terminal length?

[Jules diamond]

I've been looking around for a while and I didn't see a topic on it yet, so...

I've grown out my hair before, and it never seemed to get past lower BSL. Maybe I just always cut at a stall period, but I don't think it ever seems to grow longer. Is it possible that lower BSL is terminal length on me? I asked my mom who has a very different hair type then I do, and she said that her hair was able to grow at least to hip. If she could grow it that long, then could I? Or am I going to be stuck at BSL forever?

[Juneii]

there's a girl in my class whose terminal length is APL. now matter what she tries to do it just doesn't grow out.

there's a chance it might be terminal length for you. when did you notice that your hair stopped growing? do you shed a lot? you have iii hair so your terminal length should be longer than if it was an i
you also have curly hair, it might just have gotten curlier and "shrunk".

[HairColoredHair]

It is possible that that is your terminal. Since the average is somewhat lower, there must be people on both ends of the mean.

However, the only way to know if it is a stall is to prevent as much damage as possible and not to cut it and see if it eventually starts growing again (this may be a while! Months, year...)

I don't think hair thickness (iii versus i) has much to do with terminal length... that's more to do with how many hairs are on your head, not how long they stick about.

[Natalia]

I wish i had the answer *shrugs* i have the same worry. No one in my family has ever tried to go past BSL and only 2 of the women in my family have even done that! I havent been able to measure but im between BSL and Waist and i feel like ive been in this range forever. I havent dont any big chops except for cutting bangs and a few face framing layers (2 years ago) since i was 5! I would think my hair would have grown more. But to be fair i have super thin super fine hair that breaks easily and and grows very slowly but i havent always been the gentlest to it either :( . I hope we can both find the answer to this one. Thinking good growing thoughts :D

Natalia

[Jules diamond]

I never thought of it getting curlier. The only photo I have at its longest in recent years it's just in a couple of giant barrel curls. I noticed it started to do that as it got a little longer, but I didn't really think it meant anything much. I should be at about that length by the end of this year, so I'll see. I really hope I can grow it longer. I've been wanting waist length hair forever!

ETA: I found a term length calculator link floating around the boards. It says my hair should grow to 18.18 inches! o_O I hope they mean more inches.

[aisling]

Those terminal length calculators are not to be trusted, according to one I should not have longer hair than waist and I'm at tailbone right now :)

I think you should just take a deep breath and wait and see what will happen to your hair, it's quite difficult to say if your hair is terminal or not. Take good care of your hair and avoid trimming it, I think you'll have a good chance to grow past BSL.

[Bloodflower]

Lower BSL might be terminal for you. But in your signatures it says you haven't reached BSL yet this time around. Considering that you are relatively new to LHC you might see that with a different haircare routine you're able to grow your hair longer this time.

Before I came here my hair was stuck at hip for the longest time. Turned out I did several things wrong and once I fixed them, my hair started to grow again.

So please don't worry too much and enjoy you hair! :flower:

[Calista]

If your hair stalls at a certain length and you still have a comparatively blunt hemline it is unlikely that you are at terminal. Once you approach terminal you will get severe taper (provided you don´t trim, of course), because each individual hair has a different terminal length (and they all start out at different places on the head, too). If you have an even hemline but can´t grow any further it might be that you have breakage caused by e.g. a hair elastic always worn in the same spot. When combing or brushing your hair check for lots of short hairs on the floor; those could be breakage.

[Anlbe]

I've never been able to get past lower BSL either, it once looked like it might happen but then I had a bad highlight job - so now I have to wait another three years before that finishes growing out, currently seem to be going backwards - however I wouldn't be surprised if I never make it to waist. But I'm still trying!

[Kyannah]

My hair also seems to get stuck at BSL. Just when it seems to be creeping past it really feels like it needs a cut, then I go to the hairdresser and they usually end up taking off more than I wanted, then I go through the whole cyle again. I am just creeping past BSL now and I expect the same thing will happen again. I am getting tired of repeating this process but I am trying to get rid of chemical damage to my hair and this is almost out now. Maybe when it is all out I may be able to grow longer. I would try to self trim but I have layers in my hair and really have no clue where to start.

