Am I figuring my growth rate correctly?

[JessicaAnn]

I'm trying to figure up my average growth rate over the last few years and I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

I last had my hair highlighted on December 22, 2010. So that gives me a really easy starting point for all my measurements. We cut the very last of that blonde out on April 28th, 2013 so everything that was on my head after that point had grown since 12/22/2010. When I got my chop done on October 5th I got 12.5 inches cut off (I measured the ponytails after they were cut). When we measured my hair a couple of weeks later I had 17.5 inches left going from the front of my hairline to the bottom of my longest layer. So would I be correct in figuring up that I grew approximately 30 inches in 34 months? This gives me an average growth rate of about .88 of an inch per month. Does that sound right? I've gone over this in my head many times, but I just want to make sure that I'm using the correct measurements and that I'm figuring right. My hair has always seemed to grow a little faster than average, so I'll be ecstatic if that turns out to be my growth rate. The overall length of the haircut I'm sporting right now isn't too bad, but theses short layers are killing me and I can't wait for them to grow out a couple of inches.

Anyway, does anyone care to check my method and my math and give me some feedback? Is there a better way to figure up my growth rate?

Thank you!

[bythesea]

I'm having a hard time figuring out your math because of the way it's worded, I think.

I think the only way to know if your measurement worked was if you were measuring only the growth out after you got the highlights (not including the highlighted hair).

[bananahanna]

it sounds close to me, but your wording did confuse me a little bit, too. haha. :)

[JessicaAnn]

I am only counting the hair that grew out after the highlights. We cut out the last of the highlights in April, so anything that was left had grown after the highlights.

[JessicaAnn]

Lol, when I get back from rehearsal tonight I'll see if I can make my post a little more concise.

[Tini'sNewHair]

Hmmm yes i cant follow your progress either, sorry. Why dont you start meassuring your hair each month and eventually you should be able to see a pattern in your growth. It takes a lot of patience and many months of doing this but you will, by the end of it, be able to tell how fast your hair growth etc. Good luck :)

[JessicaAnn]

Ok, let me see if I can write out a simplified timeline.

12/22/10 Last highlight and starting point for measurement.
4/28/13 Cut out last of blond hair. Everything left would be what has grown since 12/10.
10/05/13 Cut off 12.5 inches of hair, shortly after measured 17.5 inches of hair still on head starting at hairline and measuring back (Is this the proper way to measure hair length?).

My conclusion is approximately 30 inches of hair grown in 34 months giving me a growth rate of about .88 inches a month.

Sorry my first post was a little convoluted, I was trying to include all the details I thought were important and I think I went a little overboard.

[Shibe]

Still having a hard time following. What was your length before you cut initially? How much did you cut from that, etc

[JessicaAnn]

Still having a hard time following. What was your length before you cut initially? How much did you cut from that, etc

The length before I cut off the 12.5 inches in October would have been approximately 30 inches. It shouldn't matter how long my hair was when I got it highlighted in 201 because that was all cut away earlier this year, so everything left had grown after that point.

[Magalo]

Basically you're adding the 12.5" cut off, and the 17.5 (from hairline) still on your head? If so, it's not the correct way to measure this.



12/22/10 Last highlight and starting point for measurement.
4/28/13 Cut out last of blond hair. Everything left would be what has grown since 12/10.
10/05/13 Cut off 12.5 inches of hair, shortly after measured 17.5 inches of hair still on head starting at hairline and measuring back (Is this the proper way to measure hair length?).

You're adding apples and pears. Yes, from the hairline down is the correct way to measure your overall length, but it's not the length of each hair (which is what you're looking for if you want to know your growth rate). Per example, if I measure my length from the hairline down to the hemline, it's about 30", but if I measure a couple of hair individually they measure 15" to 22" each depending on where I took it on my head.



You could: take out 2-3 hair from different places on your head (nape, crown, front), measure them individually then add 12.5". Find the average, then use this average to calculate your monthly growth.

[JessicaAnn]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm still in major regret-ville about the big chop and I'm trying to sort out how long its going to take for me to look even remotely like myself again. I appreciate the support.

[Ocelan]

I agree with Magalo on how you should try to calculate this based on this data you have, but the best way probably is to just measure your hair now, then measure in 1 month, 2 months and 3 months and see how much you grew each month. Already a few months should give you an idea how much your monthly growth is, but it might vary a bit so it's not written in stone.

Also, if you want to get the easy way out, you could maybe try measuring how long your hair is down from the crown of your head (end of your part) when wearing a normal center part. That's how most hairs lie when hair is cut so the demarcation line was probably eyed from there and cut where the highlights seemed to have started on your canopy (if no layers were cut into your hair as the undercanopy probably had the demarcation line lower). So measure from the back of your part to the ends of your hair in the back and then add 12.5 inches. That should be about how much you grew after the highlights. Then divide that amount with the amount of months there has been since the highlights.

Here are my rough calculations for you:
So if your length measured from hairline is 17.5 inches, your from-the-crown-of-head measurement is maybe 5-6 inches less, so let's round that up to 12 inches. When you add the amount of undyed hair you cut off the total growth after highlights is 22.5 inches. Divide that by 34 months and it gives ~ 0.66 inches/month.

You can check your own length from the crown of your head and recalculate with that, but until you take monthly measurements for a longer period of time you can't make very good and solid conclusions.