Growth limit?

[Hanamizu]

My hair seems to not grow any longer than just past my bra strap.. I almost never cut my hair (occasionally trim the ends), and it's never been longer than this..It's like it just stops growing when it reaches that length..
Is this even possible? I read hair growth is like genetic so some people just can't grow long hair.. O.O?

[pdy2kn6]

This is another thread which would have to address terminal length hair. All hairs have a growth limit, your may just be shorter than other peoples, leading the growth phase to stop at bra-strap length, if like you say you have never been able to get it much longer. As long as your hair is not breaking off due to damage, you should be able to find out your terminal length by just letting it grow without any trims, and being the healthiest it can be. It all depends on care and genetics. If you type in terminal length in the LHC search engine I am sure you will be able to find many threads on terminal/growth limits of hair, and much clearer explanations. Good luck

[smilinjenn71]

I have a coworker that says the same. Except her length seems to stop growing around shoulder length. I am curious to see what others have to say.

[ericthegreat]

There is a natural terminal length yes. Terminal length means the maximum length that your hair can potentially grow to.

Its possible to be at terminal length at bra strap length Hanamizu, but I would actually let my hair simply continue to grow and limit any future trims you may take to see if this is indeed your true terminal length. Visible length in inches takes months and months to achieve, and extreme length takes years to achieve so its premature to worry if your hair won't grow any longer if you haven't even allowed that time for it to grow. I understand that you have said that you 'almost never cut your hair', but you see hair grows on average around half an inch a month. Your hair growth may be a little faster or slower than this, but even with those mathematics it will take one whole year to grow six inches, two whole years just to grow a foot. And of course, any trimming you do will set back the amount of length that you have achieved. I really would wait longer Hana, say at least a full year to really see if you really are at your terminal length.

[Shermie Girl]

It is possible that you have a shorter terminal length. I have read about other people who do.

I wonder of your hair isn't getting any longer due to damage? If you use chemical treatments like straightening treatments and/or flat iron your hair, it may be breaking at the ends as your roots are growing, making it appear that your hair isn't getting any longer.

I am having some trouble in that area, myself. Due to structural damage from attempting to remove henna, my ends are trashed and break a lot, so even tho my hair grows a bit faster than average, I am not seeing a whole lot of increase in my length, right now.

[FrizzBall]

Maybe try a doseful of benign neglect. Splits and knots as well as your protein/moisture balance may be preventing you to retain any length as well.

[manderly]

I agree with Shermie Girl. I think having terminal at such a short length can happen but is quite rare, and most people who believe their hair "won't grow" past a certain length really just lose length due to damage.

If you compare my growth to squiggyflops or jojo's progress, we all started at roughly the same time with roughly the same length, and those girls put my growth to shame!! LOL

It seems like I'll be at BSL for the rest of my life, especially now that I've discovered my hair is much curlier than I thought. Curse that shrinkage!!

But I know I have damage, I know I have breakage, and I also am not afraid of the scissors. Losing the damaged ends at my own hands doesn't bother me so much as having it break off. I know that slowly I will pass this stage, but I know I'm not stuck here due to lack of growth :)

Patience, grasshopper, and lots of TLC :D

[OleanderTime]

I'm really interested in the idea of terminal length, too. I need to go read some of those threads recommended above. My big question (and I haven't yet seen this addressed) is whether you can unintentionally condition your terminal length to be shorter than what it naturally could be. I've NEVER had long hair in my life, so I wonder if my hair just might not know how to be long. Some people struggling with growth and terminal length often post things like, "I had long hair when I was a child, so I know it's possible...", but I definitely don't have that to fall back on. Growing my hair past my shoulders is entirely uncharted territory. Does anyone think that if it's the FIRST TIME ever reaching a certain length, that it is indeed more difficult or different in other ways?

[manderly]

This is the longest my hair has ever been :) We shall see how it goes, though at this point I'm only reaching for waist :D

[jivete]

I've read that BSL is a common length to be stuck at because of damage. At this length, it starts getting a lot of friction damage from chairs and such and any past chemical/heat/perm damage is really going to start taking its toll.

My hair is the longest it has ever been but I don't think that's a hinderence to future growth. Breakage and damage are/were always my problems.

