What do you think of this?

[Armyqt]

I copied this tidbit of info from another hair site and would like your opinion of this. This is the theory of hair growth.

"Hair grows at a faster rate in the spring and summer than in autumn and winter - a fact that often is used to "prove" that certain hair growth remedies stimulate hair growth. The growth rate is however very much related to the individual person, his age, his diet etc. The lifetime of the anagen phase is responsible for the maximum of hair length you can have. Waist length hair takes about 5 years to grow out from a short hair cut, periodic trims included. If your hair has a lifecyle of 2 years, you will never achieve a nice waist length mane. In rare families, long hair cycles are combined with rapid hair growth - producing floor length hair in women. At right is the person with the longest well documented record for hair length who is Diane Witt, a mother of two who lives in Worcester, MA. Her hair measured over 12 ft. 8 in. in March 1993. Witt has not measured (or cut) her hair since then. She has a website at www.alh.tj/diane-witt/index.html."

If what they are saying is indeed true, then it doesn't matter what I do, If my growth phase isn't long enough, I may never have waistlength hair. (I COULD live w/brastrap though). The reason I bring this up is because I'm about 3in from brastrap now and my hair seems to be shedding. If this phase lasts too long, I'll have to end up trimming to even up my my hair, thus never being able to attain any more length. Just a theory. Would like to get some opinions.

 

[HoneyRockette]

I read somewhere that women rarely have two year hair cycles but either way how can you tell how long your hair cycle lasts?

 

[hairfanatic]

Hi Armyqt,

I agree that hair does have stages, but I disagree with the fact that we can't grow waist length hair. There was a time when I would have never believed our hair could grow to great lengths but that is no longer the case. There are ways to help preserve the hair on our heads. Aubrey Organics has a book that I have had for years and he talks about how certain natural ingredients in shampoos and hairdressings can prevent you from losing hair during certain stages when your hair falls out. If that is the case, then that is where protective styling, easy combing, good nutrition, products, vitamins etc. comes in.

Also, what products are you using now? Are you relaxed or natural. Using lye or no lye? These make a big difference. Have you done a deep conditioner?

 

[adrienne0914]

i believe it is true too, but how do we know how long our hair's life cycle is? i say let's keep trying to grow anyway just in case it's five years!!

also, if your hair is shedding, that means you're losing whole strands of hair (like me). why would it be necessary to trim to even it up if the whole strand is gone?

i think you should just manipulate it as little as possible to not make the shedding worse. if what we're hearing is true, this could be a seasonal thing. so i'm trying not to panic. let's try not to panic together!!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

adrienne

 

[LondonDiva]

I used to believe it, but not so much anymore. I believe in the whole cycle thing ourhair goes through, but I do believe also in the care for our hair it's easier to keep it on our heads these days. Plus with certain vitamins we can kick start our growt therefore making the journey to waist or bra length certainly possible.

 

[MissM]

Like Adrienne, I'm curious what products you are using. I think whether you color your hair and what type of relaxer you use makes a big difference, in addition to diet. I think you should be able to grow your hair to your waist, but some people may take longer than others to do that.

Misha

 

[Armyqt]

Hey ladies, thanks for all the great responses. It's great to hear your opinions on this subject. Before reading this and another more detailed online book about hair, I always knew we could achieve waistlength hair.

Besides that, I feel very comfortable with my haircare routine. I think that my shedding is "normal". I use Elucence and and keracare. I wash 2x per wk and deep condition each time w/heat. My daily hairstyle is a ponytail. I air dry or use a hooded dryer. I also use caruso rollers to curl my hair. I also take vitamin supplements. I use a lye relaxer and my hair is not colored. I'm pretty secure that I'm doing all the right things. I didn't mean to throw anyone into a panic, I posed the question to be more "theoretical" than anything else. Thanks for all the great responses. It's great to know that we can defy science. This is more motivation for me to keep taking my vits. Thanks ALL!! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Armyqt]

Adrienne, what you're saying makes complete sense. Why would I need to even up something that isn't there? Guess I was just lunching. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[diva4life]

I say your hair is beautiful now. Of course we all are here because we want our hair to be whatever our desired goals are, but as for me, if it never grows another inch, I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me to be where I am at this very moment.

