and learns to work with a stylist towards the goal of growing can grow long healthy hair even as a finey. I know it's doable coz I did it :D. And I absolutely loathe the idea of forcing a kid to grow if they don't want to, or of teaching them that stylists will never ever listen.

[MrsGuther]

The other day I mentioned to my Mum that I was growing my hair to hip length. She said "your hair wasn't hip length as a child", which bugged me, but whatever.

But your hair length as a child doesn't mean you can't achieve long lengths now.

So. How long was your hair as a little 'un?

My hair was always in the waist+ to BCL range as a child. When I hit my late teens is when I got the urge to chop, highlight, flat iron etc... :/

[Kelikea]

I had short, baby fine hair. I got it permed and kept it in an "Annie" style around 2nd-4th grade. It didn't grow long until high school and beyond. My hair was so fine and thin, it didn't even thicken up significantly til I was a bit older, as well.

[ejking2]

At age 7 I had hip-length hair. That was the longest it's ever been. Then my mom had it cut to ear-length. I was very upset, but it was probably for the best. Neither of us knew how to care for long hair. I'm tenderheaded and had a lot of tangles. I would end up in tears anytime my mother came near me with a brush/comb, and I apparently was too young to be able to do it properly.

[Not Lynn Merely]

Braidable. Barely.

I think the longest haired picture we've got of me before puberty shows APL on a kid length. Post puberty, there are a few BSL pictures. As an adult, I've hit elbow/waist length, and there's really no signs from my hair that growth rate will equal replacement rate any time soon.

I think on the whole, kids should have hair they can handle themselves with minimal adult help. And that tends to mean relatively short hair. That's fine. A kid who is careful and learns to work with a stylist towards the goal of growing can grow long healthy hair even as a finey. I know it's doable coz I did it :D. And I absolutely loathe the idea of forcing a kid to grow if they don't want to, or of teaching them that stylists will never ever listen.

That was my mother's rule. The length was whatever we wanted, as long as we could keep it neat ourselves. She also cut our hair herself, which worked out great.

The longest my hair got as a child was probably around MBL. The only time I've ever had a cut by a stylist was when, at twelve, I made the mistake of chopping it off for Locks of Love. She styled my then chin-length hair, and I've been growing it ever since.

I'm really not sure what hair length as a child has to do with hair length as an adult. I see no connection.

[jacqueline101]

I'd say mine was bra strap to middle of back length.

[jojo]

Probably mid back I think, though however long your hair was as a child is irrelevant, your taller now so hip as a child would be like apl as an adult!

[Jenw777]

Tailbone or more. I could sit on it when I was young.

[Amber_Maiden]

Short. Standard boy cut short.

[FrozenBritannia]

Short as a toddler, but hip by age nine. Then mushroom cut and bob and shoulder length forever more after that till I finally hit waist again a few years ago. :)

[dwell_in_safety]

As a child, my hair was typically about shoulder length. I refused to take care of it on my own and was always playing rough outside, so my mother kept it decently short.

[longNred]

Bowl cut as a toddler, but by elementary school it was close to waist. I had long double braids almost every day. I have fond memories of my mother doing marathon detangling sessions while I sat by the woodstove to dry it during the cold winter months.

[secondrain]

Long enough to sit on. I hated it and begged to have it cut so that I could manage it myself.

[bekstamonkey]

My hair was always waist length as a child...until, when I was 14, I asked my mum to trim an inch off the tips to neaten-up, and she did the whole 'oh, I gotta even it up' thing over and over and it ended-up shoulder-length. I was so upset, and have not had un-dreadlocked hair longer than shoulders til now...so now I'm excited :D

[Toiréasa]

My Mom always kept mine in a dutch boy or a pixie cut,the first time I had what I considered long hair back then was in the 7th grade and that was just past SL.

[Silken]

Hip length.

[Lostsoule77]

I had my first real chop at 5. Before that my hair looks like it was APLish. After my neighbor (who was also 5) chopped my hair and my mom evened it up it was between chin and SL. After that it grew to about BSL and stayed there for years.

[Elithia]

What counts as child?

I went back and forth a lot. I gave myself a bob-ish cut with safety scissors when I was four, which my mom evened out while berating me. :) It then grew out to mid-back (with frequent trims) and when I was eight my mother and I got into a huge fight over it (I'm a curly, she's a straightie, hair care was always a huge issue) and she said, "Either you stop throwing fits every time I try to deal with it, or I cut it off."

I said, "Ok, cut it off." So I got a bob. And then grew to hip-ish and chopped when I was 13. But I didn't take care of it, and I have no idea how long it could have gotten.

