Shouldn’t I still be growing fast?

Last updated on October 11, 2020

Question:

I grew 4 inches last year from fall 2017 to spring 2018. Then in the spring of 2018, I saw a few underarm hairs for the first time. I figured I would have another spurt in growth. The doctor said recently that my finger and hand growth plates are wide open. Since last spring I’ve grown another 1.5 inches but no more rapid growth like last year. I think I’m stage 3, but shouldn’t I be growing fast? The first signs of public hair were December of 2017. The first underarm hair was in the spring of 2018.

Any ideas?

Answer:

Growth of four inches in less than a year is a growth spurt. However, growth doesn’t always come all at once. Often the body works on internal changes to keep up with the external changes. Thus, while your fastest growth will come during stage 3, you won’t spend all of stage 3 growing fast. Stage 3 lasts about two years and it sounds like you entered stage 3 around the start of 2018, so you still have another year in stage 3.