A question about terminal lenght.

[MissHair]

I have a question about terminal lenght that's been on my mind for a while now. So if I understand this correct, we all have a genetic predisposition that determines our terminal lenght.

I wonder this.. Is the terminal lenght depended on how much hair has already grown out and basically the hair ''runs out'' of hair in the follicle or does the predisposed genetics decide the lenght everytime hair sheds and new hairs grow out? Im scared I will ''run out'' of hair considering how many years my hairs been growing and I've cut it all off.

Sorry for the bad explaination to this, I really couldn't explain it better.

ETA: Didn't mean to have a sad face on the title :D, I pressed the wrong smilie, lol.

[jacqueline101]

I think terminal length is where your hair stops growing. It doesn't fall out to baldness they hair stops growing and it sheds but you trimming and cutting doesn't make your terminal length shorter. What mean cutting it off all the time won't effect the out come.

[Madora]

I'd say it was a matter of genetics.

However, the longer it grows, the stronger the root is, and while hair is shed whether you have short, waist or ankle hair, those with uber long hair seem to shed less (per George Michael's Secrets for Beautiful Hair - 1981).

[PixxieStix]

Your follicle does not "run out" of hair (thankfully), but rather genetics determine the length of time a follicle produces the protein strands that make up the hair shaft, and the hair grows at a more or less constant rate from that follicle until genetics tells it to "switch off", then the hair rests, sheds, and a new hair grows back in its place. :)

Now, if you had long hair and cut it short, it might seem like it takes a lot longer to get long hair again, because the hair has no idea it has been cut, it will just grow during the time period it was supposed to and then stop, so it might seem like the hair is shedding at a "shorter" length, when in reality you just have to wait for the new hairs to come in that will be given the chance to make it just about as long as they can grow. :)

[MissHair]

Great explainations, thanks for the answers!

[berr]

I'd say it was a matter of genetics.

However, the longer it grows, the stronger the root is, and while hair is shed whether you have short, waist or ankle hair, those with uber long hair seem to shed less (per George Michael's Secrets for Beautiful Hair - 1981).

I have wondered why I shed so little. I thought it was because my hair was contained all the time and the shed hairs end up in your hand when you brush out.