[coneyisland]

While I was with my birth mother, I was never allowed to have my hair longer than about armpit length. From my early teenage time on, though, I have kept my hair long and have had only periodic U-shaped cuts.



I'm really not sure what hair length as a child has to do with hair length as an adult. I see no connection.


Probably mid back I think, though however long your hair was as a child is irrelevant, your taller now so hip as a child would be like apl as an adult!
　
Many women recall having enjoyed faster, longer, and stronger hair growth until their hair was first subjected to chemical processing; they make a compelling case that their follicles must have been permanently affected by it, as despite their best protective efforts since, their hair growth and retention has never been the same since. Some women had long hair in childhood, and some never had haircuts in childhood. So reference to (absolute) hair length in childhood can be reference to known (even if only former) hair growth potential, see.

[robanna]

My mom made me cut my hair a lot as a child. One time she made me cut my hair to my shoulders and I cried. :( I think the longest it ever was is mbl.

[arcane]

I averaged between lower back and hip length as a child. I was quite small though it probably wasn't all that long in the grand scheme of things.

My mother believed that little girls had to have long hair though I did have two chops to my shoulders when I was little as I wanted a change but she always hated it. I cut my hair off in high school as part of my emerging mental health issues. I've always regretted that.

[TheMechaGinger]

My hair was about waist for the longest time. I cut up to chin when I was about ten years old though

[tiarefleur]

When I was 8 years old my hair touched the floor when I sat down...I had much looser waves at that age and little ringlets at the bottom. I loved it. Then my dad cut a ton of it off in my sleep one night because I refused to have a haircut (had never had one before and didn't need one since my hair wasn't getting in the way of anything anyway) and it traumatized me. :-(

[elbow chic]

Before puberty, no longer than shoulder-length. I had really fine hair and a tender head. bad combo. Mom was not inclined to spend a bunch of time picking thru my knots while I screamed bloody murder.

After puberty I managed to grow it out somewhere around APL, probably. It didn't look good, though... not enough moisture, mostly.

Now it's dang near waist! I would not have had the patience to do this any time before right now.

[meishkamooshka]

Here you go!
http://i.imgur.com/0TeCGl.jpg (http://imgur.com/0TeCG)

That's my hair from about 5-8. I do have more from when I was a little older. :)

[Zesty]

Short. I think the longest it ever got was APL, and more often it hovered above shoulder. I don't think my parents ever considered letting it grow longer because they aren't long hair people, and I never wanted long hair as a child so I didn't care. I remember thinking very little about my hair in general, and only started wanting longer hair when I was 16-17 (which then meant BSL). I only wanted super long hair starting about a year ago.

[Suguru]

About shoulder-length to APL with a blunt fringe until I was seven. Then I started growing it (slowly, with lots of trims) so by the time I was twelve it was just past BSL.

I was allowed to have "long" hair as kid because I was prepared to brush it and generally take care of it. My little sister who was much more of a hyperactive tomboy didn't take care of her hair at all so mum kept hers in a bob. In all honestly, it probably looked nicer too, as my sister had (and still does have) very fine hair. That is not to say that straight, fine hair can't look nice long. Her hair is BSL now and looks very nice. But she takes care of it. She brushes it. She wears it up. She did none of that as a little girl and so when her hair would start to get long (it hit nearly APL at one point) it would look flat and tangly and stringy and generally unkempt. In a bob it looked cute and tidy.

I think that unless a child's mother is prepared to put lots of effort into hair management, their hair length should be determined by the child's ability to manage their own hair. But it doesn't really matter that much. Teenagers look back on pictures of themselves as children and wish their parents hadn't given them that haircut or made them wear that puffy dress. But those same photos make for some hilarious 21st-birthday powerpoint presentations!

[Ticky]

It was anywhere from chin length to just shy of APL, until I was about 11 or 12 years old. That is when I started letting it grow :)

[MintChocChip]

Pretty short! I had a bob for a lot of my early childhood, and then it was at APL for quite a few years. I used to go the hairdressers a lot more regularly back in the day!

[Moominmamma]

Short, with an incredibly short fringe...my mother couldn't manage my very thick wavy hair and this was her solution to it....and then she would perm it with those disgusting home perming kits:confused:, I shouldn't think they make them now this was the sixties and they were probably chock full of scary chemicals!

Once I got into my teens and took over my own hair care I grew it to bottom of shoulder blade length.

[Madora]

@Meishkamooshka, your pictures are so cute!

[millyaulait]

As a child I had TBL hair... Ahhhhh :)

Only when I changed schools did I become friends with a girl with a short bob.

I watched her brush it one day & was amazed at how easy her hair was to brush! How quickly she could brush it! It looked so easy!

