A thought
Posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15: Previous Next
Just had a thought I'd like to have answered if someone knows...
If a strand falls out with a white bulb on it, it has either been naturally fallen of or pulled out. But what if the total hair length is well past the shoulders, and you loose some 2-3 inch size strands, with bulb. They can't have fallen out because of the terminal length.
Wouldn't that mean that these smaller ones earlier have had breakage ? Or do hair fall out naturally for other reasons than reaching the terminal length?
good question
Posted by Santiago on November 10, 2003 at 03:27:21: Previous Next
In Reply to: A thought posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15:
can someone answer it?
Re: A thought
Posted by KiwiDan on November 10, 2003 at 05:16:05: Previous Next
In Reply to: A thought posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15:
: Wouldn't that mean that these smaller ones earlier have had breakage ? Or do hair fall out naturally for other reasons than reaching the terminal length?
yep, it means they have been pulled out for some reason. maybe the root wasnt as tough as the other hairs. maybe it got pulled while brushing or being tired back too harshly.
I also think some hairs have a different terminal length than others do. like those ones at the back at the bottom seem to not have much length to them at all.
hope this helps.
KiwiDan
Re: A thought
Posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 06:41:25: Previous Next
In Reply to: Re: A thought posted by KiwiDan on November 10, 2003 at 05:16:05:
Thanks, guess that make sence.
: yep, it means they have been pulled out for some reason. maybe the
: root wasnt as tough as the other hairs. maybe it got pulled while
: brushing or being tired back too harshly.
: I also think some hairs have a different terminal length than
: others do. like those ones at the back at the bottom seem to not
: have much length to them at all.
: hope this helps.
: KiwiDan
Re: A thought
Posted by Brian on November 10, 2003 at 05:24:37: Previous Next
In Reply to: A thought posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15:
I agree with KiwiDan, they are due to breakage if they contain no bulb. If it were a hair falling out due to terminal it would obviously be a lot longer than a couple inches.
Hope that helps.
- Brian
Comb-outs of many lengths
Posted by Bill on November 10, 2003 at 09:00:48: Previous Next
In Reply to: A thought posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15:
: Just had a thought I'd like to have answered if someone knows...
: If a strand falls out with a white bulb on it, it has either been naturally fallen of or pulled out. But what if the total hair length is well past the shoulders, and you loose some 2-3 inch size strands, with bulb. They can't have fallen out because of the terminal length.
: Wouldn't that mean that these smaller ones earlier have had breakage ? Or do hair fall out naturally for other reasons than reaching the terminal length?
I get those too. Under a magnifying glass they have a root ball on one end and they have a tapered tip on the other, so they have never been cut or broken. Some are only a few inches long, and my longest strands are about 22 inches long!
We talk about our "terminal length" as though every hair on our head lived to be the same age, but just like some people in the population live a shorter life, this must be true of hair, too. Also, hair in some areas on the head may grow shorter. Men who don't have male pattern baldness may nevertheless get more short hairs in the areas where it often occurs. Men get shorter hair right at the neckline, too. Though all this goes on, we are apt to only notice the longest strands, just like a crowd seems to be all the same height even though there are children in among it.
I once did a "profile" on my comb-outs. I took them from my comb one morning and went through them one by one. They were of many different lengths! Most had a root ball and a tapered tip, too. Has anyone else done this? What did you find?
Re: Comb-outs of many lengths
Posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 12:56:57: Previous Next
In Reply to: Comb-outs of many lengths posted by Bill on November 10, 2003 at 09:00:48:
That does sound like a reasonable explaination, thanks. It would however be nice if someone knew for sure, if the terminal length is actually an average, or same for all strands (except from some exceptional ones, like the ones on the lower back) though.
: I get those too. Under a magnifying glass they have a root ball on one end and they have a tapered tip on the other, so they have never been cut or broken. Some are only a few inches long, and my longest strands are about 22 inches long!
: We talk about our "terminal length" as though every hair on our head lived to be the same age, but just like some people in the population live a shorter life, this must be true of hair, too. Also, hair in some areas on the head may grow shorter. Men who don't have male pattern baldness may nevertheless get more short hairs in the areas where it often occurs. Men get shorter hair right at the neckline, too. Though all this goes on, we are apt to only notice the longest strands, just like a crowd seems to be all the same height even though there are children in among it.
: I once did a "profile" on my comb-outs. I took them from my comb one morning and went through them one by one. They were of many different lengths! Most had a root ball and a tapered tip, too. Has anyone else done this? What did you find?
Re: Comb-outs of many lengths
Posted by Absalom on November 10, 2003 at 15:34:45: Previous Next
In Reply to: Comb-outs of many lengths posted by Bill on November 10, 2003 at 09:00:48:
: : Just had a thought I'd like to have answered if someone knows...
: : If a strand falls out with a white bulb on it, it has either been naturally fallen of or pulled out. But what if the total hair length is well past the shoulders, and you loose some 2-3 inch size strands, with bulb. They can't have fallen out because of the terminal length.
: : Wouldn't that mean that these smaller ones earlier have had breakage ? Or do hair fall out naturally for other reasons than reaching the terminal length?
: I get those too. Under a magnifying glass they have a root ball on one end and they have a tapered tip on the other, so they have never been cut or broken. Some are only a few inches long, and my longest strands are about 22 inches long!
