Reader Questions : Short and Long Hair - One Head

Here is a question from Kay, she says 'The front of my hair is just not growing like the back. I have nearly a foot of hair at the back but in the front, it is barely grazing my chin. What can I do about this?'

Actually hair does sometimes grow at different rates but I haven't seen anything as radical as 6-8 inches in the front and 12 inches in the back. In the last study I featured, the difference was really quite minimal (approximately within quarter of an inch).

It may be entirely normal for you. However, you can perhaps look to see if you are handling the front hair differently.

1. Do you heat treat it regularly?
2. Are you trimming it more often (I have this habit since the hair is just in plain view and I keep snipping off any knots etc)
3. Are you perhaps pulling the hair back too much?
4. Do you brush it back more often?


If you look through your routine and see if you can comb, handle or wet the front hair less often, it may catch up with the rest of the hair. One foot of hair is fab though!

Comments

  1. ah the natural afro mullet - i think hair on one head can definitely grow at different rates. the back 1/3 of my hair always grows an inch or two quicker than the rest of my hair with the middle/crown growing the very slowest. i've always attributed it to the different textures of hair rather than routine.

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  2. Great thinking - different texture could also be a reason given the tighter the curl the more likely it is to break.

    lol@afro mullet

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  3. yeah, I was sooo gonna say texture. The curls get looser the further back you go on my head (the 1st 1/3 of my hair is substantially tighter than the rest). Now, with that said, your front could be breaking more easily if it is tighter. In which case, you should condition/oil your front more than the back. It needs a little more TLC.
    ~mel

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  4. My hair in the nape area is shorter and grows slower than my front hair.
    I'm giving my nape extra TLC but it's not responding.
    I'm thinking of trying Henna (strength/conditioner) for that area and see how it reacts.
    What do you think Jc?

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  5. The research I have done simply shows that Henna colours the hair. There are no strength tests that I could find.

    There are many naturals who do swear by Henna for strength. However in terms of conditioning, most people say Henna makes their hair dry.

    If you want more info on Henna, the users I know are
    1. Alice at Diary of a Kinky Curly Transitioner
    2. Milan at AGRLCANMAC
    3. Nikki at Curlynikki

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  6. ha...im ALWAYS trimming the front of my hair...every knot and split...goes bye bye

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  7. My nape hair (specifically the "side" nape) grows well but breaks off easily. Over time I feel this is a combination of several factors including tighter texture and rubbing against my sleep bonnet. With maximum TLC it is recovering - it tends to be very dry so I moisturise twice daily. I also try not to let my bonnet rub too much there.

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  8. I've noticed the same thing. The hair at my temples grows very fast and very long and usually its in better condition than the hair on the rest of my head.

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  9. I have the same problem the front and middle of my hair is around 14 inches, however the back barely makes 7 inches and ive been natural all my life, i think its because i have different textures all over my hea but its frustrating i dont know what to do!!!

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  10. Hi everybody.
    I was researchig about this issue on the web and foud this page.
    I have te same issue.The back of myhair is 6 inches long. The frontpart is about 4 inches. I noticed long ago that the middle and front part of my hair was very fragile. It breaks off very easily. That's the reason I went natural really, hoping that I will have less breakage. And I do. But this particular issue is quite frustrating. I can't help but imagine all the cool hairstyles I could do if the front part wasnt breaking off this much.

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  11. TLC means Tender Loving Care. It means that you should treat the section that breaks off with more gentleness. For example detangle gently with your fingers and conditioner before using a comb. Only handle the hair when you have time, don't try to style it quickly, literally just stop and enjoy what you are doing. If you hear snapping as the comb goes through, yes you are snapping your hair.

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