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View Full Version : Length as a kid vs. length as adult



earthpulse
November 16th, 2009, 06:32 AM
Do you think the terminal length on a little kid will end up to be the same when they grow up? I don't mean in inches, but more like if they are waist length when they are little they will probably be able to grow it out to waist length as an adult. My little sister (who is eight) has beautiful hip length hair that she loves and I wonder if she would possibly be able to maintain it at hip length as she gets older. I would love to have waist length hair, which I had as a kid, but I'm not sure it will be able to get there now that I'm at my grown up size.:) I've always cut it before it gets much past below bsl. Have any of you kept the same length hair throughout your life (or know someone who has)? Any insight?

florenonite
November 16th, 2009, 07:04 AM
No. Terminal length is governed by the speed at which hair grows and the length of the growing (or anagen) phase. So assuming the speed and anagen phase remain constant throughout one's life, then the length in inches would remain the same throughout one's life. However, there are many factors influencing the speed of growth, including the season, diet, exercise, and overall health. Furthermore, I was reading an article on male pattern baldness that argues that the cause of MPB is the anagen phase decreasing until it's so short the hair never exits the scalp. It is reasonable therefore to assume that it's possible for the duration of the anagen phase to change throughout one's life.

That said, many children (particularly those whose parents are not avid longhairs themselves) who do not cut their hair experience a false terminal length that is shorter than their true terminal length because the hair breaks off before the end of the anagen phase. For instance when I was 11 I had hair just above waist-length and extensive fairytale ends due to damage. I was about 5' at the time (judging from what my 12-year-old sister was like a year ago), whereas now I'm 5'5.5" with hair just above waist length without the fairytaling or the damage, because I take better care of my hair now. So although waist might have been my terminal length as a child due to poor hair care, my true terminal length is longer than that.

Anje
November 16th, 2009, 07:41 AM
I imagine that a child's terminal length will either be the same in inches as it is during adulthood, or perhaps a bit longer. (Mostly because I imagine a child's hair could grow faster or remain in anagen for longer because they're growing.)

Like Flornonite says, a child's hair might be at an artificial terminal, though, due to breakage and rough handling. As a careful adult, you can probably grow longer than as a wild loose-haired kid.

pdy2kn6
November 16th, 2009, 07:43 AM
Thats such an interesting question. It would be interesting to see which grows faster on your sister-her hair or her body. I am sure she will be able to grow past her hips as she gets older if she stays away from any major haircuts

Buddaphlyy
November 16th, 2009, 07:20 PM
No because you would get taller. I recently made a post about a friend who reached terminal length at tailbone when we were 12 but now it looks MBL because she is taller. I will see if I can find and post the thread.

Found it.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=833630#post833630

JaneinMarch
November 16th, 2009, 07:47 PM
When my sister was eight, she had hair around tailbone length. Now that she's thirteen and a good deal taller, it's still near her tailbone when straightened. It seems to be "growing with her," if that makes sense.

My hair was never quite that long as a child. It was around mid-back, and that length was about the longest it grew in adulthood before I had issues and chopped it off.

wahmof9
November 16th, 2009, 07:59 PM
No. Terminal length is governed by the speed at which hair grows and the length of the growing (or anagen) phase. So assuming the speed and anagen phase remain constant throughout one's life, then the length in inches would remain the same throughout one's life. However, there are many factors influencing the speed of growth, including the season, diet, exercise, and overall health. Furthermore, I was reading an article on male pattern baldness that argues that the cause of MPB is the anagen phase decreasing until it's so short the hair never exits the scalp. It is reasonable therefore to assume that it's possible for the duration of the anagen phase to change throughout one's life.

That said, many children (particularly those whose parents are not avid longhairs themselves) who do not cut their hair experience a false terminal length that is shorter than their true terminal length because the hair breaks off before the end of the anagen phase. For instance when I was 11 I had hair just above waist-length and extensive fairytale ends due to damage. I was about 5' at the time (judging from what my 12-year-old sister was like a year ago), whereas now I'm 5'5.5" with hair just above waist length without the fairytaling or the damage, because I take better care of my hair now. So although waist might have been my terminal length as a child due to poor hair care, my true terminal length is longer than that.
Oh I like reading this...because it was the same for me. My hair was past waist at its longest but went shorter and shorter as I grew due to damage and neglect.

I have not had long hair since I was 12. I have tried but seemed stuck between APL and BSL and truly believed that I could never grow my hair long again until I found this place.

