Is hair length Hereditary???

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ScriopioStyles

New Member
Is it possible to obtain long hair if your hair was never that long to begin with
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I never really had long hair as a child and I was thinking......is a goal of having long hair possible???
 
Just because your hair wasn't long when you was a child does not mean that you won't be able to have long hair now. Maybe when you were a child your parents didn't have the time for long hair and just kept it short. But if you want long hair you can get the right products, a routine that works for you and you can have long hair.

However I do believe that as many things (skin, cellulite, gaining of weight) is hereditary/genetics. So if all the women in your family have looong hair then I would assume that you should have long hair too.
 
I tried to post a link but it didn't work.
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Check out the threads titled "Maximum Length" and "Can You Grow Your hair Long?"
 
i dont think so
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now thickness is something i think is hereditary (as in the number of hairs on your head)
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cause i've got ALOT of hair (as in thick), but so do my mom and dad.
 
I believe it can be. Some families just have long hair and don't do much to achieve length. However, with care and attention anyone can achieve a good length (bra strap and beyond). I also believe that texture, thickness, colour etc are definitely hereditary. Everyone's hair grows, some faster than other (which I believe may be hereditary as well.). Retaining the growth you get is what's going to get you the length you desire.
 
IMO - Yes & No
My mother has always had long hair but it stays at the same length. The same applied to me. But I have adopted some of the practices mentioned here and I have noticed it has grown. If long hair does not run in the family and you do not apply any of the LHCF 'ways' plus if each generation is handing down their own 'incorrect' ways then of course it will always be short. If you do of course it will grow. You only have to look at some of the ladies here (Adrienne for one example) who started with shorter hair but look at her hair now!!!
 
My hair was its longest length as an adult. I did have long hair as a child but I think with not knowing enough about hair, it tended to stay around the same length or shorter.
 
That was a good question, Scriopiostyles. I always thought that long hair ran in the family, at least all the people I knew of. They didn't do much for their hair, some didn't even wash it-if they did once a year or so and their hair grew. Long hair definitely wasn't in my family but now I think that I can still achieve it. With all the research I have done about growing hair, I now have hope. I have to admit though that sometimes I feel like why do I have to do all of this to grow my hair when others I have seen do nothing much and it grows effortlessly.
 
everyone has the ability to grow their hair to AT LEAST BRASTRAP length (12 inches of hair). betyond that is where heredity comes into play.
 
If we learn how to preserve our length (keeping the hair and ends moist), our hair should be able to grow as long as we want it to. Hair will always grow out of our scalps. I can't see how hair will stop growing once we get to a certain length.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Isis said:
If we learn how to preserve our length (keeping the hair and ends moist), our hair should be able to grow as long as we want it to. Hair will always grow out of our scalps. I can't see how hair will stop growing once we get to a certain length.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I took a class on heredity, we actually spent a nice amount of time on this topic. The main thing people tend not to understand is, yes hair will always grow out of your scalp, but none of the hair you had as a child is still growing out of your scalp. Every hair has a growth cycle. When that cycle is over (between 2-6 years) the hair sheds, pushes itself out of the follicle in order for another hair to grow in its place. So no matter what you do, that hair will shed, it can be healthy and still shed.
 
My hair is about 9-10 inches longer now than it was when I was a child. Before coming to this board, I didn't think long hair was an option for me. I thought I was destined to have "medium-length" hair because when my mom was my age, her hair was at that same length also, and our hair texture is the same. It made sense to me. WRONG.

My hair is now longer than the person in my family who always had the longest hair. So, long hair is possible for anyone as long as you take care of the hair on your head, and take in adequate nutrition, or vitamins.

As for the hereditary argument, doesn't everyone have someone in their family with long hair (bra strap or longer)? I think ALMOST everyone would answer yes.

Right now, I don't think there is a limit to how long my hair can grow. It's already surpassed all my limits.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Brownie said:

As for the hereditary argument, doesn't everyone have someone in their family with really long hair?


[/ QUOTE ]

No, there is no one in my family who has exceptionally long hair.
 
