Short terminal length ?

[Katze]

Hello there,

Are there any long time LHCers (or long time hair growers ) whose hair never gets past BSL or another 'short' length? How have you figured that out? What did you do when you discovered it? Do you trim to that length now, or do you let your sprinter hairs get as long as they can, and put up with the taper and thinness at the ends?

As many of you know I despair about getting my hair ever to be long and healthy. It is healthy, but it has never in my life been long, and I am starting to think I am genetically programmed for BSL or above.

I've taken good care of my hair since being here, though I do not wear it up every day. I use leave-ins, very little heat (only enough to dry out my ears when needed after washing) and WO wash and SMT regularly.

Updos don't work well with my slippery, frizzy hair, nor with all the layers I also seem to be 'blessed' with. I am physically active, and I eat well, take vitamins, and drink lots of water.

When I was pregnant with DD, and my hair wasn't shedding, it got to the longest it has ever been - just shy of waist. I was thrilled...and then horrified, after DD was born, to see my hair falling out in handfuls, over a thousand hairs shed per day for 3+ months.

It has never been that long before or since - APL/BSL seems to be my limit before my hair tapers out into nothing. Most of my hair - especially my coarser, wurly nape hair - does not seem to want to grow past shoulder or APL. At the roots, my hair is very thick, but I have a lot of natural taper from ears downwards. My hair grows very nicely - from shoulder to APL in 4 months - and otherwise seems healthy.

Could BSL, or just below, really be my terminal length? My hair has trouble even getting to BSL, and the ends start thinning out no matter what I do. Thus, I trim (and

I did find a thread with someone asking a similar question, where the OP was given similar advice to what I've been given (wear it up, wait it out).

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...erminal&page=3

[Mesmerise]

I have certainly heard other people say they've known people with hair that never got beyond about APL or BSL even when they never, ever cut it. I suppose it is possible to have a really short terminal length.

I also find mine tapers quite dramatically after about APL too... the longest my hair has been was close to waist (then again, I'm a very short person, so it may only have been BSL on others) and even back then I'm pretty sure it was very thin at the ends.

I guess I am just going to see what happens with my hair! I've decided to not cut for a year, and then have a small trim (I may do a micro trim half way through the year... which will be late July), and just... see what happens, I guess?! If I find my hair really doesn't have a long terminal length and thicken up EVER, I will probably keep it trimmed to where it looks decent. I really don't like the idea of having straggly ends where some hairs get quite long and the rest do not. I'm not talking about nice fairytale ends here... I'm talking about having just random long hairs and really uneven looking ends at a fairly short length!

[carmac21]

Hi there,
I have never grown my hair much longer than APL,
I only give up the heat about 6 months ago, so this will be the first time I'll know if it will grow. I have very fine hair, that breaks quite easily so if I get to BSL I'll be delighted, I'll be over the moon with waist.

I find it really encouraging when everyone on this site offers hope for any hair type to grow long!

[Humbug454]

Microtrimming is the way forward! No need to get 1 inch or more off.

Wearing hair up helps to avoid damaging the ends, but I don't think it is ESSENTIAL to growing long hair!

[constructamane]

What about your protein intake, and have you had a recent visit to your doctor? Sometimes anemia, thyroid conditions and other illnesses can cause hair loss/problems with growth.

[Mesmerise]

I think the question Katze is asking is: is there anyone on here who knows for a fact that they DO have a very short terminal length.

It sounds as if she's doing all the right things for her health and the health of her hair.

I know some people have certainly mentioned that they've known people who can't grow their hair long... but I don't know if there's anyone on LHC who's actually got to a terminal length which was comparatively short?!

I'm curious to know too! I don't want super long hair, and have no desire to reach extreme lengths, but I WOULD love at least waist! (Ideally hip). As it stands, I have no idea if I have the potential to get there, either.

[Louise148]

I have never had hair longer than BSL. Even when i was nine and my mom just ley my hair grow it never got past somewher in between APL and BSL so I definitely think I have a short terminal hair length. I have just accepted that there is nothing I can do about it and accepted that, for me, that is long.

Lou x

[auburntressed]

I think the question Katze is asking is: is there anyone on here who knows for a fact that they DO have a very short terminal length.

It sounds as if she's doing all the right things for her health and the health of her hair.

I know some people have certainly mentioned that they've known people who can't grow their hair long... but I don't know if there's anyone on LHC who's actually got to a terminal length which was comparatively short?!

I'm curious to know too! I don't want super long hair, and have no desire to reach extreme lengths, but I WOULD love at least waist! (Ideally hip). As it stands, I have no idea if I have the potential to get there, either.

This is actually something that I am quite interested in as well - the terminal length thing. I've been lurking around the terminal length goal thread to see who has reached it, who has thought they've reached it, ect.

I think there was at least one person over there who said she hasn't trimmed her hair in over 10 years, and it stays around APL. I think that can be conclusively called "terminal," for all practical purposes.

But as a general rule... there just aren't enough people around anymore who let their hair just grow and grow for most of their lives until it won't any longer to get a really good idea of what is the average for terminal.

I suppose looking into certain religious communities that do not cut hair - such as the Amish or the Fundamentalist Mormons - could give a little bit of insight into what is "average" for a designated genetic group. But it really would not at all help us to determine averages for humans in general, as those ladies come from a specific, narrow gene pool. It also would only give us insight about female terminal length for them - not male.

I'm just as interested in male terminal length as it pertains to averages. But I'd say we are even more out of luck with men than with women when it comes to examples.

[Guenever]

Could BSL, or just below, really be my terminal length? My hair has trouble even getting to BSL, and the ends start thinning out no matter what I do..

I understand completely. I'm an extreme long-hair by heart - my hair just doesn't seem to get it

I joined here in 2006 and grew from MBL to extremely tapered TBL before I gave up and went back to shoulder.. the taper was getting to me and I refused to wear it down.. I have to admit - seeing other members reaching their goals while I was "stuck" made me a bit depressed
So, I had a couple of years away from the boards trying not to worry about my hair, but now I'm back starting over..

It's odd.. I did (still do) everything right, but for some reason my taper just doesn't seem to improve.. I have a decent 3,3" circ. but the taper starts around APL and below just above BSL my length starts to get see-though..

I've wondered more than once if the terminal length of most of my hair simply is MBL.... it's just weird since my sister's (non-LHC) hair seems to grow like weed and I know that my mom and one of my aunts had thick, (at least) hip-length hair..

It's incredibly frustrating, but I'm not ready to give up on my goal just yet.. I'm sorry. I have no helpful tips or advice.... just a hug! You're not the only long-hair having taper issues

[Ndayeni]

I have also had trouble my whole life getting my hair to grow very long. It will get to around APL, or somewhere between APL and BSL without much trouble, but after that it never seems to keep going because the ends would start getting so frayed that I'd end up having to get a fair amount cut off when I finally went and had it trimmed. I've currently started seriously trying to grow it out as long as I can (or at least to waist/tailbone if I can), but I've no idea if I'll be able to go beyond where it's always started to fall apart. I do get regular slight trims now, and am working on getting and keeping it well conditioned, so we'll see how it goes.

Good luck to everyone else who's also trying to grow, and to the OP, I hope you can get past BSL and reach your goal eventually.