From pixie to classic
Hair length chart
How long is bra-strap length, or waist length, in centimetres and inches? Pick a length to see it on the figure, set your height to scale the numbers, or measure your own hair to see where it falls.
Named lengths at 163 cm (5 ft 4 in), average woman's proportions
| Length | Where the ends sit | cm | in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pixie | Cropped close at the back and sides, a little longer on top. Under about 5 cm (2 in) at the nape; often 2.5–10 cm (1–4 in) on top. | under 5 | under 2 |
| Chin | Ends level with the chin, as in a classic bob. | 5 | 2 |
| Shoulder | Just touches the tops of the shoulders. | 12 | 5 |
| Collarbone | Falls past the shoulders to the collarbone in front. | 15 | 6 |
| Armpit | Level with the armpits. | 22 | 8½ |
| Bra strap | Across the shoulder blades, where a bra band sits. | 28 | 11 |
| Mid-back | Halfway between the bra strap and the waist. | 36 | 14 |
| Waist | The narrowest part of the back, the small of the back. | 43 | 17 |
| Hip | Level with the top of the hip bones. | 51 | 20 |
| Tailbone | Where the buttocks begin, at the tailbone. | 57 | 22½ |
| Classic | Where the buttocks meet the thighs. | 65 | 25½ |
Estimates for a typical body, rounded. Real bodies differ by a few centimetres either way, so measure yourself when it matters.
How to use the chart
- Height and proportions. Enter your height in centimetres or feet and inches, and choose average woman or average man proportions. Every number in the chart scales with height, because a tall person's waist sits further from the nape.
- Pick a length. Tap a named length to draw it on the figure and highlight its line.
- Or measure yours. Hold a soft tape measure at the hairline at the nape of your neck and run it straight down to the ends, hair straightened. Type the result to see which length you have and how far it is to the next one, with a link that carries both numbers to the growth calculator.
Worked example
Someone 170 cm tall with 30 cm of hair: bra-strap length for that height is about 30 cm, so they are right on it. Mid-back is about 37 cm, around seven months away at a typical 1 cm a month, before trims.
Short styles are described rather than measured from the nape: a pixie is cropped close at the back, and a chin-length bob ends level with the chin, only a few centimetres below the nape hairline.
How these lengths were worked out
Hair length names describe where the ends fall on the body, so the same name means different centimetres on different people. We took body landmarks from ANSUR II, a public survey that measured 1,986 women and 4,082 men in the US Army in 2012: the height of the base of the neck, the shoulders, armpits, chest, lower ribs, hip bones, top of the thigh bones and crotch.
For each landmark we used its average distance below the base of the neck as a share of height, placed the named lengths between landmarks where they fall, and added our own estimate of about 6 cm from the nape hairline down to the base of the neck. That makes every figure here an estimate.
Charts from salons and extension sellers often measure from the crown or the front hairline, so their numbers run longer than these.
Sources
- Gordon CC, Blackwell CL, Bradtmiller B, et al. 2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel: Methods and Summary Statistics. Natick/TR-15/007, 2014; public data files from Penn State OpenLab. Landmark heights used: cervicale, acromion, axilla, chest, tenth rib, iliocristale, trochanterion and crotch.
- Growth rate of about 1 cm a month: Cleveland Clinic, Hair follicle.
Questions
How long is bra-strap length?
For a woman about 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) tall, roughly 28 cm (11 in) from the nape hairline. It scales with height and torso length, so set your height above for your own estimate.
How many inches is waist-length hair?
Measured from the nape, about 17 inches (43 cm) on a woman of average height and about 19 inches on a man of average height. Measured from the crown or the front hairline, the number is several inches longer.
What is the difference between shoulder and collarbone length?
Shoulder-length hair just touches the tops of the shoulders; collarbone length falls a few centimetres further, past the shoulders to the collarbone at the front. On this chart that is a difference of about 3 cm (1 in).
What is classic length?
It is a name used by people growing very long hair for ends that reach the point where the buttocks meet the thighs. On an average-height woman that is around 65 cm (25½ in) from the nape.
Why do other hair length charts give bigger numbers?
They usually measure from a different starting point, such as the crown or the front hairline, or they describe the length of hair extensions. This chart measures down the back from the nape hairline, which is easy to find and repeat on yourself.