I read in an article from the P&G hair scientist/experts that the lengtht which your hair grows is genetically predetermined if I remember correctly. Because of the phases the hair shaft and follicle go through, the hair only grows for a certain amount of time before shedding, so it's a combination really of that factor, how fast or slow te hair grows and what YOU do to it, i.e. cutting, damaging,etc.
 
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Natori24 said:
[ QUOTE ]
Brownie said:

As for the hereditary argument, doesn't everyone have someone in their family with really long hair?


[/ QUOTE ]

No, there is no one in my family who has exceptionally long hair.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hello Natori!
I edited my reply to elaborate on long hair---I added long to mean bra strap or longer. Also, I'm sure if some of us looked back at our family trees, we'd see that a lot of our relatives had long hair---mine did, but if you looked at my family members today---you wouldn't be able to tell
ohwell.gif
.

But in the past, many of the women, that I've heard about, didn't do all the stuff (constant straightening, coloring...etc...etc...) to their hair that some/a lot of people of color do today and protective hairstyles were used.

Once again, I think how you take care of your hair plays a bigger role in having long hair than heredity.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Babygurl said:
When I took a class on heredity, we actually spent a nice amount of time on this topic. The main thing people tend not to understand is, yes hair will always grow out of your scalp, but none of the hair you had as a child is still growing out of your scalp. Every hair has a growth cycle. When that cycle is over (between 2-6 years) the hair sheds, pushes itself out of the follicle in order for another hair to grow in its place. So no matter what you do, that hair will shed, it can be healthy and still shed.

[/ QUOTE ]

So if someone has a normal growth rate of 1/4 inch per month but their growth cycle is only 2-3 years, then the maximum hair length they could possibly have is 6-9 inches? That's disheartening
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-Ebony
 
[ QUOTE ]
Brownie said:

Hello Natori!
I edited my reply to elaborate on long hair---I added long to mean bra strap or longer. Also, I'm sure if some of us looked back at our family trees, we'd see that a lot of our relatives had long hair---mine did, but if you looked at my family members today---you wouldn't be able to tell
ohwell.gif
.

But in the past, many of the women, that I've heard about, didn't do all the stuff (constant straightening, coloring...etc...etc...) to their hair that some/a lot of people of color do today and protective hairstyles were used.

Once again, I think how you take care of your hair plays a bigger role in having long hair than heredity.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi, Brownie. You are right most people in the past didn't color their hair much and if they straightened it they did it once and awhile with a pressing comb-I still press my hair today when it's not in braids. As far as my family tree though there is no one that I knew of (or my mother/grandmother knew of who had long hair). I think two of my aunts have the longest hair and it is just past their shoulders. Longer lengths of hair to me is when its shoulder length and beyond. I am in the minority here because I see that most people think that long hair is bra strap and longer. I have learned alot about hair growth during the last 7 months of my research. I admit I haven't done most of the things people have done to receive results in growing hair-so that's why I know have hope that I can achieve desired results. I've always taken vitamin supplements though. But I did make an earlier post about people I have known or seen who don't do much-some don't even wash their hair only a few times a year if at all-let alone moisturize everyday or take supplements-and they have longer lengths-bra strap, etc. so I'm thinking in this case it must be hereditary.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Natori24 said:
[ QUOTE ]
Brownie said:

Hello Natori!
I edited my reply to elaborate on long hair---I added long to mean bra strap or longer. Also, I'm sure if some of us looked back at our family trees, we'd see that a lot of our relatives had long hair---mine did, but if you looked at my family members today---you wouldn't be able to tell
ohwell.gif
.

But in the past, many of the women, that I've heard about, didn't do all the stuff (constant straightening, coloring...etc...etc...) to their hair that some/a lot of people of color do today and protective hairstyles were used.

