Why does my hair grow to a certain length, then take forever to get any longer?

[Cacosta99]

This is something that I've always wondered about. I actually just cut my hair short about 2 months ago. But before that haircut, I've had 2 other drastic haircuts. The first one was when I was 9 years old, I believe in the summer of 2008. I had extremely long hair that almost reached my butt when straight! Then I got a haircut all the way up to MBL! It stayed that length for 5 years, until I turned 14 in March of 2013! That was when it grew to waist length. I loved how waist length hair looked on me, but it was way too much maintenance, especially since I have extremely curly 3c hair. So I decided to chop it off up to my jaw that same year!! It reached MBL by my 17th birthday in 2016, but it just stayed that same length until March of this year, when I chopped off 7-8 inches of hair!
As you can probably tell, my hair tends to stop growing at a certain length, then take AGES to grow any longer! What causes this to happen? Why can't my hair just grow continuously until it reaches its terminal length, like everyone else? This is a huge conundrum that really gets me wondering. If you have any possible answers, please share below!

[Ylva]

It's probably growing just the same but it's breaking off at the ends when it reaches a certain length and therefore doesn't appear to be getting any longer. Do you wear your hair in any protective styles like buns? Putting the ends up and out of harm's way usually helps.

[Panthera]

It could also be a hormonal thing. Hair can be very different compared to childhood, teenage years and adulthood. Puberty might have some affect to the growth too.

[hayheadsbird]

I'd guess with 3c the combination of the curls causing shrinkage and the need for extra moisture and delicate care for the ends would make things take longer. From what I've read here breakage is common if you have 3 or 4 type curls and coils, it might just need a change up of routine or styling to save the ends from damage build up?

[milosmomma]

I noticed that happening with my daughter(nearly 12). But I think some of the problem could be that when you're 9 you are a small child. Hitting teenage years you go through some growth spurts(in you whole body) and your hair could very well be growing during that time but doesnt appear to because your actually body and torso are growing and you're getting taller still. My daughter stalked around hip but now that she has almost reached my height and slowed down growing upwards her hair is now brushing her bum.
Now that you're a fully grown adult however, I am going to agree that it could be friction damage and maybe wearing more protective style will help with length retention. I would try some buns and braids for a few months, maybe join the wear it up challenge thread, and see if you cant pass this hurdle. Happy hair vibes coming your way :)

[lapushka]

Do you still heat style? Like straighten or use a curling iron?

Welcome to the forum, BTW! :)

[Cacosta99]

Sorry for such a late response. I've been super busy! I can't really do any protective styles, since I now have an A-line bob. The longest pieces hit my shoulders when straight, and the shortest pieces are near neck length when straight. I do put my hair up too much however, especially in a ponytail.

[Cacosta99]

I rarely heat style, except for special occasions.

[YvetteVarie]

I think it depends with your hair. I have noticed most people's hair grows up to a certain length without any special hair care depending on the resilience of the strands. Then after that point, wear and tear on the hair just means it will break off and not grow beyond that length. That's when you will need to change your routine if you want to grow longer.

My own experience is I can easily grow my hair up to shoulder length without any special care. But from shoulder length, I need to step up my hair care by doing lots of masks, oiling, and putting my hair up to continue retaining length

[Joules]

My hair requires special care after it reaches certain length too. I guess it has to do with the hair itself being older and having accumulated more damage over time than newer shorter strands.

I can grow my hair to about bra strap length without any issues at all, I can even ditch conditioner and just use a harsh shampoo and it would still grow and be reasonably healthy; growing from BSL to waist requires a little more care; and then the further below waist it grows the more it turns into a whiny and picky spoiled brat. I guess that's just how hair is.

[lapushka]

Up to FTL I am quite fine, but after FTL, my ends get really sparse and that's not only because of the cut it has (layered V). But it does keep on growing.

[Cacosta99]

That makes a lot of sense. However, when my hair grew to waist length at age 14, I didn't do anything really, except use a deep conditioner after every wash. Also, from ages 8-16, my mother would put a relaxer in my hair every summer, and it would still be healthy. That brings up another question. Does a relaxer really damage the hair as much as everyone says it does?

[Wusel]

That makes a lot of sense. However, when my hair grew to waist length at age 14, I didn't do anything really, except use a deep conditioner after every wash. Also, from ages 8-16, my mother would put a relaxer in my hair every summer, and it would still be healthy. That brings up another question. Does a relaxer really damage the hair as much as everyone says it does?

