Why Won’t Your Hair Grow Past a Certain Point?

Updated on May 9th, 2020
does hair stop growing

Many women have faced this problem at least at some point wherein they feel that their hair has stopped growing. While the fact is that hair never stops growing entirely. There can be several factors that either slow the growth of your hair or speed up the rate of breakage to grow, which makes it seem like your hair has stopped growing entirely. Here are some factors you should consider:

How Much Does Hair Grow In A Year?

Each person’s hair is genetically arranged to halt growing after reaching a specific length, after which it passes through the catagen, telogen, and exogen stages before growing back again.

A regular person’s hair grows at a rate of six inches per year, and generally, the anagen phase (growth phase) lasts between two-six years. However, various people have different hair growth cycles that are impacted by many factors that will be discussed next.

Does Hair Stop Growing After A Certain Time?

Your hair follicles undergo a growth cycle that has 4 phases: 1.  Growing phase (anagen phase) 2. Transition phase (catagen phase)  3.  Resting phase (telogen phase) and 4. Hair shedding phase (Exogen phase).

Each hair follicle undergoes this cycle, which decides the volume and length of a person’s hair. If this cycle is disturbed due to any factor, average hair growth is impacted. These are the most common reasons your hair stops growing:

1. Heat Abuse

Even though you may have listened to this a thousand times, excessive heat styling harms the cuticle of the shaft of your hair, thus leading to split ends and breakage. This reduces hair growth considerably. If you have to heat style your hair, use heat protectant sprays and creams to minimize the damage.

2. Split Ends and Breakage

One of the severe mistakes women make, to maintain the length of their hair, is avoiding trims. This will create split ends that ascend the length of the hair shafts, ultimately causing breakage. You need to trim your hair every three months, according to experts. But even if not three months, go for a trim at least every four to five months to maintain the strength of your hair.

3. Unhealthy Scalp

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The inflammation of the scalp minimizes hair growth as well. So maintaining a clean and healthy scalp is of absolute importance. Some of the clinical conditions that trigger hair loss are seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff), psoriasis, alopecia, and other fungal conditions(1).

4. Lack of Moisture

Brittle and dry hair will only lead to breakage. It is essential to keep your hair moisturized as it cannot produce the required sebum and natural oils to cover the entire hair. Thus, getting a hair spa done thrice every month is excellent for your hair. Along with that, you also need to get hot oil massages frequently and consider applying sulfate-free products for your hair.

5. Stress and Unhealthy Lifestyle

If you are studying, you must have noticed excessive hair loss and the stoppage of hair growth during the exam time. This holds true for everyone. Too much physical and mental stress can cause you to lose your hair. The same is the case with other factors like irregular sleeping habits, lack of exercise, to name a few. Hence it is always suggested to exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Exercising releases endorphins that help fight stress and thus help in preventing stoppage of hair growth.

6. Improper Diet

A deficiency of vitamins can lead to severe hair problems. Adequate levels of iron and protein are significant for maintaining good hair health and to prevent breakage of hair. Along with it, vitamin B12, ferritin, and zinc are also vital to keep the quality and length of hair.

7. Age

As we age, hair tends to become brittle. The growth period of hair shortens. This makes hair shed rapidly, making your tresses look shorter and thinner. Also, oil production decreases after forty-five years of age, which makes hair dry. This will lead to rapid breakage and, thus, reduction of growth.

8. Genetics

Genetics has a significant role to play in determining the maximum length to which your hair can grow. Each individual has a distinctive hair growth cycle, which will decide their capability for hair growth. This does not mean that hair ceases growing beyond a specific length. Instead, it means that hair growth remarkably reduces or even stops after a certain amount of time goes by, which is generally two to six years.

Suggested Read:
•  Why Try Almond Oil for Hair Growth?
•  Fantastic Sleeping Hair Masks for Incredible Hair Growth
•  Incredible Benefits of Using Coconut Oil for Hair Growth

What Needs to Be Done If My Hair Is Not Growing?

When you notice your hair is not growing anymore, it’s time to take thorough care of it to reduce hair damage and loss. Once you figure out the cause for your decreased hair growth, you can try out different ways to minimize excess hair loss.

A proper hair care regimen, sufficient diet, and regular exercises to keep your mind and body healthy. Following the recommended medication for the treatment of complex health conditions, avoiding over-styling your hair and replacing chemical products with environment-friendly and natural ones are some ways to maintain healthy hair and protect it from further loss and damage.

It can be demoralizing to see your hair not growing, especially when you dream of having flowing, long hair. But, once you take account of why your hair is not growing, you can take the proper steps to boost its health.

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