Keisha says;
So, lately I’ve noticed that the front of my hair is super short (about 6 inches) in comparison to the back (about 9 inches) and also retains length at a slightly lesser rate. After being petrified, I did some observation and noticed that the front of my hair is both more fine AND more highly textured, making retention more of a challenge in that area.
It isn’t too weird-looking or noticeable (thank God for all the volume that textured hair brings!) but I’d like to try to do my best to close the growing length gap. So my questions for your readers are a.) have any of them dealt with having a section of hair that’s significantly shorter than the rest, b.) how do you camouflage the discrepancy and c.) how do you encourage the shorter section of hair to grow and retain length?
Ladies, what insight and advice can you give??
I have two patches at my crown that’s shorter than the rest. But, it is also the driest. So, I just up my moisture and sealing in that area.
I meant to add that since I’m transitioning and dealing with shrinkage, it’s not really noticeable.
My hair grows evenly for the most part. But my sis hair grows like u describe its a nice shape
Story of my life! My nape is about 5 to 8 inches while the rest of my hair is about 10 to 12. What a big difference! I found that my hair at the nape is actually a whole lot finer, thinner and much more fragile so it snaps very easily. Also I have very bad psoriasis in this area as well (which is mostly under control now). I plan to implement these things into my regimen to help me retain length in this area; - Scalp massage with castor or hemp oil — Finger comb the hair — Gentle handling of the hair I… Read more »
OMG, this is my hairstory!!
My crown is a completely different texture and is the slowest in growth from most of my hair. It’s also the the least part of my scalp the gets the most blood circulation. Sounds weird but nightly I hang my head over my bed so the blood rushes to the top of my head and massage my scalp with rosemary oil.
I’ve been doing this consistently for 3mos and has noticed a vast difference in the texture and growth of my crown.
I must try this. I have the same problem. Can I use another oil other than rosemary oil?
I’m sure you can, Lantoinette. I’ve only used Rosemary but I’m sure any stimulating oil would work. Perhaps, peppermint mixed with a little olive oil.
I have peppermint oil so I will try that. I can’t wait to see the end results. Very interesting.
Oooh… I have the same problem area and started feeling discouraged. I’m going to try your recommendation, too.
Sigh. I’m in a similar boat, except it’s a right/left length issue. The right side of my head is much curlier than my left side — insane, right? They grow at about the same rate, but of course, the left APPEARS longer than the right because of the less tight curl pattern. I mitigate the problem by doing frohawks and having an amazeball stylist who can cut my hair curly. Getting a cut when my hair is blow dried straight makes the discrepancy worse.
I have this very issue with the back of my head…and I don’t even sleep on my back. It’s a mystery to me…I don’t discriminate with my hair care and yet it still acts like I do nothing. Just plain rebelious. While my front thrives a whole lot, I have to always baby the back.
Hi Elaine!
It is exactly the same with me!!! We have to discover what that mistery is all about!! It drives me crazy!!
The front of my hair is about 7 inches, while the back is about 10–11 inches. The front is also finer, less dense and thinner than the back, so a lot of protective styles don’t work for me. The front also grows at a slower rate. I really haven’t done anything to camaflouge the length difference since it doesn’t look weird. It just looks like my hair was cut into layers.
OMG! My hair is the same way. I hate it though. I do not like the look of layers at all! I always do protective style and wondered why I never really liked the look.. it’s b/c of the layered look. I recently stopped doing the mini twists I have been doing consistently for about one year. I have noticed that they cause more single strand knots than before. Do you have the same problem? What do you do instead of protective styles? I would be more than happy to just let my hair go free but I am afraid… Read more »
The plus side is that like the poster said, curly hair is more forgiving of different lengths. My sister relaxed her shoulder length hair, and only then did we notice that one side was quite noticeably longer than the other. She had to trim it to make it even. I myself notice that the curliest section of my hair is also the shortest. Right on the crown, toward the back. I am actually getting a trim or cut next week, not because I am so annoyed by the different lengths but because my ends are jacked up. I am looking… Read more »
I have the same issue … And have Multiple Textures
My crown has the roughtest texture 4c, its always shrunken the most, breaks easily, and hard to detangle and abt 8″ long. My sides are like a 4a texture and abt 11″. The back of my next is abt a 3c texture… and abt 8″ long.
I have pics here of a dry twist out of my textures at my blog…
http://naturalandprofessional.blogspot.com/2011/08/are-you-mixed.html
the front of my head grows slower…it’s actually a looser texture but the hair is a bit more finer…my hair grows much, much thicker in the whole middle back of my head and it’s more curly and coarse. THe coarsest hair grows just as fast as the rest. I knew about that even when relaxed though because it was very apparent but didn’t know about the front of my hair. I just think my head of hair is so interesting and unique.