: We talk about our "terminal length" as though every hair on our head lived to be the same age, but just like some people in the population live a shorter life, this must be true of hair, too. Also, hair in some areas on the head may grow shorter. Men who don't have male pattern baldness may nevertheless get more short hairs in the areas where it often occurs. Men get shorter hair right at the neckline, too. Though all this goes on, we are apt to only notice the longest strands, just like a crowd seems to be all the same height even though there are children in among it.
: I once did a "profile" on my comb-outs. I took them from my comb one morning and went through them one by one. They were of many different lengths! Most had a root ball and a tapered tip, too. Has anyone else done this? What did you find?
Hi Bill, this happens to me as well. My longest hair strands have a terminal length of more than 40 inches (I have actually measured them) but a typical strand on my head has a terminal length of maybe 30 inches. Coarse hair on me appears to have the greatest terminal length and fine hair strands seem to have the shortest terminal length. I have many nationalities in my ancestry. Of known ancestries > French, German, Dutch, Italian, English, Irish, Scotch, Welch, and maybe Native American as well. As a result I have a huge mix of almost every hair type > coarse, medium, fine, straight, wavy, curly, blonde, auburn, brown, and red. My conclusion is that my diverse ancestry is why I have an unusually wide range of terminal lengths to my hair. Absalom
Re: Comb-outs of many lengths
Posted by Tim B. on November 20, 2003 at 02:53:56: Previous Next
In Reply to: Comb-outs of many lengths posted by Bill on November 10, 2003 at 09:00:48:
: I once did a "profile" on my comb-outs. I took them from my comb one morning and went through them one by one. They were of many different lengths! Most had a root ball and a tapered tip, too. Has anyone else done this? What did you find?
I've studied hair lengths measured from the scalp to the end of the hairs. Some areas have long hair and some areas have short hair.
The longest hair areas are ...
1. in the back a few inches behind the ears
2. a few inches above the ears
3. near the top of the head
4. on top of the head.
The shortest hairs are ...
1. near the end of the hairline on the upper neck
2. in back of the neck
3. just above the front part the the ears
For most people, if they don't cut their hair, the longest hairs are about 2 to 3 feet and the shortest hairs are only a fraction of an inch.
Re: Comb-outs another look
Posted by Tim B. on November 23, 2003 at 02:57:09: Previous Next
In Reply to: Comb-outs of many lengths posted by Bill on November 10, 2003 at 09:00:48:
: I once did a "profile" on my comb-outs. I took them from my comb one morning and went through them one by one. They were of many different lengths! Most had a root ball and a tapered tip, too. Has anyone else done this? What did you find?
I've taken another look and, aside from finding too many split ends, I find the same type of shorter hairs with root ball and tapered ends. I suspect the same 2 things causing fallen hairs to many lengths:
1. The follicle growth cycle must very significantly from one follicle to another, each follicle having a different terminal length. One follicle may have a growth cycle of 1 years and one next to it may have a growth cycle of 4 years (for those new to this, all hairs grows about 6 inches per year).
2. The longest hairs vary on different parts of the head. If I measure the longest hair from a group of hairs about 0.5 inches from the hairline above the forehead, it's 15.4 inches, and for hairs at 1.0 inches from the hairline it's 18.5 inches, and for hairs at 2.0 inches from the hairline it's 20.9 inches, and for hairs at 2.5 inches from the hairline it's 23.2 inches, and for hairs at 3.5 inches from the hairline it's 25.6 inches. Measuring from the neckline and ears shows the same type of gradual change in longest hairs as you measure hair further from the neckline or ears.
One strange finding, was that it seems the longest hairs were more likely to have a split end instead of a tapered end.
Re: Comb-outs another look
Posted by Bill on November 24, 2003 at 09:58:59: Previous Next
In Reply to: Re: Comb-outs another look posted by Tim B. on November 23, 2003 at 02:57:09:
: One strange finding, was that it seems the longest hairs were more likely to have a split end instead of a tapered end.
Not strange at all. Splits occur because of damage, and damage takes time. The ends of your longest hairs have been on your head for the longest time.
Re: A thought
Posted by Justin on November 10, 2003 at 10:41:52: Previous Next
In Reply to: A thought posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15:
Hi
Same thing happens with me also..........yet the hair overall continues to gain in length. I do believe Bill has given you the correct reason for all of this, and of course he is the expert we all look up to. (Hope you have read his 4-part write-up about how to grow and care for Long Hair.) All the best-
Re: A thought
Posted by Tim B. on November 20, 2003 at 03:17:13: Previous Next
In Reply to: A thought posted by Patrik on November 10, 2003 at 03:21:15:
: Wouldn't that mean that these smaller ones earlier have had breakage ? Or do hair fall out naturally for other reasons than reaching the terminal length?
I think there are two things causing short hairs to fall out.
First, not all hair on the head are the same length. The lengths range from the shortest hair just above the neck that are a fraction of an inch long, to the longest hairs in back of the head and on top that can get 2 to 3 feet long for most people.
The other reason is hair may not fall out until after a dormancy period in the follicle's growth cycle when the new hair pushes the old hair out of the follicle. If your hair is just past the shoulders, it's probably been cut about two years ago. Some dormant hairs that were cut two years ago may now be still falling out when the new hairs start growing.