When measuring hair in inches, where do you start?

[KiniKakes]

Im just curious to know if there is a standard way that ladies who measure their hair go about doing it? Im a tad confused, because Ive seen some ladies start at the crown area, while others start measuring at the forehead/hairline.... in general, it seems inconsistent.

Ive never done this, but am thinking about it...... A lot of folks refer to their hair in "inches," but i have no idea about mine.

Also, please post a pic of the tape measure against ure hair if you have one available. Thanks ya'all!

 

[camellia]

When I measure my hair in inches I just take a section of hair, stretch it out as far as it goes and then have my DH measure it with a tape measure while I hold it still, starting at the scalp and going down to the tip.

The way I'm stretching out a piece of my hair in my avatar is the same way I stretch it for DH to measure.

 

[KiniKakes]

When I measure my hair in inches I just take a section of hair, stretch it out as far as it goes and then have my DH measure it with a tape measure while I hold it still, starting at the scalp and going down to the tip.

The way I'm stretching out a piece of my hair in my avatar is the same way I stretch it for DH to measure.

Ok great, got it! Are you making sure its the longest section of hair, or do you just choose any random piece of hair?

 

[senimoni]

I don't measure, but I think if I did...for ease and consistency I would go from either the nape or the forehead. I think Camelia was is def more accurate as a "how long is my hair" measurement. Going from the nape would make you feel better though...lol, and I have a big head so I'd get an extra inch or two for that alone...haha.

 

[WhipEffectz1]

I've seen where some people on here measure starting from the crown on down to the longest part as opposed to just picking any other part of their head.

 

[Ayeshia]

Root to tip similar to camelia's method ....I think this is how most naturals do it if they dont straighten their hair. I do different sections as all of my hair is not one length.

 

[ShaniKeys]

Root to tip similar to camelia's method ....I think this is how most naturals do it if they dont straighten their hair. I do different sections as all of my hair is not one length.

Same here.

 

[KiniKakes]

Thanks for the responses ladies! Please keep them coming!

 

[camellia]

My hair grows unevenly, so I just grab a random section. The shortest parts of my hair are in front, so I usually grab one from the middle of my head, which seems to be average length. The longest pieces are in the back and o the sides.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

Root to tip similar to camelia's method ....I think this is how most naturals do it if they dont straighten their hair. I do different sections as all of my hair is not one length.

Yep, Root to tip here too!

I checked other because there are some folk who start the measuring tape at their hairline then measure from there to the longest part in the back. It makes no sense to me, but some people do it.

 

[WhipEffectz1]

Yep, Root to tip here too!

I checked other because there are some folk who start the measuring tape at their hairline then measure from there to the longest part in the back. It makes no sense to me, but some people do it.

I think they do this to quote their overall length instead of posting various length s of their hair. I guess they find it to be much more easier.

 

[sweetcashew]

I measure from hairline to ends because it makes all the sense in the world to me. My hair grows unevenly so me measuring from the nape or just grabbing a random section won't work.
The strands of hair in the middle of my head are like 26 inches long. Most of my length comes from the middle of my head. The hair from the top of my ears down barely measure about 16 inches or so if measure from root to tip. So what really is the length of my hair?

 

[Tee]

I measure from hairline to ends because it makes all the sense in the world to me. My hair grows unevenly so me measuring from the nape or just grabbing a random section won't work.
The strands of hair in the middle of my head are like 26 inches long. Most of my length comes from the middle of my head. The hair from the top of my ears down barely measure about 16 inches or so if measure from root to tip. So what really is the length of my hair?

I also use this method.

 

[WhipEffectz1]

I measure from hairline to ends because it makes all the sense in the world to me. My hair grows unevenly so me measuring from the nape or just grabbing a random section won't work.
The strands of hair in the middle of my head are like 26 inches long. Most of my length comes from the middle of my head. The hair from the top of my ears down barely measure about 16 inches or so if measure from root to tip. So what really is the length of my hair?

Its much easier and doesn't require another person to help.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

So I just went and got my flexible measuring tape and measured from my hairline to the longest point and according to this type of measuring, I have 17 inches of hair with shrinkage.

Yet when I measure from root to tip, I've got between 9 1/2 to 10 inches depending on where I pull the hair from.

Just seems to me that the hairline to tip thing artificially inflates the number of inches. Then again, maybe I'm just cheating myself out of 7 extra inches of hair.

 

[RoseGolden]

So I just went and got my flexible measuring tape and measured from my hairline to the longest point and according to this type of measuring, I have 17 inches of hair with shrinkage.

Yet when I measure from root to tip, I've got between 9 1/2 to 10 inches depending on where I pull the hair from.

Just seems to me that the hairline to tip thing artificially inflates the number of inches. Then again, maybe I'm just cheating myself out of 7 extra inches of hair.

Agreed. It makes more sense to measure root to tip. Its just like picking up any random shed hair and measuring its length. Thats how long the actual individual hairs are. You just have to make sure you are measuring an average length piece.

