self created terminal length

[wool]

Does anyone else have a length that they can't help but cut it? For me its waist ill get to waist and love it for a while and get impatient for hip or classic and then feel the need for change and trim back to bsl. Or ill get to waist and think it looks unhealthy and not as I picture in my head because my hair is so fine and thin. If you've experienced it how did you over come it and continue to grow? I want to keep growing very badly but every spring I end up cutting and not regretting right away necessarily but wishing my hair could look better very long and after a while wish it was long again....any suggestions for "Changes" that wouldnt damage or be too permanent but would give that feeling of something fresh and new that a haircut always gives?

[Nique1202]

I used to be stuck around APL because my "awkward stage" of hair is pretty much my ENTIRE back (I'm comfortable-ish with my hair above shoulder, and I'm comfortable with it touching my lower back, but anything in between feels AWFUL for me and I spent 3 years not knowing if I'd EVER be happy with my hair as it slowly gained length).

Basically it comes down to this: if you don't see the length and the ends then you can't be unhappy with them.

The trick is to put it up. All the time. Different styles help. Gibson tucks, Heidi braids, crown braids, basically lots of dutch and french braids and accent braids to mix it up, and try lots of buns and try sectioning the ones that you like but can't quite do yet. Lots of folks at waist can start emulating almost any fantasy TV/movie hairstyle and there are tutorials out there for nearly any style you've seen (Vikings, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings styles, you name it and someone's tried to mimic it).

[Complexity]

Putting it up will help you not think about it. Different styles will make it more fun.

As for the feeling, perhaps try giving your hair a 'spa' day every once in a while? And if it's the feeling of freshly cut hair you really like, maybe try microtrimming (or at least smaller trims further spaced apart so that you can still get growth in between).

[mwallingford]

I know you've probably heard this a million times, but you could always try learning new updos! I watch torrinpaige on youtube for inspiration to keep growing, and she does beautiful styles. I personally believe that the longer your hair gets the more fun it becomes and the more stuff you can do with it. Just have fun with it; that's a big part of the adventure of growing! :beerchug: :flower:

[MidnightMoon]

Ive cut to BSL/APL three times already, all by the time I get to tailbone. I hope it happens no more and I'm able to get to classic this time.

[LongCurlyTress]

I am also inadvertently going through the same thing... maintaining at 36-37 inches since Fall, 2015 ---the runners drive me nuts and I cut back to 36 inches as soon as I reach 37+ inches... I think it is more due to the last of my layers still growing out... Now after my most recent 1inch trim, I am back to 36 inches but at least the layers are mostly gone now, at least I hope so!! Microtrimming is a good idea if you absolutely need to trim... but keeping it up is a much better idea! Good luck! Thanks for posting this thread OP!! Glad I am not alone in dealing with this!

[parkmikii]

Oh yes, somehow I always end up trimming anything over hip-bcl.. hopefully I'll manage to get past that this time

[ArtificiallyRed]

I know this feeling well. I can never make it past BSL. I get obsessed with the ends and I'm always worrying that they're dry. So it always goes like this: I get to BSL+ (just above MBL) then end up cutting inches off, back to BSL. This time I'm not allowing myself trims at the hairdressers (only microtrims) and I'll be looking after the ends better so they don't get so crispy feeling. As well as finding nice protective hairstyles :) I'm determined to be a flame haired viking Queen with waves and braids!!

[Adorkable One]

I can't seem to ever make it past BSL. Though to be fair, I've only seriously been making an effort since joining the LHC a few months ago. I've just been doing nothing but updos. 98% of what I do are updos. Out of site, out of mind. Only time will tell if I can make this work. I haven't had hip or bcl hair since I was a child. And back then it was beyond pubic levels of damaged. (grew up with almost no hair health knowledge) So I've never had long hair that was also healthy.

The only thing that gives me that "new" feeling is doing a treatment of some kind. But I just do those as needed. The sort of "neglectful" yet watchful method has been the best for me so far.

[Temme]

I think about two times in my life I've decided long hair isn't really for me, cut my hair, left LHC... and then came back. This time I declared that I'm not allowed to give up, because I know that if I do, I'll end up changing my mind again.

I also think, if your hair gets thin-looking and not as you imagined, try maintaining for a while instead of a big chop? It might look nicer when all the length catches up.

[lapushka]

Have you maybe ever stopped to think that waist is the absolute most comfortable length you can do? And that that is why you keep cutting back. I get that when I get a tad bit over classic. I know that is all I can deal with and anything longer just has to go. I always find myself getting the urge to go for a big chop then, while just cutting a few inches off solves it all.

It might be that you've just reached the most you can take!

[Stepo_NiNha]

When I was a teenager I used to grow my hair to BSL and then I'd cut back to CBL/APL and regrow again and this cycle used to go on and on... I always wanted my hair to my hips but after a certain length I felt uncomfortable with the length in a somewhat "awkward" stage with eneven ends (my hair gets uneven very easily).

As others mentioned, wearing your hair up may be the solution. I personally love wearing my hair down but wearing the hair up can solve the problem even if it's just temporarily until you reach your final goal.

I alternate buns and different types of braids such as dutch, french and fishscale braids. A fishscale braid doesn't eat a lot of length as the french and dutch braids do, so it would be a good option to try and you find many tutorials on youtube :)

Hope this helps!

[Cg]

I always cut mine just before it reached knee because when I was young, my hair was really thick and heavy. It gave me permanent headaches.

