a lame and boring somewhat nerdy post about my hair

This is as long as my hair will grow.

This is a selfie that I took over the summer, actually. My hair is approximately one inch longer now. I’ve been trying to grow it out for three years, I’d say. I do get split ends and I do trim it a little here and there. Down to my nipples seems to be the maximum length my hair can achieve.

So today, I googled it. I asked “why won’t my hair grow any longer?” And I learned something pretty profound. I could have learned it three years ago when I started growing out my hair, but no… all those years of expectation and disappointment and I’m just learning this today.

Hair has a growth cycle of 24-48 months and this is based on a persons genetics. Individual hairs have three phases: growing, resting, and shedding. Healthy hair grows naturally at an average rate of 1/2 an inch per month.

One cannot change the length of their hairs’ growth cycle, because that is genetic. But healthier hair can grow faster, so that is one thing we can try to change. And stronger hair will break less and require less trimming, allowing it to get longer, so that is the second thing that we can try to change.

Working on those two factors could possibly help me grow my hair somewhat longer. But the reality is, I will probably never have hair down to my bottom or even halfway down my back. I’m actually shocked by this, you’d think information like this would be more commonly known. (Or am I the only one who didn’t know? That would be awkward.) I think I’m going to need extra ice cream tonight to nurse my sore feelings. Ouch.