[Deimos]

I have to say I find it hard to believe that some people have a terminal length of BSL or shorter. Hair grows for several years, and even if it hardly grows you will get past those lenghts!

From my own experience, my hair has been at bsl for years and I really thought it wouldn't grow longer. Until I discovered LHC and found that it has been breaking off due to bad hair care. For a few months now I have a steady growth of 1 cm a month because I have been keeping my hair in updo's.

So I suggest you keep your hair up for a while and monitor the splits and overall condition of your hair to see if it is just stalling or that it is indeed terminal length.

[embee]

When I was young BSL was the best I could do. When I got older (divorce, two kids to raise, no money or time) I was able to grow out much longer. How? Benign neglect. No money for a salon visit, no time for a fancy fixing, just put it up and run. And one day, a couple years later I noticed my hair was at waist. What a shock! ;)

[pdy2kn6]

i started a thread related to terminal length a while back, you may find some useful info on it...its got lots of feedback. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=21038
i know what you mean about it seeming not to grow, mine feels the same, as if its been stuck at BSL for ages, but im sure its just time which is needed, to get over that hump of a temporary stall
good luck, hope you find that site useful

[Jules diamond]

I just went to your thread pdy2kn6 and it really helped me out a lot, thank you!

Based on what everyone's said, I'm inclined to think that I just hit a stall and never was patient enough to grow past it.

Thank you for your input everyone! (now off to school)

[LHGypsyRose]

My hair hung bettween hip and tailbone for several years, and I was at the point of believing that it couldn't grow any longer. It just didn't seem like it could happen.

Then a couple years ago I met a few lovely long haired ladies online that helped me realize that I was just paying way to much attention to my hair, cutting way to often and too much! I was trimming every 3 to 4 months, and several inches each time! How was I to know that it was keeping me from gaining any length, after all I was always told that trimming your hair makes it grow!:shrug: I am so glad that I learned the truth.

Now I have reached thigh length, but I still have a habit of getting scissor happy sometimes scince I seem to be obsessed with having a blunt hemline. It also doesn't help that I trim my own hair, but I am working on it:D

[Anje]

It's possible that lower BSL is your terminal, but from your picture, I doubt it. Your hair is not getting particularly wispy yet, as tends to happen for the last few inches to terminal. Rather, I suspect that you're just stalling or hitting a point where what you were doing for the hair wasn't sufficient to let it grow longer. Particularly to the point is that many people who say that they don't grow much past BSL tend to wear their hair loose a lot, and at this point you tend to start getting more friction from chairs and the like. Make sure your ends stay well moisturized and protected, don't cut when it stalls (lower BSL stalls seem incredibly common, and I know I stalled there), and don't worry about it for a year or so. I think you'll suddenly realize it's longer.

[Jules diamond]

I hope so. I'm going to start wearing it up, I think you may have something there.

[myotislucifugus]

It's possible that it's your terminal length, but unlikely. Actually, right up until recently I'd wondered if I was terminal at BSL, and then I realized that I was cutting every few months (when it started to feel icky) and cutting off everything I'd gained. If you get trims at a salon, they might be taking more than you are growing unwittingly. Change some things (shampoo, condition, oiling, deep conditioning) up, and you might see improvement. Good Luck!

[Top_Cat]

I feel exactly the same! I posted a photo here last June and I swear my hair does not look as if it has grown an inch since!

[enfys]

Your hair looks far to thick at the ends to be terminal yet.

I think you need to look really closely at your hair; do the ends have white dots or actual splits? It could be damage not letting your hair grow longer because that's where it's breaking off.

Do you feel it rub against your chair in work or in the car etc? At bsl you can make a few different buns that will get it up off you back and reduce friction.

Rather than going to a salon try trimming your hair yourself, and only when you have lots of splits to kind of justify it. Otherwise, if that's too daunting, just to "search and destroy" where you cut off split ends a couple of mm above the split on individual strands.