[manderly]

I've read that BSL is a common length to be stuck at because of damage. At this length, it starts getting a lot of friction damage from chairs and such and any past chemical/heat/perm damage is really going to start taking its toll.

This makes a lot of sense. I'm constantly lifting my purse strap up and removing my hair from under it, leaning forward off the couch to get off my hair, and getting it stuck in my armpit :p. I'm not yet mindful enough of it to move it BEFORE putting my purse over my shoulder :roll:. I think the mindfulness comes with getting used to it, so I can see once I'm here for a while and become more aware of it I will begin to protect it better and the breakage will lessen to the point where it will be "growing" again :)

[Anje]

While it's entirely possible that your terminal length is about at BSL, it's also quite likely that friction is getting your hair at that length, as jivete pointed out. BSL-ish seems to be a really common place for people to get stuck when they're growing out, especially if they primarily wear their hair loose or ponytailed. The hair gets to the point where it gets caught on chair backs and rubbed by shoulder blades, and the friction simply eats it. Furthermore, it seems to be a fairly common point for growth to stall, for whatever reason.

Try wearing your hair in a bun or other "up" style (with the ends near your head -- ponytails don't count as up much past APL) basically every day for a while, if you normally don't wear it this way. More likely than not, you'll start noticing growth.

[teela1978]

My hair seems to not grow any longer than just past my bra strap.. I almost never cut my hair (occasionally trim the ends), and it's never been longer than this..It's like it just stops growing when it reaches that length..
Is this even possible? I read hair growth is like genetic so some people just can't grow long hair.. O.O?

When you say "occasionally trim the ends"... that's what I think the problem might be. How often are you trimming, and how much? A hairdresser will usually take off at least an inch if you go in for a trim. Hair grows about 1/2 inch a month, and if the length is damaged, it may show up as less than that. If you go in for a trim every 2-3 months, you wouldn't show any growth.

[Hanamizu]

Hm.. Id say I get it trimmed every 2-3 months, my mum does it for me when I come visit.. Maybe that's partly why it doesn't seem to grow.. But I've had several long periods where I never even trimmed it and it didn't seem to ever go past BSL either.. I almost always wear it up in a bun/clip, and very rarely used any heating tools, and never any permanent dyes.

[Shermie Girl]

Teela has a really good point. If you are trimming 1/2" or more every six to eight weeks, as many stylists will advise, you aren't going to much growth because you are trimming a lot of it away.

When I was last at about your length, I went through a nasty Winter-long stall. In about four months, I got less than an inch of growth. I was a little freaked out. Then, all of a sudden it took off and I averaged over 3/4" a month and shortly was at hip length. Take heart, be patient, don't give up, love and pamper and protect your tresses and you might just be very pleasantly surprised. :D

[jivete]

What is your taper like? I think taper is a good indicator of terminal because hair at terminal has a natural, progressive taper. If your braid is mostly the same thickness throughout the length, I would think it probably isn't at terminal.

[Amara]

I'm really interested in the idea of terminal length, too. I need to go read some of those threads recommended above. My big question (and I haven't yet seen this addressed) is whether you can unintentionally condition your terminal length to be shorter than what it naturally could be. I've NEVER had long hair in my life, so I wonder if my hair just might not know how to be long. Some people struggling with growth and terminal length often post things like, "I had long hair when I was a child, so I know it's possible...", but I definitely don't have that to fall back on. Growing my hair past my shoulders is entirely uncharted territory. Does anyone think that if it's the FIRST TIME ever reaching a certain length, that it is indeed more difficult or different in other ways?

I have never had hair longer than short BSLish, and that only once or twice during childhood.

In 2006 I got to around BSL and decided, for once, not to cut short. So these are all unchartered hair waters for me! :) I don't think keeping your hair short could possible have any effect on follicles, which produce new growth. The only difference between someone who's had long hair previously and someone who hasn't would be psychological. For me, it's felt special. Every inch is new. :)

[jojo]

Could be a false terminal, due to breakage. Although your hair will be growing from the roots because the ends are being damaged by weather, handbags rubbing/trapping hair the hair breaks so no evident length is noticed.

Try putting oil on the last few inches daily and bunning for a month, see if you get any length, measure first to be sure! I am guessing you are not at terminal but are having issues with breakage. Phew thank heavens you found us!!

