rate of growth??

[pastina]

what is "normal"?

i was just looking at pictures from my older son's first birthday party in january, and noticed the length of my hair. it's hanging over the front of my shoulders, and appears to end just past my armpits. if i remember correctly, measuring from the back, it was closer to bsl at that point, following a haircut in december. i remember being really upset, because the hairdresser cut off too much, so that was my last time going to a salon.

meanwhile, it is now the end of october, and my hair is now hip length??? i feel like that is **a lot** of growth to have happened in less than a year. could it have been due to pregnancy? (i had our second son in august of this year.)

[brooke_kawaii]

I've heard that 5-6 inches a year is average. (Could be wrong though!)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I do believe that 6 inches a year is considered to be average. Have you measured your hair to see how many inches it has grown from Armpit length to your waist?

[gthlvrmx]

Yup the average is about 5-6 inches every year.

[pastina]

ok, i'm 5'4". i'm going to throw measurements out there, but i'm not 100% sure i'm doing them correctly, so they may seem a bit funky. but, i am being consistent in my methodology.

at hip, it's 32". measuring bra-strap length (which might be a little generous on the length i'm seeing in my photo), i'm getting 21". so, this looks like 11" of growth in about 9 months?

[pastina]

after a bit of googling, 21" doesn't seem right for bsl, does it. maybe i need help getting that measurement.

[darklyndsea]

Is the end of the tape measure at your front hairline? The tape measure should go over your head.

[pastina]

yes, thats' how i did it. i keep getting 32.5". dh just helped me with bra-strap, and it's 23.5". so it's not 11", (lol i knew that sounded wrong), but it IS 9 inches in 9 months.

do you think the extra-fast growth was due to pregnancy hormones?

[starfire]

Pregnancy hormones could be the reason, yes. But 9 inches in 9 months is pretty darn fast! Nice growing!

[MsPharaohMoan]

I'm right there with you. Mid-December I began my growing journey juuuust above bsl and now I'm at hip. High five with twinnage! <3

[pastina]

^^ woo hoo! :hifive:

[Hotrox]

Pregnancy, for sure!! Mine went from Chin to somewhere between APL and BSL in about a year, and I'm 5'9. It was a definite growth spurt for me.

hmmm, could this be a good reason to try for a second..... could get to waist by next year, hahaha!!!

[Panth]

Yup, the pregnancy hormones cause the hair follicles to remain in anagen (growing) phase when they otherwise would have naturally come to the end of their cycle, stopped growing, waited a few months through catagen (transition) and telogen (resting) phases and then shed. I'm not sure whether they can also cause a faster growth rate, but it seems plausible.

The problem, of course, is that when those hormones go almost everyone gets a massive shed as all those hair follicles with prolonged anagen all suddenly switch into catagen, telogen and shed at once. It usually occurs about 3-4 months after birth (because that's how long it takes a follicle to go from finishing anagen to starting another anagen cycle, and although the hair does not grow during catagen and telogen, it's not actually shed out until the new, growing hair pushes it out).

[Hotrox]

The problem, of course, is that when those hormones go almost everyone gets a massive shed as all those hair follicles with prolonged anagen all suddenly switch into catagen, telogen and shed at once. It usually occurs about 3-4 months after birth (because that's how long it takes a follicle to go from finishing anagen to starting another anagen cycle, and although the hair does not grow during catagen and telogen, it's not actually shed out until the new, growing hair pushes it out).


Yup, I shed between 3 and 6 months, it was kind of scary for a while but luckily for me my hair does not look or feel any thinner than before pregnancy. But I no longer have the super thick hair of the 3rd trimester, it was awesome for a few months :-)

[Marika]

My hair definitely grew faster during pregnancy and I was lucky and didn't get any shedding (baby is now 12 months).

Yey for pregnancy hormones!:face:

[pastina]

my little dude is a week shy of 3 months old and i'm starting to see strands drop already. not a lot, just more than the ZERO i've gotten used to. this is baby #2 for me, so i've been there, done that. but i was still surprised by the growth acceleration. thats a new one for me!

[gustavonut]

Lucky you! :)

[Lis]

Hair grows about 1/2 inch per month.

[mira-chan]

1/2 inch is average. My best friends hair grows an 1 inch a month, always has no matter what she did. So that might just be your normal growth rate.

[nakima]

mine averages abt 1/2 inch a month and once in a great while I get 3/4 of an inch per month ( doesnt happen very often tho) and when I was pregnant which was many moons ago I had massive hair growth dureing that time and I never shed afterwards.