YES! It does a lot of damage. I've heard that it's even worse than a perm. I don't know why but a friend told me.

[blackgothicdoll]

That makes a lot of sense. However, when my hair grew to waist length at age 14, I didn't do anything really, except use a deep conditioner after every wash. Also, from ages 8-16, my mother would put a relaxer in my hair every summer, and it would still be healthy. That brings up another question. Does a relaxer really damage the hair as much as everyone says it does?

Absolutely, coming from someone who was relaxed starting age 12 and big chopped at 18. A relaxer removes the bonds in your hair - this is incredibly damaging. The damage from removing bonds in your hair is irreversible. Even one relaxer is damaging as you can never rebuild those bonds. There are people who can grow very long relaxed hair, but it is a lot of care and attention to detail. Those ends are likely to break faster than hair that is unprocessed.

[blackgothicdoll]

YES! It does a lot of damage. I've heard that it's even worse than a perm. I don't know why but a friend told me.

Not necessarily true. A perm and a relaxer use the same chemical and fill the same purpose; the breaking of bonds. The only difference may be the concentration in the active ingredient, which varies for hair type and result. A perm breaks the bonds of the hair while set on rods, to get the hair to take the shape of the perm rods. A relaxer breaks the bonds of the hair while smoothed down, to get the hair to become straight.

[Wusel]

Absolutely, coming from someone who was relaxed starting age 12 and big chopped at 18. A relaxer removes the bonds in your hair - this is incredibly damaging. The damage from removing bonds in your hair is irreversible. Even one relaxer is damaging as you can never rebuild those bonds. There are people who can grow very long relaxed hair, but it is a lot of care and attention to detail. Those ends are likely to break faster than hair that is unprocessed.

Yes, that's exactly what my friend told me but I forgot this explanation. She has very dark skin, originally from Nigeria, and very kinky-curly hair and she did the relaxing ONE time and almost all her hair broke off. It was dead and damaged, totally.

[lapushka]

Yes, that's exactly what my friend told me but I forgot this explanation. She has very dark skin, originally from Nigeria, and very kinky-curly hair and she did the relaxing ONE time and almost all her hair broke off. It was dead and damaged, totally.

While that may be true for your friend, and the bad experiences with relaxers exist, I am not going to deny that, there are people out there who do *just fine* with a relaxer. AutobotsAttack on this forum for instance is growing to classic with a relaxer. And there's also Dark40 who has a relaxer and is wanting longer lengths. Both of these ladies don't have horrible experiences with a relaxer.

It is a YMMV thing just as with anything!

[Dark40]

Your hair is continuously growing. Once it reaches a certain length is does require more hair care. I know with mine being WL it requires more hair care then it did if it was CL or SL. But with some people's hair it does have a certain point where it stops growing. But I know that mine isn't finished growing just yet. I got a long way to go before I reach my terminal length.

[YvetteVarie]

That makes a lot of sense. However, when my hair grew to waist length at age 14, I didn't do anything really, except use a deep conditioner after every wash. Also, from ages 8-16, my mother would put a relaxer in my hair every summer, and it would still be healthy. That brings up another question. Does a relaxer really damage the hair as much as everyone says it does?

I still use a relaxer. It is VERY damaging if used incorrectly. For example if you relax too frequently, put relaxer on already relaxed hair, or even keep it on for too long, your hair will be destroyed. Your mum relaxed you every summer, so she could keep relaxer off already relaxed hair which is good for hair. I used to complain that my mother would not relax my hair straight, but I now realise she did it to keep my hair healthy. I actually now do the same to my hair.

You can grow healthy hair using a relaxer, but you definitely need to be careful since it is such a strong chemical treatment that alters hair structure

[Cacosta99]

I've also heard of a Brazilian blowout. It doesn't necessarily straighten the hair, but I know it takes away frizz while enhancing your natural texture. Maybe I should go for that instead.

[blackgothicdoll]

I've also heard of a Brazilian blowout. It doesn't necessarily straighten the hair, but I know it takes away frizz while enhancing your natural texture. Maybe I should go for that instead.

If you're referring to a BKT, I wouldn't recommend that either. It involves straightening with high heat and chemicals. It is temporary but still damaging, I wouldn't say it enhances your texture but it tames it. Now that advice is just to avoid damage. If you're overall looking for a way to make your hair manageable a BKT could work, but try to do some research. The treatment is not permanent but heat damage is so you can still end up with permanent straight hair.

