Tapered Ends?

[queenovnight]

I was going through my hair and noticed that the back of my head is nothing but tapered ends. Which I find bizarre because it's the healthiest part of my hair. I'm not sure if this is bad or good or.. I don't know.

It got me wondering.. Does anyone know how this happens or what causes it?


A Little background info:
My hair naturally grows uneven. If I don't trim for several months, my FTE make an appearance. I was dusting my hair twice a month and been micro trimming for the past four years to achieve a blunt hemline (which I now no longer want.) So I don't have "never been cut" hair.

With a whole lotta camera fiddling, I was able to snap a photo. This is the best I could get with a point and shoot camera (In my gallery, there's a photo of the front section of my hair, which has no tapered ends.)

http://i62.tinypic.com/15gfamp.jpg

[mira-chan]

I have the same type of uneven growth except it's the front hairs that are most tapered. It might be from how you sleep. I tend to sleep on my sides, so thats where I have the most tapered hair.

[RingletedManiac]

I'm not sure, but maybe you're in need of some oils on the ends? Of course, just a VERY slight amount. I also suggest sleeping with your hair up.

[queenovnight]

Good point on the sleeping! But I actually sleep with my hair up in a high bun, so my ends stay hidden in a cocoon of hair. As for the oil, I actually use coconut oil on the length of my hair daily. It's not dry, no damage, no split ends (that were found.) I feel like tapered ends are a mystery at this point.

[Weewah]

I always was under the assumption that tapered ends were hairs that have never been cut. Freshly grown from the follicle after the previous strand has been shed. So basically they're the best kind of hair. But I could be totally wrong.

Eta: All the baby hairs at the top of my head are tapered, so I think I'm right!

[queenovnight]

That's what I always believed. I have a lot of male friends that have long hair, that's never been cut. They all have tapered ends, but mine has most certainly been through a pair of scissors. Hopefully somebody will know the cause, if there even is one!

[mira-chan]

Uncut ends do taper more but it's more compared to other area ofbthe head. Some areas may have more taper per clump pd strands. I hacve that on my sides. I braid my hair so length exposure is the same. It's more the pressure your head puts on the area the hair grows from makes the growth slower or more uneven. Do you sleep more on our back, queenovnight?

[queenovnight]

Oh! I see what your saying. And yes, I sure do! Maybe that's the cause. Interesting!

[StickyMane]

I was just wondering this today as I was micro trimming my hair! My sister thinks it's just uncut hair and it's not a split end. I have a lot at the front of my head and it's mostly my fine hair.. I do sleep on my sides but I've been keeping my hair up in a bun lately.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think that a normal, never cut hair is tapered on the end. It grows out of the follicle and is thin when it emerges, then gradually thickens along the length as the hair becomes older. Kind of like a tree trunk which is thin at the top but thicker at the older part at the base. Just my opinion of course. I'm sure someone knows....

[woodswanderer]

OP, so what made you change your goal of a blunt hem? Is it aesthetics or ease of updos or something else?

[queenovnight]

OP, so what made you change your goal of a blunt hem? Is it aesthetics or ease of updos or something else?


Well, trying to keep a blunt hemline is just too much maintenance. I have to trim often, and I realize that if I didn't micro-trim twice a month, my hair would be a lot longer by now (been growing since 2011) Unfortunately, it's just not in my genes to have a blunt hemline.I'll just enjoy my natural hem as it is ^_^ Btw, You have gorgeous hair!

[meteor]

Uncut ends are tapered. It's normal to have shorter hair around the hairline and at the back around the neck. This shorter hair simply has shorter growth cycle, so its anagen (active growth) phase is much shorter than some of your other hair, so this hair will fall out earlier and a new hair will grow in its place. That's normal, and that's why everybody's hemlines are at least somewhat uneven.

