Question about terminal

**diddiedaisy** · August 15th, 2015, 09:46 AM

Hi all, just a quick question. I know certain parts of the hair such as nape can have a shorter terminal length, but can you have sections across your scalp also with a mixture of terminal length?

I'm asking as I have a suspicion my hair does this. Somewhere inbetweeen cbl and apl my hair gets noticeably thinner, no matter how much I trim. Secondly, last year I had great new growth all over my head after stopping my shed, this year I have the same 3 inch new growth looking like the same places. Thirdly, I have been looking at my shed ends as they were lolling short and my hair has been through a dry patch. I noticed that these short hairs, which come from all over my head, have the root attached. Some taper, some don't. Some are also thinner than the average hair.

Could these hairs be short terminals? If so what does it suggest for future growth, as I keep chopping due to thin ends, but if these are terminals I will just have to learn to live with wispy ends. For the record my hair has never been past bsl. Although when I half heartidly grew it when younger, I would get 3 monthly trims with up to a couple of inches off, so all my growth really!!

thanks

**meteor** · August 15th, 2015, 10:01 AM

Yes, some hairs could have shorter terminal than others. Why not?

After all, our bodies are covered with hairs of very different terminal lengths (eyebrows different from armpits, different from legs, different from scalp, etc and within each of those specific sections hairs don't all get to grow to equal lengths either... - I'm sure it's primarily driven by genes).

ETA:
And yes, texture and diameter of individual hairs, too. They do vary, sometimes quite a lot. I have pretty multi-textured hair, personally, and I think lots of other people do, too. It's pretty normal for organic matter like hair.

**Magalo** · August 15th, 2015, 10:13 AM

The answer to your question is yes, but I don't think it's the cause of your problem since you are at a such short length. Remember that most healthy adults are able to grow to at least TBL/classic... You should rule out all other causes before telling yourself it's just your terminal length.

Maybe you always sleep on the same side. Or the way you twist your buns always put pressure on the same place. Maybe you are brushing your hair more vigorously in that spot. Hair loss from lack of nutrients isn't always even all over the head, how good are your eating habits? Ask yourself all these questions before thinking you can do nothing about it.

**spidermom** · August 15th, 2015, 10:28 AM

Unfortunately, some hairs have a short growing cycle, which gives them a short terminal length. This can be hairs in certain areas or hairs all over your head. We used to have a member who set a goal to grow to classic length, and only about 50 hairs on the right side actually grew that long. most of the rest never grew longer than APL to BSL. I'm amazed that she was able to stick to her goal because she got several rude remarks about the way that her hair looked.

**lapushka** · August 15th, 2015, 10:35 AM

I think terminal gets affected by how you treat your hair. Is it dye free? No, it's not.

So maybe try and cut the dye out - if you can. That will show you longer life to your lengths, maybe.

**meteor** · August 15th, 2015, 10:49 AM

Diddiedaisy, I think the best bet is to focus on what's within your control: cutting out *all* damage, preserving length in perfect condition to rule out the risk of "false terminal" and then... well, hope for the best. I've read reports that, for some reason, sometimes it can take decades to get to one's true terminal, even after extremely long stalls.
Hang in there!

It will grow!

**diddiedaisy** · August 15th, 2015, 01:07 PM

Thanks for the replies. I do sleep on side, hence a heavy s&d last night, but these hairs are all my head rather than a specific spot. And yes I do dye, but I'm not ready to accept my greys and my natural blonde gone blonette just doesn't suit me. I do only root dye and have switched to amonia free , which I know is only a consolation!!! Other than that I wear it up every day, varying it twice in one day, and put some macedamia oil on it before bed to help protect it.

I think I'm just going to have to wait and see if will get past bsl. I did stop taking all my supplements a couple of months ago, so I might start them up again. Multi vit, msm and biotin.

**lapushka** · August 15th, 2015, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by diddiedaisy

I think I'm just going to have to wait and see if will get past bsl. I did stop taking all my supplements a couple of months ago, so I might start them up again. Multi vit, msm and biotin.

I understand about the dye, but it's a bit of a dilemma when growing to longer lengths. Some can do it, others can not, you'll have to find out for yourself (and not cut as much

). BTW a multi vitamin should be more than enough. I wouldn't take too much biotin. And msm, it's in my supplements for my joints as well, but I've never experienced more hairgrowth from it.

**meteor** · August 15th, 2015, 02:38 PM

Diddiedaisy, what kind of dye do you use?

Maybe there are better options? If it's a permanent or a demi-permanent standard oxidative dye, and you can't stop dyeing, maybe switching to something less damaging: like a direct dye (deposit only), no-developer dye might help your hair accumulate less damage?