[spidermom]

In addition to what's already been said, some milestones are further apart than others, and taking longer may be that the distance to the next milestone really is longer. It's different for different body types. For me, the distance from the bottom of my shoulder blades to my waist is long and takes more than a year, but the distance between waist and hip is short and takes only a few months. I recommend that you get a shirt with some sort of pattern (horizontal stripes are ideal), and take comparison pictures on a regular basis. You will probably be reassured that your hair is still growing, even though it might not seem like it. I invite you to join the seasonal hair growth thread. You take a comparison picture every time the season changes (so about every 3 months give/take a few days).

[Dark40]

Cacosta99, I agree with YvetteVarie. Relaxers can damage the hair or destroy it.....if it's used incorrectly. Or, if you use it too frequently/ too soon. That's why for the lat 3 years I've been stretching out my relaxer treatments to ever 3 or 4 months, and now this year I'm seriously thinking about stretching them to every 6 months. Because, I've noticed as older as I'm getting my gray hairs doesn't need that much straightening at all. I have a good grain or hair type anyways. Which is 2c/3a. As I'm telling people that here at LHC they tell me that I don't need to be relaxing my hair with that hair type. But I always tell them, "I have to." ""Because, it's for manageability.

[blackgothicdoll]

Which reminds me, what is your hair type Cacosta99? If you have good hair like Dark40, surely you don't need to relax it at all. :)

[YvetteVarie]

Cacosta99, I agree with YvetteVarie. Relaxers can damage the hair or destroy it.....if it's used incorrectly. Or, if you use it too frequently/ too soon. That's why for the lat 3 years I've been stretching out my relaxer treatments to ever 3 or 4 months, and now this year I'm seriously thinking about stretching them to every 6 months. Because, I've noticed as older as I'm getting my gray hairs doesn't need that much straightening at all. I have a good grain or hair type anyways. Which is 2c/3a. As I'm telling people that here at LHC they tell me that I don't need to be relaxing my hair with that hair type. But I always tell them, "I have to." ""Because, it's for manageability.

Same here Dark40. I relax more for manageability than anything else because I have a lot of hair.

Cacosta99 I would suggest doing thorough research on anything that may alter your hair texture/type, whether temporarily or permanently. Like Blackgothicdoll said, BKTs are temporary, but you may end up with heat damage. Every method has it's pros and cons. Doing your research to see what you can live with may definitely help.

And I am also interested in your hair type. You can join a thread with people who have similar hair types who can really help you out.

[GrowinIt]

I think with curly hair, it is unfortunately much harder to see any growth. My hair has grown according to the tape measure when stretched, but as far as I can see it isn't growing. I think I need another 6 months before I will really notice anything. I've noticed that since I wash less often and don't blow dry, just air dry, I'm getting major curl shrinkage, causing my hair to look shorter and not longer as time goes on.

[lapushka]

A channel on YT I like to watch (ladies that have approximately 3c hair) is MAD curls, it is a mother & daughter duo and they are very entertaining. What makes them stand out, IMO, is that mom has short hair and the daughter has long hair, and it's interesting to see what works for one doesn't work for the other, often!

[Wusel]

A channel on YT I like to watch (ladies that have approximately 3c hair) is MAD curls, it is a mother & daughter duo and they are very entertaining. What makes them stand out, IMO, is that mom has short hair and the daughter has long hair, and it's interesting to see what works for one doesn't work for the other, often!

THANK YOU!!! Just subbed! They are fantastic! :) :) :)

[lapushka]

THANK YOU!!! Just subbed! They are fantastic! :) :) :)

You're welcome. Her mom has MS (multiple sclerosis) and has recently openly started to talk about it. I love how they interact; they are a joy to watch!

[Dark40]

Which reminds me, what is your hair type Cacosta99? If you have good hair like Dark40, surely you don't need to relax it at all. :)

Awwww, thank you blackpothicdoll! :)

[Dark40]

Same here Dark40. I relax more for manageability than anything else because I have a lot of hair.

Cacosta99 I would suggest doing thorough research on anything that may alter your hair texture/type, whether temporarily or permanently. Like Blackgothicdoll said, BKTs are temporary, but you may end up with heat damage. Every method has it's pros and cons. Doing your research to see what you can live with may definitely help.

And I am also interested in your hair type. You can join a thread with people who have similar hair types who can really help you out.

YvetteVarie, same here. I also have a lot of hair too. It may not be, "nappy," as some people call it but it's thick 3 type hair.