LynnieB
Well-Known Member
Thanks for starting this thread. I struggle with this ALL THE DOGGONE TIME. My hair is sooo uneven. I have healthy hair, my ends are in tip-top shape. I trim more often than I would like but is still seems like the bottom sections of my hair are growing so much faster than the upper sections. It makes my head look like I have a purposely layered hair cut. I dont . And I for d@$n sure not gonna cut all my progress to my shortest layer. No way in H3LL :heated: !!!
Just monitor your hair, make sure it's healthy and notice any changes, even small ones and go from there! If it's not important for you to keep a perfect coif and your hair's in otherwise good condition, go for it!
@LynnieB, your hair is beautiful. But I am not sure I understand how this proves the lead hair theory. I've always believed that hair will look full at the ends if ends are good shape. If not, ends break off and some may stick around which will show up as the so-called "lead hairs"--or all the hair may break off evenly and so it always looks uniform. Those hairs that stick out longer do not WAIT for shorter hairs to catch up. Rather they break off like the previous ones so you end up having hairs all the same length and those hairs now grow together. So it's not that ends fill in after being thin. It's the same fate that caused hairs to appear thin in the first place (and it's not some supersonic follicles that spewed hair faster than others) meets the other hairs that were still holding on so that those ends break off too to leave hairs all the same length. (I should mention here that how quickly hair breaks off depends on how strong one's strands are.)
If this were not the case and lead hair theory was really true...and there was no breakage happening then the hair at 12/10 would be way longer than that at 09/09. What we see here though is that the longer middle that was at the same point in 09/09 as it is at 12/10 is still there where it was...not because for over 12 months follicles in that middle part stopped growing hair. But the ends that are oldest have been breaking off gradually while the sides have continued growing so that you get back to the U shape you had at shorter lengths when your hair was "younger" with ends that hadn't withered much.
The way you guys talk about lead hairs makes no sense because either hair follicles that have long hair would have to know to slow down so that those with short hair can catch up. Or those with short hair would have to know they are running behind and speed up to catch up with longer hairs. That does not happen.
What happens rather is breakage of old ends causes some ends to stand out (which you label lead-hairs--I call them "hanging by a thread ends")...and then they too break off in due time, all hairs end up being uniform.
But LynnieB you are not a good example of lead hairs because your strands seem to be uniform for most of the growth which makes me think you have strong strands that can withstand grooming and not split and break off like fine hair does. The example posted in a different thread was a better example of "lead hairs":
But as you can see, there was no catching up happening there. The ends broke off so the hair appeared fuller later. That's what happens to all hair.
Your hair LynnieB has a natural U/V shape because of the circular shape of your head...and your ends break off very gradually so you don't really SEE the breakage...but it happens uniformly so you maintain that natural U-shape. The longer your hair is, the harder it is to see layers...er... naturally! Because when one has a TWA, a difference of a few inches is HUGE and very conspicuous...but when one has tailbone hair, the difference of a few inches is negligible.
Nonie, I know it took time to write this and I really appreciate the effort it took to do so but I MUST tell you that my hair does not have the extensive breakage you are trying to associate with this.
Now if we were discussing my hair during my relaxed days, where it could barely reach midback at the longest, you'd have made some valid points. You'd be reading posts from me that start with the word HELP and include bits and pieces on my collar, in the sink, on my pillow, etc.
Not the case Nonie.
My hair has never been healthier; thicker or longer than it is now and when I say I've kept 95% of what I grew, I mean I've kept 95% of what I grew.
I can't see you in person. You can't touch, see or attempt to put your fingers through my hair but those closest to me can attest to everything I've said here. It grows. It thickens. It grows in its own wacky cycle at its own pace and I leave it to do what it do.
I used to take a boat load of pics back in the day but I've grown back everything I cut off and surpassed my goal length and it's no longer necessary to document that hard. Now we just grow on to see where it goes, as simple as that.
And for the life of me, I have no clue on why every answer you have to every topic of uneven growth must be breakage.
That's ok, my grown son has similar pet names for it