I did a little procrastination yesterday and studied up on the whole moon phase cutting idea. LHC was down and so I had to find another way to put off doing what I needed to get done around here! I want to get beyond the simple calendar from (oh can't remember the site now!).

I was studying about the moon being in the different zodiac phases and all. I did get a little confused because some recommendations were made to cut a bit after the full moon, some to cut right before, and still others to cut at the beginning of the new moon. I was shocked to see a rec. for a waning moon because that's supposed to be for retarding growth, or so I'd thought.

I've heard other people say that they go by the farmer's almanac. What is the method used this way?

The current method that I am going to try is cutting two days before the full moon. That was said to be great for growth and thickening--both of what I am going for. I even made a file of moon phase charts on my computer until 2012 to go by! Am I crazy or what! :p I'm probably the only person who wants to plot out future hair trims four years in advance! LOL

I was fascinated about the whole zodiac thing though because it's how people have planted crops in the past. I counted back and saw that I had just planted some seeds right during that key time with the moon in cancer. We'll see how that goes. I did notice that some nasturtion seeds I'd put out a while back during an off planting time just popped up during this "water" phase although we'd had optimum weather for seeds during the "dryer" phases. Nasturtions are like no brainers to grow, so that really intrigued me! Now if it will work on my hair as it works for growing my plants! (What's funny is that the whole zodiac moon phase research was taking me to horoscope sites and my scope for the day said that in depth researching was at an all time high for me! So funny, because normally I just wouldn't have given much thought as to want to search out the whole ins and outs of moon phases!)

I'm interested in any info that others can provide. What times do you cut in for growth and thickness? I have charted my next bi-annual trim to be May 17th.

I have nothing of worth to add, I am just curious as to the idea of this and how its supposed to work. It doesnt seem like the moon should have anything to do with hair growth. Not saying that it doesnt, because Im sure theres millions of things that affect things they dont seem like they should affect.
So what is the theory behind this?

I try to use the Morocco Method Lunar chart (http://morroccomethod.com/lunar.shtml) when I can. I think they use other things rather than just the moon (solstices, etc) to determine best cut dates, too. I used to trim very very regularly on the red dates about 1 1/2- 2 years ago and actually seemed to get pretty good growth (more than now, that is). However, I was also using scalp oils at the time so the growth could have come from that.

I use the Rigpa calendar for cutting hair.

This is interesting! I cut my hair in January and July - no rhyme or reason, I just feel I need 1/4" taken off at that time :grin:

I go by the MM chart, too. I try to concentrate on the red letter dates (or boxed-in red letter dates) for length. I have noticed more growth than usual after trimming. Not every time, but most

My mother in law swears by cutting her hair on a full moon. And it seems to work for her, as her hair is really long. I have been thinking of playing around with the trim dates myself, but I'm kind of scared to cut what little length I have because I am trying to save every inch. On August 8th, 9th I may go ahead and give it a try using the Morroco calendar. By then I should have quite a bit more length and MAY be willing to experiment.

I have just started doing this as well, so I can't report whether or not it works, but I'm following the MM...

I'm with Moonsong, I also cut at full moon. I learned that from an south african lady a long time ago. And because I was already familiar with biodynamic farming it didn't sound strange to me at all. I only learned about the morocco method much later. And his cutting days are not always on full moons. So I was puzzled, but I stick to the full moon anyway.

Ohio sky, I think the theory behind it is pretty magical. :-) (And that's magical in a good way, not magical in a 'pooh pooh' way)

Back in the day when I was pagan, we learned all sorts of things about the best days for performing different energy work. For getting rid of things, work was done in the waning moon, for acquiring things, it was done during the waxing moon- the theory being, to tap into the energy built by such. I honestly can't remember what work was best done on the full and new moons, other than the full moon was ordinarily an occasion for celebration of the Goddess.

Translating that to hair, I'd imagine that a Pagan wanting to cut their hair in order to encourage growth might do it during the waxing moon. Again, I just can't remember about the full moon. I could hop up and look it up in my old copy of Starhawk, but I'm not feeling motivated; some friendly Pagan will do it for me if they want!

