new thread
hi,
only wanna know if you think the following thoughts are true or false:
as we know, every hair strand grows a defined cycle (e.g. 4-8 yrs) in a defined time and after that it stops growing and falls out ... (and a new one starts to re-grow)
(or is it possible that the hair strand stops growing and DO NOT fall out ?)
so, if i have low hair loss (10-20 hairs maximum/day and nearly no hair loss when washing my hair) does that mean that terminal is far away ?
it seems quite logical so i would like to know what you think about that ?
thx & greez,
ALH
p.s.: excuse my many terminal length questions but it's my biggest fear at my current length :)
Absalom is the terminal master on this topic. I think you are correct.
I just like to add...
As your hair gets longer, it increases in weight, thus your roots become stronger since they are forced to bear the extra weight. Stronger roots means that you will shed less and will thus mean a greater terminal length.
Hair care matters aswell. If you abuse your hair it will reduce the terminal length, without a doubt.
ALL that 80s_Metal has said has happenned to myself. His remarks coupled with those of Absalom in other postings I do believe are 100% correct.
thx to you and 80's ...
that makes me looking in the future a lil bit more positive ...
in my eyes it's simply logic but unfortunately hair doesn't always follow logic ...
ALH
If there IS really a so-called "terminal length", how is it possible, that people like Danny Cecati (EYEFEAR) and Baron Misuraca (VASARIA) have floor-long hair? And their hair is still growing. - And what about this hair length? http://www.the-light.com/longhair/messages/138236.html What about the Sadhus in India? (picture below) I don't believe in the "terminal-length"-theory...
Uwe (Germany)
Short of a large sample of diverse people growing out their hair for years under best hair care practices science is never going to have a real feel for an accurate average hair length. I think the hair strand ages spoken of, usually the range of 3-7 years, does not reflect the experience of people who do not cut their hair. Certainly there is no way to know how many people are capable of astounding hair lengths way beyond their body since most people never grow long.
The photograph appears to be a man with braided/matted/dreaded hair so he may be surpassing his maximum hair strand length by keeping shed strands. However in the cases of the people with untangled strands such as Yueqin Dai in the balcony photo I have thought they either have no terminal length or it is way beyond what most people are capable of. I do not know if she is gaining length anymore, she may have reached her maximum.
From my own experience I can verify that hair does not just keep growing for everyone. I am certain I have a maximum length after some of my hair has gone uncut for 20 years now. Same for my boyfriend who has not gained length in six years, he is stuck at lower back without trims. Yet, Bill had waist length hair in college and it could have grown longer then so terminal even changes over a lifetime. The opposite seems true for male eyebrows which get longer with age.
Actually, I am an ideal experiment to show hair does not simply keep growing. For a few years I cut one side of my hair short and the other was left alone to grow longer. Eventually I made the decision to grow the short side out as well. If there was no terminal length then both sides left uncut should be in the same proportion today with the long side perpetually in the lead by three feet or so. Instead, about thirteen years later both sides are nearly the same length. While George Michael might explain this as hair wanting to be all the same length so waiting for the short side to catch up before gaining length again, a maximum length is more likely. The continued growth of the short side tells me it was not just hair breaking off keeping the long side steady.
Elizabeth
but when there is no terminal length how is it possible, that some people are cursed with max. shoulder length hair ?
do u mean u don't believe in 'terminal length caused by genetics' ?
(means in my op that u believe, that terminal length is only cause by bad hair care, etc)
it would be great if your 'no-terminal-length' theory is correct - than no one has to fear it :)
thx & greez,
ALH
ALH, everybody has a different rate of hairloss so I don't think that makes an indicator of maximum length. One of my friends trims her hair at ankle length and she sheds like crazy meanwhile other people max out much higher on their body and lose fewer hairs. This is good news since by your theory you could be nearing terminal since you already lose few hairs just like people who have neared their maximum do. Worrying never helps growth, just see what happens in time.
Elizabeth
but when hair stops growing it falls out ...
few hair loss means that my grow cycle of every hair strand seems to be long and so the average length of every hair strand is long -> means that the terminal length is longer than my current length ...
my theory is wrong if it is possible that hair DO NOT fall out when it stops growing (but that is wrong isn't it ?)
This is GOOD NEWS since by your theory YOU COULD BE NEARING TERMINAL since you already lose few hairs just like people who have neared their maximum do.
wth is good news in reaching terminal ??!?!?!?!?!?!?
for me it's the worst case possible !!
Worrying never helps growth, just see what happens in time.
i know but it would depress me very much if my hair stops getting longer at my current length and i would think about making dreadlocks 'cos there you can 'virtually' increase the length of your hair over terminal length (braiding the fallen-out hair into the dread)
thx for your comments & greez,
ALH
The good part was that hair loss is not a reliable measure of maximum length. You had it backwards thinking that less hair lost means you are not near terminal when it is people near terminal are the ones that report less hair loss.
Instead of strands shed measure how fast your hair is growing. It is very much less than half an inch a month if you are maxing out.
Elizabeth