It's far far too early to lose hope!

[Jules diamond]

I've been finding a lot of breakage recently. I've been doing S&D to try and fix it, but it just keeps popping up. I never really feel it rubbing though.
It's not trimming though. I've had one too many bad salon visits, so I cut my own hair. I haven't trimmed it in over a year though.

I'm going to start wearing my hair up for a while and see if I notice a difference. Thanks!

[spidermom]

Ah yes, terminal length - a popular subject around here. All the calculating methods that I have heard so far are sheer BS. If you want to know your terminal length, let your hair grow until it doesn't grow any more, or until you are tired of it. If you take very good care of it, it will likely grow longer than it would if you flat-iron and/or perm and/or bleach, and so forth, so terminal length can change depending on your choices. Have fun!

[windinherhair]

My hair has been cut along the edges to make it look layered when it lays around my face. When all my hair is against my back, it looks like I have a bigger taper then what I probably would if I didn't have the layers.

So in that case, isn't it hard to determine my terminal length since my hair is layered like it is? Since it isn't breaking off, and it has been cut that way?

My hair has always lingered at my waist, but I was also trimming every few months. So maybe I should try not to trim for a while.

[girlcat36]

I'm really afraid that BSL is my terminal length. I have reached BSL, shedding heavily, my ends are thinning out worse than ever, and I have a V taper again. :(

[LaurelSpring]

I am finally approaching waist and seem to be stalled. I am hoping that it will start growing again. I really want at least TB. I would be bummed if this is as long as it gets. I wonder if terminal length can change with age?

[rhubarbarin]

I'm really afraid that BSL is my terminal length. I have reached BSL, shedding heavily, my ends are thinning out worse than ever, and I have a V taper again. :(

I would really doubt that BSL is your true terminal length. You've been through SO MUCH health-wise in the last few years.. plus you have delicate hair and an easily upset scalp.

Perhaps you are experiencing a big shed of the nape hairs that grew in all at once with the help of Monistat?

[spidermom]

Take as good of care of your hair as you can without making yourself crazy and let it grow for at least 10 years before you start thinking "terminal." There have been a lot of threads about this. If you go to the Mane Forum and do a search for key word "terminal" in the titles, you will have enough reading to get you through the rest of the month.

[JamieLeigh]

It's possible that your terminal is BSL, but that's also a notorious stalling point. Some people can have a stall that lasts for 2 years or more, then one day just start growing again.

Do what's best for your body, like healthy foods, vitamins, plenty of water, and your hair growth should perform as well as the rest of you. Try not to cut so soon, and give it time to see what your hair will do. :)

[Jessica Trapp]

Jules, my hair was BSL for years--it hardly ever grew (and still doesn't gain length very fast) but I went through a period where I wore it up all the time and started using Nioxin Products. That took it from BSL to waist, but it was stuck there for years too. Finally I discovered LHC and started treating my hair differently--no brushing, less washing, more conditioner, sleeping cap--and getting "real-time" help with it. It's made it to can-i-call-this-classic (wahoo!) and stopped breaking off.

Just sayin': don't give up hope. This place works magic!

:flower:
Jes

[UncommonTart]

I am finally approaching waist and seem to be stalled. I am hoping that it will start growing again. I really want at least TB. I would be bummed if this is as long as it gets. I wonder if terminal length can change with age?

LaurelSpring, I think waist is a fairly common stalling point. And keep in mind that stalls can last a long time. My hair was "pretty much waist length" for almost three years, and it's only been within the past eight or nine months that it's picked up and I've had significant growth again. I tried to treat it well and baby it, but I mostly just put it up and forgot about it. On a recent wash day I was somewhat startled to find myself at "classic-when-wet" length. Just be patient, try not to think about it, and one day you'll be surprised to realize that it's grown while you weren't paying attention and you're nearly at your goal.

[Anje]

As I said before, between BSL and waist seems to be a really classic point to stall at. I stayed there for about 5 months, and was doing updos daily. (It was really aggravating, too, because I had just joined here, and then my hair didn't grow for months!)

