What do you consider to be your true length

pinkchocolatedaisy

Well-Known Member
This question is mostly for naturals, I suppose. I want a little clarification b/c I think I may be the oddball here. :perplexed Since shrinkage is a universal theme amongst us natural ladies, what do you consider to be your true length? Is it when your hair is stretched/straightened or the length it is in it's natural (curly/kinky/nappy/ insert adjective) state? I see on a lot of hair boards where ladies say they are X length but it is the length they are when their hair has been straightened.

In my case I would state my length in it's naturally curly state- and of course it can be quite discouraging when your natural length is much shorter than your stretched length. :wallbash::nono: Which is probably why I'm loathe to straighten my own hair (that and laziness and some fear:rolleyes:). ButI was just wondering, what do you consider to be your length? And how does it affect your goals?
 

winnettag

New Member
I consider my true length to be the stretched length, but I see what you're saying. My goal length incorporates shrinkage though. I want to be HL so that it'll still look long when shrunken.
I think of it kind of like when buying a phone cord. I need to know how long it's capable of going, not just how long it looks.
 

msa

New Member
I don't straighten my hair so I measure my length by pulling it and seeing where it lands. My main hair goals are based on my stretched hair. I also have hair goals based on my shrinkage, for example where I want my twists to fall and how big I want my bantu knot out or bun to be.
 

anon123

Well-Known Member
I don't straighten my hair so I measure my length by pulling it and seeing where it lands. My main hair goals are based on my stretched hair. I also have hair goals based on my shrinkage, for example where I want my twists to fall and how big I want my bantu knot out or bun to be.

ditto to this. also, pre-hair boards i was more likely to consider my hair the length it was shrunken because i never straightened. so i'd have neck to shoulder length hair forever, basically. after hair boards, i learned the whole "pulling on the hair trick" and now use that on hair boards to tell people how long my hair is. both ways of measuring are equally true for me.
 

SEMO

Well-Known Member
I consider my true length BSL based on my hair straightened. But my hair goals revolve around the length of my hair in it's shrunken curly state.
 

that_1_grrrl

New Member
I go by stretched hair. My ultimate goal is to have waist-length hair stretched. I'd also like my hair to hit APL or BSL when unstretched, so it always looks long. I'm also hoping that I could do braidouts/twistouts with my hair reaching close to its actual length.
 

Kurly K

New Member
i go by my straightened ot stretched hair because that is how long the actual hair is...but my goals r based on it being that length when straightened i dont care how much it shrinks when curls but when straightened i'd like it to be BSL one day
 

ShaniKeys

New Member
I consider my kinky hair to be my true length, simply b/c I don't plan on stretching/straightening my hair that often when I achieve my goal length which is APL.
 

LunadeMiel

Well-Known Member
It easier to set my goals based on straightened hair so I usually go by that when I speak about length. Otherwise, I consider my shrunken hair my true length. My main goal is based on my hair in it's shrunken state.
 

Cichelle

Well-Known Member
True length is the length the hair is when pulled out straight. IMO. Just like the true length of a string is not what it is rolled up into a ball, spiral or any other curved shape. Again, IMO. (I wouldn't measure my friend's straight hair after she did a roller set.)

Having said that, I have a true length goal and a "shrinkage" goal. Like others, I don't use heat, so I just pull my hair straight to see its real length.
 

pinkchocolatedaisy

Well-Known Member
Thank you for all your responses and input ladies! I guess for me then it would be to reach the goal of WL straightened or at least APL or BSL when it's not. :grin: we'll see though, right? :rolleyes: I don't plan to straighten my hair that much either.
 

lilsparkle825

New Member
definitely stretched. i just came up with an unstretched goal last week -- my goal was always BSL stretched, but now that i am wayyy more comfortable wearing my hair curly (and too lazy to spend 4 hrs/wk straightening) it would be nice to have some APL 4a curls, which with all this shrinkage is probably WL stretched...that is if they ever grow down instead of OUT.
 

FlowerHair

Reclaiming my time
I measure my hair by stretching it out. Curly and coily hair is so different from day to day that one day it can be waist length like in my siggy and the other day it can be BSL... It depends! :)

It's easier to see growth if you stretch it out and check where (on the body) it stops.
 

Muffinz05

New Member
I would say that a persons true lenght is the lenght when its stretched/straightened. I know that it can be confusing and frustrating at times because I know that my hair is APL in its natural state but MBL straightened.
 

goldenchica

New Member
I plan on always wearing my hair curly, so the only "length" that matters to me is how it looks after I've styled my wash-and-go. It amuses me when people snub their noses at my "too-short" hair-- not knowing that I can stretch it out to two and three times the length they see! LOL Shrinkage doesn't bother me, it's like a delicious secret.

But, I might be crazy.

That being said, I'm just growing to see how long it can get..if that's BSL, so be it. If that's HL...bring it on!

From where I'm sitting, it's all good ;)
 

NikStarrr

New Member
True length is the length the hair is when pulled out straight. IMO. Just like the true length of a string is not what it is rolled up into a ball, spiral or any other curved shape. Again, IMO. (I wouldn't measure my friend's straight hair after she did a roller set.)

Having said that, I have a true length goal and a "shrinkage" goal. Like others, I don't use heat, so I just pull my hair straight to see its real length.

ditto.....
 
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