[jojo]

I agree with Shermie Girl. I think having terminal at such a short length can happen but is quite rare, and most people who believe their hair "won't grow" past a certain length really just lose length due to damage.

If you compare my growth to squiggyflops or jojo's progress, we all started at roughly the same time with roughly the same length, and those girls put my growth to shame!! LOL

It seems like I'll be at BSL for the rest of my life, especially now that I've discovered my hair is much curlier than I thought. Curse that shrinkage!!

But I know I have damage, I know I have breakage, and I also am not afraid of the scissors. Losing the damaged ends at my own hands doesn't bother me so much as having it break off. I know that slowly I will pass this stage, but I know I'm not stuck here due to lack of growth :)

Patience, grasshopper, and lots of TLC :D

You have too made great progress, look at those curls xx

[Flaxen]

A better way to think about terminal length is to call it terminal "time." Hair doesn't know how long it is, so it doesn't grow to a certain length and then stop. What a hair does do is grow for a certain number of years, then it rests, then it sheds. So, it's how far your hair gets during that genetically determined growing time that is your terminal "length." Faster growing hair will get farther (longer) even if you have a short terminal time, but of course the ultimate is fast growing hair and a long growing cycle. :grin:

I agree that an artificially short terminal length can be the result of damage or too much trimming. I was stuck at BSL for over 12 years because my hair was breaking off as fast as it grew. I would suggest to anybody who thinks their hair can't grow longer to "put it up, put it up, put it up." They just might be surprised to see what happens. :bigeyes:

[Hanamizu]

What's the best way to wear hair up without damaging?.. And should I stop trimming if I want to see if it can grow any longer?

[GoddesJourney]

A lot of people get discouraged because they reach a certain length, and then have a growth stall that could last a couple of months. Don't get discouraged. Find out any detail that could be damaging your hair and fix it. It could be as simple as damage from your ponytail elastic to heat styling to plastic combs or brushes with seams. If you don't trim very often, that could be your problem. Sometimes people get into a damage cycle where the damage is traveling up the shaft as it grows, so it just keeps falling off. Sometimes a good trim can break that cycle and you can grow after that without trimming (as long as you aren't damaging again). I doubt that BSL is your terminal length. It is possible, but I won't believe it until everything else is ruled out. Check for damaging habits and then check for nutrition issues.

[florenonite]

I've skimmed through this thread and don't think I've seen this mentioned yet, so forgive me if it's already been brought up. It's quite common to stall around BSL. If you read through the BSL to Waist thread you'll see just how common this is. I myself was at 26" for months, and worried it was my terminal because I'd never had hair longer than that. I'm now at 29" and almost at waist.

[jojo]

A better way to think about terminal length is to call it terminal "time." Hair doesn't know how long it is, so it doesn't grow to a certain length and then stop. What a hair does do is grow for a certain number of years, then it rests, then it sheds. So, it's how far your hair gets during that genetically determined growing time that is your terminal "length." Faster growing hair will get farther (longer) even if you have a short terminal time, but of course the ultimate is fast growing hair and a long growing cycle. :grin:

I agree that an artificially short terminal length can be the result of damage or too much trimming. I was stuck at BSL for over 12 years because my hair was breaking off as fast as it grew. I would suggest to anybody who thinks their hair can't grow longer to "put it up, put it up, put it up." They just might be surprised to see what happens. :bigeyes:
My hairdresser was telling me, thats its to do with the weight of hair, apparently when hair reaches a certain weight or something along those lines, it stops growing.

[Flaxen]

What's the best way to wear hair up without damaging?.. And should I stop trimming if I want to see if it can grow any longer?
Check out the hairtoy links and the hairstyle links in the list of VITs at the top of the page. :eyebrows:


My hairdresser was telling me, thats its to do with the weight of hair, apparently when hair reaches a certain weight or something along those lines, it stops growing.

No, weight has nothing to do with it. Genetically, each one of us has hair that is programmed to grow for a certain number of years. That phase is called the anagen phase. When that number of years is up, the hair rests and falls out. If one kept their hair trimmed very short, it would weigh next to nothing, and it would still fall out when its growing cycle was over. :grin:

[Shermie Girl]

What's the best way to wear hair up without damaging?.. And should I stop trimming if I want to see if it can grow any longer?


