Hair growing but not getting any longer? Where does the hair go?

[First Timer]

My hair has had ZERO length increase since I joined just over a year ago. I know, I know, this means that I must have reached my terminal length (several inches above my tail bone, sigh), but here's the thing… it's dyed a dramatically different color than my natural color, so I can see with 100% certainty that it's still growing out, at the normal rate, and from every point in my head. But it's not getting longer. Where is the hair going? I'm not shedding, that's not something that we can miss, right, lol, same thing with a bunch of hair breaking off, no sign of that, and I'm not even trimming off split ends, because I never have any. So how does hair keep growing but never actually get any longer, doesn't that defy the laws of physics or something?

[Joules]

Technically even when hair reaches terminal length it doesn't stop growing. The shedding cycle means that even if you're at your terminal length, most of your hair hasn't reached terminal yet and is still in the active growth phase. So you'll have roots regardless of what length your hair is.

You said it is dyed a dramatically different color, so damage from the dye may mean your hair is indeed breaking off. But I can't say for sure, I've never seen your ends up close :)

[First Timer]

My hair, which is very coarse, has no visible damage all the way to the ends. It's all one length, no indications of it breaking off, either at the ends or anywhere else. I brush my hair thoroughly every day, and all I get in my brush is the same handful of hairs that I've always gotten. The only thing that's changed is, hair is growing out but somehow that growth is not reflected in the length. I'd always assume that once it reached terminal length, it would start a shedding cycle, but there's no sign of that, so…? Does it just… crumble at the ends, or something?

[foreveryours]

My hair, which is very coarse, has no visible damage all the way to the ends. It's all one length, no indications of it breaking off, either at the ends or anywhere else. I brush my hair thoroughly every day, and all I get in my brush is the same handful of hairs that I've always gotten. The only thing that's changed is, hair is growing out but somehow that growth is not reflected in the length. I'd always assume that once it reached terminal length, it would start a shedding cycle, but there's no sign of that, so…? Does it just… crumble at the ends, or something?

"Terminal length" isn't reflected by the length of any particular hair (each and every one of them has a different "terminal length") but the net balance between hair gain at the scalp and the loss thru shedding at the scalp and damage at the ends.

Do you use heat? Maybe it shrinks. Wool (hair) does this if you've ever let socks or a sweater accidently go thru the drier :p

[First Timer]

That's an interesting thought, but I've never done anything but air dry my hair... and I haven't actually wet washed it in 2.5 years. Could that be part of the problem, does water make a difference?

[foreveryours]

Water makes a big difference to a strand's geometry, main its diameter (increases 15-20%) but has very little effect on length (other than its weight straightening the strand). Without some water at least, I'd think hair would be "dry" and brittle and so more liable to break off. How do you "wash" you hair without water? Roll around in the dirt?

[squirrrel]

I would have thought this was a reference to sebum only where we use scritch (the scalp), massage (also the scalp), and preen (the hair shaft) as the cleansing method, but you don’t need to air dry with that, really…

[First Timer]

I just use a little dry shampoo on the top few inches of my hair. It looks great, it feels great, it just isn't getting any longer...!!!

[alewyn]

Are you sure that you've had zero length increase? Have you compared measurements/length photos? I see your hair is 2b--sometimes it can be really hard to see growth visually on textured hair.

And maybe this is a silly question because you did say that you're not even trimming off splits, so that would imply that you're not trimming at all, but just to be super clear: are you saying you haven't cut your hair at all in over a year and have still not seen any length change?

If you really are at your terminal length, you would probably notice your ends looking quite thin, and they would have a natural u-shape to them. If you have a blunt-appearing hemline, I very much doubt you're at terminal.

How do you wear your hair on the day-to-day? Down, braids, buns? If it's down or in hanging braids, the ends could be getting wear and tear that causes them to break, even without you noticing it. The broken pieces would be collecting in your brush, same as the sheds.

[First Timer]

Yes, I'm sure that I've had zero length increase, unfortunately. I brush my hair out completely straight, and it's still the exact same distance from my tail bone that it was when I first posted here a year ago... sigh. I'm not cutting anything off of my hair, I don't even style it, I just put a cloth headband on and ignore it for the most part; the only wear and tear it gets is from being brushed once a day, or from rubbing on the back of my T-shirt I guess…? It's thick all the way to the ends, and still has the same blunt hairline that it had the last time I trimmed it, 2.5 years ago. If there's any little pieces breaking off, they're not in my brush, but all I can figure at this point is that little pieces are breaking off SOMEHOW, or else how could it not be getting longer?

