Hmmmm....

[fae]

I have a question for those of you who have tailbone or longer hair.

My goal is classic, and it is getting there. But I noticed tonight that it is v'ing really bad. I have heard that this can be a sign that it is going terminal? Is this true?

I tend to like straight, blunt ends. So this kind of bothers me just a little. I suppose I have the choice of letting it grow all to one length (that could take a while as the very ends are some inches shorter than the middle) and cut it all to classic. I'm sooooo close to being there though.

For those of you in my situation and who may have had the same preferences, how did you make a decision? I think I have two:

1. Leave it at a length where I can have blunt ends.

2. Grow it all out past classic and have it trimmed back.

I'm thinking I may not like my ends as it looks like they may be considerably thinner at longer length.

There are comparison pics in my album. I don't wanna take up to much space and post it here.

TIA,
fae

[RavennaNight]

Your hair looks pretty thick & lush to me! I don't think you are nearing terminal. Your hair looks too thick (and very pretty!)


My hair is just at waist. I can't speak from the TB-Classic experience yet.:)

[hennaphile]

my understanding is that hair naturally Vs.

[Isilme]

your hair just has a very gentle u-shape. I'd say grow! Then when you are a little bit past your goal (like two inches or even less) you could trim it totally blunt. But I would consider this hemline very blunt and thick anyway.

[Teazel]

Oh my... looking at your length shot, I'd say you're nowhere near terminal. :) Hair does tend to grow in a v, so if you haven't trimmed in a while, that's what you're seeing.

[fae]

:Oh! thank you so, so, so much. I did not know that about terminal.

May I ask what the signs are then? Not that i'm paranoid or anything.....

I'm seriously leaning toward growing it all past classic and then having it cut straight.

Thank you!

:)

[AprilElf]

Your hemline looks gorgeously thick to me! I don't see a V at all! :)

Another thing you could do is trim a fraction of your growth each month - say half, or a quarter, or less. Would take you longer to reach your goal, but you might be happier with your ends.

[SimplyLonghair]

No I don't think that you have a v hemline, if you want to see a v hemline look at my sig pic it is getting a v the curlier that it gets. It keeps getting curlier the longer that it gets. But I don't think that it means that it is getting to terminal. I think that it means that it is just growing normally. It is getting longer each month so :shrug: we will see.:D

[janeytilllie]

:Oh! thank you so, so, so much. I did not know that about terminal.

May I ask what the signs are then? Not that i'm paranoid or anything.....

I'm seriously leaning toward growing it all past classic and then having it cut straight.

Thank you!

:)

Your hemline is very blunt and thick. It’s gorgeous!
You have beautiful hair :thud:

This thread on terminal length may be beneficial to
you :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=857&highlight=terminal&page=2

HTH :flower:

[fae]

That info on terminal was very helpful janeytillley. Thank you for sharing. I should have thought to search but it was late. I'm not good at the math part, but I definitely see the difference between my ends and that of fairytale (sp?). I just want to say there is nothing at all wrong with ft ends, I just prefer not to have them. I hadn't realized that hair grows in a natural v shape when not trimmed. Really helpful piece of info there.

I will not obsess so much about it now.

Thank you all for your kind words. I'm biting at the bit to look at profiles and albums to droll over all of your hair! It is 3 am right now though, so give me another 4 hours or so. ;.)

[Longlocks3]

I stupidly had a layer put in my hair when it was BSL. That's why I have my V or U line, but I also prefer blunt. I also think my nape area hair grows much faster than my canopy area hair, so it's possible a certain area of your hair may grow slightly faster than the rest. I don't think your at terminal.

[Beatnik Guy]

Looks like a gentle U to me, with beautiful thick ends that are not at all near terminal.

[lorig713]

Your hair looks great! I would keep growing and trim after you pass classic.

Happy Growing! :D

[DiyaC]

Your hair is so gorgeous! I don't think it is anywhere close to terminal. Your hair still has a long way to go. :)

[Unnamed]

I also just see a nice gentle and still quite blunt U shape; and no where near terminal length. One can get a U, V, inverted U/V, one side longer than the other, bottom/top layers becoming diff lengths...due simply to hairs varying a bit in growth rate in different areas.

Now, for what to do:

My first though would be to grow, get to classic, and then slowly trim away at the U shape (once a month or every other month) so that the bottom stayed at classic. No large trims. Second would be to grow past and then trim back. Third would be to, say, trim off 1/2" off the bottom of the U every other or every third month or so (or 1/2 your growth every month). That way you're both growing longer and the hemline would be getting straighter.