A bun anchored with sticks, a Ficcare or fork is good. If your hair is a bit fragile, you might want to stick to sticks or forks that don't clamp down on your hair. If it feels strong, a clip may be nice. You can get a few hairtoys and experiment. See what works for you.

The articles section (find the quick link at the top of the page) has a section chock full of styles and instructions. Browse, try on and see what floats your boat. :D

As far as trimming goes, if your ends are pretty good and you aren't having breakage, why trim? Why cut away hair that doesn't really need it? Perhaps not trimming for a while will help you see more gains in length. :)

[Hanamizu]

What exactly is breakage?

[florenonite]

What exactly is breakage?

It's when your hair breaks off before the end of the growth cycle. It can happen due to drying out from chemical treatments or heat, or due to mechanical damage, for instance from brushing or rubbing against chairs.

[Hanamizu]

I mean how can you tell if you have breakage? Like random shorter pieces of hair or? (couldn't that also be new growth?)
I'm a newbie at hair care!

[florenonite]

I mean how can you tell if you have breakage? Like random shorter pieces of hair or? (couldn't that also be new growth?)
I'm a newbie at hair care!

If the shorter pieces have a tapered end, they're new growth. If they don't, particularly if they're a bit kinky at the end (due to being stretched and snapping), they're breakage.

[rach]

I've read that BSL is a common length to be stuck at because of damage. At this length, it starts getting a lot of friction damage from chairs and such and any past chemical/heat/perm damage is really going to start taking its toll.

My hair is the longest it has ever been but I don't think that's a hinderence to future growth. Breakage and damage are/were always my problems.

this was my problem for about since my early teens till the beginning of this year.
WHY WON'T IT GROW.
problem was i was to impatient to get it looking nice (e.g straightening/dyes) rather than thinking long term effects so i bounced about between APL and BSL for thoes years and i'm bored of it.
sollution for me was henna and healthier approaches and hair up in gentle up-dos (smooth hair stick ones mostly as to tight elastics and scrunches)
and it's growing now, longest i've ever had it and i like the change in moving into new territory.

[jojo]

No, weight has nothing to do with it. Genetically, each one of us has hair that is programmed to grow for a certain number of years. That phase is called the anagen phase. When that number of years is up, the hair rests and falls out. If one kept their hair trimmed very short, it would weigh next to nothing, and it would still fall out when its growing cycle was over. :grin: thanks for clearing that up for me, i didnt really get what she was trting to say.

[Anje]

What's the best way to wear hair up without damaging?.. And should I stop trimming if I want to see if it can grow any longer?
I would say the best ways are generally buns that are not tightly twisted, secured with hairsticks, hair forks, or U-shaped pins. Ficcares and hair slides like Flexi-8s are also good to secure hair. Skip the elastics and bobby pins -- elastics can often break hair and often don't distribute weight well, while bobby pins just aren't made to hold buns and like to grab individual hairs. French twists are another good option. Braids also work very well, but many people find that they aren't as good at preventing damage as wearing hair in a style where all the hair is tucked up near the head and the ends are hidden.

Yes, I'd try just going without trimming for a while. If you're wearing your hair up most of the time, you're unlikely to develop a lot of fresh splits on your ends. If you do start to get a number of split ends, get something like a 1/2 inch (actually measure -- lots of folks are surprised how little this is) trimmed off.

Remember -- on average, hair grows about 1/2 an inch per month. By definition, about half the population will grow even slower than that. Trims of 1/2 inch to 1 inch every 2 months might be taking off all your growth, so if you want to gain length, you'll want to trim less than that. How much less depends on how quickly you want to gain length, how uneven your ends get if you let them go (and your tolerance for this), and how likely your ends are to split when left alone. Wearing hair up minimizes the splitting part of this equation.

[Hanamizu]

Thanks alot! :)
I'm gonna get me some hair sticks and forks asap.. What are U-shaped pins though?

[rach]

http://www.radenterprises.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=245&zenid=7cosk18mp5kekd8dibbmfcqkb1
these aren't exciting but they are very handy especially with layers which can be :justy: at times. :D