by
The Natural Haven
By Jc of The Natural Haven Bloom
It is a sad fact that there is an inherent fear among many women that their hair simply cannot get past a certain length. Many fear their hair may never get past chin or shoulder length. This fear is reinforced in part because natural hair can easily get stuck at this length due to constant breakage. This article is all about getting clear knowledge about terminal length.
Does a terminal length exist?
Yes terminal length exists and we have all seen the proof in the form of shed hair. This hair would not be falling out of the scalp naturally unless it had come to the end of its growth cycle. There is no doubt about the existence of a terminal length, hair does stop gaining length at a point and will then shed.
Is there a way to determine how long hair will keep growing?
No there is no proven way to determine this. Some blogs and forums do have calculated numbers based on shed hair but this is not scientific in any way. The truth is even in science, it is not clear what is an average amount of daily shed hair for a human being. Some say 100 a day but some tests have shown daily shedding rates as low as 30.
How long will hair keep growing and how long will it grow?
Many people will quote hair as having a 3-5 year growth phase. This is actually a scientific guess and not a fact, some other studies suggest hair could keep growing for over a decade. For growth rate, the lowest estimate of hair growth rate is around 4 inches per year. Putting the lowest figures together, the shortest hair length is 12 inches in 3 years.
So is 12 inches the maximum possible length?
No, it is the lowest possible guess that your hair can grow up to. 12 inches of hair is not short at all though, as Loo said in her previous article, this can be APL or BSL for some women. I would suggest claiming those 12 inches and then seeing what more you can gain. Clearly if your hair gains even half an inch over those 12 inches, the fact is that your hair has not reached its terminal length. Many naturals will already see that their hair gains more than 4 inches during the first year after transitioning which is something that should not be disregarded in future years when growth will be affected by possible breakage of older hair.
What if no one in my family has ever had long hair?
Genetics do play a role in how long your hair will grow but curly and kinky natural hair is unique in the fact that hair breakage is a prevalent issue. If poor techniques are used within a family to maintain this type of hair, the real length of hair may never be showcased. It is a very common quote to hear naturals say, ‘This is the longest my hair has ever been.’ This is a testament to the fact that once they hit the right techniques, routine and product combinations, hair can gain and maintain length as it has never done before.
What if my hair has been stuck at neck length for over 6 months?
I suggest reading this previous article on hair plateaus to know how to deal with that.
Ladies, have you exceeded your expectation of how long your hair could grow? How did you do it?
67 Responses
When I was little the longest my hair was down to the middle of my back. Which I guess is considered Bra Strap Length. Now genetically, on my dad’s side of the family I have an aunt and a cousin that used to have wear hair naturally all the way down to a little passed their butts. Which was either, “Classic Length.” Or, “Thigh Length,” and that is my goal nowadays every single day with my relaxed hair, and it’s really in it’s best health!!! What I do on a daily basis is I co-wash with only a cheap conditioner, and I always use a heat protectant spray whether or not if I’m doing any heat-styling or not. Then also, twice a week I do deep conditioning, and I use many moisturizers on both of my hair and scalp as well. Right now, my hair length is an inch or so away from being Bra Strap Length. So, I am thinking or figuring by Christmas or at the beginning of the year 2016 my hair will be reaching either “Bra Strap Length,” or either between Bra Strap Length and Waist Length. That is my goal for the new year of 2016. I am also planning on just letting my hair grow out as long as it can grow to just see where my terminal hair length is. Because, as of right now I have no idea of where it is these days, and never have known where it is. I mean, when my mother would always take good care of my hair as a child she would often tell me, “Your hair can’t grow as long as to your butt.” “OR, all the way down to a little passed it like your aunt’s or cousin’s hair.” But I honestly don’t believe her. Because, I also honestly don’t think in my growing up days she tried hard enough to let it all grow out that long, and every 2 or 3 months whenever I would get my hair relaxed she would often call herself trimming off the dead ends or split ends, and I would also often see and watch her cut off an inch as well!!!!!!!! And to me, that really hurt my heart to see her cut off that much length so often, and I also noticed or saw the majority of the times with her taking good care of it I hardly had any dead ends or split ends. Just because she always wanted to keep my hair trimmed or maintain it at a certain length. Because, she doesn’t like extremely long hair. But I can really go on with a really long about my long hair story..:) But this is my goal in life right now is to reach either “Classic Length.” Or, “Thigh Length.” So, please say a prayer for me that I reach my goal pretty soon?! Thanks!!!
