I have curly 4C hair, which is notorious for being dry, brittle, and prone to breakage. But it’s the strangest thing: my hair seems to have stopped growing completely!  Well, maybe I’m exaggerating just a little bit, but the reality is, my hair never grows past my shoulders.

The situation has me wondering: Is there something wrong with me, or could it be that generally speaking, natural hair won’t grow past shoulders? I decided to do a little investigation to figure out what’s happening.

All Hair Types Are Not Created Alike

As I embarked on my research, the first thing I discovered is that I’m not alone. Many women want to know why hair won’t grow past their shoulders, not just those with naturally curly hair. Even women with super-straight hair complain that it’s not long enough, and they too want to learn how to grow shoulder-length hair to waist-length. Whew, what a relief that I’m not the only one!

Does Hair Stop Growing, or is Something Else Going On?

If you are trying to figure out why your hair doesn’t ever grow past a certain point, ask yourself these questions:

Do You Dye, Straighten, Perm, or Process Your Hair?

No question about it, chemicals will dry out and damage your hair, causing breakage. If you’re struggling to grow your hair longer, stop processing it.

Do you use a lot of heat to style?

Heat processing is just as harmful to your hair as chemical processing. If you want to ensure your natural hair won’t grow long as you wished for, blowdry it every day or use a curling or flattening iron. Doing this will speed up the breakage and lead to split ends, guaranteeing your hair will never become healthy and long the way you want it.

Do You Avoid Haircuts?

Are you trying so hard for your hair to grow longer that you’re afraid to get it cut or trimmed? That’s a problem; if you don’t snip off the dead and damaged ends once in a while, the hair will continue to break off just when it’s getting a little longer. It seems contradictory, but it’s not; trimming your split ends occasionally will help your hair grow longer.