I think my hair has reached its terminal length

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sexyeyes3616

New Member
My hair is stuck at shoulder length. I have tried 3 growth aids BT, Gro Aut, and now oct all in hopes of getting over the SL hump. I think i am bound to have shoulder length hair.:sad: I dont understand why hair gets stuck at one length as long as you have new growth that means your hair is growing. Maybe i am not retaining length.
 
Well most people hair gets thicker before it gets longer. Do you wear protective stlyes becasue SL and Apl need protective styles to grow faster..............well to me:ohwell: HTH
 
sexyeyes3616 said:
My hair is stuck at shoulder length. I have tried 3 growth aids BT, Gro Aut, and now oct all in hopes of getting over the SL hump. I think i am bound to have shoulder length hair.:sad: I dont understand why hair gets stuck at one length as long as you have new growth that means your hair is growing. Maybe i am not retaining length.
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Dimes to dollars, ESPECIALLY at shoulder length, you aren't retaining. What's your regimen? How often do you use heat? How often do you wear your hair out? Is it colored?
 
JustKiya said:
Dimes to dollars, ESPECIALLY at shoulder length, you aren't retaining. What's your regimen? How often do you use heat? How often do you wear your hair out? Is it colored?
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Well i was doing my hair myself but i could never get it straight so now i go to the salon. I think she uses redken and keracare. But the last time i got my hair done i went to a dominican salon. I will be going to them next month my stylist is booked next month. I wear my hair down. And its not colored.
 
Well, I'm not saying it isn't possible, but I will say that reaching terminal length at SL is highly unlikely. Try protective styling to get over this hump. At shoulder length, your ends might be rubbing against your clothes. Also, if you use heat, consider backing off for a bit. How often do you get your hair straightened?
 
i bet it's retention. if you're doing EVERYTHING right and you're hair doesn't surpass SL for 4 years, then i'd assume that's your terminal length. but as of right now, it looks like you might still be doing things that bit by bit make your ends break off. SL is a hard one for some because your ends are also rubbing up against clothes - another way to lose length bit by bit. :yep:
 
sexyeyes3616 said:
Well i was doing my hair myself but i could never get it straight so now i go to the salon. I think she uses redken and keracare. But the last time i got my hair done i went to a dominican salon. I will be going to them next month my stylist is booked next month. I wear my hair down. And its not colored.
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So, you use high heat and you don't wear your hair up, at all? :look: Yeah, I suspect you're breaking off your ends just as fast as they are growing.
I'd suggest hiding your hair just for a month, and seeing what changes occur over that period of time.

Are you doing anything with your hair at home? Moisturizing the ends? DC's?
 
PassionFruit said:
Ive seen the term TERMINAL LENGTH and I understand the BASIC concept but can someone give me a CLINICAL definition
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Terminal length is the maximum length that your hair can reach - determined by multiplying your growth rate (0.25/0.5, etc inches per month) by the length of your anagen (growth) cycle - the average is 4-6 years.

Figuring out your growth rate is straight forward, but I know of no way to determine how long your growth cycle actually lasts.

The 'accepted' way to determine it is that if you religiously protect your ends for a full YEAR, and you get no additional growth - you MIGHT be terminal. If you go for four years (protected or unprotected - but still trump tight with your hair game) and get NO additional growth, it's pretty likely you are at your terminal length.
 
If you wear your hair down a lot then maybe you are just not retaining length because it's breaking off as fast as it is growing. We know that it is growing. Maybe try more protective styling and moisturising.
 
You are just not retaining girlie. Lay off the heat, stop wearing your hair down. Keep your moisture protein balance in check, eat well, limit sugar and you will see growth.

I personally didn't even begin to budge past shoulder length until I started doing more protective styling.
 
I agree with the ladies that said lay off the heat and do more protective styles. My hair was the type of hair that couldn't stand a lot of heat when I was relaxed. Try letting it airdry more, moisturize the ends and always protect them at night, wrapping it in a scarf or putting it in a bun after you moisturize the ends. I personally don't believe that you've reached your "terminal length" at SL, you hair has the potential to get past this slump.
 
OP- I feel the same way as you do. I am past SL but not APL. I would love to at least get to APL because I would feel like I was doing something. I am really debating getting braids this summer to give my hair a break. I also straighted my hair a lot more this year which has slowed down the growth. I haven't been twisting my hair either which helped my hair a lot in the past.
 
