Growing shorter?

[Loepsie]

Today I decided to take a length shot again for the first time in seven months and was quite shocked to find out that my hair looks shorter. I took a measuring tape and discovered that I actually lost 5 cm since I last measured, a few months ago. My hair used to be 84 cm and now the longest strand just about reaches 79.
I haven't cut or trimmed my hair in over a year, though I've been S&Ding regularly. I don't think it's likely that I'd S&D 7 months of growth plus 5 cm off...
Here are both length shots.
http://img717.imageshack.us/i/wtfab.jpg/
In case the picture doesn't show, here's a link: http://img717.imageshack.us/i/wtfab.jpg/

The first picture was taken right after I dyed my hair with henna. I now have about 7 or 8 cm growout from that, so my hair has been growing, it just hasn't gotten longer.

Does this mean I've reached my terminal length? The only reason I can think of for why my hair would get shorter is that it's been breaking off, but I've been taking good care of it.

Now I'm considering cutting it back to waist (it's going back to waist on its own anyway) and seeing if it'll grow longer in summer.
Do you think I should try that? Does anyone know how my hair could've gotten shorter?

[Dina L.]

I don't know the reason of that, but I don't think at all that it would be your terminal length. I would cut a nice hemline and try some vitamins/castor oil etc to see if these influences the growth. If not, well, than that is your TL. :(

[Yozhik]

Maybe you've hit a stall? Have you also been experiencing decreased diameter? It may be that a lot of your longer hairs have reached their terminal length and shed, and the younger hairs just haven't yet regrown to your previous length.

Is there any type of friction damage that might be causing the change?
I've heard that hair growth can stall for up to a year, so I'd suggest hanging tight and see what summer brings, especially since a lot of people experience faster growth rates then. :flower:

[krissykins]

I was thinking there could be a little more wave in your hair, but it doesn't look like it in the picture. I have no answers for you, only hugs, because this is very uspetting! :grouphug:

[Fufu]

How about giving yourself a short trim to your hair ends and wait for 1 month or 2 months and measure it again?

I guess sometimes hair has been working hard for us growing every month and maybe your hair just taking a short break? Maybe, you wouldn't know, you will experience growth spurt when your hair starts growing long again.

[lapushka]

The only reason I can possibly think of is that you measured wrong, perhaps misread the number on the measuring tape, on one of those occasions.

[spidermom]

I've had this happen. I was waiting for waist length and would cinch a belt around my waist, looking to see if the ends overlapped the belt yet. Finally it happened! Then a week or two after that, my ends did not touch the belt anymore, not even if I blow-dried it straight, not even when it was wet. The only thing I could figure out was that all my longest hairs had shed out. But new growth came along and you can see for yourself where my hair is now. (P.S. I've had quite a few trims, too.)

[Tiina]

I agree that it probably is the fault of shedding the longest hairs. Your hair doesn't seem shorter but it is odd it has not grown much longer. Yet it doesn't look damaged at all... And at the same time the hemline still looks thick enough to not be terminal. :shrug: I suggest waiting for some months to see what happens and keeping an eye on the shed rate and possible damage.

I hit a stall after giving birth but it didn't last more than 4 months. I also shed a lot of hair but the stall lasted longer than the shed. However, I don't think something like that can happen without tremendous stress on the body, so unless something like that has happened I doubt it is the case for you.

[Panth]

Could be a stall, could be damage (do you wear your hair down mostly or up mostly?), could be stress or illness a couple of months ago. Stress (be it physical, i.e. illness or recovering from an injury, or emotional/mental) can re-set a hair follicle into anagen, which would result in the existing hair falling out.

I say, don't worry about it too much, just chill out and enjoy your hair. If it still appears to be stalling/regressing in a couple of months time then maybe try to find the culprit, be that mechanical damage, medical issues, diet or whatever.

[Loepsie]

Thanks everybody =)
I trimmed about 4 cm off the ends so it's all pretty much one length now (the sides had grown longer anyway) and I'll see what happens in a few months. Let's hope it's just a stall =P

[telegraph64]

It's probably not damage alone (although a trim never hurts), and shrinkage isn't a product of wave alone. It can also be a factor of "lifted" hair having to do with humidity at nearly undetectable levels.
Also, you could have had a very slightly different posture in the comparison, I know that even the slightest left/right/up/down tilt, that I can't even notice, can make my hair look shorter. :)

[Copasetic]

There are a lot of things in this picture that might throw off your perception. The older photo is a tighter shot, different lighting, arms in different places, etc. I very much doubt that you have hit terminal length. Its probably just a stall in growth, mixed with some impatience. It happens to all of us :)

[pepperminttea]

Agreeing with the other posters; probably a combination of the longest hairs shedding, a slightly different posture in the photo (among other factors), and a growth stall. It's a pain, but I don't think you're at terminal yet, so hurray for that. :) Fingers crossed your hair will take a look out the window, realise it's spring, and get growing. ;)

[ilovejimmy]

i know its upsetting but your hair is so pretty

[bumblebums]

It doesn't look like terminal length to me. You'd have a lot more taper at the ends in pic #2.

I think you're standing a bit farther away from the camera in the second picture, which might make the hair appear shorter.

But, since I am one of your loyal YT subscribers and happen to know your routines as you describe them :) Could it be the extensions you've been wearing? They put a lot of stress on the middle and bottom parts of your scalp, which is where your longest hairs tend to grow from.

[Mesmerise]

I agree your hair looks shorter, and to me the perspective looks almost the same... and as you measured also, then yes... I'd say for whatever reason you've stalled.

As others have said, there are lots of reasons for this. One is that the hair has a break and doesn't really grow much (although you did say you've seen regrowth so this doesn't fully explain it). Have you noticed more than usual shedding, or do you find that you have some hairs that seem to be unnaturally short? If many of your longest hairs fell out due to shedding, that could explain it in part.

Hmm I do notice that in the picture on the right (the most recent) the longest bits seem to be "tucked up" a bit more...which could explain the most dramatic differences in the two shots. If it was brushed a bit straighter at the back, then this wouldn't be as obvious.

Anyway my advice would be to hang in there :) You've trimmed a bit off the end, which is probably a good idea, and you may find you get a nice growth spurt over the summer that will help push things along!