Help! My hair is not growing past a certain lenght. What can I do?
Are you dreaming of long Rapunzel’s hair down to your butt? But you are stuck at a certain length somewhere at your shoulders or mid-back? No matter what you do, your hair won’t grow past a certain lenght? Yes? Then keep on reading and learn why your hair will not grow past a certain lenght and what you can do to grow it to the lenght of your dreams!
Some facts and figures about hair
On average, hair grows about 1 cm per month, which adds up to roughly 12 cm per year. Some lucky individuals have a higher growth rate, up to 3 cm per month. The unfortunate ones might have a growth rate of only 0.5 cm a month. Your individual growth rate is heavily dictated by genetics, age, hormones, and general health. Hair on your scalp grows for about 2 to 7 years before it stops growing, rests, and finally falls out.
The complete life cycle of hair has three main steps: growing, resting, and shedding:
The growing phase or “anagen” phase lasts two to seven years. About 85% of your hair is in this phase at any time.
The transition phase or “catagen” phase only lasts two to three weeks. The hair stops growing and detaches itself from its blood supply.
The last phase, the resting and shedding phase or the “telogen”/”exogen” phase lasts two to four months. The detached hair rests in its follicle until it falls out and a new hair begins to grow in its place.
The average growth rate multiplied by the duration of the average growing phase determines terminal lenght. Terminal length is the maximum lenght individual hair can grow based on genetics before it naturally falls out.
For example, if you average 2 cm of growth per month and your growing phase lasts 7 years, you will end up with hair as long as 1.68 m! If you average only 0.5 cm of lenght per month and have a short growing phase of only 2 years, you will not be able to grow your hair past 12 cm.
What are the reasons why hair does not grow past a certain lenght?
I get this question quite often: Help! My hair does not grow past a certain lenght, what can I do? Have I reached terminal lenght? There are four main reasons why you might have the impression that your hair does not grow past a certain lenght.
You reached your terminal lenght
As explained above, everybody has a terminal lenght, the maximum lenght one’s hair genetically can grow, given that the hair is so healthy that it never breaks. Terminal lenght is determined by growth rate multiplied by how long the growing phase lasts. Growth rate and the duration of the growing phase are both dictated by genes. You cannot change your genes. That lenght you are stuck at now might be your genetic terminal lenght. Unfortunately there is nothing you can change about that, given that your hair is healthy, your hormones are balanced and you are not lacking any vitamines or nutritients.
You are having health issues or a nutritional deficiency
When it comes to hair care, people first think of products such as shampoo, conditioner, leave-ins or oils, believing that expensive high-end products will automatically grow shiny, healthy long hair. However, it is more important what you put inside your body then what you put on your hair. If you suffer from healthy issues or a nutritional deficiency, your hair will suffer too, no matter what expensive and fancy products you use. Hair grows from the scalp through hair follicles, the hair root and cell division. Blood vessels at the base feed the root, making cells multiply and push upward. As cells move up, they harden into a strand. All hair that emerges above the scalp as a visible strand is dead protein cells. Technically, all the hair you see on your head is biologically dead. The strand is only alive inside the hair follicle beneath your skin.
Nutrition fuels hair growth by delivering essential building blocks, energy and oxygen to the hair follicles. Eating a balanced diet prevents hair thinning and breakage, while vitamin and mineral deficiencies can trigger shedding. When you eat well, your body uses specific nutrients to build strong strands from the root. A healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle positively influence your growth rate and your growing cycle. Eating a balanced diet prevents hair thinning and breakage. If you suspect having a nutritional deficiency that impacts your hair growth/hair health, get your blood work done and supplement accordingly if necessary.
Severe health issues and stress can lead to premature hairloss, thin and brittle hair or reduced growth rate. Taking care of the underlying health problem is crucial.
Your hair is breaking faster than it is growing
Harsh chemical or mechanical treatments such as bleaching, coloring, heat styling etc. or daily wear and tear damage hair so that it splits and breaks. Very damaged hair might break faster than it is growing so it will not get any longer. To determine if your hair is damaged, look at single hairs. Do you see any of the damage like in the picture? Damaged hair cannot be repaired. The only solution is to cut it off. Keep in mind that some split ends - especially in long hair - is perfectly normal. If there are only single hairs here and there with damage, you can get rid of them by Search & Destroy. Just snip them off and call it a day.
Normal vs. damaged hair
Stop any damaging chemical and/or mechanical treatment and start treating your hair like your favorite expensive cashmere pullover. Breakage and splitting might also becaused by a nutritional deficiency (see above). Check these tips on how to prevent split ends:
7 long-term investments for healthy and shiny hair you won’t regret buying
I used Castor Oil on my hair for one year and this is what happened
Grow your hair long and beautiful with the “Search & Destroy” Method
You are cutting your hair too much and/or too often
I still keep seeing the advice floating around to regularly trim or cut hair - depending on the source - every 6 to 8 weeks or every 3 to 4 months. Considering that your hair averages about 1 to 1.5 cm a month and you cut it every 2 or 3 months, you will cut off all the progress you made. Even minor trims take away 2 or 3 cm every time. Get up right now, take a measuring tape and look at how little only 1 cm is. Hair on average grows 12 cm per year. Three trims a year of 3 cm a year will take away 9 cm of your progress! Stylists have the tendency to cut too much, and the trims often take away more than just 2 or 3 cm.
Regular trims will not make your hair grow faster. The idea that trimming hair makes it grow faster or thicker is a myth. Hair grows from follicles beneath the scalp, averaging about half an inch per month. Trimming the ends cannot signal the roots to speed up or change the hair's texture. If your hair is breaking and you have split ends, sure, get rid of them. However, some split ends are perfectly normal and only very damaged hair needs to be cut. Preventing split ends is the way to go. Check the links above on how to prevent split ends!
To sum it up…
Hair does not grow forever, there is a maximum lenght that hair can reach,. The maximum lenght of hair is individual and mainly genetic. However, there are different factors that influence hair growth positively or negatively. If hair does not grow past a certain lenght, it is often a mix of nutritional deficiency, chemical or mechanical damage or simply cutting it too frequently (which in my experience is the main cause). Growing long hair takes a lot of time and patience, usually several years. When adjusting a hair care routine or taking supplement to compensate for a deficiency, it takes months to see the first results. Going through awkward phases of thin ends is part of the journey. And keep in mind: split ends are not a deadly disease, it is perfectly fine to have some, if they bother you, just snip them away with sharp shears, they are not a reason to cut your hair several centimeters and sacrifice your progress.