new thread
I am curious about something. I have been letting my hair grow since February (from an ultra short cut) and I now have a 5-1/2" ponytail by tying it up a little higher than normal.... (My hair grows ultra fast.) But lately, it seems as if I have hit a wall and I have not noticed a great deal of growth as I did at first. Is this common? I know it is still growing, but it does not seem as prominent as it was for a while? Any comments?
Bill B.
I noticed the same thing when I started growing my hair, at about the same length as yours. All of a sudden it seems to stop almost dead and not grow any more. What I eventually decided (whether right or wrong, I don't know) was that 1.) the extreme excitement and novelty of having long hair was tempering itself somewhat and 2.) the relative length is decreasing steadily and I probably didn't notice it until then. Figure that a constant rate of 1/2" per month versus hair that's 2 inches long against that same rate when hair is 5 inches long... That means that in six months, the relative growth went from 1:4 to 1:10! When it gets to my length (17") it's down to 1:34!
Growing long hair becomes less excitement and novelty and more committment and dedication as time goes on. Sometimes it seems to take forever. I know that I have at least another year before my hair reaches my waist, but compared to the 4 that I've been growing it already that's not that long. Also understand that some people who think they have reached terminal length are really just not seeing the growth because the 1/2" per month it grows is so small proportionately.
Keep that ponytail high, too! I've always envied little girls to some degree because they start out wearing all sorts of styles before they're old enough/conditioned enough to disdain it. We men who have to overcome the fear that we're not going to be able to "get away" with a particular style in public would have a hell of a lot easier time if we had started when we were very young, too. It took me almost 2 1/2 years before I had the guts to wear a braid in public! Now I hear from many girls that aside from wearing my hair down, a french braid is the sexiest thing I do with my hair. The earlier you condition yourself to wear certain styles, the easier it will be later on. I did the same thing when my hair was your length -- pulled it into a high ponytail because that's the only place it would all stay. It took me three years to feel comfortable with doing it again. And I think that's my personal favorite way to wear a regular ponytail. The sooner you feel totally comfortable (and totally YOU) with different styles, the better you'll feel.
Thanks,
Matt O'Reilly