 

[L.A. Woman]

Please share your regimen. Your air is off the chain! /images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Armyqt]

Thanks LA Woman. I try to keep my routine pretty simple. I love to use olive oil for everything. I wash my hair 2x per wk using elucence or kerasoft. I protein condition about 1x per month. More often if I need to. I use a lye relaxer. Last one was an Elucence (very mild). I try to stay away from direct heat (curling irons, blowdryers). If I do blowdry, I wait until my hair is at least 90% dry. Because I'm in the military, I'm forced to wear my hair up everday (a good thing). Oh, I always do a deep condition w/heat every time I wash. I'm not afraid to wet my hair at all. Sometimes I rinse my hair in btwn the washes and add some moisturizer and just put it back into a ponytail for work.

I'm a moisturizer freak!! Moisturisers I use and love are: Kieh'ls creme w/silk groom (i only use this when i wear my hair down to give it a nice sheen), when I blowdry I use the Keracare silken seal. For daily moisturizing I alternate btwn ors carrot and olive olive mixed w/pure olive oil, WGO and Dudley's PCA. I like natural oils and I have a variety of them that I mix with shea butter and use as a moisturizer. Hope this can be of some help to you. Tell me what your hair goal is and what routine you're currently using.

 

[Lucia]

Don't get discouraged, that's the kind of talk that stops most women from even trying. I think the time it takes to get ot a certain length is affected by genetics, diet, vitamins,etc.. But Dr. George Micheal said that most (90%) can grow their hair to waist or tailbone even. I just don't listen to that "hater" stuff anymore, who knows how long your hair can be? I'm just happy trying and being pleasantly surprised.
hth /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[L.A. Woman]

Re: What do you think of this? (sorry so long r/o)

Well I'm a 4aii (?), almost completely transitioned (I did it the fast way by chopping most of the damaged relaxed hair off). But I press my hair and I'm going through major headtrips because of it; I'm remembering someone posting a link to the old board -- it was a 35p. PDF document with images of hair that have undergone different treatments (Does anyone remember that or what the link was) and the damage done as a result. So everytime I press (and as careful as I am about the temperature of the comb) my hair I can't help but think I'm frying my cuticle. I can't take it anymore.

My scalp needs to stay clear in order to be healthy but being confined to pressing my hair only once a week is causing me problems.

I really don't know how much longer I can continue this regimen of washing once every 6 days. I feel I need a relaxer again. Should I go back? After all this board has many examples of women like you who are relaxed and able to maintain healthy hair...
It's like I can't win. My short-term goal was to get my scalp healthy. I thought purging it of chemicals would do the job. But if I can't clean my scalp as often as it needs to, I'm really not accomplishing my goal.

I see my future and it has Elucence written all over it...

 

[Armyqt]

Re: What do you think of this? (sorry so long r/o)

Thanks Lucia for the encouragement. I agree with you. I going for my goal!!

LA Woman, I know it can be challenging dealing with natural hair as I do on a daily basis with my daughter. To relax or not to relax is a personal choice. IMO I think u should give the natural thing a try for a while. I can imagine that it takes a lot to get accustomed to managing. There are some wonderful ladies on this board with natural hair. They are doing wonders with it too. I think our hair in it's natural state can be very surprising. I believe that there is a lot more flexibility there also. My plan is to never relax my daughter's hair, but to teach her how to maintain it as is. For me the relaxer works, 1) because I don't want to start over and 2) I am lazy and it's too easy for me to do a ponytail. There are a lot of options out there. Just ask those questions girl!! If u do decide to relax, let me know how you plan on maintaining it. Good luck to you!! /images/graemlins/smile.gif