Anyway, if one is a believer in such energy work, one doesn't need to be a Pagan to make it work. Actually, the theory goes that one doesn't need to be a believer to make it work at all; it should work for everyone, like gravity.

This from a scientist and Christian who enjoys suspending disbelief and judgment. :-) Maybe I'll try it next time I cut my hair. It certainly won't hurt . . .

Well, from what I studied just as the moon pulls the ocean waters higher, the same thing happens in living creatures too. We are effected by the gravitational pull. During the better cutting times, the water in our bodies is more pulled toward the head and making it optimum times for hair maintenence. During the "lower tide" times, the water in our bodies goes more toward our lower extrimities. This is theoretically why seeds germinate better if planted during this time because of that pull for them to come upward and all. (the nasturtion I'd planted a long while ago didn't come up until the first quarter/waxing gibbous. I am fascinated by this because these plants are so easy to grow and there was optimum weather for them to pop up sooner than now.)

I've used the MM calendar in the past, but I wanted to know more about the rhyme and reason behind all the dates listed. I had lost the link (so thank you, Birdiefu!) I am going to compare dates to what I've learned from other sites and see what I come up with from their calendar too.

In the deep south (Alabama), the advice was "cut on a new moon day," for hair to grow back fast.

Ok! (Unless I am drastically misunderstanding this whole thing) I've made a chart of what I've been able to put together so far. As the moon travels in it's orbit aroundt the earth, it goes through the various zodiac signs each month. These moon zodiac phases are also taken into account and not just simply the moon itself. I am still looking at the MM's calendar to see if this sync's but I've also got some errands to run today first and will get back with you all about what I learn later. I am a novis at this so my study isn't as indepth as I'd like, it's really hard to find the info.

When looking at this chart, the two moons directly beside the explained sign are how the moon looks at the time of each respective sign. (at least that's how I understand it anyway and I hope I'm not wrong!)
Edited out, found to be wrong with further study.

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/7756/imagejr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I am going to begin managing my hair routine around clarifying, deep conditioning, and cutting by this chart. I'm curious to see how it will work for me. I'm also wondering if those mysterious times of dry crunchy ends has anything to do with the moon being in that particular zodiac sign. I am going to start my cutting routine every six months in correlation to when the moon is in Cancer.

From what I think I read, the MM chart goes by a different calender (Aztec maybe?).

Tides have to do with the part of the Earth that's closest to the moon. Tides don't go up and down all over the world at the same time, the water moves slightly around as it's affected by the moon's gravitational pull. The phase of the moon has to do with how much shadow the Earth is casting on it. They are not the same thing.

Just because the moon affects the sea, doesn't mean it has any effect on people. Info here http://www.csicop.org/si/9405/ebbandflow.html

I have never come across any evidence whatsoever that the moon in any way effects hair growth, suicides, fights between married couples or anything else. The plural of anecdote is not data!

:)

I just found out about this method recently & am actually really interested in trying it. For those of you who trim by the morocco method lunar calender, have you seen any improvements in your hair (that you attribute to it?) Length? Thickness? Could there be any other reason for the improvements (to make sure they have something to do with the trimming dates?)
I know most are skeptical about there not being any scientific proof, but I'm going back to trimming and I guess the magic of it draws me in :p

From what I think I read, the MM chart goes by a different calender (Aztec maybe?).

Yah, you're right, I'm pretty sure I'd heard it was Aztec. At first looking at the MM calendar, the two days I had first planned on cutting my hair this year were marked as good days for that month. They came out as being two days before the full moon. I also saw that there were some red number days that would appear to fall during the cancer zodiac moon phase. I've However, I haven't delved into the bigger comparison yet.

I should add that I got my moon phase charts calculated directly for the region I live in. www.timeanddate.com It's not gunna do any good to cut by the moon phases if I'm going by a generic chart not calculated for my location on the planet.

This is also where I got the info I did to make the moon chart http://www.longhairlovers.com/moon_maintenance.html

A little later: Ok, I have charted the shape the moon is today by looking at my local paper. (too cloudy all the time here to be able to see the moon to judge for myself everyday!) We are now at the late end of a Leo moon. Cutting today would be bad, but a deep conditioning is in. I'm gunna wet my ends and oil them tonight as wash day is tomorrow.

