Last updated on January 2, 2023
Question:
My chin hair is now starting to grow, but I am only seeing about 3 noticeable hairs. I am only 15 and the fact that chin hair starts during stage 4, which is 5 years into puberty, tells me that I started puberty at 10. Did I start puberty at 10? Or does chin hair appear at the start of stage 4 or late stage 3? I took the Tanner Stage Calculator and I am close to stage 4.
Answer:
I wasn’t there when you were 10, so I can only roughly guess when you started based on where you are currently. In reality, it doesn’t matter when you started to change. The fact is that you are changing.
Each system in your body matures in basically a set order but the various systems don’t always change together. One system (facial hair) can be ahead or behind the other systems. That is why the calculator asks a series of questions and then builds a composite score. Having chin hair is one of several signs of stage 4. You don’t have much at the moment but over time, more hairs will develop. Thus, I would agree that this places you near the border between stage 3 and 4 or in early stage 4. Since I don’t know the rest of your physical characteristics, I assume the calculator is accurate.
Response:
I think I am at the start of stage 4 because I am in the 5’8-5’9 area. My voice changed somewhere in the summer of 2021 and I have a mustache that tells me my growth spurt is over.