Once again, I think how you take care of your hair plays a bigger role in having long hair than heredity.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi, Brownie. As far as my family tree though there is no one that I knew of (or my mother/grandmother knew of who had long hair). I think two of my aunts have the longest hair and it is just past their shoulders.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's interesting. I hope you're the one in the family who breaks the "shoulder" length
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[ QUOTE ]
Natori24 said:
I admit I haven't done most of the things people have done to receive results in growing hair-so that's why I know have hope that I can achieve desired results. I've always taken vitamin supplements though. But I did make an earlier post about people I have known or seen who don't do much-some don't even wash their hair only a few times a year if at all-let alone moisturize everyday or take supplements-and they have longer lengths-bra strap, etc. so I'm thinking in this case it must be hereditary.

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I've seen people like this too, but it's helpful to know, like through this board, that hard work and a little extra effort can really pay off. You never know if your hair can grow long, unless you try the tips here and see what happens. As for me, when my hair started to take off, I was shocked
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because I was so sure that it was meant to be "medium-length". If someone had told me my hair would be this long a few years back, I wouldn't have believed them. Obviously, I was wrong about my hair growth potential. It's kind of funny because when I see other women of color with shorter hair, I wonder to myself, "Hmm...with a little work, I wonder how long their hair could get." THe possibilities are endless, and they don't even know that---
 
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CheerBear said:
I read in an article from the P&G hair scientist/experts that the lengtht which your hair grows is genetically predetermined if I remember correctly. Because of the phases the hair shaft and follicle go through, the hair only grows for a certain amount of time before shedding, so it's a combination really of that factor, how fast or slow te hair grows and what YOU do to it, i.e. cutting, damaging,etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think I could've said it better. I think that everyone can have long hair. I think that the effort necessary for one to have long hair is what's really genetic. Does that make sense? I mean I have to put in more effort than a very good friend of mine (who happens to be white) to have long hair. As I've stated before, we as black women (most of us) have to grow our hair ON PURPOSE...whereas others can just grow their hair passively. (without thinking about it or trying to)
 
Okay, what about the black people who can grow their hair effortlessly? I have known so many who don't do any of the things that promotes hair growth and they still have long hair.
 
I think intention is an important factor with hair length, more than heredity. I'm going a little deeper now but intention may even alter any role genetics may have in how long our hair can grow. When we strongly desire something, like long hair, and keep that desire, I believe we will get it, whether our ancestors had it or not.

I've noticed this among groups of people – if one person demonstrates with their intention they can successfully do something that the group would like to do but it seems too farfetched (in their eyes), then soon everyone in the group is doing it too because that one person made it a reality and they could see proof with their own eyes. It became real for them.

I believe this applies to everything, including how long we can grow our hair. If we have the intention to grow our hair waist length, for example, and keep that intention no matter what other people say we can or cannot do or even what science tells us, we will achieve our goals.
 
Maybe this will give a better understanding of hair growth. Yes your follicle is capable of producing hair for MANY years but not the SAME hair, it will shed.

http://morehair.com/hair_growth.html
When you click the link there are more links located on the left side of the page. Thanks ladies!
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[ QUOTE ]
Natori24 said:
Okay, what about the black people who can grow their hair effortlessly? I have known so many who don't do any of the things that promotes hair growth and they still have long hair.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's why I said "most of us." (not all of us)
 
Well, most black people I have seen with long hair do nothing to it-it seems like I'm the only one who's struggling [at least around my neck of the woods]. Then there are the ones who don't have long hair and don't worry about it. But I want my hair longer and sometimes I wonder why I got to take all these supplements-but I hope everything pays off.
 
Natori,

I don't take supplements. I didn't have long hair as a child & no one in my family has super-long hair. Now, don't get me wrong--my mother had long hair a while back, but not nearly as long as the length that mine has gotten to. And I did have a nice length of hair as a child, but it wasn't long. So, I said all that to say--you too can grow long hair. Is your regimen posted anywhere on the board? Maybe we can tweek it & get you some major results.
 
By the way, when I say some of us have to use more "effort" to grow our hair, I actually don't mean supplements. I mean things like

*combing gently & in sections
*conditioning treatments weekly
*ends treatments several times a week or daily
*little or no heat
*stretching our relaxers
*etc...
 
I posted a regimen once when I first joined, didn't get many responses from it though....the thing is I haven't started it yet because my hair is still in braids.
 
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