I’m at a full shoulder length when stretched . I’m a year and a half natural . My goal is armpit length . My grandma has bra strap length hair . My other cousin is between arm pit and bra strap . Also my hair grew 7 to 8 inches when stretched in a year so I know I can achieve arm pit length by my 2nd year natural . I protective style 90 percent of the time . I wear braided updos .
I’m no hair expert but I do know that terminal hair length is the length of healthy hair your body will naturally grow not to be confused with the length of healthy hair your body can substain. Meaning that even if your hair stays at certain length for a long period of time you still may not have reached your terminal length you may have just reached the limit of healthy hair that your body can substain. Hair growth is influenced by a number factors ranging from care to genetics all the way to what you eat. And many of you will be surprised to find out that what you eat can actually be way more influential than genetics. Eating foods that are high in protein and contain vitamins can increase the length of healthy hair your body can substain and allow your hair to grow all the way to its terminal length if not already reached. Another factor is the way u care for your hair finding a routine that is perfect for your hair is super important what may be good for another’s hair might be detrimental to yours. So don’t be so quick to resign to the belief that your hair won’t grow long because you don’t have the genes or you have reached a terminal length because terminal length can really only be reached when you and your hair are as healthy as possible so before you give up make sure you are Eating healthy, caring for your hair type properly, drinking enough water, and moisturizing your hair regularly. You’d be surprised at the lengths your hair can grow. I recently went natural with a bc nd before that my hair grew really fast but my hair is really fragile and often broke off at shoulder length where it remained for 14years of my life but I wasn’t happy with shoulder length so for two years I researched hair growth and experimented with my hair to find out when it was the healthiest. I quickly learned that during track season my hair would grow like crazy with little breakage I also noted that during track season I was eating more protein and fruits and veggies also my hair was more moisturized due to my constant sweating and showering I also noted I had less breakage because my hair styles during track season were simple usually damp buns which I learned protected my ends so after finding out what products work best I cut my hair to about 2inches long this was when I was 16. Now keep in mind that for fourteen years my hair had been at shoulder length. So after the cut I changed my off season diet to a much more healthier one, since I have coily curly hair I try to only comb my hair when it’s wet so it’ll have more slip and tangle less, I also have been keeping my hair in simple buns and braids or when I at home I’ll just leave it where it is when I wake up and I often leave my hair wet bc I haven’t found a moisturizer I like. I am now 17 and my hair has completely grown back and then some reaching my upper back past my shoulders so not only did my hair suprise me by surpassing what I thought was my terminal length it did so in jus one year! My hair grew a total of 16inches in a year and 3months not only that but my nails have grown and my overall health has improved. So best wishes to you and your hair, hope it surprises you.
We know terminal length by shed hair apparently. But after I BCd I had 1 & 2 inch shed hairs that had reached the end of their cycle then. Now my hair is probably somewhere between 12 & 14 inches (In some places) I have 12-14 inch shed hairs that have reached the end of their cycle now. So I couldn’t very well predict my terminal length just by the length of my shed hairs. If I ever reach 16 inches I’ll have 16 inch shed hairs reaching the end of growth at a much longer length than a couple of years back lol
So… im half black half white and my hair used to be a couple inches past my armpit stretched when i was little. But in 6th grade i started to flat iron it, usually without heat protectant ( my mom didnt tell me. Now in august i will be a junior… also, in 8 th grade i went through this weird phase of getting my hair, biting a little piece off, and spitting it out.. i did thsr in the front of my hair, mostly , for about 5 months. In those five months i probably lost 4 inches of my hair. My hair is ineven now.. im finally noticing that my hair flat ironed itsnt flattering really.. it has split ends and is frizzy at the ends like crazy. Now its summer and ive been wearing it curly ( even though i dont like it..) so it can grow back. Ive been doing deep treatments and protein treatments for a month evdry week.. but if i go to the same school ill haveto start wearingit flat ironed again because im insanely shy and dont like attention. Flat ironed now, the back is at the bottom of my neck, well thebottom is. The top is only half down my head. In the front, my hair is to my cheek. I look stupid, probably.. how can i recover from heat damage? Shiuld i just wear my hair curly in school? Advice??? ( ps sorry for any spelling mistaks im on an ipad…)
My hair is the longest it’s ever been. I’m guessing 2 more years and I’ll be at mbl.
