Terminal length

Hi enfys

I’ll do my best to answer your questions – but bear in mind that I’m no expert.

Would I be right in believing that this is when your hair won't grow any more?

Yes. The terminal length of hair is the maximum amount of hair that an individual follicle will produce in the anagen (growth) phase of the hair cycle.

After that, the follicle enters catagen, when the hair is in its resting phase and does not grow any more and finally, telogen which is the shedding phase.


1) How do you know you've reached it?

You can’t tell for an individual hair unless you do a trichological analysis.
Collectively, once your hair has achieved a length and won’t progress beyond that length over a period of six months, you can be fairly sure that you have reached your terminal length.


2) Does it stay the same throughout your life?
3) Do vitamins and supplements affect it?

Sorry, I have no definitive answers regarding the above two questions – I’ll try and find out.


4) Is it different around your head, so you could never have terminal length and even ends?

Yes, the terminal length of individual hair varys and if left un-cut, you could not achieve terminal length with even ends.


5) Can you reach it even with trimmng, so long as you trim off less than it grows?

Normally, you would always have some hair on your head that has achieved its terminal length and is in catagen or telogen.
Even If you trim your hair at a rate less then the rate of growth, you will not reach maximum terminal length. This is because the hair follicle is programmed to grow for a certain period of time – not to a certain length.


6) Is your rate of growth an indicator of your terminal length, so that you can work it out?

Your rate of transitioning through the hair cycle is an indicator of your potential terminal length. Basically, the more often you shed, the shorter your terminal length is likely to be.


Hope that helps.

That six-month period will be a good thing for me to remember.

Jean