 

[Ayeshia]

So I just went and got my flexible measuring tape and measured from my hairline to the longest point and according to this type of measuring, I have 17 inches of hair with shrinkage.

Yet when I measure from root to tip, I've got between 9 1/2 to 10 inches depending on where I pull the hair from.

Just seems to me that the hairline to tip thing artificially inflates the number of inches. Then again, maybe I'm just cheating myself out of 7 extra inches of hair.

same with me and it has been 17 inches for the past 6 months but my hair has grown at least 4 inches since then and the grown measures from root to tip 11.5 inches...so the hairlines to ends method is a no go for me.


ETA when I first came to the hair boards I was amazed that someone had 25-26 inches of hair...for like 6 months I was thinking root to tip...like damnnnn nearly 2 whole feet of individual strands ...then I later learned that it was from hair line to ends.

 

[CAPlush]

I have measured sections of my hair after I shed a hair that I felt was freakishly long. My hair varies from 5" to 12"!!! I don't think I will measure my hair until I get past APL because I just don't think it makes much sense at this point in my hair journey. When I do, I think I will measure from the hairline back.

 

[sexyaqr]

Same here. Hair line to tip

I measure from hairline to ends because it makes all the sense in the world to me. My hair grows unevenly so me measuring from the nape or just grabbing a random section won't work.
The strands of hair in the middle of my head are like 26 inches long. Most of my length comes from the middle of my head. The hair from the top of my ears down barely measure about 16 inches or so if measure from root to tip. So what really is the length of my hair?

 

[cheetarah1980]

Root to tip. It's the most accurate measurement, I think. I just take a shed hair and stretch it out against a ruler. My hair is between 7-10 inches. I'm hoping to have it all to at least 10 inches by July 2007. I think that's a reasonable goal.

 

[Vshanell]

You're right, it is inconsistent because I saw on random forums that it was supposed to be done from the hairline to ends and that's how I did mine because one of the veterans did it that way. When I first started on hair boards I thought it was root to tip (which makes more sense to me) until I saw people with way more inches than I had and their hair was much shorter than mineerplexed .

 

[KiniKakes]

Hmmmm, so basically we all use various methods and it is inconsistent, as I'd originally thought. There is no set standard way to measure, which makes it almost impossible to compare your length in inches relative to someone else. Ok, well that is helpful to know. So I guess i'll choose which way I think would be best for me.

Thanks for the responses, ladies!

 

[dlewis]

I measure from hairline to ends because it makes all the sense in the world to me. My hair grows unevenly so me measuring from the nape or just grabbing a random section won't work.
The strands of hair in the middle of my head are like 26 inches long. Most of my length comes from the middle of my head. The hair from the top of my ears down barely measure about 16 inches or so if measure from root to tip. So what really is the length of my hair?

I do this also.

 

[chica_canella]

The only thing about measuring a piece of hair is that you have to remember where you measured as if your head is a graph and you are marking x, y coordinates.

I found myself doing that a couple of week ago, writing "3 inches from hairling and 2 inches across."

Plus, I think measuring from hairline to where your hair stops isn't accurate because its basically just measuring your head plus where the bottom part of your hair stops. Like the front or most of your hair could be layered so how would that be accurate if all the pieces aren't the same length? I know few people who have the same length throughout their whole head.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Cichelle]

When I used to measure I always did it hairline to tip. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you do it consistently the same way. The idea is to have something for comparison. If you measure at random places, then the comparisons are less likely to be accurate. I never measured to have a means of telling other people how long my hair is, but rather to see how much growth I was getting from month to month.

 

[chica_canella]

When I used to measure I always did it hairline to tip. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you do it consistently the same way. The idea is to have something for comparison. If you measure at random places, then the comparisons are less likely to be accurate. I never measured to have a means of telling other people how long my hair is, but rather to see how much growth I was getting from month to month.

I measure sections and record which ones I measured so that I will be accurate.

 

[dlewis]

I don't measure anymore, but I use my chair to compare length. I take several photos to be sure they look the same and it's not longer on one than the other.

 

[GIRLIE]

I MEASURE FROM HAIRLINE TO TIP, IT MAKES SENCE TO ME!! I DO IT SO THAT I CAN KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY INCHES I GET EACH TIME I TOUCH UP. SO FAR I HAVE BEEN GAINING 1" EACH TIME I TOUCH UP. IT'S JUST A PERSONAL THING FOR ME TO MEASURE MY PROGRESS. LAST TIME I RE-TOUCHED ON 30TH DEC 06 I HAD 21" FROM HAIR LINE TO TIP HOPE TO HAVE 22" WHEN I RE-TOUCH IN 5WKS. NEED 24" FOR BRA STRAP, YAY.

 

[B_Phlyy]

I prefer to go by body lengths. But if I have to measure in inches, I measure from root to tip. Once at the hairline, once at the crown, and once at the nape.

 

[KiniKakes]

I don't measure anymore, but I use my chair to compare length. I take several photos to be sure they look the same and it's not longer on one than the other.

DLewis, i just love your chair photos! That is the neatest idea ever. What a brilliant way to measure progress.