HOW LONG CAN YOU REALLY GROW YOUR HAIR? (PART 1)
If you’ve ever felt like your hair just won’t grow past a certain length, or thought that certain longer styles just aren’t achievable for you, then read on. You’re right in thinking there is a point where your hair will stop growing, however for most people this is much longer than you would imagine. This length is referred to as your ‘terminal length’.
The individual strands of our hair reach their terminal length at different times. As some hairs shed, new hairs grow, and we maintain a fairly consistent volume of hair overall. Still, you may get frustrated with the rate at which your hair grows.
Right now around 85{544ceec521e9acc941fc160f5516e093cba54a1193f4018f965a0c2cf52343bd} of your hair is growing, in the anagen phase of your hairs growth cycle. The other 15{544ceec521e9acc941fc160f5516e093cba54a1193f4018f965a0c2cf52343bd} is preparing to shed, shedding or at rest. The hairs that are shedding have reached their terminal length. It is the longest those hairs will ever naturally grow, if they have avoided breakage and haven’t been cut. This stage is known as the telogen phase.
So, what you really want to know is how long the terminal length is and if you can reach it. Scientists say that your genetics or hair type will impact your terminal length, however your hair only really stops growing when your growth cycle ends.
The average growth cycle is between 2 and 6 years. Even if your growth cycle is only 2 years, in that time you should be able to grow at least 12 inches of hair provided your overall health and nutritional diet are optimal. To visualize that, if you are of average height, 12inches would fall somewhere around your bra strap.
The good news is that this is the very minimum you can expect with most of us able to grow between 12 and 36 inches before we reach our terminal length. That’s around waist length and the majority of us choose not to grow it any further.
