Hair doesn't grow past a certain length

[Mermaid.hairr]

Has anyone else had this problem? My hair is a fewe inches longer than BSL. I feel like it has been this length for years. Is it possible that some people's hair won't grow past a certain length? I really want waist length hair but it seems to be impossible for me :/

[Arctic]

That length is extremely common length for hair to stall - because of damage. We call it "false terminal" here. In other words, hair often starts to break off at that length. At that length the longest ends are starting to have a bit age, they have accumulated wear and tear (unless they have been pampered the LHC way all the way while they grow) and they start to rub against things and get stuck between chairbacks and you back.

If you don't have other signs of being terminal (like extreme tapering) it's very likely you can grow longer, just by changing few things: more updos, gentler care, being careful and giving your hair what it wants (like moisture, oils...).

[Kiiruna]

It is possible that some people can't grow hair past a certain length. However, more common reason for hair not reaching a certain length is false terminal, where hair breaks off at the ends.

Is your hair fine? Do you keep your hair down most of the time? Do you process (dye, bleach, use heat tools, perm) your hair? Tell us a little bit more about your hair care routine :)

EDIT: Arctic made it first ;)

[missrandie]

^ what Arctic said.

ETA and Kiiruna :)

[lapushka]

Depends on how you are treating your hair. Are you heat styling. I'm not talking a blow dryer on warm/cool, but hot tools like a straightener or curling iron. Have you permed your hair? Do you color it? Bleach it? All questions to ask.

Please give us some more information on your routine first. :)

[Silverbrumby]

Has anyone else had this problem? My hair is a fewe inches longer than BSL. I feel like it has been this length for years. Is it possible that some people's hair won't grow past a certain length? I really want waist length hair but it seems to be impossible for me :/


I'm a rare bird here with my just past BSL shorter terminal but it's not common. What everyone else said but also:

* What are your genetics. Mum, dad, sisters, grandmothers etc. Has anyone else had trouble.

* Health. Are you in good health?

* What is the longest it's ever grown in your life (mine is just past BSL even after growing for years)

* How thick is your hair strands (mine is mixed, medium, fine ish and course)

* Condition of your hair? (heat, coloring it, flat iron)

Please let us know and if you can post a picture.

[Anje]

Mine's another that got stuck just past BSL. In my case, I don't think I could even attribute breakage to it, because I was in the habit of wearing my hair bunned (mostly with sticks) at that point, after ages of wearing it in a ponytail every single day. Sometimes hair breaks, sometimes it just stalls out for no good reason.

Make sure your habits are good. Move your hair so you're not leaning on it when it's loose and you're sitting down. Don't let it get caught under the straps of purses/backpacks. Wear it bunned most days, in case it needs the protection. Comb gently and slowly, not jerking through tangles. Be prepared that it might not get longer til you've grown out any dye or perm or heat damage. Eat well and try to be in good health, addressing those things you really should see a doctor about. And then just wait and don't stress about it too much. MOST people will find that that their hair will get over a stall like that and start getting longer again. I know I did -- my hair is a bit past classic now and still growing.

[Mermaid.hairr]

Alright, I'll try to give more info to get to the bottom of this.
- I don't over heat my hair. I tend to let my hair air dry, and if I do have to blow dry, I will wait until the hair is damp and only dry for 5 to ten minutes
- I would say that genetically, I think my family has decent hair. My sister has longish hair and she doesn't do a whole lot for her hair to keep it that way. I have a few cousins with hair longer than mine.
- I have dyed my hair, but I have vowed to stop dying it for a while to see if this improves my hair situation. So I haven't died it in a couple months, and I don't plan to for a while. Even when I did dye it, it was never super harsh dying. I wasn't going blond or anything. Just started using argan oil of morocco but it requires you use heat when you put it in so sometimes I blowdry just for a couple minutes.
- I only braid my hair occasionally, and usually just leave my hair down. I hear that this isn't the greatest thing to do.
- I'm always slightly confused about how to categorize my hair. I don't think it's fine think it's somewhere in between. It isn't overly thick or anything.
- I try to do a hair treatment with coconut oil like every other week. I should probably make that more often. I take hair, skin and nails vitamins that seem to help my nails the most. Some of the things I am doing are somewhat newer to my routine since I have recently fully committed to getting longer hair.
- I wash my hair every other day currently and I am doing the condition, shampoo, condition thing advised on this site. I am trying to train my hair to get less oily so I can do every 3 days or more, but it's gonna take some time cause I am generally oily.
- Overall, my hair seems healthy with short split ends. The only problem is that I can't see any more significant hair growth :(

[Sarahlabyrinth]

It sounds like you have a pretty good routine going. Try keeping your hair bunned for 3 months and wear a sleeping cap in bed and see if that makes a difference. I bet you will see growth. Try bunning with a hair fork or stick as these don't damage the hair like elastics do. You can also do S& D for your split ends (where you trim each split hair just above the split with proper hair cutting scissors which are not used for any other purpose). This way you won't need so much in the way of trims which will help with growth too. Good luck, I'm sure you will get there :)

Oh and always detangle very gently from the ends up with a wide toothed comb. Gently EVERY single time.

