What do you consider ‘short’ or ‘long’ hair? - YouLookFab Forum

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What do you consider ‘short’ or ‘long’ hair?

Runcarla

Veteran

I’m confused when folks with shoulder length hair refer to their hair as ‘short’. I always thought of ‘long’ hair as anything that can be got into a ponytail, about 12 inches or 2 years of growth, whereas ‘short’ hair is anything shorter, and especially hair that is shorter than 6 inches or one year of growth.

My ‘fringe’ and top hair length is 8 inches, however the hair at my nape is about 1.5 inches (last haircut was 3 months ago). I basically have a chin length curly bob. I would describe my hair as ‘short’.

How do you differentiate between ‘short’ and ‘long’ hair?

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General

33 replies

Latest reply was from Style Fan

Helena

Veteran

That's a great question - my DD insists that my hair is short; whereas, I would describe it as medium. To me, I'd say:
- chin length and above = short
- chin to shoulder = medium
- below shoulder = long

I really hope not too many people are walking around with ankle and floor lenght hair!!

rachylou

Veteran

I was going to say Chin length is the dividing line to me.., but tg has reminded me there’s medium length...

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Another vote for torontogirl's breakdown.

My hair is long right now (between armpit and bra strap), but I usually prefer it somewhere between chin and shoulder.

Star

Veteran

Anything from the shoulder down is long to me.

Becky

Veteran

tg took the words right out of my mouth!

JAileen

Veteran

I agree with Torontogirl. Her hair short? No way. My hair is short. Mine isn’t even chin length. By the end of this quarantine, though, it might be.

This is looooong hair. (In Nome Airport last year)

BTW, the longest my hair ever got was in high school, and it reached the top of my jeans pockets. I wore it in a braid with a big plaid ribbon on the end.

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Ginger

Veteran

Long hair for me is about mid back length. Short hair is above shoulder length, so inbetween would be medium. My hair is currently hip length and I think my goal is classic. But my hair hasn't been short since I was 2 years old, so I know my perception is not the average.

People with super long hair usually don't wear it down, because it literally gets in the way and is susceptible to damage. (Mine was getting a lot of tangles and split ends from my office chair last fall.) So there may be more longhairs out there than we realize.

hereforthecake

I guess it would depend on your perspective, based on how you wear your hair.

My hair is super short right now, but I've had it at shoulder length in the last decade. That felt like very long hair to me, but to most it would still have been quite short.

I've always considered chin length & shorter to be short. Between chin & shoulder to be medium and long to be anything past that.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Helena said!

Echo

Veteran

Torontogirl is accurate, at least to the extent that most hairdressers define it. When you look through hairstyle books, they're divided into short, medium and long, and the lengths generally follow her guidelines. I tend to keep my hair medium length because it has more body that way, but it is now verging into long territory. Even braided, it is past my shoulders, with no possibility of a cut in sight.

ophelia

Veteran

Ginger, I was waiting for your reply. : )
Below bra strap is medium length to me.
I have to put long layers in the front due to damage. : (

Runcarla

Veteran

@torontogirl - makes total sense!

Helena

Veteran

Carla - how "long" is your hair when it's straight/wet? Just curious!

Ginger

Veteran

Thanks, ophelia. I know I'm a real outlier here on YLF, so you really brought a smile to my face. I'm sorry to hear about your damage. I totally understand. Fortunately I like layers myself, and I've had my layers maintained as I keep growing it out. They work well with my natural texture, whether I curl it loosely or not.

How long is your longest length? I go by the LHC (Long Hair Community) standard, which measures the longest part instead of layers.

Gretchen

Veteran

Totally nodding with TG. My thought process usually is more about what you can 'do' with it.

Chin length or shorter: not much beside bobby pins and maybe a 1/2 up 1/2 down.

Chin to collarbone: lots of versatility, but updos may require extra pinning and work as shorter layers may still be involved.

Longer than collarbone: more likely to be in ponytails, braids, buns. I find that as the hair gets longer, it's more likely to be put up to get out of the way, so less half-ups, or barrette looks.

I haven't had hair shorter than neck-length since I was in elementary school. So, that's short for me. My longest was probably midback length in college (although that was with a perm, so it might have been longer).

Joy

Veteran

What Toronto Girl said. I think of long hair as at least shoulder length and chin length as in between. Short to me is cut above the ears.