I've also taken a bit to compare this method with the MM calendar and it appears for April anyway that it was formed around the zodiac. Notice that the MM chart skips two consecutive days after recommending two consecutive days. I'm seeing though that I'm gunna have to chart out a month or two to get a good feel for this and if it aligns well with the MM calendar. I have back charted a bit to see that I had some pretty dry ends during the Gemini phase and I did a deep condition. Then the moon went to Cancer and my ends have felt really nice. Now they are feeling a bit dry again and I see we're in another dry phase with it being Leo. This is kind of cool! I'm having fun with it.

I go by the moon faces when it comes to waxing my legs.......

I've used MM method for trims (1/8 to 1/4") for about 2 years now. Most of the time I try to cut on the Rootwork days because I have a lot of natural shedding when I wash. Whenever I do use the Root days, I do notice a decrease in shedding. I honestly don't know if cutting by MM's calender is the cause of it or not. I do know that my hair grew a little more than 6" last year and that's AFTER trimming every 2 or 3 months.

I figure it can't hurt and if nothing else, it keeps me on a trim schedule and my ends stay nicer.

Ok, today I had much better luck with the search engines and finding what I needed.

http://lunarium.co.uk/calendar.php This site allows me to calculate my own lunar/zodiac phase calendar for my specific region (a must for accuracy).

This calendar isn't free, but I'm going to do some further searching to see if I can find something similar online for free. I'm tempted to buy this because I'm also doing all this studying to better learn how to take care of my yard and gardens.
http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/calc.html

The chart I had come up with earlier from some study proved to be wrong by the calendar I composed at the first mentioned site. I had wondered if each zodiac phase cycled through at different moon phases every month, but the info I had to go by made it sound as though there were set moon phases to coincide with each zodiac phase. Study and learn.

With better info, I can see that the MM calendar does not go by the zodiac moon phases at all. I would be really interested in studying to find out just what factors go into deciding what days are good for various results.

Now that I have the correct info when it comes to what zodiac phase the moon is in, I can begin to coordinate my deep treats and all by that. Today is full moon in Scorpio. It would be an optimum day to trim for thickness and growth. I have planned my next trim on May 8, when the moon is in Cancer. The next time I henna, is May 17 when the moon is back in Scorpio. I should add that I am not changing my actual washing routine, just using this cart to enhance it. I will continue to do my full washes on Saturdays and my scalp washes on Wednesdays. If my hair needs clarifying when Virgo is not on a full wash day, I'll just make sure it's done on a moist/fertile sign to be sure it won't dry out. Henna is the same, only on a moist day. The last time I henna'd and clarified, it was during a very dry sign and I ended up with very dry ends. Normally my hair is just so happy after henna, but not this day. Will follow the chart to see if just a coinsidence.

Do you know any lunar chart for other time zones than US ? Any chart for Greenwich timezone?

To be honest, whole thing about cutting hair in a certain time of the month for best results sounds ridicculous to me. It's just like one of those many other hair myths, like hair growing from it's tips, and that if you shave your hair you will get curls, or that you you get perm while pregnant, your baby will have curls..
I am a boring and sceptical person, i only belive in proven science.

I find this to be very interesting. Yesterday and today were rootwork days on the MM calendar, and I didn't feel I needed a trim, so last night I scalp massaged really well and this morning I did my Prann hair mud treatment. I dont know if all this did anything for the roots or thickness, but the hair is happy. Apparently these rootwork days fell on the full moon. The sun is in Virgo.. The moon is in Pisces I just found out so "moist" if you need a trim I guess today is your day.

I just had my DH trim about an inch off this week because my hair was feeling gross at the ends. He had probably cut some off just a couple of months earlier. I am not sure that he did a great job, but I hate taking the time to make a real hair appointment and then pay the money for something that can be taken care of so quickly. Also, most hair dressers don't get long, unlayered hair as it goes against their profession.

