When does your head stop growing

Question

Hi, im 18 and my head is small measuring 51cm, can I hope that will grow more?

ggreg · Accepted Answer

Well, it seems to me, if you don't have much facial hair, unless that is a trait that runs in the family somewhere (father, uncle, brother, grandfather on both sides of family, etc.), then this means you haven't quite "grown up" yet.  This might explain how come your head size is apparently slightly below average.  What you COULD do is visit a doctor, ask him if your growth hormones might be slowed down for some strange reason, perhaps your pituitary gland isn't working right, things like that.  Of course you feel strange going into a doc and saying, "What do you think about the size of my head, doc?"  But what is normal to say to a doc is, "Sir, I haven't grown any facial hair yet, and then my friends told me my head seemed small for my size, and I'm wondering if my growth hormones are functioning correctly."  Knowing docs, he may dismiss you as being a worry wart.  But I DO think it's a legitimate question.

With that said, may I suggest a few things.  First, grow all kinds of hair so you can style it up and out some, rough it up with "product" if it tends to lay flat.  I remember I thought my nephew looked so good when he was around 16 years old, he had the most beautiful hair, it was wavy and thick-looking, kind of sticking up from the top and curling out touching his ears kind of thing.  NOW he cuts it short and I just HATE it.  Anyhow, you can try doing stuff with your hair.  

NEXT, when you measure your head... I recall you saying something about your old sport helmet size and whatnot, and I'm telling you, when you measure your head, you DO NOT measure it the way you measure for a helmet.  See, you measure a helmet from right above your ears, so it will fit nicely around that part of your head, and then that goes around to a smaller part of your head in the back.  When you measure for CIRCUMFERENCE, you measure around the FOREHEAD.  Your head sticks out the most as you go round from the forehead to the back.  So, let's hope this was all a big mistake.

I am a female, I am only 5'2" and my head size is 22 inches (55.9 cm), so I SUPPOSEDLY have a small head size, which of course I am small in stature.  Yours, if we go by your two diff mentions of 20.1 to 20.5 inches (51 cm to 52 cm), well, gee whiz, that's just over an inch smaller than mine, and even tho according to some tabulation I found they say 22 inches is "small," I actually wear a larger hat size,I wear around a medium.  So, what are we to go by?  If your friends are telling you your head looks small, WHAT THE HECK IS THE BIG DIFF?  If you are as good-looking as you say you are, and you think your IQ is above average at 220-230, WELL THEN, you got more going for yourself than they do!  And really and truly, as for facial hair, many Native Americans do not have facial hair.  My husband has no chest hair, and he's the toughest man I've ever known, methinks he is part Indian.

ANYHOW, the long and short of it is, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  So, why don't you check off all the GOOD things about yourself, think about those when you get all worked up and freaked out about your head size... do you realize I had NEVER measured my head in my life until you brought this whole thing up?!?  It's like you never worried about your head (of all things to worry about) until your friends mentioned it.  So, you just concentrate on your finer qualities, improve on those, and get you a couple girlfriends going on the side, THAT'LL impress your friends a whole lot more than the size of your fool head!

Here's a couple websites I found, good sources, that discuss a couple things that are fairly interesting.  The first one discusses how the brain isn't fully developed until age 25, that scans prove this, it comes from National Public Radio.  The second one discusses how "You cannot determine someone's intelligence with a tape measure."  I really liked that last quote, it's from a short piece by the Discovery Channel.  Here's the links:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/09/24/headsize_hum.html?
category=human&guid=20070924113030

Look, you don't want to look like a football player.  You are an Italian, which is MOST attractive to women, despite the Frenchman's rep, and you are about the right size and weight for an Italian, and your lack of facial hair and so-called small head indicate you still have some growing to do.  As an American woman, if you really are good-looking, I would be MOST attracted to you, I'm sure, if I were 18 years old again.  Just on the Italian thing alone.  

To finish up, GET THIS:
Dr. David Drachman writes in an editorial in the current Neurology 
(6 May 2008, p. 1725-7): “Statistically, people with larger brains have 
higher intelligence, but for individuals the rule is fallible: the Nobel 
laureate, Anatole France, was known to have an extremely small 
head.”