The different textures, the different growth rates, thickness..how dark it is, it’s just so dynamic.
my problems has always been the front of my hair. Even relaxed and it irks me! I am now doing most finger combing on wash day and trying my best to keep at least the front of my hair in some sort of PS style.. even if the rest isn’t. Be it twist or tucks. It looks like it has gain a little length over the last few weeks. After reading the “does black hair grow” one of the subscribers had some great mathematics to calculate at least my growth… she figured her hair grew 1/3″ per month in oppose… Read more »
I have a similar problem. Even when I was relaxed, like Karlyne posted. But I like to think of it as the back being longer, instead of the front being shorter. See how I “cup half full”-ed it? Lol! 🙂 But seriously though, I think it’s because I handle the front of my hair more than I handle the back. So, to combat the problem, I try to be more even in handling. Also, my curls are looser in the back, especially the back right. It’s not necesarily of a looser texture, but the curls just generally tend to be more stretched… Read more »
I had MAJOR breakage in the middle/crown area. Like 1 inch of hair with 6+ inches everywhere else. It’s also the coarsest part of my hair and tangles the most/easiest It’s the reason I can’t wear wash and go’s.
I have this issue and what I’ve found is when you do twists and styles you have to adjust instructions for these different sections of your hair. This is one of the reasons not to completely follow someone else’s instructions to the letter. For example, I do smaller twists where I need more help with definition. And larger twists in other areas.
Me, too. I do big two strand twists in the back and on the sides. The crown requires a lot of moisture and smaller twists. I discovered this a couple of weeks ago and it seems to be working for me.
Hair on the right side of my hair grows slower than the hair on the left side of my hair.….as crazy as that sounds, it was reversed when I relaxed my hair. Oh and I’ve checked my ends and they are fine.…
I don’t understand it and I wish that it would catch up already!!!!
The back of my hair grows the fastest though!
Well, what can I say. lol my problems are a left and right issue with length texture and retention. My right side seems to be a 4b or maybe a little 3c and is much longer, while the left side is mostly a 4b and comes up short and inch or two. I can see the difference every time I do a length check and it drives me up the wall!!!! I’ve been using she moisture and doing a biweekly deep conditioning treatment I’ve seen progress and my hair is soooooo soft now only thing is now when i blow… Read more »
Yep. There is an area in the top/crown area that is always stunted. At one point it broke completely off . I have no idea what I did to it, but I worse kinky twists for about 5 months to help protect it.
The front and back/perimeter of my hair grows much faster than the rest. So it looks kinda funny at times because I get a halo affect from the front and from the side or back it looks much shorter… Ahhh well.
The middle of my hair is much shorter than everywhere else on my head. Since I normally just wear a puff, it’s not noticeable because i do a lot of fluffing. I do trim that area less often as to hopefully get an even length of hair everywhere on my head but that will probably never happen.
I used to be very frustrate by my hair as they grew back after my BC for the back would be way shorter than the front. I would usually flat twist/braid the back and leave my hair in twist out in the front. Lately my hair has grown a lot especially in the back so I guess I just had to be patient, one thing at a time…lol
I have the same problem, there are sections in the middle of my hair that are significantly shorter than the rest of my hair. I’ve just learned to live with it and be patient.. it’s growing.
All hair strands do not grow to the same length at the same rate all at the same time.
- chicoro
I have three hair length issues. First, the Mid-back section of my hair is the most porous and the most fragile. If anything adverse is going to happen to my hair, that section is going to be the first to suffer and is going to suffer the most damage. The hair there is shorter than the hair above it in the crown area. I most notice the discrepancy in length in that section when I wear my hair pulled back in a puff. I disguise it by fluffing up that part and making the hair around it lie down to… Read more »
I have this problem! My crown grows faster than the rest of my hair and its texture is not as tightly curled so this is a HUGE problem for me when I wear a fro! I can mask it with twists. I normly cut it a bit shorter than the rest to make it blend, but it defeats the purpose of me trying to retain length.
i have this problem too but my story is kinda different i cut my hair really short because i wanted a new look kept it for a summer then put weave in my hair i wasnt taking my hair seriously so i did everything you not suppose to do like useing alot of heat on the top area to my hair while forgetting about my hair underneath. then i permed alittle in the front where my hair was left out leaveing the rest naturaland that happened in 2009…it broke off really bad and would not come past my eyebrows even… Read more »
Has anyone tried doing yarn braids for hair that is having trouble growing and just leaving them in for awhile? I see that beautifulbrwnbabydol did a tutorial for them yesterday and they came out looking really great. I don’t know if I could have the patience to do my whole head w/o given up lol… Titled video: Yarn Braids/Genie Locs Tutorial (& EASY Care Tips)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbQ7WbexaGk&feature=channel_video_title
I didn’t mean to give you a thumbs down lol. I was trying to click on your YouTube link but it wasn’t working, so then I tried to click reply. Smh. I’m on my phone.
