Oh God I'm so sad... Close to terminal? Needing a big trim? What?

[Little_Bird]

Gee...

My braid is tapering at the bottom and I don't know why! I've got hints that I may be nearing terminal lenght but my hair is still growing at an average growth. Wouldn't it be suuposed to slow down a lot before nearing terminal?
On the other hand, it can be from the layers, from the thinness of the upper layers. I don't know what to think...
My braid is looking like this:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb116/LittleBirdLongHair/DSCN0073.jpg
I still need more 20cm to reach my goal lenght (more or less a year and a half of average growth)... and I am so scared I can't get there with thick ends...

I'm scared as hell :(
And the worst thing is I'll have to wait a long long time before I find out if it will grow thicker as the layers grow or if I can't make it to my goal with the kind of ends I wanted to have...

Darn :sad Help me LHC...

[silencepainter]

A bit of tapering is totally normal. Even people with thick ends experience taper in their braids, and your layers would play a role in increasing the taper.

I'd just keep growing, and once you reach your goal length you can maintain allowing your layers to catch up and your ends to thicken up. You probably have nothing to worry about.

[trolleypup]

Relax!

That really just looks like layers growing out.

Don't obsess about it, just let it grow, and when the growth slows down, then see what it looks like.

[JamieLeigh]

Agreed. Layers have a lot to do with your taper right now, and as long as you're still growing at an average speed you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Your hair is very lovely. :flower:

[NiAosSi]

I agree with everyone else. Relax and don't stress, some taper is normal.

[Jason]

I didn't realize your growth rate has remained unchanged. That's good news! The decrease in thickness is probably just your layers growing out. If your hair was not increasing in length then that would be more of a sign of it possibly reaching its terminal length.

[ericthegreat]

I'm going to be frank and not tell you any lies. Your goal length is 4 ft of hair. Unfortunately, on average most humans will only achieve a maximum terminal length of around 3 ft of hair or even less than that. Only a small percentage of people in this world possess the rare genes that allow them to potentially grow hair to 4 ft or 5 ft or past floor length.

You already have an amazingly thick head of hair, and its already at 3 ft! If I were you I would celebrate what you actually have right now! Only time will tell if you are at terminal length, But even if you are at terminal length, believe me you have a wonderfully thick head of hair that many people in this world would envy. And your current length is nothing to dismiss either, many people will never be able to achieve 3ft of hair at all because they have shorter hair cycles.

[Heidi_234]

Your braid seems to be consistent until APL then taper away slowly. How long have you been growing? To see real terminal you'd have to let all the hairs grow out and fall out and be replaced with new untouched ones. This means that in order to see real terminal you should wait at least 7 years, and it can wary for you. I don't know for a fact, but I can guess that you haven't been growing for 7 years at least, therefore what you see is not terminal length.

You might actually look at results of past uncareful handling, layers, hair loss results that happened years ago and other common causes for thinning length. As noted before, even healthy thick hair has taper, because some hairs have shorter terminal length than other.

I have a taper of the kind - my hair is consistent to about midback, and then it taper to pitiful amount of strands. I know for a fact it is due to hair loss episode I had few years ago, and layers I still have. My braid looks almost like yours (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2075&pictureid=32699), just less even. And I'm sure I'm nowhere near terminal yet.

Bottom line, it grows. So let it be, if the taper bothers you then you can start trimming little by little- half of the month grown, or maintain (ie trimming the entire month's growth) or make a deal with yourself to grow longer and cut back with one chop.

[GlassEyes]

Your hair is still growing, correct?

I wouldn't worry so much. Some thinning at the ends is natural when you're growing for a while, and though it is a sign of terminal length, it isn't the only indicator. Thinning happens--doesn't always mean you're going to hit terminal. Even if it stops growing, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a stall.

[Fractalsofhair]

If your hair is still growing and you've had layers, I doubt it's terminal. Even my braids get thinner towards the ends if I have layers!

[spidermom]

I have taper, too, but my hair is still growing at a slightly faster than average rate - 7 inches last year. I don't like thin ends very much, so I got 1-1/2 inch trimmed off in July. The ends that were removed were so thin that I don't even miss them. If you don't like thin ends on you, trim them back a little. It's not over until it's over and your hair completely stops growing for a year. Save your worry for then.

I think your hair looks fabulous, although I'd trim it if it were mine (but you already knew that).

[Elenna]

Your hair is gorgeous, thick and waist length. Can I trade? :-D

ETA Your hair looks like it is trimmed on a curve not blunt (straight cut).

[xoxo]

I agree, just trim a lil. I did that to mines because I didn't like how my layers were growing out. I do kinda miss the 2 in, but they were dry with lotts of splits. Now then ends looks a lot healthier and fuller :) so all is good

[adiapalic]

Your hair is gorgeous, thick and waist length. Can I trade? :-D

ETA Your hair looks like it is trimmed on a curve not blunt (straight cut).

This is what I was thinking as well--so it's definitely either a curved trim or layers causing the taper :)

[jivete]

I think your taper is too abrupt to be terminal. Looks like it's just the layers to me.

What a great, thick braid though. Mine's half that.

[LaurelSpring]

I am going through the exact same thing. I was also worried that it might be terminal. I posted something similar and got some very good responses. Hellkitty's response really made alot of sense to me and actually seems to be the case. Since I had made that post, my hair is filling in as my taper is getting longer. It just seems to feel like its taking longer.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=28007

On a side not I have been taking the Knox for nails and I have noticed increased growth now. It could just be coincidental.

[Idun]

On the other hand, the shape of your braid matches very well the shape of your torso, if I may say so ;).

[Susana]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it at all. It is most likely the layers growing out. Anyone with layers will most likely experience this since the longer hairs will get longer before the others can catch up, making the braid look as if it thinning out. Give it more time. :)

[Little_Bird]

Thank's a lot for all the replies :)

I'm feeling quite better now... hopefully I can still get what I want if I have patience. The thing is that maybe I am kind of too worried about the look of my braid, for it's my everyday style and I don't want it to look too thin.
I remember I have experienced thinning problems on other lenghts and they all seemed to grow afterwards.

Gee... Still the future seems scary. I'll be here to report the journey that I still have to go trough tough.

Thank's for the positive feedback, I really apreciate it :flowers:

[sweetestday]

On the other hand, the shape of your braid matches very well the shape of your torso, if I may say so ;).

So funny... I was thinking of saying the same thing, but not sure if I should. :D
(My handsome hubby has the same broad shoulders/ narrow hips, but no hair on his head.)

[Heidi_234]

Little_Bird, I wish my braid looked as good as yours. ;) :flower:

[White Sides]

Just keep growing it. You'll be fine. :cheese:

[spidermom]

By the way, it looks to me like there would be a pretty big difference if you only trimmed one inch. Don't trim more!