If I can get 12 inches in 3 years I’ll be the happiest girl in the world .
When I was maintaining relaxed hair I calculated my hair grew about 3/8″ (1cm) per month. So I am with you, if I can get 12 inches of healthy, natural hair in 36 months, I will be stupid happy.
After 10 months of transitioning and after I big chopped on that 10th month when I stretched my hair I saw I gained 3 inches . I measured it . With shrinkage to people I have over an inch . Im not measuring my hair again untill February of next year . I’m hoping to get to 4 inches with shrinkage by that time and 6 inches when stretched pulled out .
I have exceeded my hair’s normal (but not my expectations). My hair was always short and no matter what I did, it would not grow. I started drinking a lot more water daily, taking a multi-vitamin and hair supplements, exercising, massaging my scalp nightly, Inversion and GHE. As a result, my hair has exceeded my normal hair length. My expectations are for my hair to grow at least 12″ per year or more. I know it sounds crazy, but at the rate that my hair is now growing, I would not be surprised at all.
Pure genetics !! Plain and simple
nope
As a child, the longest my hair has been was to chest. Yet I could not tell if it was genetics that caused my hair not to grow past neck length before i went natural. I think since I know the longest length my hair has ever gotten I believe genetics would not prevent me from getting the length I desire. After my hair would not grow a certain length when I was still getting perms, I used Dr. Miracle to help grow past neck length. If i come across the problem again I will use that line. I also know i need to drink more water, eat healthier and exercise to help my issue as well. I’ll just pray on it lol along with other important or more important things I pray for.
Well I am not sure but I think genetics plays a big role me n my little sister have different dads n the biggest difference between us is my hair it grows n grows no matter what I do to it grows especially if I leave it alone .. Now hers on the other hand breaks n breaks n she treats her hair better than I did ! Now I cut my hair to the Rihanna cut let’s say 6 inches I had on my head oct 2011 it’s now April 2014 n my hair is exactly 21 inches(do the math I gained 6inches a year n 3 so far for this year ) also with no trims so I was able to retain every piece of length on my head with my so so regimen ….but my sister still at chin lenght ????so I say genetics ..
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The longest my hair has been is at the bottom of my breasts. I cut it short (right below my ears) and it grew back. Then I cut it again below my ears when I was 19 and it grew back ever so slowly to shoulder length. I’m now 23 and it’s still shoulder length. I’ve trimmed it a few times hoping getting rid of the split ends would help it but it didn’t. I haven’t cut or trimmed in 2 years now and it hasn’t grown at all. I have untreated hypothyroidism due to financial issues. And I stopped taking med for it at 18. That’s when it stopped growing. Is there any hope for my hair without the medication? Thank you.
try menstruation teas , tsp apple cider vinegar drank everyday with some honey in it, eggs are great too maybe a little calcium vitamins
Your hair is longer when you’re a child because your body is smaller.
Terminal length does exist: Every other creature that walks the planet. has genetic expression and so do we. Think of cats! Some are Persian longhairs, some have very short or even NO hair. It’s DNA folks. Problem is that too many companies make too much money by promising hair growth from their products. (Ahem pantene) ..
Man, my terminal length is about halfway down my back, but I don’t ever see it changing. My family has the unfortunate circumstance of living with a werewolf, the shed hair is that bad. And the frizziness that results, ugh!
I switched from regular old supermarket shampoos to Argan Oil stuff, which has brought down the frizz and volume considerably (Ever met someone whose hair stands out so much it’ll sit naturally at 90 degrees to vertical?!). But there’s just too much of it. Too much. And it all falls out super-quick.
