The Long Hair Community - The growth rate at the front and at the back of the head

Miituliina · November 1st, 2006, 05:32 AM

Hello everybody, I am quite new here, but I encouraged myself to ask a question I have been wondering.

Well, my hair grows at the back of my head double as fast as hair in front of my head. Usually people are saying that their bangs grow really fast and I thought that I must be really strange to have this kind of a growth style. I am in a stage where my hair is just below my years (like a bob) and it is very frustrating that my neckhairs always get longer than those around my face. Is this also one reason for fairytale ends or am I just strange??

rayasunshine · November 1st, 2006, 05:56 AM

Actually I don't think this is all that un common my hair grows faster in the back than in the front as well. This could also be the result of damage thats happening to the front and not the back, i've seen a few posters here talk about the sides being shorter due to the way they sleep. Just what i've gathered though i'm not 100% sure hopefully someone more knowledgable will come along.

spidermom · November 1st, 2006, 06:08 AM

Hair can be pretty weird like that. On me, the right side grows faster than the left. If you don't want it to be uneven (fairy-tale ends), you will need to have trims. I've been getting a trim about every 4 months; that keeps things evened up.

Melian · November 1st, 2006, 07:37 AM

I've noticed this too. My roots at the front are much shorter as compared to the roots at the back of my head. But I really do not know why this is the case.

Rosetta · November 4th, 2006, 02:04 AM

Yep, that's me - my hair has always grown like that, and it's so annoying!! My hair's also much finer at the front/sides than at the back, it's almost like a different hair type! That's one reason I have never got much past BSL yet - the hair at the back grows so well, but the sides just don't keep up and I usually end up trimming the back to better match the sides (as I don't like very uneven hemlines)...

zule · November 4th, 2006, 06:33 AM

Thank goodness, spidermom. My hair on the left side around my face grows much more quickly than on the right. I have to trim to keep some symmetry going. (Derail: My ring finger nails grow much more quickly than my thumbs, which are the slowest of all.)

Maybe, too, in addition to the rate, our face-framing hair grows from the "top" and our nape hairs grow from the "bottom," if that makes any sense?

I think most people's face-framing hair grows more slowly, if the number of people here with "U" and "V" hemlines is any indication.

Raederle · November 4th, 2006, 06:38 AM

I think that a few factors come into play.

Hair framing your face is subject to a little more abuse. If you wear glasses, they rub against the hair at your temples. If you sleep on your side, your stressing the hair. If you rest your head on your arm as you sit, it rubs that hair. If you play with your hair, you usually play with the hair framing your face. Because there is less hair growing surface area as compared to the back of your head, every time you pull something over your head, you are putting a little more stress on that part of your scalp. When you wear a hat, you are potentially rubbing that hair.

The hair will seem shorter because it has a longer path to grow than the hair at the back of your head. The hair around my ears is about 3.5" above the hair at the back of my head; that means it takes that much longer to get to the same length as the back. And because there is much less hair growing surface area, any stress shows up faster.

When I stopped using henna, I was able to monitor growth easily by looking at the root growth. I saw that all the hair on me grew at the same rate, so for me, it just appeared that the sides grew slower.

As your nape hairline is not a straight line, the hair won't naturally grow in a straight line.

If you want a perfectly even hemline, you will need to trim way more often. But if you manage the sides well and S&D regularly, they will blend in well with the longer hair, even if they appear to grow at a slower rate.

Rosetta · November 7th, 2006, 05:14 AM

Well, I don't think that applies to everyone, Raederle... No matter how much I baby the hair at the sides, they just don't keep up with the rest. And as others here have said, they have noticed that the growth rate in those parts is actually slower, it just doesn't seem so.

Fireweed · November 7th, 2006, 06:13 AM

The hair on the right side of my head grows faster too. My hair also grows in a V shape in the back with the longest hairs right in the middle.

dcs60 · November 7th, 2006, 06:15 AM

I can honestly say I've never noticed that my hair growth is uneven. Interesting.

Raederle · November 7th, 2006, 06:38 AM

Good thing we're all different -- be pretty boring otherwise. On me, my hemline left untrimmed mirrors the shape of my nape. And when I was last able to monitor the growth rate, while growing out henna, the rate was even throughout. But the hairs framing my face are sooo much more subject to abuse. I try to be as careful as I can, but of course they still get damaged. As my silvers come in, they seem a little stronger, but that only accents how fine the remaining brown hairs are.

Miituliina · November 7th, 2006, 08:42 AM

It is nice to notice that I a not only one with weirdly growing hair. In my case there might be abuse of the front hair, but I still think that in my case a major difference comes from different growth rates. I am going to be extra carefull with my front hairs thought. Thank you all for your replies.