I had an interesting conversation with the beautiful @rachelasakome concerning this question.

👉Here's the SHORT ANSWER.

It can grow for as long as your genes decide! 

👉Here's the LONG ANSWER.

The active period your hair grows is called the ANAGEN PHASE.It lasts between 2- 6 yrs and it is regulated by your genes. So, your hair grows for 2-6 yrs, sheds and is replaced by new hair. It's a cycle.🔄🔄🔄

The average GROWTH RATE is 0.5 inches per month or 6 inches every year.

The anagen phase and your growth rate determine the longest your hair can grow before it stops growing and has to shed. This length is called TERMINAL LENGTH. 

If your growth rate is 4 inches every year and your ANAGEN phase lasts 2 years, your terminal length is 4×2= 8 inches.

 Most naturalistas definitely grow more than 8 inches in 2 yrs!💃💃

On average, the ANAGEN phase lasts 4 yrs and most growth rate is 6 inches per year.

6×4 = 24 inches of hair before it sheds. That's long hair abi?

Most people rarely reach their terminal length due to breakage caused by manipulation, poor diet, use of chemicals , hair dyes, combing, heat styling etc.

So before you blame your genes, check your hair care routine!

Personally, I never knew I could grow my hair waist length considering my slow growth rate (4 inches per year) and having fine textured hair. 

My hair only grew shoulder length and then hit a growth plateau due to breakage.

 It was only when I changed my hair care routine that I was able to grow waist length. 

Right now, I want to see if I can reach knee length. I may or may not reach that goal....but we'll see.

I don't know my terminal length yet.

 I would need to pluck (not cut) a section of my hair to monitor the growth for 6 yrs or more to find out.......and I'm not about that struggle!😂

🌈 Do you believe length is determined by genes only?

Hi guys, what's been on?

How's our new reality courtesy of 'Rona treating you?

I'm trying to keep things as normal as I can. This period made me promise myself to never neglect the little things that keep me happy. 

One of which is blogging.......and of course doing my hair.

I'm trying to get more proactive with styling my hair. Yes, constant manipulation breaks my fine natural hair but I can't keep living in constant fear of breakage. 

The best solution is to have a selection of beautiful protective styles that require the least manipulation....especially when it comes to updos on fine type 4 natural hair.

Apart from breakage, the other problem that deters me from doing more updos is my sensitivity to bobby pins. 

I've noticed that after a while, bobby pins cause my scalp to itch. This prevents me from having a protective style in for as long as I'd like. 

So....I try to avoid using bobby pins as much as possible when styling. 

I'm looking out for plastic bobby pins or maybe stainless steel bobby pins.

Have you seen these before?

For today's protective style, I made use of one ouchless band and several loose twists to create an updo that if well maintained, can last me 1 week.

For the front, I made 3 loose twists. One was swooped to the right and the other two to the left.

For the back, I packed my hair into a low bun, made 3 loose twists and tucked the ends into the ouchless hairband. 

Shikena!

ProTip: If Ecostyler has been leaving your hair full of flakes, you should definitely try this gel.
I've completely made a switch from Eco because this gives me the much needed hold without the flakiness and the occasional itching.
I've used it on different Type 4 hair (thick, super coily, fine, low porosity, etc) and it's yet to disappoint me.

I really should get into the right head space to write a detailed review about this Nigerian brand.
 I'm such a perfectionist and want to make sure that I leave nothing out in my descriptions because I know how important products reviews are when trying to decide which hair products to purchase.

Perhaps you can help me out with what you'd really like to know about a product....like maybe it's texture, price....anything you feel you'd love to see when reading product reviews.

I've mastered the art of being unbothered with my natural hair. 

Don't get me wrong, it isn't the easiest hair to live with. 

The pictures on my Instagram doesn't fully explain my reality. 

Thus, this post is an insight into what living with my fine type 4 natural hair is like.

This is a good thing in most naturalistas' book.

The reality is...my hair feels soft because my strands are thin (fine textured). 

My porosity is high and my hair can't withstand styling. 

For this reason, my IG feed does not show a lot of styles....and I'm still wondering why I started a YouTube channel sef.

It may be boring but it's either I accept that or deal with breakage. So, I focus more on hair health.

The wrong ingredient and my hair would fall out. It's scary!

I inherited this from my mother's side of the family. It would have been a recessive trait which I may not have inherited if only my dad didn't also have allergies.

 This is why it bugs me when salons put products into unlabeled bottles and why I'm so fascinated with ingredient lists. I need to avoid any triggers. 

This is my reality. 

 Some people will say, 'Oh that's great!'.... but it isn't so great when I see my scalp at the same time I'm watching naturalistas with thicker hair rock big twist outs!

The good thing though is I don't have a lot of hair to handle. It's easy to slick down and it absorbs products quickly (high porosity things). 

Can all your hair be packed into a bun like this? See how small the base of the bun is. That's the magic of fine natural hair.

My sisters tease me a lot about this 😂 but you would never believe this reality because my hair is long. 

I grew it by focusing on retaining length rather than trying to speed up my growth rate.

 It's a longer process but "it doesn't matter how you start, how long you take but if you get there". 

Again, it's all back to the fine textured, high porosity thingy. 

If I use heavy products, it's difficult for my hair to absorb moisture. This is why I use a light hand when applying butters.

 If I use light products, my hair absorbs it like a sponge and asks for more.

So I have to maintain a sweet point between heavy products and light products when trying to moisturise my hair. Most times, I just settle for lotions.

This method has also helped my hair retain moisture better.

Same reason as above. Strands and porosity. 

This is why I don't consider twistouts, braidouts etc as protective styles.

What's protective about a style that will revert as soon as I step out the door?

What's protective about a style I will have to redo every night?

I'm really happy for those who can live in twistouts, braidouts, bantu knot outs etc.......it must be nice.

...and not because I need a trim!

It does this because my strands are fine and there's a lot of it!

For this reason, I can't afford the 'luxury of an afro'. I need to keep my ends organized ...like phone charger cables.

I do this by keeping my hair in twists or in a wash'n'go. Twists and the gel cast keep my coils in place.Left on their own, they form knots and tangles.

Stretching also help prevent tangling BUT since my hair reverts quickly, it means I would be manipulating my hair often to keep it stretched.

Also, remember my strands are fine....this means more breakage due to more manipulation. 

A real catch 22 situation right???

To avoid stress, I just embrace my shrinkage. 

	In this picture, my hair was stretched in a braid out. By evening, it had shrunk up to chin length. Is this what I'll be doing everyday biko?

I could go on and on.

This post is not about me complaining. 

It's about me letting you in to see that my hair and I aren't perfect by the general natural hair community standards. 

As someone who has been natural all her life, my best advice when it comes to caring for your hair is:

Stick with what works for your hair in terms of products, styling and regimen. 

Also, your hair does not need to be like anyone else's but YOURS. 

The little clips on IG or YouTube never tells the whole story.

.

🌈 So let's get real....what are the realities of caring for your hair?

P.S. If you need help figuring out how to work with your hair so you can achieve your hair goals, you can chat with me on WhatsApp here.