Estimating terminal length based on the amount of taper

**lucid** · April 14th, 2017, 09:45 AM

Is it possible to estimate terminal length based on the amount of taper one has (not including cases where there has been major shedding that has caused unnatural amount of taper)?

My measurements:
- Pony: 2.4'':
- 8 '' down: 2''
- 16'' down: 1.5''

In that case my terminal length would be about 40 inches down, which is somewhere between mid thigh and knee on me. And that doesn't seem that unlikely?

What is your guys measurements? It would be really interesting to know how much taper is common on people? Especially those who think they are closing in on terminal length or already has reached terminal length.

Source: http://adelinahair.blogspot.no/2013/...-shiniest.html

**lapushka** · April 14th, 2017, 11:12 AM

It could very well keep tapering too, without reaching 0... Just a thought.

**lucid** · April 14th, 2017, 12:42 PM

This method implies that the tapering rate is about constant, and consequently the circumference will approach 0 at some point. For it to never reach 0, the rate of tapering has to slow down and eventually stop, and I don't think that is very common? As far as I know, most people notice more tapering closer to terminal length? If that is the case, tapering rate will increase as the hair grows longer, and the terminal length will be shorter than for the case of constant tapering rate.

I'm not at all claiming that this method gives a good estimate of terminal length though, I'm just curious to whether it has some value or not

**spidermom** · April 14th, 2017, 01:38 PM

Have fun calculating where terminal length is likely to occur, but hair is weird. It can surprise you. I recall seeing a woman years ago who was wearing a high ponytail. Her hair was very thin, with the last few hairs ending somewhere just below her knee. I don't think anybody would have predicted this length given how thin her hair was to start with and how few longest hairs there were.

Plus I had a roommate with a terminal length between APL and BSL. Her hair didn't taper significantly; it just came to a full stop at that length. I was associated with her for at least 8 years. I think LHC would be in agreement that her hair care was reasonable, but it wouldn't grow any longer. She didn't often get it cut, either, and the ends didn't look to be in bad shape (I would know; I braided her hair often). I am guessing that the hairs on her head simply didn't have a long active growth cycle, maybe around 3-4 years.

**Deborah** · April 14th, 2017, 02:42 PM

Yeah, I don't think you can predict terminal. It seems to vary from person to person, and does not always show up in the same way. In addition most of us don't know what our terminal would be because we don't allow our hair to grow long enough for our terminal length to show up. But most of all, I don't think most of us care where our terminal length would be. I know I don't.

**Hairkay** · April 14th, 2017, 02:54 PM

I do have a taper when I put my hair in a plait/braid but this predictive model doesn't seem likely to work with my hair. The taper can vary daily according to shrinkage and how I plait/braid my hair. It is extremely hard to detect a taper on my loose hair. That would be best seen if my hair is soaking wet for a few seconds before the curls take back control from the heavy water.

**Anje** · April 14th, 2017, 03:02 PM

Taper can be grown out, at least to a point. I've definitely gotten hair to thicken while maintaining (though it didn't as much as I had hoped). That would throw this off.

Cg · April 14th, 2017, 03:03 PM

I'll never hit "terminal" as defined in this forum because I keep my hemline blunt.

But to enter the spirit of this thread, my hair has no taper and is 2-3 inches from TBL.

**Kellylee** · April 14th, 2017, 05:45 PM

I did this and it was right on my hair. Granted my hair is just barely waist length so I can only measure down one ten inch section. My hair doesn't have any layers, I bet would be different for someone who did.

**Borgessa** · April 14th, 2017, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by spidermom

Plus I had a roommate with a terminal length between APL and BSL. Her hair didn't taper significantly; it just came to a full stop at that length. I was associated with her for at least 8 years. I think LHC would be in agreement that her hair care was reasonable, but it wouldn't grow any longer. She didn't often get it cut, either, and the ends didn't look to be in bad shape (I would know; I braided her hair often). I am guessing that the hairs on her head simply didn't have a long active growth cycle, maybe around 3-4 years.

This just made me feel depressed lol... my hair been stunted for yrs. I hope this isn't the case for me too