My goal is to grow mega longer hair everyday and My hair products are texturizers, super grow hair grease, shampoos, conditioners, hair growing supplements, etc. accept relaxers.
No if your hair was longer and thicker before it can be long ever longer then ever . Long story short you may not be handling your hair with proper care. I would look on youtube and learn on protective styling conditioners and moistuirizer your oils… Go on long hair care jounery….. curly nikki there is a lot on the internet to find why your hair is growing
This may be a silly question, but does your terminal length ever change? My hair when I was younger was super long and thick and now it’s stuck at my shoulders. 🙁
Terminal lenght never change pretty 😀
I did the big chop and only had about an inch of hair. I am at 2 & 1/2 years natural and my hair is already to my collard bone. That’s the longest my hair had ever gotten when it was relaxed. I have no doubt it will continue to grow longer because I know how to take care of it now. Relaxed or natural you just gotta know what your hair needs to grow.
Terminal length is yet another myth. Hair grows constantly. Even after you die your hair and nails still grow. The problem is improper hair care and even more importantly lack of hydration and nutrition.
Hair and nails growing after death is also myth. The allusion of “growing” is actually due to the skin shrinking and retracting as the body behind to decay.
Right now I’m trying to NOT ACCEPT that my hair won’t grow past neck length. I’m in a holding pattern bc the back of my hair is more coarse& it appears really dry & I have breakage. Sometimes I could just be doing nothing a random curl will fall right in front or me. You can see lots of little coils of hair in my carpet bc they fall often & randomly so I vacumm often! I’m trying to give my hair more attention TLC like mositurizing daily,finger combing, deep condish& knowing what products my hair likes (glycerin,shea,etc) & its exhausting but will be worth it if I can get my hair to shoulder length. I don’t need BSL but id like to know my hair isn’t stuck at neck length. When I had a perm my hair easily was shoulder length. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong! But I need 2 figure it out.
I don’t know what your hair type is but believe it or not I think a lot of naturals have issues with the carpet or “kitchen” area breaking. Try applying coconut oil, avocado oil, or extra virgin olive oil there daily – perhaps twice daily. I read those are the only oils that penetrate inside the hair shaft. Also make sure you are not pulling your hair too tightly back there when you are doing ponytails, buns, etc. Check the back of your hair in a hand mirror with the large mirror behind you. Or take a photo of the back of your head after you’ve done an updo. Does the skin under your hair appear pinched or lifted when you do braids, a ponytail, or updo? That means your hair is pulled too tight there and that might be what’s causing the breakage. I used to have the same issue as you and now I check the back of my hair when I do a bun and my hair there has grown back in. Also, you might want to put satin scarves around the collar of your coats and jackets so that the fabric is not breaking off your hair in the back as it rubs against it. If you want to. Everybody doesn’t like wearing satin scarves around their collars. Scalp massages are good, too. Hope that helps and good luck!
Thanks for all the suggestions and tips. I will definitely keep in mind. I will say that I almost never ever put my hair in a ponytail. I committed to minimize the strain on my hair by not pulling on it too much.I only tuck the front of my hair with sidecombs on most days.I’ve tried nonprotein regimes and then tried protein treatments.That area of hair is tough. Even when I had a perm it was the shortest part of my hair with the front & sides outpacing the back in growth. My stylists always wanted 2 even me out bc my back never matched the front and sides! Ill try your ideas & cross my fingers! Thanks!
That’s good that you don’t do the ponytails. You are very welcome and good luck to you.
God i loved buns! it was my first class protective style! Then six months ago i saw a bald patch in the top right side of my head… it was just that area.. then i read it could be the buns and pulling my hair too tight! and i was pulling it too tight – because i liked it that way! i would never have guessed it was this that was causing the breakage, in that section! I now have a weave – it looks like its growing back now! but what a learning curve! When i take the weave out i dont know what protective style I’ll do next – i know I will sure miss my bun – it was so quick to do for work! i had 9inc of hair before the weave – taking it out this weekend. In May 2013 i will be 3 yrs natural! Lets hope i’ve retained some lenght!
