Growing as long as it will go! (The Terminal Goal Thread)

[pili]

It was a nursing home run by nuns. Unfortunately she was in South America when my grandfather died and there was no choice except to move her to the home. My mother was the only one who could have taken care of her (and would have gladly!), but she was in the states on a resident visa. There was no way to quickly get her to the states. I was seven when she died.

[Knifegill]

I'm still going, photos aren't much to see but I'm like 2 or 3 inches past armpit. Maybe in like 3 years when it's something to see I'll put more photos here, ha ha ha.

[nekosan]

My hair has been terminal length for the vast majority of my life (including now). I've managed to tweak terminal a bit longer a few times by changing my hair routine. I always wanted at least knee length hair, but its just not in my genetics.

[ravenheather]

My hair has been terminal length for the vast majority of my life (including now). I've managed to tweak terminal a bit longer a few times by changing my hair routine. I always wanted at least knee length hair, but its just not in my genetics.

Your hair is lovely. I hope mine will grow at least that long. As I fellow thinnish and fine haired girl I am curious what tweaks allowed you to grow longer?

[nekosan]

Your hair is lovely. I hope mine will grow at least that long. As I fellow thinnish and fine haired girl I am curious what tweaks allowed you to grow longer?

Well, this is starting from childhood, and is mostly simple, but:
* Don't get bubble gum caught in your hair. (~4 years old)
* Try not to get tree sap in hair, either. (~4-8 years old)
* Brushing my own hair instead of having my mom brush it hurts a lot less. (~6-8 years old)
* Crap, there are lots of evil hair-eating chairs at school. Watch out for them!
* Using conditioner. (~10-12 years old)
* Combing conditioner through my hair with a wide-toothed comb in the shower. (~12-14 years old, idea probably from a magazine)
* Don't pile all your hair on top of your head when shampooing (like shampoo commercials show)! Let it hang down and loose. (~12-14 years old, idea probably from a magazine)
* Don't go to bed with loose, wet hair. (It dried tangled. The individual hairs dried bent instead of straight, so my hair was quite prone to tangling. College is when i figured this out, actually. Ouch.)
* Braiding my hair every night before going to bed. (Two braids works best for me. With one braid, the scalp hair is too loose and gets tangled. Three braids takes longer to do but has no more benefit than two braids. College, again.)
* Shampoo only on the scalp, conditioner only on the ends (elbows down). The shampoo does drip down the ends a bit, and the conditioner does get combed up to about shoulder level, so it all works out well. (Wow, i learned so much in college!)
* Don't make those night-time braids too tight! (Yup, college.)
* Wear hair up or braided instead of completely loose. (I do let it drip-dry loose, but start bunning/braiding it when it's no longer damp and wet, just cool. I have lived in dry, desert climates, so drip-dry only takes a few hours. I used to only put my hair up when doing activities, traveling, or encountering wind, but i keep it up a lot more nowadays.)
* Condition-wash-condition. (When showering, get hair damp, put conditioner in ends, pin hair up with claw clip. After doing the rest of my ablutions, let down hair, shampoo scalp, condition ends as normal.)
* A satin-weave silk sleep bonnet really does help cut down on nighttime friction. (Um, just within the past year. *blush*)

Most of these changes are minor - it took maybe 5-6 years to see a inch or so of gain from each.

My routine is fairly simple - i just use fairly standard shampoo and conditioner, and wash every other day. My hair tends to be greasy, so i don't like stretching more than that.

I'm hoping that henna will maybe give me another inch or two, but only time will tell.

When i was putting together my "hair history" album, i did determine that medication that i started taking around 2005 (lithium) did seem to shorten my terminal length by a few inches. Apparently it can make hair more brittle. I have gotten just amazingly positive psychiatric effects, however, and this completely outweighs the tiny sadness of ever-so-slightly less hair.

[ravenheather]

Thanks for the reply. I am just getting in the sleep cap habit myself.

[FennFire911]

Well, this is starting from childhood, and is mostly simple, but:
* Don't get bubble gum caught in your hair. (~4 years old)
* Try not to get tree sap in hair, either. (~4-8 years old)
* Brushing my own hair instead of having my mom brush it hurts a lot less. (~6-8 years old)
* Crap, there are lots of evil hair-eating chairs at school. Watch out for them!
* Using conditioner. (~10-12 years old)
* Combing conditioner through my hair with a wide-toothed comb in the shower. (~12-14 years old, idea probably from a magazine)
* Don't pile all your hair on top of your head when shampooing (like shampoo commercials show)! Let it hang down and loose. (~12-14 years old, idea probably from a magazine)
* Don't go to bed with loose, wet hair. (It dried tangled. The individual hairs dried bent instead of straight, so my hair was quite prone to tangling. College is when i figured this out, actually. Ouch.)
* Braiding my hair every night before going to bed. (Two braids works best for me. With one braid, the scalp hair is too loose and gets tangled. Three braids takes longer to do but has no more benefit than two braids. College, again.)
* Shampoo only on the scalp, conditioner only on the ends (elbows down). The shampoo does drip down the ends a bit, and the conditioner does get combed up to about shoulder level, so it all works out well. (Wow, i learned so much in college!)
* Don't make those night-time braids too tight! (Yup, college.)
* Wear hair up or braided instead of completely loose. (I do let it drip-dry loose, but start bunning/braiding it when it's no longer damp and wet, just cool. I have lived in dry, desert climates, so drip-dry only takes a few hours. I used to only put my hair up when doing activities, traveling, or encountering wind, but i keep it up a lot more nowadays.)
* Condition-wash-condition. (When showering, get hair damp, put conditioner in ends, pin hair up with claw clip. After doing the rest of my ablutions, let down hair, shampoo scalp, condition ends as normal.)
* A satin-weave silk sleep bonnet really does help cut down on nighttime friction. (Um, just within the past year. *blush*)