[foreveryours]

If you are wearing your hair down at TBL, it IS breaking off continuously. Those broken pieces won't collect solely in your brush. Unless your hair is contained, they end up EVERYWHERE you go. You leave a trail.

[First Timer]

I WISH that my hair had gotten to TBL before it stopped growing, but unfortunately, it's still about 4 inches short. I haven't seen any hint of a hair trail, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one, the hair is going SOMEWHERE! What is it about this length that causes pieces to break off?

[dancedance]

When you reach terminal length you won't see additional shedding, because your hair always sheds when it reaches the end of its lifetime, even before you reach terminal. It just didn't have the chance to completely grow out to its maximum possible length within its lifetime before. Does that make sense? So the shed rate stays the same. It's not like all your hair reaches the end of its lifetime at once. If you lose 50 hairs a day, that means 50 hairs a day reach the end of their lifetime. This will remain the same even at terminal. At least that's how I always understood it.

That said, you might want to try washing with shampoo if you want to experiment and see if it helps you grow your hair longer. Sebum and some haircare ingredients can block the follicle and cause hair loss. Even if you don't notice visible thinning, in theory it could be enough to reduce your terminal length.

[alewyn]

I WISH that my hair had gotten to TBL before it stopped growing, but unfortunately, it's still about 4 inches short. I haven't seen any hint of a hair trail, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one, the hair is going SOMEWHERE! What is it about this length that causes pieces to break off?

At longer lengths, your ends are much older and therefore more fragile, even if you take good care of your hair. Brushing, rubbing on clothing, handling, etc., all cause a small amount of damage that is unavoidable. If your hair is chemically dyed using permanent or semipermanent dyes, that will also cause some damage, even if the hair still appears healthy. A lot of people find that they will reach a length--it varies from person to person what length that is--at which they can no longer keep growing their hair without keeping it up most of the time, due to breakage and normal wear and tear at the ends.

[lapushka]

^Terminal length can only be called on virgin hair, IMHO.

If there's stuff (chemically) that you are doing to your hair, it may not be visible, the damage, but it might be just breaking off at the ends. Proof? It's still growing out from the root. So it *is* growing, no doubt. I think you might either have to stop the dye or just... call it.

[MusicalSpoons]

Sounds like the classic "my hair won't grow past a certain point" because it's breaking or crumbling off. Especially with chemically processed hair and with sebum-only it's not getting any moisture or protein, and being worn down all the time means zero protection for the ends and exposed to all sorts of mechanical damage. In fact it getting this long already without any help or protection is quite impressive!

[Alien Girl]

That said, you might want to try washing with shampoo if you want to experiment and see if it helps you grow your hair longer. Sebum and some haircare ingredients can block the follicle and cause hair loss. Even if you don't notice visible thinning, in theory it could be enough to reduce your terminal length.
I second this. I don’t think dry shampoo is enough to keep a scalp healthy for optimal hair growth/retention.

[ExpectoPatronum]

Agreeing with other posters - your hair is most likely breaking off without you realizing it, especially if it's dyed and you're wearing it down. I'm also not certain if using only dry shampoo is good for the hair either, but I've never experimented with that method of cleansing ;)

[Joules]

Wait, you can't just use dry shampoo and not wash it out with actual shampoo later! It's horrible for your scalp! Dry shampoo isn't cleansing anything, it's basically alcohol and talc, it's meant to absorb extra oil and make your hair look like it's clean when in reality it's just another layer of buildup that must be washed out later or you're risking damaging your scalp!

I'm not sure if it affects your ends in any way (in my experience using dry shampoo regularly did dry out my lengths), but your scalp is most likely suffering.

[spidermom]

Wait, you can't just use dry shampoo and not wash it out with actual shampoo later! It's horrible for your scalp! Dry shampoo isn't cleansing anything, it's basically alcohol and talc, it's meant to absorb extra oil and make your hair look like it's clean when in reality it's just another layer of buildup that must be washed out later or you're risking damaging your scalp!


This is absolutely true!

