Stuck at BSL for 7 months

[firevegan]

I just found pictures of my hair from January. My hair was right at BSL. I've color oopsed my hair and bleached twice since then.

I have been stuck at BSL ever since then. Nearly 8 months have passed.

I just applied henna the other night after realizing this to strengthen my hair.

Am I at my terminal length? That would make me so sad =[

or is it just a critical stage of hair growth to protect?

Is BSL that sensitive?

[restless]

I doubt thats terminal for you. My best bet would be that the hair is damaged because of the bleach (and previous dye?) and therefor its simply breaking off. Whats your routine like? Heat? Updo´s? Oils?

Yes, its true a lot of people seem to be stuck at BSL because they keep rubbing the hair at the back of chairs and the like, but in your case it sounds theres damage from other things too that prevent growth.

[firevegan]

I don't use heat or hair spray or anything like that. I shampoo every sunday and condition any other time.
My hair was already really damaged to the point where I had to cut it off to my shoulders last summer. But it grew really quickly to BSL and just stayed there.
Is that myth about split ends splitting up to your ears really true? If so could that be it ? I have fairy tail ends.

[missblueeyes]

Do you wear your hair down much and lean against chair? There's something we call a 'false terminal' that's usually around bsl & waist for most people, which occurs when the hair breaks off from repeatedly leaning against chairs & other surfaces.
Bleaching it twice in the meantime definitely didn't help it grow, though. Did you bleach the length, too, or did you just do your roots? What vol. developer?
The myth about splits travelling up has not been proven scientifically yet, to my knowledge.

[restless]

Your routine with no heat and harsh styling products sounds good, so I still bet it would be the damage from bleach/dye thats preventing your hair from growing any further. I dont know anything about splits travelling all the way to your ears, because mine dont. When my hair gets damaged, it gets full of white dots and those simply just break off. However, I know every hair type reacts differently to damage, so I cant say for sure that would be impossible.

Do you use oils and do you wear your hair up in hair friendly ways (or at least are you careful with back of chairs, bag straps, etc)? Those small things can make such a difference, especially when your hair is frail and broken to begin with. There are lots of threads regarding different types of oils and ways to wear the hair on here where you can get plenty of inspiration and information. Coconut oil and olive oil seem very popular, but there are many other oils to try out as well.

My hair was in an awful shape a couple of years ago because of heat and dye/bleach, but quitting those things + microtrims, S&D, coconut oil and simply being aware of chairs/bags and other potential damaging things saved what was left and let me keep some length while I grew out the damage slowly but surely. Im pretty sure you too can get your hair longer than BSL, just have some patience and be kind to it :)

[Nesoi]

It could be breaking off at the ends because you have chemically treated it a lot which will give it a weaker structure. Also I find the thing about BSL is it's prime 'trapped between my back and the chair' real estate, and things like driving, wearing a shoulder bag, etc, have more damage-potential. Unless you think your hair actually isn't growing - which you could check by the roots from bleaching - then you need to focus on length retention. Try oiling or otherwise babying your ends, and the important thing is keep your hair up and out of the way all the time :)

[firevegan]

I'm going to do more research on this "false terminal" thing. I have the fairy tale ends afterall.
But yeah before I moved out of my parents house 3 months ago my hair was always brushing against the back of their couch, but now that I don't have a couch in my empty apartment it shouldn't be a problem, plus I've decided to do the 6 month bun challenge. I just hope it's okay to use an actual hairband. And about the oil, I forgot to answer that part earlier, I don't oil usually because it makes me look greasy but I had a wake-up call when realizing how long I've been stuck at bsl so I decided to oil my ends and start trying different oils. I read that jojoba oil is most like natural sebum? Plus there must be some way around looking greasy. >.< I feel like an idiot lol

[Kiiruna]

If you have hard time with getting used to keep hair up, you could wear your hair up when you drive/sit/carry a shoulder bag - gently, of course, meaning hair sticks/forks and soft scrunchies :) If you have a lot of splits/white dots, I'd trim to prevent any further breakage. When damage is done, it is done - you can't erase it.

I've been on collarbone length for a year because of old damage. Now I'm slowly making progress, but I have to be extra careful, and baby my hair and trim more often.
E: oiling my ends when they're damp makes them smooth, but not greasy. Dry oiling makes them look awful, though.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I have found that wearing my hair up 95% of the time and safely confined in a sleeping cap for sleeping, has allowed my hair to grow (so far) to past my tailbone. If I do have it loose and sit on a chair or sofa or in the car I either lean forward so that my hair doesn't touch the back of the chair , or I bring my hair forward so that it is in front over my shoulder. Minimising damage by doing this works so well for me, particularly as my hair is fine and easily damaged.

You could try this, if you haven't yet?

I would be surprised if BSL was your true terminal length.