[vega]

when was your last trim ,? Are you maintaing your hair?hair does snap off ,and damage happens if it neglected

[Mermaid.hairr]

I haven't had my hair trimmed in about a year. Should I consider going to get that done? I get nervous about cutting my own hair because I don't want to ruin it. I could try the hair sticks in my hair. Never used them before so it'll be a new experience haha. I'm just so jealous of everyone's hair on here. I want WL hair so badly ! haha

[Kiiruna]

Remember that even when you improve your hair care routines (even though they already sound pretty good to me!), it takes time.
If your ends are fragile, they continue to break off for some time, no matter how good care you take of them. I'm growing out a ton of damage, and even though I take very good care of my hair, the ends still break off - they're now improving, so I don't have to trim every two or three months.
And nothing can repair split ends, so you should definitely consider trimming :) Not much needed, just a bit!

We also have this great Visual Hairtyping Guide (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=116252) - it's very helpful!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Probably better to learn to trim your own. Try cutting less than you want to at first, you can always cut more later if you want to. Hairdressers often cut more than you ask for and it's very upsetting. You can try Feyes Trimming Method, it's very good. Trimming it yourself means you can cut the right amount, it's free, and if you trim small amounts, such as a quarter inch every month or two, you will not only be improving the quality of your ends but you will still see growth, a win-win situation for you.

[Chromis]

At BSL it is super easy to self-trim! You can do it :cheer:

Just make sure to have nice sharp hair cutting shears. Mine are only used for hair and I use them to s&d as well.

Some dyes still have bleach in them to make the colour lighter even if you didn't dye to blonde so there might be some damage there. The more knowledgeable colourheads here can probably tell you more about this. Your biggest source of damage though is probably from leaving your hair down most of the time. Wind, rough clothing textures, and mechanical damage from getting caught on random things like zippers, chairs, desks can really add up. Office chairs can be a common culprit right around BSL.

Don't just think of the updo as some protective boring thing. Have fun with this! There are loads of different styles to try and playing with hairforks and sticks is also pretty awesome. A wooden fork with two or three tines would be a very easy to use and flexible bit of kit if you don't have one (I suggest stalking some of the threads for different makers, like Jeterforks)

Some other things that really helped me:
- Braiding my hair at night! I used to have sooooo many tangles. Doing a braid at night and wearing it up during the has almost eliminated them and brushing/combing is super fast now.
- Using a wider comb. My crummy brush was giving me a lot of damage just by itself I am sure. I started shedding so much less when I changed tools and no longer heard tons of snapping.
- Not piling my hair on my head to shower. I grew up doing it and that is what they always show in the shampoo commercials, but oh the tangles!
- Not brushing when wet. I used to brush hard before and after my showers, thinking I was pulling out all those loose hairs, when really I was just breaking hair left and right.
- No ponytails. I had a *lot* of nape damage even using a soft fabric scrunchi.
- Trimming out just the splits helps keep my ends from sticking on one another like velcro.

I am sure you are already doing some of these, but I figure I will be complete, just in case! There are plenty of other things like oiling or what cleaning routine you use, but for many, the stalls are a false stall caused by damage, so let's rule that out first.

[Anje]

I think the occasional trim is a good idea, if you've got a bunch of splits. (Some people's hair splits right at the ends and they accumulate splits at the longest lengths. They usually benefit from trimming just a little. Mine seems to be fine on the longest hairs but gets splits further up. I'd never grow anything if I tried to cut up to where the splits occurred, so I trim the individual split hairs when I get the chance and only occasionally get the longest ends to make them even.)

For hairsticks, it's really easy to start with something like a pencil (maybe painted with nail polish if it's at all rough) or a crochet hook, just to get the feel of it. There's a learning curve, but the "center-held buns" tend to work especially well for hairsticks. Lazy Wrap Buns are especially easy and popular, and this is about the closest video to how I do them (Hi, WaitingSoLong!) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3LWSGiDBbk). The bit of twisting on that first wrap seems to make a difference for me in how well it stays, and she shows very clearly how to put a hairstick in to hold it. You may have to play with it a little to get the tension right -- done well, it shouldn't be uncomfortably tight, nor insecurely loose.

[lapushka]

If you've only got a few splits / white dots up the strand, I'd S&D for sure. It might take a long time, but at least you won't have to trim a bunch off.