Most of these changes are minor - it took maybe 5-6 years to see a inch or so of gain from each.

My routine is fairly simple - i just use fairly standard shampoo and conditioner, and wash every other day. My hair tends to be greasy, so i don't like stretching more than that.

I'm hoping that henna will maybe give me another inch or two, but only time will tell.

When i was putting together my "hair history" album, i did determine that medication that i started taking around 2005 (lithium) did seem to shorten my terminal length by a few inches. Apparently it can make hair more brittle. I have gotten just amazingly positive psychiatric effects, however, and this completely outweighs the tiny sadness of ever-so-slightly less hair.

Oh wow those are great! I've got some adjustments to make. And I'm well out of college! Haha

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

Well, this is starting from childhood, and is mostly simple, but:
* Don't get bubble gum caught in your hair. (~4 years old)
* Try not to get tree sap in hair, either. (~4-8 years old)
* Brushing my own hair instead of having my mom brush it hurts a lot less. (~6-8 years old)
* Crap, there are lots of evil hair-eating chairs at school. Watch out for them!
* Using conditioner. (~10-12 years old)
* Combing conditioner through my hair with a wide-toothed comb in the shower. (~12-14 years old, idea probably from a magazine)
* Don't pile all your hair on top of your head when shampooing (like shampoo commercials show)! Let it hang down and loose. (~12-14 years old, idea probably from a magazine)
* Don't go to bed with loose, wet hair. (It dried tangled. The individual hairs dried bent instead of straight, so my hair was quite prone to tangling. College is when i figured this out, actually. Ouch.)
* Braiding my hair every night before going to bed. (Two braids works best for me. With one braid, the scalp hair is too loose and gets tangled. Three braids takes longer to do but has no more benefit than two braids. College, again.)
* Shampoo only on the scalp, conditioner only on the ends (elbows down). The shampoo does drip down the ends a bit, and the conditioner does get combed up to about shoulder level, so it all works out well. (Wow, i learned so much in college!)
* Don't make those night-time braids too tight! (Yup, college.)
* Wear hair up or braided instead of completely loose. (I do let it drip-dry loose, but start bunning/braiding it when it's no longer damp and wet, just cool. I have lived in dry, desert climates, so drip-dry only takes a few hours. I used to only put my hair up when doing activities, traveling, or encountering wind, but i keep it up a lot more nowadays.)
* Condition-wash-condition. (When showering, get hair damp, put conditioner in ends, pin hair up with claw clip. After doing the rest of my ablutions, let down hair, shampoo scalp, condition ends as normal.)
* A satin-weave silk sleep bonnet really does help cut down on nighttime friction. (Um, just within the past year. *blush*)

Most of these changes are minor - it took maybe 5-6 years to see a inch or so of gain from each.

My routine is fairly simple - i just use fairly standard shampoo and conditioner, and wash every other day. My hair tends to be greasy, so i don't like stretching more than that.

I'm hoping that henna will maybe give me another inch or two, but only time will tell.

When i was putting together my "hair history" album, i did determine that medication that i started taking around 2005 (lithium) did seem to shorten my terminal length by a few inches. Apparently it can make hair more brittle. I have gotten just amazingly positive psychiatric effects, however, and this completely outweighs the tiny sadness of ever-so-slightly less hair.

Thank you for sharing.

I'm still in.

[Stars]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to check in! I'm still trucking along! Longest ends are over an inch past hip bones. It's still growing because I see new growth at my roots. I believe I am far from terminal yet. Hope to have the rest of the bulk to full hip length by June/July 2017.

Still growing to terminal (growing indefinitely for life). My hair has a big place in my spiritual/energetic health, and every time I have cut it, I have suffered a myriad of problems. I know this is the path for me, and I am relieved to have accepted it. Good to see this thread is still humming!

[vpatt]

I hope to get to waist (my first major goal) this year. I'm already thinking of hip, lol. I really have no plans to cut or trim at all, but I guess I will just see how it looks as it gets longer.

Is there an average terminal length for most people?