Why Some Naturals Get Stuck at Shoulder Length?

Many naturals complain of their hair growth getting stunted at shoulder or collar bone length and they struggle to get past this length.

Also, if they do manage to get past this stage, the hair length is uneven with longer hair on the sides and shorter hair at the back and crown of the head.

Is this fixable? 100%. But as with everything, you need the right practices and routine to push your hair past this milestone. And towards longer, healthier hair.

To this end, we discuss the reasons why your hair is stuck at one length: –

*Pssst, for a comprehensive list of all the natural hair lingo to know when you embark on your exciting Journey, NaturalHairZone.com’s Natural Hair Glossary can bring you up to speed on the top 50 natural hair buzz words.

1. Friction

Friction is a major cause of hair remaining at shoulder length, especially if you wear your hair out a lot.

Afro-textured hair, which it makes look strong like Mother Russia, is actually quite fragile and easily breaks. This means that if you wear your hair down and it is constantly rubbing against cotton or other rough materials, then it has the tendency to snap, tug and break.

2. Hair setbacks

Hair setbacks are part of every natural’s hair journey and some of this are hair loss, thinning or breakage due to: –

a) low Iron levels

b) being Vitamin D deficient

c) Poor diet

d) Intermittent fasting

e) Postpartum hair loss;

f) Hormonal imbalance;

g) Illness

h) Stress

i) Protein overload

These are just some of the few things that can set your hair back. If you are constantly experiencing one or more of these life stressors, then your hair will remain at the same length, and possibly get shorter over time.

3. Salon visits

Bad natural hair care practices is the number one reason why naturals remain at the same length and this is because not all hair stylists know how to properly care for afro-textured hair.

Most times, they are rushing to get to the next client and will tug and over manipulate your hair, which leads to losing whatever growth you have attained. This is especially true when you rely on them to detangle your hair.

If you want long, healthy natural hair, then the sad truth is that you must be the first point of care for your hair before any ‘so called professionals’.
You need to become the professional.

4. Heat

Heat plays a major role in hair remaining at the same length.

This is especially true if hair is blow dried every few months. Most natural experience loss of whatever hair gains they made at the hands of the blow drier / curling iron.

To experience hair length past your shoulder, one should keep heat to a minimum or use it responsibly and not on the highest settings. Also, as the ends of the hair are the oldest parts, it would make sense to limit too much heat to this area. Plus, the ends should always be moisturised to prevent any snagging and breakage.

5. Poor hair practices

This is a big one.

Poor hair practices can easily keep your hair at the same length for years on end, and these are: –

1. using fine toothed combs to comb your hair;

2. Combing your hair from roots to ends, without detangling your ends fast;

3. Not setting aside time to properly detangle your hair.

4. Detangling your hair dry;

5. Detangling weak hair wet;

6. Not snipping your split ends;

7. Doing back-to-back protective styling.

All these poor natural practices impact on your hair length.

Struggling with bald edges? Get the 411 on How to Treat Balding & Thinning Edges. 

6. Outdated hair regime

Some naturals maintain the same regime that they had when they were at TWA length.

A seasoned natural will tell you that afro-textured hair has different needs at every stage of growth and so you need to tweak your regime according.

For instance, your hair will react better to heat stretching when it is longer, than when it is still in TWA or CBL. Also, as your hair gets longer, you will need to tuck away your hair more often and cannot rock an afro as often as you did during the TWA regime. Also, you will find that you may need more protein treatments, as well as leave in conditioner to retain moisture for longer.

7. Mindset

This is the number 1 killer of hair progress.

Everyone’s hair is different and when you have hair envy for a texture completely different to yours, you rob your hair of feel-good energy to flourish.

Funny as it sounds, hair is like a plant and once you show it love ad practical love, it will flourish. If you think of your hair as a hardy shrub that never grows, then your hair will become a hardy shrub that never grows.

Also, some naturals are obsessed with length over healthy hair, and when you do this, this is a sure way to not see hair growth. So, delete all those saved hair goals that are not attainable for your hair texture or for where you are at this phase of your life and rather embrace your hair and where you currently are.

Looking to de-stress and get a better mind set. Read up on 46 Daily Affirmations to Begin Healing.

The last word

At the end of the day, the length (and eventual health) of your hair is in your hands and just by tweaking a few of your habits, you can achieve your desired hair goals.

Take the time to invest in pushing your hair past this roadblock and onto the next hair growth phase and beyond. You can do it!

Are you stuck at shoulder or collar bone length? Have you been able to attain even, long MBL hair like many hair influences? What tips, tricks and experiences can you share with other naturals today? 

And until the next time beautiful ladies, happy naturaling!