A few years ago, I watched three Youtube vloggers, Longhairdontcare2011, Kimmaytube and Sera2544, and told my husband that my goal is to grow hair as long as theirs for myself and my daughters. He told me that he didn’t think that was possible and that I should just focus on keeping the girls’ hair and my hair healthy. My husband’s mother is “mixed” and has long loosely waved hair. He’s accustomed to primarily seeing women who look like her with long hair. Also, I used to have locs and my hair was waist-length then but has been short since I cut the locs off four years ago. I’ve cut my hair several times due to heat damage and am working on retaining length. Since seeing those vloggers my girls’ 4a and 4b hair is finally streaming down over their shoulders – without heat, without mechanically pulling it down, without a chemical straightener. Two of my daughter’s classmates even asked her how her grew so long because they saw her just the year before with short hair. My husband’s expression when he saw the girls’ length was priceless.
My hair is currently the longest it has ever been. I moisturize more, wash while twisted and wear more protective styles. I have no idea what my terminal length is b/c in the past I’ve gotten bored and cut my hair. It’s now just past my clavicle and April will be two years since a big chop. I’m excited to see where I end up, early summer.
I am new to this site but have been reading all the comments. I am going to try my very own mtg without mineral oil. I have ordered all the other ingredients and have replaced the mineral oil with a mixture of almond, coconut and a little castor oil. My hair is very thick and curly and I will be putting up pictures soon. I have never been able to get past my shoulders but I realize that was partly my fault in the care of my hair. I am overseas right now but will be home soon so i can upload more photos and post my weekly hair regimen. Thank you to all the ladies who have posted information to help all of us get where we would like to be. It has taken me forty something years to re educate myself on my hair which has a combination of textures.
This article is nonsense. There is a limit for how long hair can grow– for some people very long for others short. Of course, if you do some things it may not break off but it still will not grow down your back if genetically it is only programmed for 8 to 10 inches like many but certainly not all black women.
did you read the article at all? quit being negative and stop to read before commenting, please.
I like many black women use to believe my hair couldn’t grow past a certain length. It wasn’t until I discovered the many forums and saw progress pictures of women who took their hair from a retarded length to a healthy long hair. Then I started applying basic principles such as moisturizing and self-styling (stylist abuse my hair) and my hair took off. Though it’s a slow growth now, but my hair has grown well past the length it has ever been.
themanecaptain.blogspot.com
I cut my very curly hair shoulder length 4 years ago. It’s taking a very long time, and I can’t wear it straight very often, but it is now down to my waist. Growing hair takes patience! I haven’t had hair this long since elementary school.
I do not have a relaxer, I make sure to condition it with a mixture of castor and jojoba oils every week, and tend to wear it in a french braid. During this 4 year grow out period, I also was bleaching blonde! I just took very very good care of it, including my own trims every few months or so. I sleep with a satin pillow case and bonnet, and only straighten it on special occasions using herstyler serum.
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This is a great article. Props to all the ladies who keep sticking it out and making sure their hair is healthy above all, no matter the length. We’re beautiful!
To answer the article’s last question, I did exceed my expectations of how long my hair could grow. I didn’t think that my hair would grow past my shoulders but now my hair is armpit length and I’m now working on growing itto armpit length. This is much different from what I expected when I was growing up. Back then I was in a family of naturals (all of their hair was cut short) and grew up in a neighborhood where girls acted as though it was a fact that we just couldn’t grow hair.
It wasn’t until I was about 35 that I reeducated myself about our hair. It happened by accident when I was on YouTube but once I saw girls with hair longer than shoulder length, I decided to try to do it to. At the time I was also studying computer science so I kinda ended up taking an almost scientific approach to figuring out what to do.
I watched every YouTube video starring women who had hair the length I wanted and paid the same kind of attention to the hair boards. Any tips that were similar between every hair guru I followed. For example if ALL of them across the board agreed that moisturizing your hair every day helped maintain its moisture and retain their length, that they wear their hair in protective styles or that they either went to sleep with a silk scarf on or slept on a silk pillow case, I did it oo. However if there were things that they did differently or disagreed on then I would write down each one of their ideas and try one after another giving each one of their ideas a reasonable chance until one of those worked for me.