So, one day after school I told my dad I wanted my hair cut into a bob so I could brush it easy.

He complied, it was cut, it felt amazing & light & wonderful! When we got home to see my Mum she wasn't too happy about it... :p

[Tazzy]

Mine was very short. My mother believed in about ear to shoulderish length. I remember almost crying every time I had to go to the salon because she would always cut it more than I wanted.

[meishkamooshka]

@Meishkamooshka, your pictures are so cute!

Thank you! ^.^

[IvanaGil]

My hair was tailbone throughout my entire childhood. Always long.

[earthnut]

In middle school and high school I basically completely neglected my hair. I shampooed only, brushed it, and never cut it. It grew to a frizzy terminal length of BSL. :P (I thought it was REALLY long at the time and remembered it as being much longer, but I recently looked at actual pictures of myself and it was only BSL!) Now that I know much more about hair care, I'm sure I could get it longer than that!

[Amygirl8]

I still am a child XD
I've had my hair long my whole life, I convinced my mom to let me grow it out when I was in first grade. By third it was up to waist, although my mom has had it "trimmed" to APL too many times for my liking. The last time in fifth grade where she cut my waist-length hair to APL I never let her touch my hair again, and have still been growing out the damage she caused ever since.

My hair is hip length and getting healthier each day :]

[Amygirl8]

*Double Post*

[Loreley]

My hair was already almost mid-back length and very thick when I was 2 (there's a pic in my album). My mom told me that other girls who were the same age as me were still bald then or had very fine, thin hair. :)
When I was 4 it was around waist length and we cut it to a bob. 2 weeks later a chewing gum stuck in it and we had to cut it really short. Within 2-3 years I was back to waist and I haven't had any drastic cuts since then. It was hip length at the age of 14 then between tailbone and classic till I joined 3 years ago.

[Dandelion6]

Mine was very short. My mother believed in about ear to shoulderish length. I remember almost crying every time I had to go to the salon because she would always cut it more than I wanted.

Me too! As a child my hair stayed in the bob to shoulder length range. I really did yearn for long hair but my mom convinced me that my hair was too thin and stringy to grow long. So off to the hair stylist we would go... This brain washing was so strong that it was not until my mid twenties that I first tried to grow my hair long and managed to reach BSL.

[ladonna]

My hair was never past sl as a child, my family all has fine thin straight hair soNo one knew how to care for my hair. I thought there was something wrong with my hair until I joined lhc. The first time I had long hair was when I was 14.
My dd8 has hip length hair and my dd4 has super curly bsl hair or midback when straightened.

[mawiwala]

The longest I had was AS I think. I hated when my mother cut it. And I hated my bangs.

[velvetvenus]

I had my hair bobbed until I was 8 then I started to grow it seriously and when I was 15 it was tailbone. I never really appreciated what lovely natural hair I had and so I started getting bleached highlights and washing daily and using heat etc and ended up having a chop to APL...I then had hair extensions ( glue in ones) which totally ruined my hair and scalp-they pulled my hair from the root, I got bald patches so three years ago I had my hair cut to 'boy' short and I'm now on the journey to regain the hair that nature gave me.

[auburntressed]

My hair was between waist and TBL for the majority of my childhood and through adolescence.

When I was 8, I had it cut to just below shoulder length - shortest ever in my life.

It was cut a second time at age 10 or 11... not sure which exactly. I started school at age 12, and by that time it was long enough again to to brush the bottom of the chair I sat in. So the chop was likely closer to age 10.

And finally, I cut it back to BSL at age 16.

My hair grows insanely fast until it gets to just above hip length, and then it slows down dramatically. Or, well... it slows down to average.

The only other time in my life that I've had a good amount of hair taken off was at age 20. It was cut to just above BSL out of spite. It wasn't what I wanted, and it was very upsetting. That was when I decided I would never allow a non-professional to cut my hair again.

I started going to salons after that for trims, but they take too much off also.

I wish I had been braver about trimming my own hair sooner! I think I'd have been at Classic length already if I had understood that it is not only possible to self trim long hair, but in my case preferable.

[Cania]

Everything between a bob and APL, it depended on the time of year. Between swimming, riding and ballet I was just more comfortable with it fairly short, but it had to be long enough to style for my ballet exams.

I don't see why the length your hair was as a child has anything to do with the length of your hair now, what an odd comment! If anything, my hair was much thinner as a child (not like some of the beautiful type i's on here, but wispy baby hair) and I had less time to care for it, so it makes sense to me that my hair was short at the time.

[tiny_teesha]

My hair was a bit longer than mid thigh as a kid. :) I miss those days!