Anonymous

I'm with Ginger. I consider hair to be long if it can make a decent braid, bun, etc. My hair was mid back, before living with hard water, but now just below shoulder length.

Runcarla

Veteran

@torontogirl - wet or flat ironed, the longest/top layer = 8 inches now and jaw length (?) I would need another 3 inches (6 months of growth) to have a stubby ponytail. I like it about 2 inches shorter - like the photos below and in #2.

#1 - Nov. 7 - haircut, blow dried, and flat ironed

#2- Nov. 8 - washed and air dried

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Diana

Veteran

I call mine short (well, not now but when it’s been cut within a reasonable time frame) but I guess a lot of people would disagree. The thing is, it’s heavily shaped so that the front is longer and it angles up in back. Which means that I actually can’t ponytail it until it’s quite a bit longer in front, because the back won’t hold.

The other thing is that I have a v short neck so shoulder length is not as long on me as on many other people!

#1 is freshly cut, what I would call short. #2 is from this week and is long enough for a pony.

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ophelia

Veteran

Ginger, I like the LHC standard then! Right now the longest part is about the top of my rear (which is set rather low, ha!). It’s curly so it’s hard to tell exactly, but the curls also hide any unevenness.
It used to be bottom of the rear length and extremely thick; I was convinced to cut is some, and I’ve noticed it is much harder to grow as I’ve gotten older! It’s slower, thinner and the gray comes in as a different texture altogether. It also splits easier. Had I just kept it long, I wouldn’t be dealing with this. My conclusion: long hair lovers should resist the scissors!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I love your hair curly! Agree with Helena/TG's breakdown. My hair is now medium, at least on one side. Usuallly I think of it as short.

Sal

Veteran

I tend to think there is a stage between short hair and medium hair - which is usually where I sit. That stage when it is not long enough to tie back and look sophisticated, but not really short hair either. So for me there is short, chin, medium and long.

The longest I have ever had my hair is about shoulder length. I am not good at controlling it so I admire those who do (Ophelia and Ginger).

Gigi

Veteran

Another vote for Torontogirl's breakdown. I too get confused when I hear people describe shoulder-length hair as short. It was a source of irritation for me on YouTube when I went looking for different ways to style my (then) new chin-length bob. I would click on videos about how to style short hair, and the woman would have a shoulder-length haircut. I don't think the majority of people consider that short.

bella

(website)

Veteran

Gigi took the words out of my mouth. I have almost shoulder length hair and to me it is pretty long. But then I would go on youtube and look for ideas for long hair and they would be impossible to execute because those women have hair to hair all the way to their waist. So confusing!

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

A slight aside but it's interesting to see what your chart dubs as 'classic length' - I've always thought that to be around shoulder length or shorter, like the traditional bob shape. That may be shaped by growing up in the UK though:

In South Asian culture, armpit length is already veering into 'short' territory since traditional ideas see longer hair as more feminine. I also wonder whether we generally have longer terminal lengths due to genetics, because I know I had many school friends that couldn't grow their hair to my length since it usually stops growing around armpit length for them. Mine reaches around waist length (if I let it!)

In Hong Kong, I've had people call my hair long when it was at shoulder length, presumably because pixie & much shorter haircuts are almost de rigueur for women past their teenage years here (or for those who don't deliberately lean into a girly style).

Helena

Veteran

I love your hair both ways but the curls see so signature to your style ... Just gorgeous!

Staysfit

Veteran

I agree with TG’s definitions. By TG’s definition, my hair is somewhere between short to medium length. My longest layers in back are 12 inches which is still shy of my shoulders, my shortest layers reach the middle of my nose....so maybe 8.5 inches. I can pull the longer layers into a stubby ponytail and/or pin up the shorter layers as well. Previously they were too short for either of these options and I had to use a headband. Curls make my hair appear shorter than its actual length. To have a dry length that hits my shoulders, my hair will need to be about 5-6 inches longer than shoulder length when wet.

When my hair was pixie length I think it may have been no longer than 2-3 inches in front with the longest back layers 4-5 inches.

I think of your hair as between short and chin length.

cindysmith

Veteran

I consider shoulder length hair to be medium instead of short or long.

The Cat

Veteran

Agree with what torontogirl said in the very first reply.

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