But my hair grows weird as well though I haven’t measured it. My hair in the front is longer than the back, so i’m starting to wear my twists as bangs.
my “bangs” are shorter than the rest of the hair and I usually do styles that allow me to have a boufant or some sort of cut bang or twist back. It allows me to look stylish while concealing the short length. I also be careful to detangle this section from tip to root b/c often i’m so used to going root to tip with this section (blame it on my creamy crack days). Finally I promote growth by moisturizing and sealing the ends of this section.
Yes my front and crown area are shorter because that was the last section I had to cut to end my transition. So now I’m 100% natural that’s the good part but having collar length hair in the back and short hair in the front/crown sucks. I try to pass them off as bangs or what I do most often is do flat twists going back to camouflage it. It should grow to a decent length in the next couple of months so I’m trying not to sweat it. Keyword: “trying”. lol
I have this similar problem, mainly due to the fact I had a head full of hair and did not want to be bothered with it. So instead of taking care of my hair and dealing with it. I hid it behind lace fronts, full wigs, and quick weaves. So when I finally started dealing with it on a regular, I install a quick weave on one ocassion and when I tried to remove it the glue was stuck.….so I politely grabbed a pair of scissors and went “waiting to exhale” (lol) on my hair only in the spots that… Read more »
My problem is my my sides are longer then the back. It drives me nuts. I trim my hair so it could be even, but it just stays the same length. I really want something I can do to make my hair healthier and help it grow. If anyone has any ideas please help.
It’s good to know that I’m not the only “imperfect” natural. My hair is a mix of a little this and a little that. The front of my hair has looser curls and it grows fast. The middle of my hair in the crown is coarser, so I have to give it a moisture “bomb” everyday. I spray a leave-in moisturizer in more heavily in the crown. Then, I put a little hair milk in to give my desert and oasis. Also, I pop two gnc hair, skin, nails, vitamins every other month and that seems to help with growth… Read more »
Is your hair good in the middle now , cause I think I’ma just keep doing what u did to yours.
I have the same problem with my hair. For some insignificant reason the back of my hair is shorter than the rest of my hair. I always have people saying that my little sis hair is longer than mine, which is not true because I have a good head of hair but my sis’s hair is way taller in the back.
Is there something I can do to make it grow? Please share.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/yeahme033.jpg[/img]
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I am having a problem with the center of my hair growing and I want to try Doo Growth growth treatment to help it out but I’m not sure on how well it will work. So I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on what to do so I won’t have to cut off the rest of my hair! I just really don’t wont to cut off all of my hair!????
Im having the same issue as you, just in the front of my hair. I’ve been taking biotin pills for the past two weeks so I hope those work but I wouldnt suggest cutting your hair off and starting all over again, do your research on the Doo Growth treatment and let me know how it goes.
I have been dealing with this issue since I did my big chop in 2007. Since I refused to wear my hair short I would wear wigs over my 2″ hair for the first 2 years. About 2009 my hair really started to show some length but it still wasnt satisfying to me so I would make and wear my own u part wigs. Wearing those caused me to texturize and constantly put heat on my leave out, which definitely lead to lots of damage. Now in 2013 the mid and back sections of hair are about 12″ long, the… Read more »
Hello, my hair problem is the center of my hair is a lot shorter then the rest of my hair along with my lower right side as well, leaving my hair is uneven! I plan to have cut and start over I have been transitioning to natural for 9 months now, and noticed I have shorter hair in those areas I’ve mentioned, please if anyone could help me grow my hair even especially the center and right side!
Why is my hair longer in the sides and short in the back
I have the same issuee! Have You received any good advice?
Hi.
I’m a kind of a new natural and a teen. I’ve been natural since July 1, 2013, and my hair is shorter in the back than it is in the front. I’ve always wanted to wear my hair in the styles that I see other people with short, 4c natural hair. But I can’t.
Any advice?
My mom says I have 4B hair. The hair in the middle of my head is shorter than the other parts of my hair. It is natural, so sometimes it’s obvious. I have to wear a hat because of it being embarrassingly shorter than the others. what should i do???
Okay, I don’t feel crazy anymore! Part I think was my last haircut because my (crown) along where I part it straighter (4A) than my front and sides (4C). Along my neckline is short from neglect and being on my shoulders.
I have been twisting it up, using oil every three days when I refresh (LCO). I like the suggestion to hold my head upside down, and massage with a stimulating oil. I have seen it mention several times prior to visiting this page. I’ll let you know how it goes!