Why won’t my hair grow? Here are 5 possible reasons!

Do you know the feeling when you’ve been waiting for months and months to finally have longer hair? And still, you can’t shake the feeling that your hair is not growing? Not at all?

Believe it or not, this is actually a very common phenomenon amongst people trying to grow longer hair.

Check out the 5 most common reasons why your hair will not grow!

Related: How to make your hair grow faster – the no BS guide

Disclosure: Some of the links below are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

1.The impatience bias

Reason number one is surprisingly common, but also extremely easy to solve.

When we start growing our hair out, we tend to be super impatient. Even though we know it takes a while for hair to grow, we want to jump from a short bob to waist length immediately.

This impatience can bias us so much that we feel like our hair is not growing because we cannot see a huge difference from week to week. (Or day to day. I know people who check every day if they see improvement. And I get them.)

So then you end up saying “My hair doesn’t grow!” even though you haven’t even waited long enough to know.

Luckily, there are a couple of things you can do to help you with this challenge.

1. First of all, make a pact with yourself to check your hair length only once a month. Yes, I know that might be hard. But consider how slowly hair grows. And how difficult it can be to measure it precisely. Once a month really is a lot already.
2. Secondly, you might want to consider taking pictures. Back-Selfies, if you want. The first few months might be disappointing. But after a year you won’t believe your eyes looking at the difference.

When I started growing my hair out, I was convinced my hair didn’t grow at all. But when I look at these two pictures, I can see a clear difference.

So however you do it, make sure to document your length progress somehow. After half a year, you’ll be amazed how far you’ve come!

2. The regular trims

Are you one of the people who religiously see their hairdresser once a month for a trim? If yes, then this is probably the reason why you can’t seem to gain any length.

It sounds too simple but is actually the most common reason for hair “not growing”.

Just think about it!

If your hair grows about 1-2 cm (0.4 – 0.8 inches) per month and you cut off the same amount each month, too. That is a null sum!

It does grow but IT CANNOT GET LONGER THIS WAY.

While you can make sure you have healthy hair growth with the right diet, you cannot make your hair grow double as fast.

So if you want to grow longer hair, stop cutting so much! It doesn’t make your hair grow faster.

Related: These 5 hair myths are absolute nonsense

Instead, get yourself some good-quality hair scissors like these* and learn how to stop split ends at home – without losing length!

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Kate Blanc Cosmetics Castor Oil (2oz), USDA Certified Organic, 100% Pure, Cold Pressed, Hexane Free Stimulate Growth for Eyelashes, Eyebrows, Hair. Skin Moisturizer & Hair Treatment Starter Kit

Deethens 4PCS Clip in Beach Wavy Hair Extensions 20 Inches Long Synthetic Hairpieces Bouncy Curly Hair Extensions for Women (Dark Root to Cold Brown Mix Ash Blonde, 20 Inch)

3. Breakage

Another reason for hair seemingly not growing can be breakage at the tips.

Very often people ask “Why doesn’t my hair grow?” without taking a look at how much length they lose through damage.

The longer your hair, the older the tips. This again means that they have dealt with quite a bit of mechanical stresses throughout their life already.

Old and dry hair tips break very easily. If your hair is damaged enough, the breakage can be so immense that you lose as much on your ends as you gain at the roots!

So if you’ve already excluded reasons 1 and 2 for your stunted hair growth, take a good look at your tips.

Do they have that dreaded white tip? Or simply a super blunt ending? Those might be signs for your hair breaking off at the tips.

In that case, you might want to start protecting your hair a little better.

Start by making sure it doesn’t get damaged too much during the night.

Also, consider treating it with cassia. Those hair treatments made a huge difference for my own hair. And whenever I notice increased breakage, I make it part of my hair routine again.

Davis Finest Cassia Obovata Powder for Hair – Natural Strengthening Thickening Volumizing Shine Conditioner – Neutral Henna Blonde Color Hair Dye Enhancer 100 Gram

Neutral Henna powder (CASSIA OBOVATA) by mi nature | 227 g (8 oz) | Adds no colour to hair | hair conditioning | Herbal hair care

Zenia 100% Pure Neutral Henna Powder (Cassia Obovata) | 100 grams (3.5oz) | Colorless Henna for Hair | Natural Hair Conditioner | for Silky, Soft & Shiny Hair

And lastly, you might want to wear your hair up more often. For a lot of people, breakage comes mainly from their hair rubbing on office chairs, clothes et cetera.

Related: Why do I keep getting split ends? Mystery solved!

4. You have a medical condition

Are you here because you think “There must be medical reasons why my hair won’t grow”?

Many people think there might be something wrong with them if their hair doesn’t grow anymore.

And for a few of them, this can actually be true. There are medical conditions that can seriously slow down your hair growth up to the point that you are not gaining any length. They can range from scalp issues to hormonal imbalances.

Another reason could be a lack of vitamins and nutrients that causes hair loss. Obviously, if most of your hair is falling out, you will rather lose length than grow longer hair.

If you suspect a medical condition might be the reason for your hair not growing, definitely go see a doctor!

A doctor can actually check your blood to find any deficits. This is better than taking vitamins on a hunch. Taking too much of the wrong hair vitamins can actually lead to hair loss if you’re not careful!

Generally, always make sure that you are healthy and have a good, balanced diet. Both are necessary for healthy hair growth.

I really recommend using Dr. Greger’s checklist as a guide for your meal planning. It helped immensely to balance out my diet, and I even noticed my hair thickening. Probably because I finally had all the nutrients my body needed.

Related: Healthy hair diet: See the best foods for healthy hair!

5. You’ve reached your so-called “terminal length”

This last reason for no hair growth is even rarer than the medical condition. But there are people out there who reached it. The mysterious “terminal length”.

If you don’t lose hair from breakage and excluded all the other reasons but still ask yourself daily “Why won’t my hair grow anymore?!” – this might be it!

A single hair can only grow as long as it is in its anagen phase. Once it reaches the catagen phase, it will still stay on your head for a while, but will not grow any longer.

Different hair over your body has a different length of the anagen phase. That’s why the hair of your eyebrows will never reach the same length as the hair on your scalp.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure what your personal terminal length is. It will depend on your general health and genetics.

But there is a way to figure out if you have single hairs that are as long as they will ever be. Not reliable, but it will give you an idea.

If you have single hairs that haven’t changed in length for a while (like 2 months, not 2 days!!), take a good, detailed look at them.

If they are a real “terminal length” hair, they will have a natural tip. That means it’s not blunt as in cut off. And it doesn’t have a white tip. Instead, it simply becomes narrower. This is the natural shape of a hair that has never been shortened by any kind of external influence.

Related: The inversion method for hair growth

Got other reasons for stunted hair growth?

These are the common reasons for hair not growing that I know of. Do you know others? And if yes, have you found a solution? Let me know in the comments!

*These links are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.