[CurlyCurves]

Thanks everyone for commenting :)

[palaeoqueen]

Mine was never longer than shoulder length as a child, my mum kept it trimmed short. I don't honestly know why, I might ask her.

[lapushka]

Longest? Classic length at about age 10/11.

[Charlottie]

I don't even remember that well, but by the time I was about 12 I could sit on it. I actually hated it because my mum would spend hours messing with it and whenever she brushed it, it HURT like hell. Also...... trying to get rid of head lice when you have hair down to your ass is the worst :\

[Lisabunny]

Ah those glorious day! Mine was tbl till I decided at age 10 I wanted a Dorothy Hamel do. Oh god! I looked like a boy and some lady called me a boy at the supermarket. :(

[LadyMikaelson]

When I was a child I had beautiful healthy MBL locks!!
And when I was 12 I really wanted short hair...:slap:
Which was fine for almost a decade, but I miss my long locks now.
Although, I don't regret my decision to cut it short because it made me appreciate my long locks which is something I didn't when I was a child...:bowtome:

[Lucky_Lucy]

Well during my childhood, my hair length varied between pixie and shoulder length. My mom would never let me grow long hair. She would literally force me to stay put while she cut it. It was like really traumatizing. The longest it has ever been when I was a child...hmm probably when I was ten, I'd say it was somewhere between APL and BSL.

[HintOfMint]

I went between bobs and APL. I also did ballet, so after the yearly recital, I would have it chopped off and then I would just grow it out until the next recital, then WHACK off it goes again.

[thatjengirl1]

My hair was always Around bsl/waist

[floralgem]

My hair was hip/ TB length, and my mom would trim it when it reached my butt.

[C_Bookworm]

Knee length. I lost probably between 4-6 inches in trims every year, but it still grew like a weed. I'm curious to see if I can get back to that length, as I'm taller now:rolleyes:

[wandlimb]

My hair was always in a chin-length bob. I got it cut even shorter in my teens but then decided to grow it when I was 19.

[briles]

Mid back poof ball the entire time.

[Theobroma]

Waist length at seven, somewhere past classic at twelve. It seems to have forever skewed my perception of what constitutes "long" hair; I'm now inching towards tailbone for the first time in <i>decades</i> and it still only feels "longish" to me. :D

I had my adult height at twelve, too, so I know I have the genes to get back to that length. I just hope that with wearing it up all the time I'll be able to develop a fuller hemline there.

[Pinkster8]

I went back and forth. I had anywhere from chin to APL. I had WL in one picture I found looking for graduation pictures - I was like "Mom! Why did you let me cut it!!!" :D

[Stellaaa]

As a little kid, I had short permed hair. At about 8 years old when I objected to another perm (hair about chin length) I was given a chop to pixie. They had to tie me in the hairdressers chair and I screamed and cried the whole time.

I looked so much like Mr. Spock that became my nickname.

You all can see, I guess, why I'm a longhair now. Look less like Leonard Nimoy that way ;)

[4C4rly4]

My hair as a child was usually above my shoulders, which I HATED! I would cry whenever I had to get my hair cut. My mom wouldn't let me grow it because she was the one who had to wash it and take care of it. I only started growing my hair once I actually learned how to take care of it.

[Shepherdess]

I really don't know exactly how long my hair was as a child. I remember it was getting longer every year though. I have never cut my hair short before (only have had it trimmed every few months as a child).

I'm guessing that my hair was probably shoulder length around when I was 4-6 years old, then bellow shoulder length to mid-back length around 7-9. Probably waist length when I was 10-12 years old. Then it was probably hip length at 13-15 years of age. My mom trimmed it frequently, and I wasn't very often gentle with my hair, so it really needed the trims every few months.
Now that I am gentler with my hair and take better care of it, I really haven't needed a trim in a long time and it has been growing out much better and healthier.

[OrganicJewel]

I had every length, from bowl cuts to waist length when I was a kid. It was always getting lopped off and know when I look back it, it seems my hair grew quite fast, of course I was way shorter then :p

[mzBANGBANG]

Somewhere, there is video footage of me at 4 years old with hair past my butt. I was jumping in the leaves outside, and when I ran up to the camera, my mom began pulling piles and piles of "nature" out of my hair :)

[ScrimHazard]

My mom was super preppy when I was growing up so she liked to keep my hair bobbed "as a child's hair should be." ...according to her. :)

[natural80]

As a child, my mom would wash it sometimes and plait it up. It would shrink up, so it looked as if I had shoulder length hair. When she started letting the stylist do it ( wash and straighten it) it started to grow longer and I remember it being WL. My texture was gone. I was forbidden to even think about scissors. Maybe that's why I'm so crazy about being bald. :confused: