short terminal hair length.. my bad

[Krystle~Hime]

collarbone length.
I'm 163,5cm // 5 feet 4.5inches

i don't know if pics in my last post are visible, but the pic 2 is a length check. as you can see it arrives at my collarbone, today it's the same length approx. (1cm + )

 

[Leesh]

Being as though your concerned about it being TL, I know some say you can get an approximate idea (cause noone knows exactly) of yours by the other women in your family.

But its hard to believe a Terminal Length, if you believe it at all, is CBL! not saying it isn't possible, albeit TL is also up for debate, so who knows. But we daggone sure tryin' to help up in here, ain't we! . The Ladies have come in with some good responses. At this point I think its a matter of weening things out, maybe start with a clean slate, clarify, and start with certain products and even techiniques, stick to just those for a period and start a process of elimination. Maybe its something that just doesn't agree with your hair. Also, Even though you have your Anemia under control you may need more Iron. Even though your regimine for your Anemia has helped with your all around health, it may not be enough to bring your hair up to its proper speed. Also, Anemia is related to B12 Deficiency, and extra B12 may be needed, just a thought. (I'm tryin', ain't I ).

I sure hope you figure out the problem, and I believe you will!
You have your thing down pat, it's a shame for it to go to waste!

 

[KittyMeowMeow]

It sounds like the trimming evened up your thin ends, which is why your hair grew fuller (but not longer). Now that your hair is in great shape and the thin, breaking ends are gone, you may not need to trim so much and so often. You might look into the regimens of naturals who are at or past your goal length to see what their trimming reggies are.

HTH and GL!

@Nonie

Thank u a lot, yeah i'm totally happy about the better condition of my hair. and you can see its also not a manipulation problem;with all the debate and thoughts I have, Im seriously thinking it's terminal length and im shocked(lol) that it can be a so short length.

I think when I wear my half wig, I do a little or your method (or it can be also LadyPaniolo method) : I redo my cornrows every 3 weeks approx. and sometimes I redo only one section(because its unraveling)
I don't focus on my hair(PSing helps me to), thats why Im more frustrated because as you said it's only when we don't focus on that we can be surprise of progress BUT.... there is no progress about length.

about trim, I follow this method (given by thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com) every 2 months, but as my hair is stronger now there is not so much to cut.

 

[Nonie]

collarbone length.
I'm 163,5cm // 5 feet 4.5inches

I was asking in case you're tall and so your collarbone length is perhaps about 12 inches.

Girl, don't sweat it. Just have fun with you hair and some day it'll surprise you. Remember what Supergirl said, you may have joined the forum and while you hair was growing, you may still have been learning your regimen so when you finally get it right, you have some length that didn't arrive at your best growth rate so that your hair appears to only reach a certain point...but as you keep your good habits and the hair sheds, then the strands that have only had the best from start will now grow to what your potential is.

BTW, I do like that NaturalHaven suggests to cut thin ends, but have you ever thought of cutting before the thin ends happen? In other words, my belief is by the time you see thin ends, splits already arrived, bought the t-shirts and left town. In other words, thin strands are the results of hair that is already gone beyond the split point and and has actually lost part of its whole. A partial hair breaks off on its own...and has already chewed off some of your length. That could explain your stalled progress.

So I prefer to dust before I see thin ends. That way I keep my ends full. That may not be your solution but you never know. Perhaps this post will explain this way of thinking: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=12878839&postcount=46

Below is the hair that would give that thin end, the hair that needed to be cut off per Natural Haven's method:

And as you can see, cutting off the thin end took me way back:

Also if you are really doing this trim every 2 months, then you're on my schedule, but because you are catching the hair way too late, my guess is you're leaving "notches" behind which continue to wear your hair away. Now when hair is wearing away, it's such a gradual filing away that you could swear there's no breakage. That's what happens when people say they stayed at shoulder length all their lives. That was my story too.

Now look at my hair when I dust before I see the thinning. These pics were taken this year when I'm religiously dusting every 8 weeks. I don't even need to cut off much, because really there's no visible damage so it's a protection thing for me:

 

[Krystle~Hime]

It sounds like the trimming evened up your thin ends, which is why your hair grew fuller (but not longer). Now that your hair is in great shape and the thin, breaking ends are gone, you may not need to trim so much and so often. You might look into the regimens of naturals who are at or past your goal length to see what their trimming reggies are.

HTH and GL!

I don't need to trim and I don't trim a lot. I trim only when I see split ends.
THanks for all the responses,
as I said everything is ok, products I use are great, low to NO manipulation, no breakage, no weird hair loss(even less than the average rate), no excessive trim (i said 2/3months but in fact it's only when I see bad split ends, and ends are in nice condition so it's not often) .moisture/protein balance is good and the diet is great too. So I think I have to say "it's like that"

 

[jerseygurl]

Well OP, seems like you have everything under control. I hope things get better for you

 

[ceecy29]

I guess your mind is made up. I wish you all the best with your hair journey.

 

[Nonie]

Krystle~Hime, if you trim only when you see split ends, I think then I just nailed your problem. Trimming only when you see ends means you're trimming not when your strands look like this:

Coz that horrible split is as tiny as 1/10 of this line --> -

...which you cannot see.

Even at this stage which is clearly the step before part of the hair breaks off, your eyes still cannot see because this image is a hair magnified 1000x:

So this is probably about 5 mm of a hair strand, which is not more than this __. So if such horrible damage is happening at such a small scale, surely by the time your eyes can easily see it, it's already traveled up along that center tear and probably broken off quite a lot. After all, how can those skinny pieces of an already skinny shaft of hair survive the elements. So your hair stays at the same length.

TBH, I personally think that everyone can at least make it to APL, even if their growth cycle is only two years...because they can achieve about 12 inches give or take.

 

[Golden75]

Krystle~Hime - I think you mentioned you make your own products. Have you tested the Ph in them? That may be causing issues too. Maybe research that topic on how it affects the hair and see if that is something to assess. If you use youtube Kimmaytube goes into detail about Ph & hair. Good luck with pin-pointing your issues. Keep us posted!

 

[TraciChanel]

@ krystal~hime I have to chime in, because I think the problem is anemia. I used to have really bad anemia, and my hair was actually falling out in my crown area a few years ago, because of my low blood. The rest of my hair was basically at a standstill. I know you mentioned that you take vitamins and iron too...but sometimes it's the dosage that needs increasing. Personally, I started juicing beets and carrots (beets are a natural blood builder and the carrots just make the beet juice taste better). Taking iron every day as well as eating iron rich foods (basically lots of green veggies). Also, I take zinc. I have noticed a big increase in the health of my hair as well as how I feel overall. As far as my vitamins go, I take the VM-100 Complete that has very high levels of vits C, E, and especially the B-vitamins - all essential to building the blood. Healthy blood flow to the scalp is essential to hair growth. You may have already considered this, just wanted to know your thoughts about it.

Good luck!

 

[Missjae09]

Krystle if your anagen phase is 2-3 years and your hair is growing .5 inch per month, your hair should be from 12-18 inches long (provided you have 100% retention.) Either way I pretty sure that would put you beyond collar bone length.

collarbone length.
I'm 163,5cm // 5 feet 4.5inches

i don't know if pics in my last post are visible, but the pic 2 is a length check. as you can see it arrives at my collarbone, today it's the same length approx. (1cm + )

 

[BraunSugar]

@Krystle~Hime, if you trim only when you see split ends, I think then I just nailed your problem. Trimming only when you see ends means you're trimming not when your strands look like this:

Coz that horrible split is as tiny as 1/10 of this line --> -

...which you cannot see.

Even at this stage which is clearly the step before part of the hair breaks off, your eyes still cannot see because this image is a hair magnified 1000x:

So this is probably about 5 mm of a hair strand, which is not more than this __. So if such horrible damage is happening at such a small scale, surely by the time your eyes can easily see it, it's already traveled up along that center tear and probably broken off quite a lot. After all, how can those skinny pieces of an already skinny shaft of hair survive the elements. So your hair stays at the same length.

TBH, I personally think that everyone can at least make it to APL, even if their growth cycle is only two years...because they can achieve about 12 inches give or take.

This is EXTREMELY helpful to me. I hardly ever dust & only do it when I can see split hair, but this is very enlightening. I may have to tweak a thing or two regarding my dusting. Thank you.

 

[Krystle~Hime]

@ krystal~hime I have to chime in, because I think the problem is anemia. I used to have really bad anemia, and my hair was actually falling out in my crown area a few years ago, because of my low blood. The rest of my hair was basically at a standstill. I know you mentioned that you take vitamins and iron too...but sometimes it's the dosage that needs increasing. Personally, I started juicing beets and carrots (beets are a natural blood builder and the carrots just make the beet juice taste better). Taking iron every day as well as eating iron rich foods (basically lots of green veggies). Also, I take zinc. I have noticed a big increase in the health of my hair as well as how I feel overall. As far as my vitamins go, I take the VM-100 Complete that has very high levels of vits C, E, and especially the B-vitamins - all essential to building the blood. Healthy blood flow to the scalp is essential to hair growth. You may have already considered this, just wanted to know your thoughts about it.

Good luck!

the thing is that I dont even have special hair loss, I even think my hair loss rate is under the average. and also as I said my medical analysis are OKAY. no anemia for more than 6 months(i check up every 2 months) due to my better diet. but thanks for the advices, im gonna try this nice beets/carrots juice(everyday I make a fruit mix(mango kiwi passionfruit cantaloup) juice, im gonna give a try to vegetables ^^

Krystle if your anagen phase is 2-3 years and your hair is growing .5 inch per month, your hair should be from 12-18 inches long (provided you have 100% retention.) Either way I pretty sure that would put you beyond collar bone length.

my hair doesn't grow .5inch per month, so during the anagen phase it doesn't have time to grow to a big length until telogen phase.