If you do decide to trim, like Chromis said, it is super easy at BSL with Feye's self-trimming method. You can hardly mess that up! And a stylist might do *much* worse.

[VixenWolfMare]

This was me before I learned how to take care of my hair. I was stuck at BSL for like 10 years.

[Daydreamer.]

Ugh. I have this issue, too. Except my hair doesn't seem to get further than a couple of inches past shoulder length. So, I'll stay tuned to this thread. And, great tips Anje and Chromis!

[Angelica]

No matter what I do I can't grow very long hair. :( I am 51 now and have to accept these facts. It is terribly fine and thin, always has been and is now greying. I think it is changing slightly as it is greying as well. I've always worn my hair up and I actually think this is damaging it. In school those with very long hair never wore their hair up or just let it loose. Personally, I think a lot of it is due to genes.

[Wusel]

No matter what I do I can't grow very long hair. :( I am 51 now and have to accept these facts. It is terribly fine and thin, always has been and is now greying. I think it is changing slightly as it is greying as well. I've always worn my hair up and I actually think this is damaging it. In school those with very long hair never wore their hair up or just let it loose. Personally, I think a lot of it is due to genes.

How long is your hair?
I think when you wear your hair up with a stick it's not damaging. My hair got some damage from being up with bobby pins and metal crocodile clips.

[Mermaid.hairr]

I want to be more consistent with braiding and see if this makes the difference. I used coconut oil last night, too. Baby steps ! Has anyone used the product 'for hair that doesn't grow past a certain length'? Any good ?

[restless]

Just started using argan oil of morocco but it requires you use heat when you put it in so sometimes I blowdry just for a couple minutes.

Huh? This "argan-oil" thingy requires heat to work? Since when? Maybe Ive missed something here, but Id say throw that snake oil out and get yourself some real, natural argan oil. No heat needed for that to work. Ever.

[lapushka]

Huh? This "argan-oil" thingy requires heat to work? Since when? Maybe Ive missed something here, but Id say throw that snake oil out and get yourself some real, natural argan oil. No heat needed for that to work. Ever.

Yes, that had me puzzled too, that it needed heat to work. Huh?

[Angelica]

How long is your hair?
I think when you wear your hair up with a stick it's not damaging. My hair got some damage from being up with bobby pins and metal crocodile clips.

I'd say a little past BSL. In December I cut about six inches off with a ponytail method that took mainly the sides of the hair off because the sides were so much longer than the back. The sides of the hair is also much thicker than the back. Because my hair is so fine and thin (always has been) it has always been up in some fashion. I used to braid a lot. But if I was lazy I'd stick it up with combs or clasps. I think those caused stress problems on the back of the hair, so I have stopped using that method. My preferred style is a top bun in which I can disguise the fact it is so thin and it doesn't cause a lot of stress, but still the back hair doesn't grow long. Just recently noticed how terribly transparent is sometimes looks and I think I cut a bit too much off the sides. It doesn't seem to have grown much since December.

Six inches sounds a terrible amount of hair to come off, but if you saw it you would be amazed it really was just a puny strand that came off.

From remembering what school was like, I certainly believe that lots of people cannot grow their hair very long. Some girls just seemed to have hair that grew very long and others like me never had very long hair.

I have gone through stages when I cheat with hair pieces and recently discovered a lovely artificial hair scrunchie that takes no time at all to do and when I wear it people in the office really think it is my own hair! It also doesn't cause headaches or hair pulling like some of the other styles that I wear. Bobby pins are okay for me, but I don't usually use them.

I don't really like the shape of my face when my hair is up either so I prefer softer looking styles but this is sometimes difficult to achieve with hair like this.

[browneyedsusan]

Put your hair up when you sleep. It's possible that you're breaking it off on the pillowcase. (I wear a topknot. Rolling around on braids in bed is hard on my ends. But, that's just me. :) )

Keep an eye on your roots, and try to get a handle on how fast it's growing out of your head. (Easy for me. Gray temples make it easy to see when they need some henna slapped on!)

Once you have a decent idea on how fast it's growing, you should be able to estimate how much growth you can expect. Wear your hair bunned up, protect your ends, and it'll come around.

[languagenut]

I have the same trouble, only mine has been alternating between waist and scraggly hip for years, with no overall increase in length. Right now it's the latter, by the end of the day it'll be the former, as my mom is doing trims today, and between waist and hip is so scraggly that I don't see much help for it but to trim back to waist. There might be something I can do to help it after the trim, but I'm not sure I can keep it bunned up, as my mom isn't crazy about that, and given the amount of friction in the relationship already, I certainly don't want to make more. I don't have a sleep cap; do you think just braiding at night would help any? As we come into warmer weather, I usually braid it more anyway, maybe that's how it got to waist instead of BSL.

