Almost 8yr. old dd whose hair refuses to grow...

[mama to 2 girls]

Could this be some kind of deficiency? I have an almost 8 yr. old little girl and I don't think her hair has grown an inch for the last couple of years. It really bothers her because she has a younger sister whose hair grows like crazy and all her girl cousins have lots of hair and they are always braiding each others hair and whatnot. Her bangs will grow but very little, I only need to trim them every few months. She eats a much better diet than her sister and even though she probably didn't need it I even tried a good multi-vitamin on her but to no avail. I even tried her on some Cell Salts (Silica and Calc Flour) for about 3 weeks but that did nothing as well. In some ways it worries me, even myself who had very little hair when I was younger ended up with a full head of hair by the time I was her age. Her hair seems pretty strong and it isn't SUPER thin but it just wont grow! 

[AdinaL]

I've never heard of anything about a deficiency that causes lack of hair growth.  You might get a blood test just to see if she is lacking in any nutrient thought, just to see.  

I hope you get some answers, that must be frustrating for her.

[Vermillion]

Malnutrition

A child's hair, just like the rest of her body requires adequate nutrition to develop properly. Hair Growth TV says that vitamin D and calcium are important for the development of keratin, the protein that is the major constituent in hair. A lack of calcium and vitamin D in the diet can lead to slow hair growth and eventual hair loss.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/277587-slow-hair-growth-in-children/#ixzz20LJm3Lzv

[LaughingHyena]

DD was ssupected of having a milk allergy when she was younger so we didn't giver her cows milk. One of the things I was told several times was to watch her hair and fingernails. Providing they were growing we were OK, if I found I wasn not cutter her nails often we were to go back as she may be lacking in calcium.

Hair and nail growth was also something I was questioned about when I was being diagnosed with diabetes and screaning for celiac, both of which would have meant I was not absorbing what I was eating.

It sounds like it might be worth taking your DD for some testing, just to make sure. It could be she just has slow growing hair but it seems possible there could be something else going on.