Do you know any lunar chart for other time zones than US ? Any chart for Greenwich timezone?


http://lunarium.co.uk/calendar.php this will allow you to type in your own info and make printouts of the moon for your timezone.

RavennaNight, if it wasn't for skeptics, then questions would never have been answered throughout the ages. All I know is that it worked for my yard and so I hope it works for my hair! :)

I've been cutting by the moon for decades. The way I always look at it is, if I'm going to trim anyway, why not?

Why does cutting the hair on these days help it? Wouldn't the hair grow the same despite cutting it? Wouldn't it only effect the follicle, not the actual hair, as the hair is dead?

My theory is that it has to do with gravity. You cut a tiny bit, moon pulls up, body senses a little bit missing because of less weight pulling down on hair (I know we are talking barely measurable weight but my theory is the body being so magnificently constructed, senses this). Body then produces more hair to compensate for the feeling of missing. Totally not scientific, I know. Overactive imagination, maybe, but I am fascinated by lunar and celestial events and their effect on the human body, which consists of 90% water. I love this thread.


I'd love to see some biology people bite into this thread!

All sounds a bit far fetched to me, haha. I'm sure there is some kind of effect on the body but I'm not sure I'm sold on it effecting your hair.

All sounds a bit far fetched to me, haha. I'm sure there is some kind of effect on the body but I'm not sure I'm sold on it effecting your hair.

Ah, but what does it hurt to try? :wacko:

The body may be 90 percent water, but it's not a *body* of water. We don't, you know, *flow*.

wg

Ah, but what does it hurt to try? :wacko:

I am willing to give it a shot and see if I notice a difference! Although I couldn't find anything that lets you know if the moon is in Cancer or Libra or what.

The body may be 90 percent water, but it's not a *body* of water. We don't, you know, *flow*.

wg

Ahhh, but the fluids in our bodies sure do! Blood, lymphatic fluids, digestive fluids...etc...

Well, farmers have been planting and taking care of their crops by the moon for ages. During certain phases, the moon pulls the water upward causing it to bennefit the plant the best. Cancer phase is the optimum time for planting because the seed needs to be constantly wet and the moon is pulling water upward, so it only goes to tell that the plant itself is pulled upward in growth with the water.

I haven't been as adamant on my oilings and etc during the dry times as I had been. However, for two months I went by this schedule every day. During dry phases, I would wet and oil my ends. During the moist phases, I didn't. My ends were the best I'd ever seen them and constantly soft. When I just plain stick to my typical weekly schedule without accounting for the moon, I end up with some really dry ends during the dry and barren months. For instance, right now is Aries which is dry and my ends are just crying for some moisture!

Also, during the optimum thickening and growth times to cut (cancer and scorpio), the water is pulled upward, so there is going to be more water in the scalp, which means increased circulation and brings more nutrition to the follicle resulting in a stronger strand. I believe there could be some kind of natural awareness by the body, as in plants (as RavennaNight was saying) that can feel that "pruning" has taken place and so it causes more growth. Have you ever seen what plants do once they've been pruned? Rose bushes end up with a growth explosion.

This is my opinion anyway on the whole matter. My "hair brained scheme"!!!! LOL

Wow, I'm fascinated.

Now, I will have to go back to the start of the thread for all the background info! :)

Wow thanks for the links guys. I went by the longhairlovers reccomendations for moon in which sign and used lunarium to get my local phases...thanks for these links people.

I am going to be trimming in cancer in december,march,april,june,september and december. (I even planned how much lol.) I am aiming for thickness. And hey if it doesn't work then who cares I need to trim to maintain anyway lol.

Interesting.

A little OT, but:

Doesn't the Aztec calendar end at 2012? Or was that the Mayan one?

A little OT, but:

Doesn't the Aztec calendar end at 2012? Or was that the Mayan one?

Thats the Mayan. If we go really OT, some folks out there think that's when the world is going to end. :shudder:

Thats the Mayan. If we go really OT, some folks out there think that's when the world is going to end. :shudder:

Yes, I have heard about that. Some time ago, I watched a documentary about the Mayan people were they mentioned the year 2012. Apparently, the Mayan also foresaw the Conquistadores coming and ultimately wiping out their culture.