[Nique1202]

About oils, if it looks greasy you may be using too much or not distributing it well. Start with one drop of oil and spread it all over your fingers, as if you were moisturizing your fingers and not your hair. Then fingercomb your hair starting from your shoulders down. If you run out of oil on your fingers (they stop looking shiny) before you feel like your hair is coated as much as it needs, then use one more drop of oil and continue where you left off. That's a good way to figure out how much oil your hair needs and how much will make it look greasy. The focus of the oil should be on your damaged ends, because your scalp where the healthy hair is will need almost no oil at all.

Damage can make your ends thin out even if you don't have splits traveling up the hair so I wouldn't take fairytale ends or thinning toward the bottom as a sign just yet. Until you grow out all the old dye/bleach/heat damage just baby your hair as much as possible, keeping it out of the way of chair backs, bag straps, seatbelts, and clothes as much as possible. I'd suggest microtrimming and/or regular S&D to catch splits before they get a chance to travel, also. As you get rid of the damaged hair, you should find your hemline getting longer. It may happen slowly, but it should happen.

[JustPam]

I agree about BSL being the length most susceptible to mechanical damage, especially if your hair is processed. I am not too strict about wearing my hair up (I have a pea-head when my hair is up) so it took me over a year to get from just past BSL to waist because I kept having to trim. I am hovering at waist now, and TBH consdering all that my ends have been through in their past years (lightening, daily straightening, harsh brushing...) I'm amazed it made it, although the last 3-4inches are so scabby I'd probably be best to cut right back to BSL, but I really don't want to, because I'm so sick of BSL, haha!

I think folks like us need to employ some self discipline and just do the oiling and the updo's and the trimming/S&D-ing despite what it looks like. When I do oil I only do the bottom half of my hair (the top half is virgin anyway) so I don't get the greaseball look that way, and would only fully oil as a pre-wash treatment. The updos are what I really need to get into, braids just aren't protective enough, my tassel keeps getting caught in my bag straps, or shirt buttons, or like today, my hoodie zipper, and my ends are trashed.

[restless]

I don't oil usually because it makes me look greasy

Yeah I cant get away with even tiny amounts without looking greasy either, so I know what you mean and thats why I dont use oils on a daily basis like some people on here do. Instead I slather on a lot once or twice a week as a deep/ moisturizing treatment. I only oil the lengths (ears down), put it up in a bun and let it soak for a couple of hours before I wash it out with conditioner. It has worked for me thus far. You have to experiment a little to find what works for you :)

[vpatt]

You didn't say if you can see where your roots are growing out. Or maybe I missed that?

[lapushka]

I just found pictures of my hair from January. My hair was right at BSL. I've color oopsed my hair and bleached twice since then.

I have been stuck at BSL ever since then. Nearly 8 months have passed.

I just applied henna the other night after realizing this to strengthen my hair.

Am I at my terminal length? That would make me so sad =[

or is it just a critical stage of hair growth to protect?

Is BSL that sensitive?

I think the color oops and bleach have a *lot* to do with it. Bleach and the like (dyes and yes even henna) made sure I stayed at BSL for a long long time, and had to go back to chin twice because of "accidents" (chemical cut/burn once).

Ever since I went virgin on my hair, it grew and grew and I am now almost classic, within a fingertip.

[flickm]

I think the color oops and bleach have a *lot* to do with it. Bleach and the like (dyes and yes even henna) made sure I stayed at BSL for a long long time, and had to go back to chin twice because of "accidents" (chemical cut/burn once).

Ever since I went virgin on my hair, it grew and grew and I am now almost classic, within a fingertip.

Henna stops hair growing? I'm doomed :(

[spidermom]

I do prewash oilings because oil attracts lint. I think I get a lot of benefit from it, and it's a good way to avoid hair getting too greasy.

[lapushka]

Henna stops hair growing? I'm doomed :(

That's not what I said. Rather the combination of not being able to make my mind up and going back and forth between bleach, henna and chemical dye turned into a few "accidents" that I have no intention of repeating - ever! That chemical burn stuck around for a long long time and required especially prescribed lotion. Not to mention the chemical cut! Aaargh. Of course you don't gain length that way.

[Anje]

BSL seems to be THE place to stall, for some reason.

For lots of people, there's that whole false-terminal wearing-it-loose evil-chairs thing. Me, I wore mine bunned most days and still stalled out at BSL for something like 6 months with blunt healthy ends. Then my hair started growing again like nothing ever happened! It's at classic now and still growing.

The point is, sometimes hair just takes a break. I have no idea why, but it occasionally does and it seems to happen to a lot of people at BSL rather than at other lengths. Take good care of your hair, make sure that it's not getting damaged by what you do, figure out what makes it soft and supple and strong. Learn updos. Most of all, though, don't worry about it! You probably are not at terminal.