# How long will it take my hair to be shoulder length? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775 "2012-08-07T19:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vincent\_Vega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c0e974/32.png) [@Vincent\_Vega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vincent_Vega)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/1 "2012-08-07T19:39:29Z")
I got my haircut last month in a style not far removed from this: [![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rwqZGZPgKKo/S2vixNwbIQI/AAAAAAAADf4/cIPwhAXYutc/s320/cut1.jpg) ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rwqZGZPgKKo/S2vixNwbIQI/AAAAAAAADf4/cIPwhAXYutc/s320/cut1.jpg) I was curious, about how long will it take for my hair to be just under my shoulders, long enough to pull back in a ponytail? ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/2 "2012-08-07T20:03:53Z")
year and a half ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/3 "2012-08-07T20:06:36Z")
Hair grows [about half an inch a month](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_hair_growth#Growth_cycle), give or take, so if it has to grow 3 inches, it would take 6 months. Also, since individual hairs grow for about 3-7 years, this sets an upper limit (2-3 feet) on how long hair will get, with some exceptions (other parts of you body have hair with much shorter growth cycles; they all grow at a similar rate). ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/4 "2012-08-07T22:09:39Z")
If your hair grows as slowly as my husband’s does, about five years. If it grows as quickly as mine does, about a year. I got my hair clipped very short last December, as part of a mourning process, and even now, it’s not touching my shoulders quite yet…and I’m notorious for quick growing hair. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/5 "2012-08-08T02:23:27Z")
Awesome user name/question combination! ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/6 "2012-08-08T23:39:53Z")
I started with my hair length similar to the guy in your pic. Took a year to get it long enough to make a short stubby little ponytail. About two years to grow it long enough to pull ALL my hair back (front and sides). That gave me a ponytail about 6" or so. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-my-hair-to-be-shoulder-length/630775/7 "2012-08-08T23:47:51Z")
Tried for 9 months and gave up, Who knew my hair was curly at all?