Moment of Truth: The Length Check

Most people who step away from relaxers to go natural set hair goals, and one of those goals is usually length related. When I decided to go natural, I wasn't particularly unhappy with the length of my hair so I didn't think about how long I wanted my hair to grow. Of course, any curly girl can tell you, once the shrinkage hits, length becomes a major concern. Even though your hair is below your shoulders, it may shrink to your ears! My overall goal is for my hair to appear the length it was when I started the natural journey in December 2010 (wow! almost 4 years now).

Needless to say, since my goal is for a length appearance and not a particular physical length, I don't often check the stretched length of my hair. Today, however I stretched a hair absentmindedly and became curious. So, I did a length check. 

My hair grows in layers naturally so I have 3 lengths. The longest is just past BSL (bra strap length) almost to MDL (mid back length). The middle layer is about APL (armpit length) and the shortest is SL shoulder length. The longest layer currently appears the length I want it to; it doesn't shrink much though. As I'm waiting for the rest to catch up, I'm starting to hate the amount of conditioner it takes to wash that much hair. We'll see how I feel when I get there.

Are you on a hair journey? How are your goals going? I always say healthy hair first, but hopefully you're having luck on both fronts! Feel free to comment on your hair goals, struggles/successes, etc.

Hair chart reference for the curious.