I wish you well in all your endeavors, with your head size hopefully becoming enough of a wake-up call that that is the LAST thing you should be concerned with.  And if you ARE truly concerned, visit a doc, what the heck.  In the meantime, concentrate hard on your positive stuff, build your life out of what you're good at.  And best advice I can offer to get obsession out of your habits is to exercise a lot, eat good food, and get lots of rest.  GG

Valler · Answer

Wow, what can I say? Your comment was a pure injection of positive thinking, it is totally true that I never worried about my head before that mention and that I shouldn't, I still hope to grow a little more but really, anything you said was so ******* mind changing, I'll check the doc for sure but without that weight on my stomach, I feel that giving you "the best answer" isn't really enough to say how much this helped me, my deepest thanks, stay well, goodbye from Italy :)

Valler · Answer

I want to say that even if im still worried purely about size/growing, your comments made my day better :) thank you

Valler · Answer

Thank you both, Im so glad I found this kindness here on MedHelp, even if im being a little obsessive about my problem. I'd like to say a special thank to you Furballs for your sympathy and help :) so let me be selfish and abuse of your time xD, the point is that im not concerned about my IQ at all, yeah I did those tests(mensa was the best I found) and ended between 120-130, so at least I know im not stupid, even in everyday life im doing pretty good, what im really anxious about is, let's put it this way; a esthetic "problem", I mean, damn im kinda good looking too but I feel like my head is too small, and cuz of my tendency of being really anxious bout things I thought that maybe, I don't know, my skull hasn't grew? People look at me in a different way? Can I still hope to have a "normal"(lots of quotation marks here) head? What im looking for is an answer regarding my body, not my mental capabilities. Ggreg, please can you assure me that head keeps growing? If that helps you should know that my dad's head is bigger than mine and that Im not fully developed cuz I don't have facial hair and in general I still have "child traits" but I also Heard that head reaches his full size at 10yrs, so im really confused and worried here, what can I add? Aww yeah; I could still wear my chilhood motorcycle helmet(tight but it wears), I don't think that's normal so what's happened? My head hasn't grew for like.. 8 years? Damn I dont know, help really needed here :(
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME :D
ps: I cant imagine myself asking my doc about this "hey doc my head is too small?" he'd laugh his... off I suppose :/

FurballsMom · Answer

I love that comment.  That's what I was trying to say before.  I hadn't realized that the head still keeps growing 'til age 25.  Nevertheless, I'm so glad someone else confirmed what I said on the points about IQ, intelligence and maturity.  I knew what I said was correct, and now you know it wasn't just my own opinion about IQ, intelligence and maturity.  So, that should boost your hope and confidence.  If I remember right, you're from Italy and English is your second language.  You do so well with English being your second language.  That right there tells me that you have a great ability to continue growing in your intelligence and maturity--no matter what your final head size ends up being.  

To add to the kinds of intelligence, there is also emotional intelligence.  Some do so well on those standardized IQ tests, but when it comes to everyday relationships, they essentially flunk at that.  A well-rounded person doesn't have to ace it all, or even ace it all right away, but will continue to grow and learn and mature in all areas of life, no matter what life's challenges come along the way.  I also agree with that last sentence of the previous poster.  I think you are already doing so well.

ggreg · Answer

The head and brain keep growing until you're about 25 years old.  The size of your head means nothing, unless it is abnormally small, in which case you should visit a doc to make sure nothing is amiss.  And even the size of your brain doesn't really matter, rather it's the maturity and IQ of a person that makes a difference, just for examples.  Someone your age generally has a hard time making life plans, for instance, because they cannot see what's ahead very well on account of they don't have enough life experiences yet to know when to hold them and know when to fold them, unless they happen to be very determined and have lots of pushing by parents.  That is maturity level.  IQ is basically predetermined from when you're still a child.  

But with deliberate and curiosity-driven study, a person's IQ can be improved slightly or, better yet, become irrelevant on account of they have the same knowledge a smarter person has just by trying.  In addition, the IQ is not the sole basis anymore of intelligence, rather there are KINDS of intelligence, like an artistic genius might not necessarily do as well on standardized IQ tests.  So, it is also good to cultivate the creative side, the social side if possible, and learn how to do a lot of fun things with your spare time.  Being well-rounded, and seeing the value in working for a living and accepting it as a means of survival, and being just free enough to post on a forum about the size of your head, well, that's the key to a life well-lived.

When does your head stop growing

Unexplained symptoms!!?!

Dizziness and Abnormal CT Scan

What do these EMG number results mean?

Visual disturbances (shaky vision), dryness of the mouth/tongue, tinnitus.

Unexplained symptoms!!?!

Dizziness and Abnormal CT Scan

What do these EMG number results mean?

Visual disturbances (shaky vision), dryness of the mouth/tongue, tinnitus.

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