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I've been growing my hair out now for about 3 years now and its only down to about shoulder length. Im thinking that the problem might have been from not cutting\trimming it for a 1year. But I started trimming it regualry but only a little bit off the ends. So now my hypothesis is that since i did'nt cut it for so long that I now have the split ends so long at the bottom that when I trim it I'm just cutting off some of the split ends and I still have about a half inch of the split ends left on my hair, and thats why my hair isnt growing. PLease help me with my dilema.
Thanx a bunch!
Two things limit hair growth. Your genetics dictate a maximum length, and poor hair care can cause the ends of the hair, the oldest part, to disintegrate before strands reach their maximum. If neither of these things (heredity or poor care) intervene, your hair after three years should be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length. It sounds like yours is just a bit over half that long. People's hair does grow at different rates, but the apparent speed of yours seems a bit out of the normal range.
Well, what condition is your hair in? The best test is to look at how it detangles. If the hair is lubricated enough that tangles slip free and the hair is strong enough to not break when you pull most tangles out, your hair is probably healthy. Also, how does your hair feel near the ends? Nice and silky or yucky and scratchy? And under a magnifying glass, what percent of the ends are actually split? Grab a clump of a hundred or so strands and look. Count them. Then you'll know. Don't worry if a small percentage are split, but if they all are, of course you're not going to get more growth until you do something.
Trimming may or may not stop splitting (it's a long-running argument among longhairs), but the solution ultimately does not lie with trimming in any event. It lies with treating your hair gently so it doesn't split so much in the first place.
I culled a lot of information off this board a few months back and organized it. You'll find more information on these issues than I can put here, by looking at parts 1 and 2 of the URL below. We all wish you the best in getting more length to your hair!
Ok, can someone please help me to understand this rationale? Hair grows from the follicle, at its base at the head. How can cutting the dead end stimulate its growth in any way? If you want long hair, stop cutting it and take care of the hair that you have. It is possible to prevent damage to the existing dead hair through proper care. If your hair won't grow its because its not growing at the follicle, but that has little to do with the ends. I'm not sure its reasonable to assume that your hair isn't long because you haven't cut it enough. I haven't cut mine in 20 years, haven't cut any length from my boys since they were very young and it all grows and looks just fine. I think you just need to reassess your hair care regimen. Do you condition? Use good shampoos? Stay away from blow dryers? Brush it gently instead of rough? Try other things before you cut and see how that affects your growth rate.
Good luck!
Dawn