[girlcat36]

I would really doubt that BSL is your true terminal length. You've been through SO MUCH health-wise in the last few years.. plus you have delicate hair and an easily upset scalp.

Perhaps you are experiencing a big shed of the nape hairs that grew in all at once with the help of Monistat?

Thanks Rhubarbarin.
My shed hairs are a total mix of really long hairs, and short baby hairs, too. It's weird. Last time I washed, I lost over 100 hairs(stopped counting at 100), and the time before that,143 hairs. :eek:

Every time I look at pictures of myself since 1991, my hair is chronically APL---year, after year after year. Trimming or no trimming, I end up with the same length.

Now that my longest hairs have reached BSL, it seems like they all want to fall out. I had a blunt hemline in January, but now a V taper again!

[lhangel9]

I agree with Aisling. It took years and years and my hair did not even reach my shoulder. Now that I'm taking supplements, drinking tons of water and getting "some" exercise just by walking from the car parking lot at work to my job 5 days/week, my hair is now slightly past BSL. I believe that we can grow our hair as long as we want to given that some takes longer than others. Now how long you want to wait is up to you, but you CAN and do it!!!!

[lhangel9]

One of my sisters' hair was almost bald. For years she was quite depressed that her hair would not seem to grow. As an incentive I decided to challenge her to grow her hair. When I saw her after 3 years, her hair was longer than mine!!!! She said that she drinks pure nettle tea that she makes by simply picking directly from her yard every year, adding water and boiling for an hour or two. Although she doesn't care much for the taste, she still drinks 2 cups/day and takes her hair/skin & nail vits.

I've tried her regimen & have already noticed more growth of my hair. Good luck with yours - I know you can do it!!

[rhubarbarin]

I think it's a very rare thing for someone to have a true terminal length of BSL..


Thanks Rhubarbarin.
My shed hairs are a total mix of really long hairs, and short baby hairs, too. It's weird. Last time I washed, I lost over 100 hairs(stopped counting at 100), and the time before that,143 hairs. :eek:

Every time I look at pictures of myself since 1991, my hair is chronically APL---year, after year after year. Trimming or no trimming, I end up with the same length.

Now that my longest hairs have reached BSL, it seems like they all want to fall out. I had a blunt hemline in January, but now a V taper again!

Hm. I really hope this is just a temporary thing for you. The health problems you've been having in the last few years are all associated with hairloss.. you've made so much progress lately and your hair looks great, and so full above APL.

You may never have had long hair, but it's quite likely in your case that is was a combination of a lot of things. You did trim at times.. were you brushing or roughly towel-drying? I know at least part of the time you were using cones which, for my hair as well, cause crazy amounts of breakage. Also, your hair is very curly and I daresay gets curlier with length so a picture wouldn't show much of a difference between 6" or so..

Our hair is very similar, although yours is thicker (mine's only 2.25" at the nape). I shed a lot - it's not uncommon for me to lose 250+ hairs in a wash (I wash every two days or so but don't detangle inbetween). I'm sure I shed over 100 a day.
I also shed a crapload of baby hairs. I'm pretty sure in my case they are mostly from my hairline as I have always had a big halo. Looking at pictures of my relatively healthy hair as a kid, I have always had a lot of taper.. and now I have a ridiculous amount. I have about 9" of quite thick beautiful roots, and the rest is varying degrees of dyed, fried, breaking, splitting and rough. Bleh.

Despite all this I know my hair has growth potential. I was at waist at the beginning of 2008 - but my breakage has been getting worse and worse since then and I hate it so much I've been trimming. I was at hip age 15, and wasn't even taking good care of my hair then (it was in a ponytail 24/7, I used Pert Plus and ripped through it wet with a paddle brush).

Whenever I feel down about my thinness, damage and taper, I always look up Natasha so I can look at her sig pic. It may take time but I think most of us with taper and damage problems have a lot more potential than we assume..

So everyone, girlcat in particular, stay positive! Who knows what time will bring.