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Well, that may be a stupid question but - I just noticed some shorter strands at the front area of my head. They're like 5cm, unlike the others wich are like 30cm. Is that usual? In case of my curly hair I thought I was maybe ripping some part of it off. But I wasn't sure 'cause I use a comb made of German wood and I always comb slowly, so that I don't damage my hair.
Greetings from Germany,
Jack.
Those would be new young hairs coming in to replace the older ones that have fallen out. An individual hair only lasts for 3 years or so I think and then gets replaced. Good thing too - I'd hate to be bald at 4 years old.
AndrewB
More than three years, I think. With half inch a month growth and more than three feet of hair, some of my hairs must be more than six years old.
That's definitely normal. Even if you were to never touch your hair with anything, some of them would still fall out. It's just a natural part of the growing cycle, and they'll be back. If you have tons and tons of short hairs all over, then it could mean you're being too rough on your hair and tearing them out or breaking them off, but it sounds like that is not the case with you :). Just make sure to be careful when you're combing and don't force your comb through tangles.
Yup, that's normal. I have a few of those tickling my forehead as I type this post. They're new hairs, so don't pull them out. They'll be 30cm in no time. ;-)
They may not get that long. All hair on your body does not have the same terminal length. Your eyebrows, for example, only have a terminal length of about an inch. Otherwise, they'd be long enough to get in your mouth if you didn't trim them.
It is common for men to have hairs grow with a shorter terminal length within about half an inch of their hairlines (i.e., just above their foreheads). Not all men have this but some do. Another place men get shorter hairs is in the places male pattern baldness usually appears. Although these men are not bald, they have a mild tendency towards baldness that causes their hairs to grow shorter where baldness would have happened. A third place we see shorter terminal lengths is near the hairlines in the back. A fourth place can be in front of the ears.
The last two of the four instances cause little problem and are hardly noticed. The first two, though, can make your hair too short to reach a pony tie. The only ways to hold them down are to wear a headband or apply a chemical to them like hair spray or mousse.
No other hair is going to grow in these places, so unless you want to be bald there, don't cut that hair off. You just have to live with it.
Bill (who has all four conditions and lots more than four bandannas [grin] )
Well, thanks for the answers. As I mentioned before, I just bought a new comb made of German birch and I try not to use too much force. And I mentioned that it's much better for my scalp, 'cause my scalp's sometimes itchy as hell.
Greetings from Germany,
Jack.