Don’t believe me? Enter “length check” into Google Images and you will see thousands of pictures of women (mostly Black) who’ve snapped photos themselves tugging on a small section of hair to see how long it stretches. To take it a step further, some naturals buy “length check” t-shirts with numbered lines on the back that easily track the hair growing process.
While I agree that it’s important to monitor the health of your hair, if on average hair only grows half-an-inch every month, focusing too much on length seems a bit like self torture.
Overall, hair health is a reflection of several factors not just length. Monitoring your eating habits and stress levels and adopting a healthy hair routine that includes proper moisture, caring for your ends, and low-maintenance styling will give you a head full of lustrous curls, no matter what length they may be.
Do you do “length checks?” How has measuring helped or hurt your natural hair journey?
