I'm 16 and have long hair down to my shoulder blades (with an undercut), at the front of my hair off to the side there are these patches of hair that don't seem to grow beyond a few inches. I'm pretty sure I'm not balding because my hair has been like this since I've started growing it long, and it's sort of a problem cause I always tie my hair back in a ponytail. I use spray gel to hold those hairs down, which really helps, but what I really want to know is if this is normal? Does anyone else have this problem, or experienced it before? And if it's not normal, can you think of any reason why my hair is like that?
Thanks a lot for your help! :)
Yup, I've got several of those myself. Don't worry, you're not going bald.
;)
I've learned to just let them do their own thing and tie whatever else I can back when I choose to wear a ponytail. Yes, gel'ing does force them to behave, but I'd rather my hair look natural than styled and "plastic".
I don't know. There's something to be said for that Hair Helmet look...

The Rev
Nature probably wants your hair there to be that length for a purpose, just like it has your eyebrows be no longer than an inch. Hair in your face is frustrating, but it helps trap warm air near your face and shed rain, which it won't do if cascading down your back. It doesn't take much hair to accomplish these tasks, so thus you don't have a lot of hair doing this, just enough to be irritating. Also, too much hair doing this would impair your vision, something nature is not apt to opt for.
For those rare times you are not out in cold rain (grin), if you don't want to gel, another tack that can work is to twirl this hair slightly while bunched with longer strands, so they all are held together when you ponytail.
Wow, I never would've thought about that stuff. So everyone has this then?
I can't say "everyone". Just say having shorter hair in the vicinity of your hairline adjacent to your forehead is "common".