[wool]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Its good to know theres others out there who get into this weird cycle too. Part of what makes me think the ends are so eh is i can never tell if the updos help or hurt...theres always a point at which the ends go into a v shape and a bit velcro which makes them stay in the updos much better but also annoys me a lot! I don't mind the shape so much because I know with time it would even out if I let it but the ends are annoying! It may just be how fine my hair is that it just damages easily!

[vampyyri]

I kept doing this to myself as soon as I hit BSL by cutting it back up to shoulder. I finally got over that when I was growing it out for my wedding last year and made it to MBL! The rest is history now :p

[Bhruninha]

I'm usually between APL and BSL. Since joining this site I finally made it a little past BSL and I am having huge urges to cut back to BSL right now... we'll see if I make it.

[animetor7]

Maybe you could do a microtrim and a moisturizing treatment. You could even go to a hairdresser but ask to only even up the ends and not trim too much! As for fine hair I know that for me using a coney serum after each wash helps keep my ends nice even as it gets longer. I think that fine hair can be grown long, but it definitely needs protection! And it might not be possible to grow long with nice ends without cones or some other sort of occlusive to protect the hair and seal in moisture. As many others have said keeping it up can also be a great way to distract yourself from your ends for a while. Good luck!!

[eternallyverdan]

Other people have given most of the advice I know of, but here's one additional thought: If there's a specific length where your ends always start to velcro and lose volume, it might be worth examining your whole daily routine to see if there's anything that could be causing mechanical damage. That could be anything from the chairs you sit in having a rough edge at a certain point, or the spot where the ends of your hair spill over your pillow and catch on your flannel sheets, or your hair hitting the length where it gets trapped between your body and the couch when you sit down, or a million other tiny things. Or if there's a specific spot on your ends that's feeling bad, consider switching up your hair ties or the pins you use to secure your hairstyles-- they could be making your ends more fragile. Good luck!

[brookse]

I spent basically the entirety of my middle school, high school, and college years in an unending cycle of growing to BSL+ then cutting back to somewhere between CBL and APL so I very much understand! I just had my (potentially last) big cut of that kind in April (went to just above shoulder) and I'm currently maybe an inch or so off from APL (I have wavy-curly hair so my length changes daily) so we'll have to see if I can beat the BSL-MBL abyss and make it to waist this time!

[Imalath]

My lifelong self-created terminal has been waist. Before I knew how to take care of my hair, waist was the point where I would get frustrated with the ragged ends and chop. I lurked on LHC for several years before I joined, and must have reached waist and chopped 3-4 times--usually to BSL, but once all the way to my ears. This year I grit my teeth and ignored the constant urge to chop, put my hair up (helps that I have to wear it up for work), and ignored it for the whole summer. Now I'm a solid hip, with my longest ends just barely brushing BCL. This is pretty uncharted territory for me, so I am curious about what length will be too long for me to be comfortable caring for. I am hoping to find out what my actual terminal length is, and then chopping back to just-shorter-than-uncomfortable and maintaining from there on out.

[202_bh_rider]

I feel you! I grew up with my hair in a pixie, and I've grown it out to bsl twice in the past. I always end up cutting it back to apl, partly because I feel it gets too damaged at that length...that was before LHC though, and although I'm currently one or two inches above bsl and everything below my hair is bleached and dyed, I'm hoping to reach virgin hip someday with all the hair care tips I've learned on here :) really try wearing your hair up, I know you've probably heard it a thousand times, but it really helps you forget about it! and I know this isn't good (at all) for you're hair, maybe consider temporary dying just the ends a bright color?? it might help you, considering it would bring a change!

[UncommonTart]

Mine seems to be fingertip length, which bugs me just a little. I really like when it's at knee length except that if I am finger combing and I run out of arm before I run out of hair it gets to bugging me and I wind up getting an impulse trim. (I'm not complaining, not really, and I don't know why this is even a problem for me- you'd think fingertip would be long enough for anything I could want to do- but there are a few things that I like to do that just work better with those few extra inches.) :hmm:

[meteor]

Growing up, I had this understanding that past TBL was "way too long for me", so as soon as that milestone was crossed, I would repeatedly get it chopped back to BSL... and the cycle kept going... Of course, at the time I didn't know how to put hair up at all, so too much hair simply used to annoy me when it got in the way or felt too hot. But I learned how to manage and contain hair much better now, thanks to TLHC and YouTube. :)


Mine seems to be fingertip length, which bugs me just a little. I really like when it's at knee length except that if I am finger combing and I run out of arm before I run out of hair it gets to bugging me and I wind up getting an impulse trim. (I'm not complaining, not really, and I don't know why this is even a problem for me- you'd think fingertip would be long enough for anything I could want to do- but there are a few things that I like to do that just work better with those few extra inches.) :hmm:

Oh boy, I know what you mean! :agree: I experienced this problem big time after CL+ with fingers and comb not reaching the ends and I really thought it would never go away, but I just pushed through it (without cutting) and somehow the problem faded away on its own after a few months... :) Now I have no idea what exactly my fingers are doing but they get the detangling and styling job done somehow. I think it's like muscle memory. I just lift the length sometimes with one hand and detangle the ends with the other, but I don't even notice this issue anymore. I also normally split the hair in 2-3 sections for detangling and that helps reach specific sections better, as well.

[YvetteVarie]

My terminal these days seems to be when I'm almost BSL. I just get bored with my hair, and do something different. Like have quite a few inches taken off. I just had 4'' taken off. Hopefully the next time I'm close to BSL I won't get bored again.