View Full Version : Does hair thicken up as it grows?
Louise148
April 5th, 2013, 04:38 AM
I have baby fine hair that is pretty thin. You can't see my scalp and I don't shed very much but it is definitely thin and always has been, although I think it has gotten a bit thinner as I have aged or that could just be because I no longer tint or bleach it so it may just feel thinner as it is now slippier.
However I have read a few posts where people have mentioned that their hair has thickened up as it has got longer and I have seen pics that certainly seem to suggest this. I understand everyones hair is different and that this may occur for some and not others but I am hoping that this is what can happen and that this is what i will experience as I would love even a little bit more bulk.
But, I was wondering what peoples experience is of this happening. Is this a commom occurance, that as the years go by and hair get longer and is looked after and treated well does, it start to bulk up a bit?
jacqueline101
April 5th, 2013, 06:10 AM
Mine has thickened since my layers have started growing out.
UP Lisa
April 5th, 2013, 06:21 AM
I think hair thickness pretty much stays the same, or lessens as a person gets older.
schweedie
April 5th, 2013, 06:42 AM
Hair doesn't automatically bulk up as it gets longer, I don't think. Treatments like henna and to a lesser extent cassia can give it a push in that direction for some, and someone who has damaged hair and starts taking care of it and growing out that damage - or grow out layers - could definitely experience their hair getting thicker, but generally I'd say the hair close to your scalp is a good indicator of what your hair will be like when longer. :)
melusine963
April 5th, 2013, 07:13 AM
My hair hasn't got thicker with length, in that the individual strands haven't thicked up and there aren't more of them growing out of my head. However, since I've started taking care of my hair fewer strands are breaking off or getting ripped out and shedding prematurely, so the overall effect is that I have more bulk than I used to.
LadyCelestina
April 5th, 2013, 07:15 AM
Maybe that was not lenght,but better care - hair care and health care overall.Especially the later!
shutterpillar
April 5th, 2013, 07:48 AM
For me, I think the only reason why my hair gained a half an inch in a year is because when I started here at LHC, I had layers. As the year went on, the layers grew out and filled in. My hair doesn't feel any thicker than it did when I started, but I do have the bonus of not having a ton of layers.
imaroo
April 5th, 2013, 08:15 AM
My hair hasn't got thicker with length, in that the individual strands haven't thicked up and there aren't more of them growing out of my head. However, since I've started taking care of my hair fewer strands are breaking off or getting ripped out and shedding prematurely, so the overall effect is that I have more bulk than I used to.
Yes, this exactly. This has helped mine for sure. I also went through a pretty big hair change in my 20s where my super straight dark blond hair got wavier, darker, and fuller which makes it seem like I have more hair. The downside to that is frizz. So, the jury's still out in my case as to whether that was a good change.
lapushka
April 5th, 2013, 09:29 AM
I think what people are talking about is the taper. Taper that "catches up" can thicken, but this doesn't go for the overall thickness of your hair.
Babyfine
April 5th, 2013, 09:32 AM
Your hair sounds very similar to mine. The longest I've had my hair is BSL at which I start to taper quite a bit.
I would like to reach waist, and have the thickness move down.
I did gain some thickness in ponytail circumference when I grew out my bangs/fringe.
Anje
April 5th, 2013, 09:39 AM
Mine never seemed to, and it's still on the thinner side. What I was able to do, though, is maintain a length for a long time and get my hair to thicken up further down. My bun got noticably and demonstrably bigger while my hair stayed the same length.
Thinner hair isn't much of a reason not to grow your hair out, though. You might not end up with a head-eating bun, but you can still have a sheet of shiny ethereal hair tumbling down your back or floating in the breeze. And you can freak people out with how long and pretty your hair is when you usually wear it up!
vindo
April 5th, 2013, 10:09 AM
The hair does not get thicker than it naturally is. But a few things can possibly cause a thickening effect.