What I didn’t do is rush out and buy every product that they had. I’d just pick a clarifying shampoo, moisturizing shampoo, deep conditioner, leaving conditioner and some “after” maintenance (leave in conditioners) and styling products and tried it for a reasonable amount of time (no less than a month in many cases). If they didn’t work I figured out what product was the likely culprit was was messing me up and I replaced it with something else.
Another thing that was helpful was when I was forced to go natural. The reason I say “forced” this is because I had a surgery that required anesthesia and as a result, my hair started to fall out. That forced me to not put a relaxer in and tough it out with my hair in its natural state. I’m not going to lie or play it off just so that I don’t offend anybody or because I want to be on some bandwagon-it was really hard work and I didn’t feel like the look or the feel of my hair was a great payoff for all the work I was having to do to my hair its natural state. However, there were 2 benefits to going natural that made it all worth it! 1) I learned a great deal of patience with my hair. So when I could safely go back to relaxers, I 1) found that I had more patience and treated my hair so much better because I had more patience with my hair and at the same time had it much easier because my relaxed hair left me with less work to do and 2) because going natural allowed me to learn and understand my own hair texture, it made easier for me to go a longer time between relaxers which made for healthier hair and allowed me to retain all that hair that I was growing!
So I basically grew my hair by following unanimous advice from women who had long hair, used the things that they didn’t have in common as different options I could try to see what worked for me, went natural for a while and figured out whether or not that was for me and to know my own texture and the next thing you know-longer hair!*****
Very thoughtful and honest post. I enjoyed it.
Thank you for a truly inspiring story. I love your honesty!
This is a very well written article.
My longest layers will be BSB soon and its just patience,technique and being flexible.
As far as i know fears are unproven and here’s a great acronym for it:
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
One thing I know is that the world is filled with ladies who CAN retain length so lets not believe the lies our hair cannot grow long if that is your goal. 🙂
I wish my hair would grow. It’s been the same length for literally 5 years. The only time it seems to grow is if I have it braided, and I get too tired to braid it myself anymore. My hair is too short to do any proper protective styles without adding in fake hair.
Sometimes, when you see that your hair is not growing after you have done everything you possibly can, you need to change your regimen if you are not seeing results.
DJ J you are correct.
I have seen people with dreadlocks all the way down to their lower back, to their buttocks and longer. This tells me that there is no terminal length. I say there is only terminal care. When my (relaxed) hair reached my shoulders, I could not figure out why it stopped there. Every 8 weeks, I had another 1/2 or so of new growth. So where was it? I began to focus hard on everything that I was and was not doing. I realised that my purse strap, high back chairs, car seat shoulder straps and collars were weakening and ripping off the ends that got to my shoulder. Once I began to protect my hair from those ‘terminators’, My hair retained its length.
I agree with you except dreadlocks also become longer because it consist of dead hair matted together and they don’t have to brush or come the dead hair out which contributes to the length as well.
there is noooooo way you can judge terminal length by dreadlocks! dreadlocks is just dead hair that remains attached to growing hair through periodic “locking.”
People just need to realize that just as we all were not born with good skin we were not all born with strong hair. Therefore, some people’s hair would break faster than other before it can get to a certain length.
Actually, ALL hair is dead.
And it doesn’t matter what protective method is used to retain the strands / length, it still means retention is achieved. But if by the term ‘dead hair’ that you referred to,you mean ‘hair that is not attached to the root’,I do not know how we can know that for sure that it is not attached. Do you? It sounds like supposition to me. I can only say that The loc’d Ladies retention method is that is of minimal handling, and this is why it is long. Sue,I know very well that not all hair is strong.I don’t think I implied otherwise. Because I am one who must take many protective measures, as mine breaks off at the slightest ‘provocation’.
you have actually answered your own question.
you said your hair grows when in braids. that probably means you benefit from protective styling and should do it to RETAIN length while it grows.
I use Redken products( interlock protein network) and my hair grew about 3 inches in two month.
I used to use Redken the so soft line….and it did wonders from my hair but i stopped using it in place of nexxus …I always planned to go back..but ended up with Biolage strengthening line….I may revisit Redken now that you reminded me.
