Hey there, I have maybe a rediculous question.  I've been trying to grow my hair out for over two years now from an fairly short length to no success.  Once I decided to grow it I quit using any hairspray/gel/etc., I don't blow dry it, and I only wash it once every three days or so.  I brush it often, don't have any split ends, and even get it trimmed every three months.  Then I found this site.  I started to think about my hair after reading about how to grow it out.
    I've never had long hair.  My mother constantly reminds me of how I had very short hair despite her best efforts to grow it.  Now two years into the hair growth experience, I am starting to wonder if shoulder-length is the best I am going to get?
    My hair is extremely thick and every comments on it already.  Even hairstylist's comment on how healthy it looks.  Is it possible that I have an exteremely short terminal hair length?  Or am I just being entirely too impatient?
    Thank you in advance for any responses you give.  I've always wanted long hair (which to me is at least to mid-back if not longer) and I am hoping that I can actually get there eventually.

Christine

It may be that you have reached your terminal length, although it could also be that your growth rate is slow. Maybe you could check your growth rate every month, by making a middle parting in your head and letting a measuring tape fall down the length of your hair. Make sure the measuring tape starts at where your hair is parted near your forehead. Then maybe you will notice a growth rate...

Otherwise don't fret! Maybe it is your terminal length. If you *really* want longer hair, you could try extensions? Or you could just do the best with what you have, your hair sounds really pretty so you could do interesting styles and spice it up a bit!

    Although it's a dreadfully depressing idea, I had already considered accepting the fact that I won't ever have long hair. :'(  I am however going to try some of the suggestions I've read here and hope for the best.  Otherwise I suppose should-length is it for me and I'll have to learn how to do something with it this way.  I've already started practicing french and dutch braids on my hair (no easy task for me).
    I hadn't considered extensions really.  I suppose I am a glutton and keep holding out hope that mine will eventually get a "wild hair" and decide to grow past my shoulders.  At one time I had thought about getting braids in my hair but a friend of mine who did them warned me that because my hair is so straight (it's wavy, not curly) that she would have to put chemicals into it to make it frizz so the false hair would hold.  Since that wasn't even an option I decided against it.
    I had just hoped to have the kind of long hair it sounds like a lot of you have that makes a statement.  Oh well, if nothing else at least it does grow this long.  Thanks for the response and encouragement.

Christine

You should be proud that your hair is so healthy! There is this girl in my school with long hair down to her waist but it isn't healthy at all. She uses oil instead of conditioner, and in fact never conditions her hair. She also hasn't cut it for 5 years so it is brimming with split ends. And no matter how much I take care of my hair there is always a split somewhere! So even though long hair is beautiful, shorter, healthier hair also has it's advantages.
One piece of advice (that I wish I myself could follow  :P) - it sounds like you are worrying too much about your hair. Maybe if you put it up more often and didn't think about it too much (concentrate on those nails and  :o ragged cuticles! hehe) it would grow longer. It sounds a bit odd but stress and worry does do a lot of damage to your hair. Eat a healthy diet as well. And I've heard that there are some vitamins you can take to help improve hair growth... I've never tried any of those but maybe they could help?
Good luck!

i know i sound stupid, but what is terminal length? i have hair 21 inches long but when i was 4 it was almost to my knees!i'm 13 now, could my terminal lenth had changed? maybe i'm just really impatient

21 inches isn't very long. It is most likely not your terminal length. In my experience 21" is not even BSL yet. It is said that through proper care, the average terminal length should be 36" or so, which is at least tailbone length for a lot of people, maybe longer. Obviously you were a lot shorter when you were 4 so having hair to your knees was a lot less inches.

Kioryn-when you get your hair trimmed every 3 months,how much is trimmed off? I think this might the reason why your hair doesn´t seem to get longer-even if it´s only a small trim most of the new growth will be gone-at least that´s how it was for me! For years I had the impression that my hair-though fairly healthy-simply would not get past mid-back length.During this time I also had the ends trimmed every 2-3 months. I attribute the fact that my hair is now almost 43 inches (and still growing) to getting no more cuts on a regular basis.(And,of course,hair vitamins,updos,etc.)Two years ago I stopped going to salons altogether and started trimming myself.I do only micro-trims(a few mms) every few months.And if my hair appears healthy and without too many splits,I might even go for up to six months without any trims.
If your hair is healthy,this shouldn´t be a problem :)
This only my experience of course,but I hope it helps a bit! :D

actually leia, i am past my bra-strap length by about 3 inches, this is because i am a VERY short 13 year old, thank you for your respond,
                                                Dayne-Brenna

Are you sure you're measuring right? Even if you ARE short, hair length relates to the number of inches, rather than where it is on your body. Waist length on most people (even people I know who are 4'11") is about 29-32". That would be really long.

Drummergirl08;
Are you possibly measuring the length of a single strand?  I think the most common method for measuring long hair is to start at the hairline at the front of your head, then measure to your ends.