 

[Krystle~Hime]

Krystle~Hime, if you trim only when you see split ends, I think then I just nailed your problem. Trimming only when you see ends means you're trimming not when your strands look like this:

Coz that horrible split is as tiny as 1/10 of this line --> -

...which you cannot see.

Even at this stage which is clearly the step before part of the hair breaks off, your eyes still cannot see because this image is a hair magnified 1000x:

So this is probably about 5 mm of a hair strand, which is not more than this __. So if such horrible damage is happening at such a small scale, surely by the time your eyes can easily see it, it's already traveled up along that center tear and probably broken off quite a lot. After all, how can those skinny pieces of an already skinny shaft of hair survive the elements. So your hair stays at the same length.

TBH, I personally think that everyone can at least make it to APL, even if their growth cycle is only two years...because they can achieve about 12 inches give or take.

interesting,
I don't have major breakage, even not a special one, since my hair is in great condition.
but I don't understand, lots of women don't especially trim their ends although they should do it "before seeing the splits" as I do, but they do grow their hair beyond CBL so why not me??? I don't have lots of hair loss and breakage; so i'm surprised that the problem is just because I don't dust on a regular schedule.
So, how often do you recommend my to dust, Nonie ?

 

[Solitude]

The only thing I would suggest is drenching your hair in moisture, i.e. the Chicoro method (baggying). Also, eliminating the use of brushes and combs except on wash day.

I believe your hair is likely growing, but also breaking. There's no way your growth could be stagnant for four years. It can be frustrating for sure. I thought my hair would be longer by now, but I have cut off damaged ends over the years, so I haven't retained 100% of my growth. However, if I didn't cut the damage, the breakage would be worse.

You also might want to re-consider your staples if they are not giving your hair the full nourishment that it needs.

 

[Leesh]

The only thing I would suggest is drenching your hair in moisture, i.e. the Chicoro method (baggying). Also, eliminating the use of brushes and combs except on wash day.

I believe your hair is likely growing, but also breaking. There's no way your growth could be stagnant for four years. It can be frustrating for sure. I thought my hair would be longer by now, but I have cut off damaged ends over the years, so I haven't retained 100% of my growth. However, if I didn't cut the damage, the breakage would be worse.

You also might want to re-consider your staples if they are not giving your hair the full nourishment that it needs.

@Solitude & Krystle~Hime, I must agree with the bolded, just because you don't physically see the breakage with the naked eye doesn't mean its not occuring. It could be so minimal over a period of time that its hard to see, And over a 4 year period, that's more than enough time to lose an enormous amount, Gradually! That coupled with a slow growth rate equals, stagnation!
I too suffer from an extremely slow growth rate at .33 per month, 1 inch every 3 months, 4 inches per year, knowing that makes me extremely cautious with my hair, losing 1/16th of an inch is major loss of progress for me, so all I can say is be very careful and gentle, and keep it as simple as possible. There have been some very good replies and suggestions from some very knowledgable Ladies, so I say take it for what its worth and do a process of elimination until you figure it out. I wish you the best!, check back in and let us know how things are going. HHG!!!

 

[remnant]

Hi [USER]Krystle~Hyme[/USER] Krystle~Hyme
How is your hair now?

 

[Nonie]

interesting,
I don't have major breakage, even not a special one, since my hair is in great condition.
but I don't understand, lots of women don't especially trim their ends although they should do it "before seeing the splits" as I do, but they do grow their hair beyond CBL so why not me??? I don't have lots of hair loss and breakage; so i'm surprised that the problem is just because I don't dust on a regular schedule.
So, how often do you recommend my to dust, @Nonie ?

Krystle~Hime, sorry I never got the alert for this mention. If you still haven't read my answer elsewhere, I dust every 8 weeks. That's what people like Wanakee and Brenda (two of my gurus) suggest to do: dust every 6-8 weeks.

When my hair was stuck at SL, I too didn't see any breakage. It was so minimal as Leesh says that I didn't see it happening...but if it wasn't breakage, how else was my hair growing and not budging?

When my ends thinned in 4 months, I didn't see any breakage either, but the thinning didn't happen from them turning into vapor; breakage of splits had to be happening which is how the ends got thin in the first place.

So yeah, looks can be deceiving. Just know that wear and tear is part of life and just get to it before it has had a chance to affect most of your length. If you trim splits when they are tiny, you basically remove tear notches that would have otherwise made tearing further up the strand easy; you make the ends stronger so they can withstand daily styling and the elements better; and you slow down the damage splits can do to hair.