Yes black hair can grow! Many factors plays a role….. However many black women do not care for their hair properly so their hair is unable to reach it’s full potential. I have been natural 4.5 years now. I did not have long hair growing up….. This is the longest my hair has ever been.
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OOOOH, your hair looks gorgeous!!!
WOW…MY HAIR IS LIKE YOUR SECOND PICTURE BUT I DO REMEMBER MY HAIR BEING MORE LIKE THE THIRD OR FOURTH PICTURE. DO YOU RELAX YOUR HAIR???????????? MINE HAVE BEEN U RELAXED OR COLORED WITH MIXED GREY IN IT FOR ALMOST 7 YEARS NOW. I WANT TO CUT IT BUT I ALSO WANT TO RELAX IT.
Wow your hair looks great! What is your hair regimen? Do you wear certain natural styles most of the time or do you use heat at all? I would be totally overjoyed for my hair to just look like the second picture 🙂
Very nice! I think it takes patience and discipline to adopt a regimen to retain length but if length is what you want, it’s worth it. Congratulations on reaching your hair length goal.
just beautiful! i have very dry curly hair no blw drying and color my hair every 6 mnths, no curling iron lots of oils esp pink in the ethnic isle! im indian and swedish=white and i just have hair that looks dry when i brush it so i never brush it and i cut it myself as u cant tell if i mess up cause so much curl, i tried 20 years ago straightening it and i loked awful! guess we huld be proud of what we have many people said they would love to have my natural curls and im like dang i wuld love long silky locks ,and its hard t see how lng it actually is due to the curls, guess i wouldnt trade it!
Jc you hit the nail on the head!! I always remember hearing “nobody in my family has long hair etc,” I just always think “girl your family shares all of the same hair care practices,” so if one persons hair is damaged, all of y’all hair is damaged or on the way.
I think that most don’t know what their terminal length is. My hair is almost to waist length (between 18 and 21 inches) and this is it longest it has ever been, had you asked me years ago I might have said my terminal length was something much shorter but now I know I just using too much heat, way too often. I also was coloring my hair all the time so my hair never reached its potential.
Im almost to waist length im at 16 inches in the front, 18 in the back. Im hoping to make it to 21 by end of May. I think I can do it thats about 6 months from now, so that should equeal 3 inches, but I am going in for a trim soon but Im faithful!
Harder to retain a relaxed lenghth thenn natural
I think it depends on the care given to relaxed hair. There are less tangles and easier detangling. I have seen many women on healthy hair journeys who have beautiful super long relaxed hair. Also, depends on the hair type. My hair is super fine so when it was relaxed it was so thin and broke easily, but then this was when I wasn’t taking good care of my hair.
RELAXED HAIR IS STRIPPED OF ITS NATURAL TEXTURE NOTHING HEALTHY ABOUT THAT
Hair is DEAD it can only be healthy looking so relaxed hair can be healthy looking too, I guess that’s what Marcia meant 🙂
For the question, yes I exceeded the expectation of how long my hair could grow in three years but not what I want for when I’m at right now. In 3 years, I’ve been able to exceed what I had on my head for 19 years… very crazy. I realized that the proper care and patience were the key products 🙂
i managed to grow from just past shoulder length to close to armpit length in about 3 months then my mom said it was split ends so she cut it 🙁 now i have to start again. but the good thing is that i spoke to her and she said “i really find it hard to believe that my hair will grow down my back. its been instilled in me since i was a child.” thats when i realised i need to start educating my family before i get out there. even my sister thinks im nuts but i want to prove them wrong. now i do my moms hair like oil it and braid it and we’ll see where this takes us 🙂
Since kinky hair breaks so much is 12 inches is your terminal length, wouldn’t you be very unlikely to reach it taking into account even low manipulation styling?
I disagree that reaching 12 inches is impossible. I do agree that kinky hair is more affected by breakage but and this is a big BUT, you CAN stop or greatly minimise breakage.
Techniques like fingercombing, washing hair in braids, wearing protective styles for most of the time and for sufficiently long are must haves for people with very kinky hair that is susceptible to breakage using ‘conventional’ techniques (i.e brushing, washing hair free and wearing mostly out hair styles).