Mira-chan posted a cool picture of an uncut hair tip taken with a microscope. I think it's an example to show that hair tips are undamaged and naturally tapering:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/microscope/meapr09end.jpg
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=24889&page=8

[queenovnight]

Oh okay! Well thanks for the info ^_^

[mira-chan]

I see some of my goofing around was put to good use. :D

[queenovnight]

Wait, you took those photos yourself?! That's so cool! When she said "posted a photo" I thought it was from Google or something XD - Totally gunna keep track of that thread! So cool!

[meteor]

I see some of my goofing around was put to good use. :D

Thank you so much, mira-chan! That "I put my hair under a microscope!! (pics)" thread was absolutely fascinating! :D I can only wish that even more pictures could be posted! And that thread was referenced recently in the "Hair Analysis of Hennaed Hair" thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=122639 If I remember correctly, we were checking out henna thickening effects and also wondering if hair also looks thicker/smoother under a microscope after some other herbs (cassia), protein, etc.

[meteor]

Wait, you took those photos yourself?! That's so cool! When she said "posted a photo" I thought it was from Google or something XD - Totally gunna keep track of that thread! So cool!
Yes. :D And the link to the "I put my hair under a microscope!! (pics)" thread is under the photo. It's an awesome thread with lots of cool and informative pictures!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=24889&page=8

[woodswanderer]

Thanks Queenovnight! It never occurred to me that a blunt hemline could be a lot of maintenance.... :doh: d'oh! I have been more or less maintaining most of my life so the things that happen to people on a quest to grow out their hair aren't always obvious to me. It makes sense I suppose that people trying to grow their hair to reach a goal would have more maintenance to keep blunt ends. My hair just gets cut twice a year...easy peasy.

[hennalonghair]

I think that a normal, never cut hair is tapered on the end. It grows out of the follicle and is thin when it emerges, then gradually thickens along the length as the hair becomes older. Kind of like a tree trunk which is thin at the top but thicker at the older part at the base. Just my opinion of course. I'm sure someone knows....

Yeah! I have to second this. Hairs that have never been cut have tapered ends.

[mira-chan]

Wait, you took those photos yourself?! That's so cool! When she said "posted a photo" I thought it was from Google or something XD - Totally gunna keep track of that thread! So cool!
Yup. I have access to a high power microscope that I use for work.

Thank you so much, mira-chan! That "I put my hair under a microscope!! (pics)" thread was absolutely fascinating! :D I can only wish that even more pictures could be posted! And that thread was referenced recently in the "Hair Analysis of Hennaed Hair" thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=122639 If I remember correctly, we were checking out henna thickening effects and also wondering if hair also looks thicker/smoother under a microscope after some other herbs (cassia), protein, etc.
Not all of those pictures are my hair. Some are my best friends, my mothers, or BlondeApple's, as she sent me some hair to take pictures off. Yes that was a weird letter. :silly:

Yes. :D And the link to the "I put my hair under a microscope!! (pics)" thread is under the photo. It's an awesome thread with lots of cool and informative pictures!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=24889&page=8
Thanks ^^

Thanks Queenovnight! It never occurred to me that a blunt hemline could be a lot of maintenance.... :doh: d'oh! I have been more or less maintaining most of my life so the things that happen to people on a quest to grow out their hair aren't always obvious to me. It makes sense I suppose that people trying to grow their hair to reach a goal would have more maintenance to keep blunt ends. My hair just gets cut twice a year...easy peasy.
Hemline depends on hair growth rate over the whole scalp. Some have even rate, others is varies. Mine grows in a V naturally and the hairs at the back of the head grow fastest, some as much as 2 inches in a month. So I'll get one hair longer than rest randomly. Others grows even all over, yours is probably like that. Some grows in a reverse V or U where the sides grow faster than the back.

[spidermom]

I think they're most likely never-been-cut ends, and the taper is entirely naturally. They may have been newer, shorter hairs when you last cut, too short to have been reached by the scissors. Remember, you shed out old hairs and grow in new hairs every day.