1. Better care resulting in less damage
2. Growing out layers brings more thickness down the length
3. Growing hair to one even length can make it appear more as in the hair stays in one big blob (Mine was stringy at shoulder length and longer it looks less stringy)
4. Some notice less shedding due to better care, different shampoo and such.
5. Different products can also make hair appear thicker or thinner. Cones weight my hair down and make it flatter for example.
6. Taper can catch up over time resulting in a thicker hemline.
CurlyCurves
April 7th, 2013, 02:31 PM
I'd say with better care. I used to have a thin spot:
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/263846_2257866646571_194704_n.jpg
Now, it's almost unnoticable (this picture is almost a year old, however)
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/166039_4167600268718_491057172_n.jpg
AspenSong
April 7th, 2013, 02:59 PM
I personally can't say mine has thickened really with length or anything. I'm taking better care of it, it's softer, etc...but going from about chin length to almost to classic now in the last nearly 5 years....it's still as baby fine and thin as it was before. I think I notice it more now because of the length and it's starting to taper and thin at the ends. You don't really notice or have that with shorter hair I don't think.
I think it thickening depends on a lot of starting factors like damage, layers, etc.
Kiwiwi
April 7th, 2013, 03:50 PM
With me it was def. because of better hair care.
When I first got on LHC (aug 2011) I had 9cm circumference and now it's 10cm. I def. noticed over the months that I had more new growth around my scalp, it felt thicker. Now that is traveling down (growing longer) so it's getting thicker overall.
That was my experience.
jeanniet
April 7th, 2013, 06:52 PM
Not with length, no. With better care and less breakage, yes--but it's not really thicker even then. The scalp thickness is just preserved all the way down the length. If you were regularly bleaching/tinting your hair and it's damaged, once the damage grows out you may see thickness come back.
Mesmerise
April 7th, 2013, 08:20 PM
Hmm I don't think that getting longer can make hair thicken up. I think what often happens on LHC is people start treating their hair better, do less damaging things, and thus retain more hair which = thicker hair in the long run. Many grow out and trim off damage, or grow out layers, which also gives thicker hair.
However, I don't believe you are going to get more hair or thicker strands just by growing it longer.
Louise148
April 8th, 2013, 02:47 AM
Thank you eveyone for all the replies they all make a lot of sense.
I think of late, I have been obsessing about my hair too much and so thinking about and noticing things I don't normally pay too much attention to and the biggest thing is the thinness of my hair. I suspect the reason I have been noticing this more lately is becasue I made the decision to oil my hair and wear it up during the week to help keep it nice and healthy and protected while it grows. But of course that means the oil makes it feel even thinner than it actually is. This weekend I decided to clarify and blow dry my hair on a cool setting and see what it is like. While it is fine and thin it was actually quite nice so now I am going to try and focus on how great it will be when it is nice and long.
I am still intending on keeping it oiled and up during the week and then lightly styling it at the weekend. I am hoping that way I will get the benefits of oil and care but also remember how nice it looks when down and styled and so hopefully stop myself worrying about its thinness and start to enjoy it instead. :D
laceyfairy
April 8th, 2013, 04:28 AM
My hair has gotten thicker since I started growing it out, but that is more likely a result of getting out of disordered eating. I hope your hair makes you happy, at whatever thickness!
long&blonde
April 8th, 2013, 07:48 AM
I'm 58.
I'd say, and my current salon stylist agrees, my current tb hair is thicker than my bsl hair of my 20s-40s.
I entirely credit the switch in my hair care routine, LHC.
Mainly, no heat. I air dry.
This a switch from my younger days of daily washs/blow drys,then crimping ironing it!
I now
stretch washs,once a week wash.
This switched from previously washing & blowdry/crimping,daily.
Benign neglect,I've been getting my snow white roots dyed about every 6 weeks at a salon.
Intended to get salon to dye palest ashblonde & ignore white roots thereafter,instead salon dyed me medium blonde. So,here I am. Lol.
This from 20s to 40s,I was permanent box dying my hair at least once every week. Often twice. Record probably 4 times in a week, going from the darkest of brunettes,back to platinum.
My hair has definitely thickened.
It's never been as healthy.
Thanks LHC!
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