Terminal Length
Definition: The fixed length a person can expect her hair to grow without cutting or breakage.
More in-depth explanation: Terminal length refers to the maximum length you could expect your hair to reach if you never trimmed it and it never suffered any damage or breakage. That, of course, is only an ideal since most women get trims at some point, and many suffer breakage, including the inevitable type that comes from routine care like shampooing and combing.
Each person's terminal length is different. Genetics plays a role in the maximum length you can expect to achieve.
With more information on how to properly care for black hair available, it's clear that black hair doesn't arbitrarily have a short terminal length as previously believed. One of the reasons past generations may have exhibited supposedly short terminal length is due to poor hair care practices and substandard products. In these scenarios, true maximum length was never reached, so it's not realistic to go by those genetic displays.
Example: The women in Barbara's family don't have hair past their shoulder blades, so she always thought that was the longest her hair could grow. However, no one in her family takes great care of their hair. Barbara, on the other hand, pampers her hair with products that work for her, uses very little heat and doesn't have any chemical processes on her hair. Barbara's hair has steadily grown to reach waist length, and is still growing. Her hair's terminal length is at least waist length.
In addition, it's probable that her relatives have the same terminal length, but because their care is lacking, it only seems that their hair can't grow long.
More in-depth explanation: Terminal length refers to the maximum length you could expect your hair to reach if you never trimmed it and it never suffered any damage or breakage. That, of course, is only an ideal since most women get trims at some point, and many suffer breakage, including the inevitable type that comes from routine care like shampooing and combing.
Each person's terminal length is different. Genetics plays a role in the maximum length you can expect to achieve.
With more information on how to properly care for black hair available, it's clear that black hair doesn't arbitrarily have a short terminal length as previously believed. One of the reasons past generations may have exhibited supposedly short terminal length is due to poor hair care practices and substandard products. In these scenarios, true maximum length was never reached, so it's not realistic to go by those genetic displays.
Example: The women in Barbara's family don't have hair past their shoulder blades, so she always thought that was the longest her hair could grow. However, no one in her family takes great care of their hair. Barbara, on the other hand, pampers her hair with products that work for her, uses very little heat and doesn't have any chemical processes on her hair. Barbara's hair has steadily grown to reach waist length, and is still growing. Her hair's terminal length is at least waist length.
In addition, it's probable that her relatives have the same terminal length, but because their care is lacking, it only seems that their hair can't grow long.
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