Oh, and :thud:

[fae]

Ok then! It is decided. Thank you. I was mainly worried about have the thin whispy ends (which are ok, just not for me. please don't bite me).

I have another conundrum.

I lost my hairdresser. I wasn't always satisfied with her, but at least I could say "trim 2 inches" and she would take about there. Not 15.

The only inquiry I have made since my last trim in January was at the beauty school and the lady who runs it told me that if I wanted an appointment, she would schedule it personally and make sure it was a day that the lead(?) instructor was in? She didn't want any of the students touching it in anyway without someone there with them. I'm kinda for this and kinda not. It would give them experience with long hair (and maybe a new love to specialize in) and we here all know how important the locks are. So i'm for it in that respect, but I get very, very, very (almost panic attack-ish) when I think about more than what I asked for coming off.

I live in a very small town and i'm sure that we don't have any dedicated salons here. I wouldn't even know to start looking except to just call.

But the girls at the school might now have that "I know what you need" attitude like a more accomplished hairdresser.

It will be a while before another trim, so I have time to figure this all out.

Now off to look at everyones lovely hair.

[Isilme]

well, bring a measuring tape, show the exakt amount you want taken off (or a little less actually) and have them show you the first snip, then watch the hairdresser like a hawk and ask for regular checkups during the cutting session. Be very specific about what you want, bringing pictures is always good. Be firm with what you want, but be calm, you don't want the hairdresser to get all stressed out, makes for misstakes;)

[wahmof9]

My is your hair gorgeous!

[JamieLeigh]

I'm also a fan of blunt ends...I'm also at classic.

My problem was and still is that the front and sides grow more slowly than the center and back. It's like that for a lot of people. It doesn't necessarily signal terminal length, it's just that hair tends to grow at different speeds. But it is possible for the sides to reach terminal length at a much higher spot on the body than the back middle parts.

What I did was grow all the way out to tailbone (which was about 37-38" on my body) and then maintain there until everything was even and caught up. Then I intended to grow it all out to classic together, trimming about 1/4" every month, which was a little less than half of my new growth. That way, everything seemed to be going further down my body at the same speed. It took me longer than I hoped, so I decided to grow it out and maintain here at classic until the rest catches up.

So here I am, at classic...and I do microtrims to keep everything even while the sides catch up. I really don't have that far to go. :D

[Kiraela]

I definately don't think you're near terminal yet. Your ends are still thick and gorgeous.

[spidermom]

Agreed! You have a gentle U-shape, and your ends are thick and gorgeous. No worries.

[Cinnamon Hair]

Fae, I think you have the same hemline issue going on that I struggle with. Here is a link (http://classiclength.googlepages.com/longhairjourney.html)to my progress page so you can compare.

I found what happens with my hair is that it takes awhile after reaching a new longer length than I have before, for the majority of my hairs to catch up with the faster growing tips. Once my hair has been at a length for some time, it thickens up in that area. During that process I can either grow longer with thin ends or cut to maintain at a certain length. It really makes no difference to my hair growth, only visually.

I think that may be why so many members with bra strap, to waist, to tailbone hair have such thick lush ends. They have been maintaining at a length before they decided to grow longer, or at least they are getting regular trims which has the same effect as intentionally maintaining. Once your hair has been growing for awhile without many trims (or none at all), it naturally thins out at the ends. Some hair grow faster than others and the slower and/or shorter ones need time to play catch up if you want to have thick ends.

Of course there are some people who have extremely thick hair and this does not apply to them, because even though their ends are thinner than the rest of their hair, it is still quite thick so the taper is not noticeable.
:twocents:

[fae]

OMG Cinnamon your hairs is *drops jaw*.

I see how maintaining at a certain length and allowing the hair to catch up has inproved the thickness in your ends. This is always an option should my ends thin too much at classic. Something I would have never thought of. I'm not all up on the science of hair. I just know you don't cut, it grows. That's as scientific as I get.

Thanks!

[Teazel]

I'm not all up on the science of hair. I just know you don't cut, it grows.

Then you know more than many people. :wink:

Have you got a trusted relative or friend who could trim for you? I hate paying someone to yank a plastic comb through my hair and then cut too much off, so DH does my trimming. At least if he takes too much I can make life hell for him. (Kidding! :wink:)

[fae]

Other than my mother and kids, I really don't have very much family over here. As far as friends, most are to terrified to take scissors to locks. I don't blame them really. I'm going to see if I can get my fourteen to do the self trimming thing. at least if we do the scrunchie thing. she can't mess it up to much because there wont be to much left on the bottom to butcher.

Thanks though. I have asked in the past and had people out right refuse to even come close to my hair with anything that resembles scissors.