If you are using high heat and u are not doing protective styles then yes your hair is breaking off. I used to go to the Dominicans on the regular all I got was stick straight over processed thin hair and at chin a lil above shoulder.

Do you get relaxer touch ups?

If you do then your hair is growing.

Your problem is retaining lenght. Do you moisturize your hair with an water based moisturizer? You may want to look into tweaking your regimen. To include DCs and Moisture and sealing with oils. If you are relying on your stylist alone to know what is best for your hair then you will be stuck at shoulder. You may just want to invest in your own products and bring them to the salon. Don't give up. Just take control of the situation.
 
sexyeyes3616 said:
I havent had a trim in over a year.
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In your fotki, you say your mother gave you a trim in January after a 5 month stretch?

Did you see ng in during that stretch? how much would you estimate needed to be relaxed in inches? How much did your mother trim off?
 
Longdayinthepark said:
If you are using high heat and u are not doing protective styles then yes your hair is breaking off. I used to go to the Dominicans on the regular all I got was stick straight over processed thin hair and at chin a lil above shoulder.

Do you get relaxer touch ups?

If you do then your hair is growing.

Your problem is retaining lenght. Do you moisturize your hair with an water based moisturizer? You may want to look into tweaking your regimen. To include DCs and Moisture and sealing with oils. If you are relying on your stylist alone to know what is best for your hair then you will be stuck at shoulder. You may just want to invest in your own products and bring them to the salon. Don't give up. Just take control of the situation.
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I'm not so sure that retention is the problem here. If she had scraggly ends then yes I would agree but all of the pics in her fotki show blunt ends that are nice and even.
 
I had this same problem the last few years I was relaxed. Your terminal length can not be shoulder length. If you're not seeing growth more than likely your hair is breaking off at the ends faster than it is growing. Either that or your stylist is trimming too much but since you said you haven't had a trim in a year that doesn't apply.

A lot of ladies get stuck around SL because when you wear the hair down it's constantly brushing back and forth across your shoulders and the friction messes with your ends. Once you get past that length it kind of lays flat on your back and isn't a problem anymore. I would suggest you start wearing your hair pinned up and in low manipulation styles for a while. You'll get over that hump just hang in there.
 
Jazala said:
In your fotki, you say your mother gave you a trim in January after a 5 month stretch?

Did you see ng in during that stretch? how much would you estimate needed to be relaxed in inches? How much did your mother trim off?
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^^^This is a good post. OP, you also said that your mother gave you an uneven trim which set you back as well. I hit sl in Sept '07 and now 8 months later I am still at SL. I used too much heat, got heat damage that I had to trim off too but still I am disappointed as well. One of our members here Blossssom has often said that our hair gets "used" to a certain length and tries to stick there but that if you are patient and don't cut it, it will eventually go to the next length. Patience is really key. Also a lot of ladies say your hair will thicken up sometimes before the length comes. You are not alone either, a lot of us are struggling to get to APL, it is just harder for some of us than others.
 
OK, this is what was happening to my hair from the time I was a kid when I got my first relaxer until Dec of 07. I was always told by my mother that my hair didn't grow because it would always stay shoulder length. I just assumed that it didnt' grow, but because I was getting relaxes every few months I was confused.And I only used the blow dryer and curling iron once a week!!!
That was until I decovered this site, and stopped the relaxers, and ALL direct heat! And guess what? Now, I can say that my hair is 2 inches from my breast!! I think (just my opinion) the heat along w/the relaxers may be breaking your ends off. Perhaps you can go a while w/no heat and then compare? I think if you did that you would be amazed!
 
I agree with LadyLibra.

I feel you; I'm stuck right around BSL and I FEEL as though I've been here forever. The fact that I got a recent hasn't helped me either :nono: Sorry I don't have any suggestions but hang in there...
 
sexyeyes3616 said:
Well i was doing my hair myself but i could never get it straight so now i go to the salon. I think she uses redken and keracare. But the last time i got my hair done i went to a dominican salon. I will be going to them next month my stylist is booked next month. I wear my hair down. And its not colored.
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I had to wear my hair up to get over the shoulder length slump. I think there is a spot where it hits your shoulders perfectly at that length that causes a lot of breakage.
 
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