[Mermaid.hairr]

Huh? This "argan-oil" thingy requires heat to work? Since when? Maybe Ive missed something here, but Id say throw that snake oil out and get yourself some real, natural argan oil. No heat needed for that to work. Ever.


Yeah, I don't know. The back of the bottle says to use heat. Maybe it isn't necessary, but the product make it seem like that

[chen bao jun]

I don't think 'school' counts.
In school, those with very long hair were the ones who had that strong hair that will grow long even if you wear it loose. It was like, nobody had it up and so only the genetically gifted got past BSL (at most. some people rub off at shoulder. Or even shorter than that).
On LHC there are many who had hair that 'never grew' and now its tailbone or classic, and those who are genetically gifted are at knee, or floor.
I'm not long for LHC but i'm very pleased to at least two inches longer than I ever thought I could grow (I was a 'stuck at brastrap') and it appears to be still growing. Mine takes literally FOREVER (because I'm a tightly curly, so even when it grows, it doesn't look like it grew), but just hang in there, give it a couple of years, vent here a lot and ask for advice and you will most probably be surprised that your hair has grown longer than it ever did-although of course your definition of 'long' will have gotten different by that time...constantly seeing pics of floor length hair does that to one...

[Bopoluchi]

my hair stopped growing abruptly at knee-length, been this long for half a year and my hairs normally quite fast growing (3/4 inch a month). it could be terminal, but its still fairly blunt and thickish so i'm hoping its not terminal. i've been quite ill lately which could be a factor. i'll be trying to up my nutrient intake and moisturise my ends more.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I have the same trouble, only mine has been alternating between waist and scraggly hip for years, with no overall increase in length. Right now it's the latter, by the end of the day it'll be the former, as my mom is doing trims today, and between waist and hip is so scraggly that I don't see much help for it but to trim back to waist. There might be something I can do to help it after the trim, but I'm not sure I can keep it bunned up, as my mom isn't crazy about that, and given the amount of friction in the relationship already, I certainly don't want to make more. I don't have a sleep cap; do you think just braiding at night would help any? As we come into warmer weather, I usually braid it more anyway, maybe that's how it got to waist instead of BSL.

Just wondering why you wear your hair the way your mom likes it and not the way you like it? A sleeping cap or braiding at night - or both - should help protect your hair a lot.

[Wusel]

Just wondering why you wear your hair the way your mom likes it and not the way you like it? A sleeping cap or braiding at night - or both - should help protect your hair a lot.

I've bought one today!
I plan to make a side braid and put it in the cap :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I've bought one today!
I plan to make a side braid and put it in the cap :)

That sounds great - I'm sure you will kick yourself for not doing it earlier :)

[Wusel]

That sounds great - I'm sure you will kick yourself for not doing it earlier :)

http://www.amazon.de/Lilysilk-Schlafm%C3%BCtze-Nachtm%C3%BCtze-Kopfbedeckung-Nachtmutze/dp/B012ER5I8A/ref=sr_1_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1458428194&sr=1-1

This one :)

[Silverbrumby]

No matter what I do I can't grow very long hair. :( I am 51 now and have to accept these facts. It is terribly fine and thin, always has been and is now greying. I think it is changing slightly as it is greying as well. I've always worn my hair up and I actually think this is damaging it. In school those with very long hair never wore their hair up or just let it loose. Personally, I think a lot of it is due to genes.

Ive never grown to a solid waist and my BSL hair is see through past APL. I've been at LHC as long as @Sarahlabyrinth and you can see a dramatic difference in our gains. My hair is fuller, shinier, less splits, thicker strands since joining. Just no longer. BSL still after 5 years.

[Wusel]

Ive never grown to a solid waist and my BSL hair is see through past APL. I've been at LHC as long as @Sarahlabyrinth and you can see a dramatic difference in our gains. My hair is fuller, shinier, less splits, thicker strands since joining. Just no longer. BSL still after 5 years.

Do you know why it is so...? Does your hair break off at longer lengths or do you shed the longer hairs?

[Silverbrumby]

Do you know why it is so...? Does your hair break off at longer lengths or do you shed the longer hairs?

My hair is healthy, strong and medium. No breakkage to speak of. No health issues. No scalp issues any longer. Eat and sleep well, usual amount of stress.

I shed hair that's 6 to 15 inchs long. Rarely get individual strands past 15 inches in length. Only a few odd splits which i SD away when the mood strikes.

Just brushed waist with a few long hairs a few times in my life.

I'm a bonified short terminal with a 3" ponytail.

[Moonfall]

I actually posted something similar on this forum some time ago. I have received some really useful advice. My post was only about two months ago so I can't really say if there's a difference yet. You might want to see the advice other members have given me, though :) http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=136240