Free printable · 2027 edition
New Year Length Check Challenge
Measure on January 1, check in three times through the year, and close it out on January 1 2028 knowing how much length you kept.
- Jan 1 '27Start
- Apr 1Check-in 1
- Jul 1Check-in 2
- Oct 1Check-in 3
- Jan 1 '28Year close
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FreeOne PDF, 4 pagesEveryone grows hair. The question is whether you keep it.
Hair grows at roughly half an inch a month for almost everybody, and no routine changes that by much. What changes is how much of it is still there in October. That is length retention, and it is the number worth watching.
Length retained = where your hair ends − where it started
The cards still ask what you trimmed, because trims explain the gap between what grew and what you kept. If you kept very little and trimmed very little, that points at breakage rather than slow growth, and breakage is something your wash days can change.
How it works
1
Measure on Jan 1
Same strand, same way every time. Snap a back-view photo with your phone timer.
2
Check in on Apr 1, Jul 1 and Oct 1
Repeat the measurement and the photo. Write down any trims.
3
Close the year on Jan 1
Length retained is your ending length minus your starting length. It is also your next start.
What you get
- Five check-ins: Jan 1 2027, then Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1 and Jan 1 2028
- Back-view landmarks, shoulder to hip, to mark where your hair ends
- Space for length, trims and the routine you were on
- “My year in inches” chart you shade in as you go
- Your length retained at the end, with what you trimmed beside it
Five check-ins on paper. Every wash in the app.
The printable covers five days of the year. JARA covers the rest: a reminder on every check-in date, your photos lined up side by side, your length retained worked out as you go, and the wash-day habits sitting behind your best results.
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Length retained sample year
- Jan 1 ’27 length
- 9.0 in
- Jan 1 ’28 length
- 13.5 in
- Length retained
- +4.5 in
- Trimmed along the way
- 1.5 in
Four and a half inches you still have a year later. The trims tell you why that is not six.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. Enter your email and the PDF is yours right away. There is nothing to buy, and the paper version works on its own.
What if I am starting partway through the year?
Use your own start date and leave about three months between check-ins. Write your dates on the cards; the last one closes your year and starts the next.
Do I need a length check shirt?
No. The cards use back-view landmarks, from shoulder to hip, so you can mark where your hair ends without buying anything.
My hair shrinks. How should I measure?
Measure stretched, on the same strand, the same way each time. Being consistent matters more than the number itself.
What if I trim during the year?
Write down the inches. A trim is not a failure, and knowing it is how you tell two very different years apart: keeping little after heavy trimming is one story, keeping little with no trims at all is breakage, which is a different problem.
Which paper size does it print on?
Four landscape pages. Print on US Letter, or choose “fit to page” for A4.