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View Full Version : figuring out haircut/growth spurt phenomenon



spidermom
May 3rd, 2008, 12:08 PM
I recently read a web site about the growth cycle. It works like this - the hair emerges from the follicle and grows until it reaches the end of its personal growth cycle. Then it stops growing, the root shrinks, and eventually the hair sheds out of the follicle. Then, if the follicle is still healthy, a new hair grows. This is happening continuously. Each hair is on its own cycle, and while some hairs are resting, then shedding, other hairs are actively growing.

Suddenly it hit me -- when my growth stops and I cut back several inches, I'm probably cutting back to shorter hairs that are actively growing anyway, but I can't see length increase until I cut back because those hairs were shorter than my longest hairs before the cut, then they become my longest hairs and I can see the length increase.

Does this ring true?

Jason
May 3rd, 2008, 12:14 PM
I can see how one could notice more hairs that would be longer. But, if you hadn't cut those inches, would not the uncut hairs that were not nearing the resting stage still grow at the same rate as the shorter ones and therefore still show the same amount of growth? It would be less noticeable because there are fewer hairs still in their growth cycle but I would think the measurable growth would be the same.

zift
May 3rd, 2008, 12:17 PM
Suddenly it hit me -- when my growth stops and I cut back several inches, I'm probably cutting back to shorter hairs that are actively growing anyway, but I can't see length increase until I cut back because those hairs were shorter than my longest hairs before the cut, then they become my longest hairs and I can see the length increase.

Does this ring true?

Uuum I think this will be true if all your hair at ends have reached terminal length and really stopped growing.

Silver & Gold
May 3rd, 2008, 12:24 PM
I see what you're getting at and makes perfect sense to me, especially the closer you are to terminal length. Those people who are at terminal length would never notice any length change at all because of the shedding cycle, but if they cut their hair back by a few inches they would then see the growth of the hair once again until they reached terminal.