I'm also reinforcing other comments about how hair grows. The hair grows for as long as it's genetically programmed to do, then it stops growing and eventually sheds out. Usually only a few are at the shedding stage at the same time, so what you see in your brush are the hairs that have stopped growing. The amount that hair grows per month multiplied by the number of months it stays in the growing stage equals the terminal length. On the same head, some hairs might grow for only a few months while others keep growing for years.

The only time you're likely to see a lot of hairs shedding all at once follows illness, high stress, or some other event that disrupted your normal growth cycle. Otherwise you're just going to shed out a few hairs every day.

Oh, and since you're brushing your wavy hair out straight, it's pretty much guaranteed that you're breaking off little bits at the ends - so little it's like dust so you don't see it but it adds up.

[First Timer]

It sounds like my hair might grow longer if I stopped coloring it or started putting it up… but under no circumstances will I ever do either of those things, so that's that. It's good to at least know what's happening, though, so thanks to all who contributed to the explanation!

Meanwhile, my thick hair shows no sign of thinning, it's in the best condition of my life, and there's no hint of problems with my scalp, so the dry shampoo seems to be working for me. If there's dirt on my hair or scalp, it's not visible, and it's not bothering me, so why worry about it? A search through the available articles shows that a dirty scalp COULD lead to rashes and infections and whatnot that can cause hair loss… But, if you don't GET any of those issues, there doesn't actually appear to be a problem.

It would have been nice to have gotten that extra 4 inches of hair, but it sure isn't worth dramatically changing things around to do it. I still have by far the most spectacular hair of anybody I know in real life, so… I'm calling it good. Thanks again! :-)

[MusicalSpoons]

It sounds like my hair might grow longer if I stopped coloring it or started putting it up… but under no circumstances will I ever do either of those things, so that's that. It's good to at least know what's happening, though, so thanks to all who contributed to the explanation!

...

It would have been nice to have gotten that extra 4 inches of hair, but it sure isn't worth dramatically changing things around to do it. I still have by far the most spectacular hair of anybody I know in real life, so… I'm calling it good. Thanks again! :-)

That's fair. Now you know the reason for not gaining length, your choice how to wear and care for your hair is fully informed, and to me that's the best outcome :thumbsup:

[spidermom]

Agree. It's your hair. You do you.

[Shorty89]

You could maybe improve your chances by using different products like silicone-based conditioners for slip. Is there a particular reason that you're NW/SO?

[First Timer]

I don't condition my hair, or put any product on it, just dry shampoo when necessary, typically every 1-2 weeks. It's such a pain trying to wash all this hair, and then it freaks out and looks horrible for at least a week after it's washed, so the only way for it to ever look good is to just STOP washing it. Before the pandemic hit and I stopped participating in the world, I would literally have to time hair-washing such that it had a week to recover before anyone whose opinion I cared about saw me. So it's sebum only for me! :-)

[lapushka]

Agree with all of it ^^ You do you. But at least, now there's an explanation for it.

[Zesty]

It's pretty much got to be breaking off at the ends without you noticing. It doesn't have to be dramatic piles of broken hairs to make a difference.

HOWEVER, as others have said, if you are satisfied with your hair then there are no rules! If it ain't broke.

[Dark40]

I agree with the above posts. I really think you're seeing increased length. But as for me, I also have thick textured hair and I haven't had a hair cut or a trim of a centimeter since last year, and I've also noticed I haven't gained that much length either but I know for a fact that I haven't reached my terminal length also, and my hair length now is at APL or MBL. I've been trying to grow mine to terminal length or to ankle length since I've joined LHC in 2010. But I know the reason why I haven't reached my long-term goal is because of being scissor-happy and some of the things I had been doing to it.

[MusicalSpoons]

But I know the reason why I haven't reached my long-term goal is because of being scissor-happy and some of the things I had been doing to it.

Hey Dark40, just wanted to say it's really good to see you've acknowledged this - some times in the past it seemed you found it difficult to accept, but now you have which is brilliant :hifive:

[Dark40]

Hey Dark40, just wanted to say it's really good to see you've acknowledged this - some times in the past it seemed you found it difficult to accept, but now you have which is brilliant :hifive:

Hey MusicalSpoons, Awww, thank you for saying sweetie. Yes, that is sooo very true that some times in the past it seeemd I found it difficult to accept...Yes, what i have now is brilliant :hifive: