Stall In growth because hair is thickening?

[southerncitygirl]

I have heard numerous members on this board that are mbl and beyond speak of a point where their growth somehow seemed to stall but their hair got thicker. I would love to hear when you noticed this and how long did it seem like it lasted.

Currently my longest layer is bsl and my stylist said that my hair seemed denser than last visit in october. She did a minimal dusting and said it felt/looked great, It hadn't grown much though it seemed to me.

I am very tall with a long torso (5'11) so I don't expect my longest layer to hit wsl or longer until this time next year. I plan on roller setting and using light heat a bit more to stretch my hair and cut down on ssks and help my retention even more though its rather good. I have been doing well since the setback I had a little over a year ago, moisturizing and sealing along with hardcore protein is key for me.

Just wanted to hear your thoughts

 

[Nix08]

Great thread op I've heard of this too....

 

[Evolving78]

i am so not MBL, but my hair grows dense first, then i get length. i think it has more to do with hair catching up to the longest layer?

 

[kupenda]

You know that's been on my mind OP. I've noticed a lot of women said the same thing. Can't wait to hear the responses! I'm tall too. 5'9" with a long torso as well. Subbing!

 

[g.lo]

Great thread Op, i was wondering the same as well. Lately my hair at the roots feel so thick, I am natural, the same feelings as when I had new growth as a relaxer ( if that makes sense), still soft but feel really thicker!
Can't wait to read inputs.

 

[Angel of the North]

This is really interesting, subbing

 

[browneyedgrl]

This is precisely what I believe is happening to me now. I touched up and trimmed after 5 mos yesterday and while I don't notice any new length it does seem thicker.

 

[ManeStreet]

Im wsl. My take on it is, when u get to longer lengths since your hair is already long, u dont notice the change in length as much. A few months of growth when you are already mbl isnt as dramatic as when you have a twa or even when you are sl.

If your hair is 6 inches long, an inch of growth will be more noticable than if your hair is 16 inches long.

When I got to passed bsl, the only way I could really confirm my growth was by pics. Or else I thought it hadnt really grown much

 

[celiabug]

I hope thats the case because im wsl and I would like more length but I would take more thickness in a heart beat.

 

[southerncitygirl]

bumping........................

 

[glittering0419]

It's funny you should ask this today as I was just considering asking this this!

I've had the same problem for the whole of 2012 I seemed to be hovering around bsb/bsl.

I use weave as a protective style and have not relaxed since Nov 2009.

What I did notice was that although I could not see any significant increase in length, my whole head is definately fuller and spreads fully over my shoulders. It also feels heavier.

I'm hoping when I change my weave in March, that maybe then i'll be at least little below bsl finally.......

 

[darlingdiva]

Im wsl. My take on it is, when u get to longer lengths since your hair is already long, u dont notice the change in length as much. A few months of growth when you are already mbl isnt as dramatic as when you have a twa or even when you are sl.

If your hair is 6 inches long, an inch of growth will be more noticable than if your hair is 16 inches long.

When I got to passed bsl, the only way I could really confirm my growth was by pics. Or else I thought it hadnt really grown much

Pictures are a great idea! You should do a photo hair diary and make notations if what you were doing at each point to assess what is and isn't working.

 

[hannan]

I'm wsl and my hair has never stalled to get thicker. I wish it did because my hair is fine and thin . Congrats to those that have seen those results!

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

I never heard of this. I'm definitely subbing because I would love to know. I think this happens to me between BSB and BSL. My hair was thick and lush, but my growth stunted a bit. Now that I've cut it back to below APL it seems like its growing like a weed again. Hmmmmm...

 

[Channy31]

I don't see how this makes sense logically, It's never happened to me but my hair is already very thick and only BSL

 

[Angel of the North]

This thread reminds me of the thread winnettag posted about her update

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=671085&highlight=update

 

[mayoo]

I feel like it's happening to me now except it's like it's thicker at the roots and my longest hair isn't growing, the shorter ones are catching up.... I hope i'm making sense...

 

[hothair]

I hope that is the case, I cut back to BSL twice trying to get a fuller look, but it seems it may be my growth pattern to thicken then lengthen, with a few leading hairs at least 2 inches longer than the resterplexed

A few times I thought it was some sort of damage, but it does the same everytime I cut it back so I'm protective styling until waist length, those dangly hairs get on my nerves and bring the scissors out

 

[prettybyrd]

Do you ladies mean that the strands get thicker or that overall density changes?

 

[Seamonster]

It seems like I see a lot of ladies hair getting thick before they grow a beautiful mane of long hair so I think there is something to it. The lead hair theory raises her thin long strands again.

 

[southerncitygirl]

prettybyrd

My overall head of hair is denser. My individual strands are normal, except around my hairline which is and has always been finer. My overall head of hair has always been quite dense but now its more so. I noticed this months ago.

I remember a member saying that when she exercised that her hair got thicker (individual strands and overall) even though she had long since lost weight and changed her diet, but in my case I'm not exercising (I need to, my diet is fine I'm a vegetarian with vegan tendencies and mostly gluten or wheat-free and my weight is normal).

Seamonster

The only issue with lead hairs is that ppl forgo trims and keep see through ends with the hope they will catch up which is a huge risk to take cause it could be damaged hair. My hair is cut in layers and I've been keeping them maintained, I have no desire to have blunt cut hair. Even when my ends were dusted and she maintained the shape she still very little hair off. So in my case I think the lead hairs theory goes out the window, cause I don't do thin ends.

 

[Angel of the North]

I'm wondering how this theory would work in relation to terminal length? Once your hair has grown to the longest length it will reach, would it continue to thicken or just stay the same?

 

[Vintagecoilylocks]

I'm wondering how this theory would work in relation to terminal length? Once your hair has grown to the longest length it will reach, would it continue to thicken or just stay the same?

I would think that if your hair was at its max thickness upon reaching terminal it would stay the same. EX. if you had never cut your hair and it never suffered unusual shedding and once it became a certain length you began to blunt cut it til terminal it is prabably what you would have. Since our hair does not grow exactly the same time and rate and you never cut it it would probably take a few growth cycles upon reaching terminal to thicken. (if you never suffered any unusual shedding) I had five years of severe shedding my hair stopped gaining length even with little to no splits. It has stopped the shed and is gaining length again. I calculate that it will take a few full growth cycles for my thickness to return and even if I reach terminal now that new few cycles have to now reach terminal.(I could not even tell you what or how long my growth cycle is) So it could take years of growth for yo to see your full potential at terminal. Over at LHC there are women that after 10 -14 years of growing are reporting the thickness reaching their ends. Growing our hair takes patients.

google cinnamonhair.com She has a excellent photo record of how she grew her hair to her knees but than also shows how it was several years more of growing and the thicknesss traveled down.

 

[LynnieB]

I would think that if your hair was at its max thickness upon reaching terminal it would stay the same. EX. if you had never cut your hair and it never suffered unusual shedding and once it became a certain length you began to blunt cut it til terminal it is prabably what you would have. Since our hair does not grow exactly the same time and rate and you never cut it it would probably take a few growth cycles upon reaching terminal to thicken. (if you never suffered any unusual shedding) I had five years of severe shedding my hair stopped gaining length even with little to no splits. It has stopped the shed and is gaining length again. I calculate that it will take a few full growth cycles for my thickness to return and even if I reach terminal now that new few cycles have to now reach terminal.(I could not even tell you what or how long my growth cycle is) So it could take years of growth for yo to see your full potential at terminal. Over at LHC there are women that after 10 -14 years of growing are reporting the thickness reaching their ends. Growing our hair takes patients.

google cinnamonhair.com She has a excellent photo record of how she grew her hair to her knees but than also shows how it was several years more of growing and the thicknesss traveled down.

So happy to see you chimed in!

I saw this post last night, copy and pasted some links I've kept stored away and created a post then changed my mind and figured it was not only probably TMI but a bit boring at the very least and worthy of skepticism at the most.

Some information you ladies may find helpful (hopefully) on dealing with..........thin ends or damaged ends, terminal length, lead hair, fairytale ends, what to do with them if you hate them and how to create them if that's the look you're going for.

http://www.naturalhairgrows.com/interview-chicoro.html
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=40313
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=98942
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=78024
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=97349

and finally, my own experiences and stages of growing my hair to hip length.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=628523

And I'm absolutely certain, that if you ladies search LHCF, you'll find many more!!

It's a fine line you'll be walking. You have to know whether you're dealing with potential damage, damage or healthy hair cycles. Many women in general have no idea what their terminal lengths actually are due to styling, bad hair care practices or just plain ignorance. Many black women in general but especially those with a kinky 3c, 4a, 4b hair are even more skeptical at our abilities to grow their hair longer than what is considered average. As a people with a kinkier hair type, we're at an even more of a disadvantage in knowledge of how to grow our hair long since we don't really have many past examples available to us as do our straighter textured sisters.

The good news is that this is all changing. Slowly but definitely changing not only on internet messageboards but IRL.

It's not all about GOOD hair, it's about good hair CARE!

You'll really need to know what works for your hair and what does not and how to correct a problem once you've identified it.

Fine, kinky hair requires even more TLC but it is definitely not a reason why someone's hair can not grow out to its terminal length.

It's going to take some time - more than 2 years perhaps more than 4, 5 or 6.

It's not extremely difficult once you get your regimen down but can be a bit time consuming and you may have to be willing to live with some months (perhaps many months or years) of uneven(but healthy) hair and yea that patience thing is really, really important. You may have to sacrifice having that fly cut that caught your eye or be willing to protective style more often and save the cute stuff for special occasions! For some, it may be going natural, for others it may be not relaxing bone straight.

I've only been at this thing since my BC in 2007, well there are women who've been at it much, much longer than that and they are still seeing progress. Just go to LHC and read through their posts!

I trimmed for evenness near the end of 2012 and some of the hair I trimmed were a full 2 inches longer than what I have now and even though I am not growing to reach certain lengths like in the past, I'm still curious as to how long it can grow (terminal). It seems just when I thought it couldn't grow any longer, it manages to do so - it's just more difficult to notice the difference except to see that the hair looks fuller at a new longer length checkpoint and those pioneer longer ends start reaching new lengths.

Geez, I really hope my input was not TMI but a successful attempt to post some hopeful, positive, perhaps thought provoking information.

As always, HHG!

 

[karenjoe]

hair go thru a resting phase ..... it could be that also

 

[vtoodler]

I wonder if this subject was discussed in "The Science of Black Hair."

 

[Angel of the North]

Vintagecoilylocks and LynnieB Thank you both for the very useful information.

 

[Aggie]

I used to concentrate on lengthening my hair, then soon realized that my hair's thickness suffered as a result.

Now I concentrate on acheiving thickness more than anything by trimming my hair using the Moroccan lunar system for thickness. I have been diligent about taking some new vitamins called TOJI for the last 4-5 weeks I think and my hair is lengthening well and fairly quickly this time.

Six months of this is needed to see some real results but I feel like they are already working on my length. I will keep a close eye on it for the next 3 months for sure.

 

[Solila]

Im wsl. My take on it is, when u get to longer lengths since your hair is already long, u dont notice the change in length as much. A few months of growth when you are already mbl isnt as dramatic as when you have a twa or even when you are sl.

If your hair is 6 inches long, an inch of growth will be more noticable than if your hair is 16 inches long.

When I got to passed bsl, the only way I could really confirm my growth was by pics. Or else I thought it hadnt really grown much

Wow, this is me! I have not taken pics since 2011, and I was bsl then. I'm now a natural mbl, but my sister suspects I'm wsl if I straighten my hair.
I will say this, I feel like my hair growth has stalled at mbl. LOL I'm always convinced my hair never grows. I need to take more pics.

 

[southerncitygirl]

i don't have damaged hair and thats what ppl seem to be posting about the most. my hair is very healthy.


bumping............................