I am encouraged that indeed I can:cheese:

teela1978
November 16th, 2009, 08:10 PM
There's also the point that some peoples growing phase is REALLY long (like some of those women in china with the incredible 20 foot long hair). You'd be an adult by the time you reached terminal :)

camirra555
November 17th, 2009, 12:03 AM
Right now my hair is the longest it's ever been. I'm curious about what terminal would be on me but I don't know if I have the patience to find out!

jera
November 17th, 2009, 01:48 AM
There's also the point that some peoples growing phase is REALLY long (like some of those women in china with the incredible 20 foot long hair). You'd be an adult by the time you reached terminal :)

That's what I'm hoping for. Sort of. 20 feet would be too long for me though. But this is a good question. I think will, hair vitamins, good health and consisently good hair care will all help adults to grow their hair as long as or even longer than when they were kids. :)

I've never once seen a kid with floor length hair. But I have seen adults with it. :D

prittykitty
November 17th, 2009, 02:16 AM
I hope! I had very long below waist length hair as a child, that was until I was about 13 and had it cut in a feathered hairstyle. It just seemed to get shorter and shorter after that. It is going to be a few years before I will know my terminal length.

ilovelonghair
November 17th, 2009, 04:23 AM
When I was 12 my hair was classic lenght and I wasn't much shorter then I'm now (I was a very tall kid and I stopped growing very early), but I used to treat it terribly: tear my brush trough it and I used to have the bad habit of pulling out hairs to measure them (was obsessed already about length :D) I also had a very different hair structure; it was very silky and slippery and fine, when I grew up it became more wavy, less slippery and less fine.
I know I can grow my hair tailbone now, only not sure how thick the ends will be and if it can grow beyond.

jojo
November 17th, 2009, 05:31 AM
No. Terminal length is governed by the speed at which hair grows and the length of the growing (or anagen) phase. So assuming the speed and anagen phase remain constant throughout one's life, then the length in inches would remain the same throughout one's life. However, there are many factors influencing the speed of growth, including the season, diet, exercise, and overall health. Furthermore, I was reading an article on male pattern baldness that argues that the cause of MPB is the anagen phase decreasing until it's so short the hair never exits the scalp. It is reasonable therefore to assume that it's possible for the duration of the anagen phase to change throughout one's life.

That said, many children (particularly those whose parents are not avid longhairs themselves) who do not cut their hair experience a false terminal length that is shorter than their true terminal length because the hair breaks off before the end of the anagen phase. For instance when I was 11 I had hair just above waist-length and extensive fairytale ends due to damage. I was about 5' at the time (judging from what my 12-year-old sister was like a year ago), whereas now I'm 5'5.5" with hair just above waist length without the fairytaling or the damage, because I take better care of my hair now. So although waist might have been my terminal length as a child due to poor hair care, my true terminal length is longer than that.

explained perfectly great post and interesting thread!

teela1978
November 17th, 2009, 10:12 AM
I would actually think that adult hair would grow faster than childhood hair... particularly at young ages when the body is rather preoccupied with growing tissue. No clue as to weather or not that's true though :)

dukkelisa
November 17th, 2009, 10:28 AM
I didn't have long hair as a child, but as a teen, I grew it to knee length before cutting it. I am hesitant to believe in terminal length, as so few people nevre cut their hair. I am never cutting (I don't S&D or trim at all) and I guess I'll eventually seen if it stops growing completely at some point.

Laululintu
November 17th, 2009, 10:33 AM
As a child I always had longish hair, but I didn't have hair much longer than a few inches beyond BSL until I was in my late teens (I first made it to waist length when I was 17). On the other hand, the shortest my hair's been since I can remember was roughly shoulder length when I was around 10.

spidermom
November 17th, 2009, 11:24 AM
I wouldn't go by that. Waist length on a small child is about APL on an adult.

earthpulse
November 19th, 2009, 12:52 PM
To me it always seemed like adults were capable of growing more hair. Hair changes a lot in adolescence, in thickness and texture. I'm curious as to whether the anagen phase starts to last longer as well. I only say this because I've seen many adults with tail bone length hair, that much hair could be near to a little kid's knees and I've never seen a kid with hair that long. My first thought was that that was because adults have been growing it longer, but at half an inch per month an adult could get to tail bone in six years, which is all the longer the anagen phase lasts for most people. My little sister has been growing hers for almost nine. Her hair changed from toddler fluff to normal kid hair when she was almost three, so that's six years of growing and she's no where near knee length (and she's definitely a runt.) I know that the anagen phase is genetic, but a lot DNA gets "read" at different times in a person's life, so I wonder if the anagen phase could extend to its full length around puberty when your hair changes. Of course I have no evidence to support this theory, but adolescence is when my nose extended to its full length.:confused::rolleyes: