Quality or Quantity?

[Babzilla]

Just wondering, in our quest for long hair, are we sacrificing quality of hair for length? How do we strike a balance between growth and health? It's so hard to lose length and I want a fat, pretty hemline!

How do you decide when to time trims? Schedule in advance? Decide in the moment?

how much do you trim? Micro? Medium? Bigger chops?

[&rea]

Quality is more important to me than quantity when it comes to my hair. Over the summer, I chopped my hair off into a bob to get rid of heat damage and damage caused by razor cuts. Now I'm regrowing. I've been doing the search and destroy method to try to preserve as much length as possible. I'm planning on getting a micro trim to freshen the overall look of my hair, but I have several inches to grow before I want to do that.

[Buddaphlyy]

Quality. Part of the reason my hair seems to be perpetually short has to due with me cutting damage from being a bonehead with my hair. I just recently did a trim in April to get rid of some heat damage from last November. I will reassess in November to see if I need to trim. And I guess I do moderate cuts, usually a half inch. That's quite a bit though since my hair only grows 1/4-1/3 inch per month.

[melusine963]

It's a difficult decision for me. I really want my hair at TBL (at least), and I've finally reached my goal. But my hemline is so thin, and my whole head of hair gets so much thinner from the waist down. I've been babying my hair for about a year now, waiting to see if my thickness will grow down any more. I'm giving it another year while I maintain my hair at this length before I make the decision to cut back or not. My hair is in good condition, just so thin that I don't like wearing it down. I keep it in updos everyday, so I'm not inflicting my bad hair on anyone. If I wanted to wear it down more often I'd have to make a decision sooner.

[kme81]

I always like to think that I value quality but that is not always the case. The funny thing is that the further I am from a mini-goal, the more likely I am to make a chop if my ends feel bad, but the closer I get to a goal, the more likely I am to hold off and just micro-trim. I am an "as-needed" trimmer/chopper so I don't really have set amounts of time between my cuts.

I will say though that I was never one for doing extremely damaging things to my hair, and as such a "big-chop" for me is about two inches! I'm also concerned with how tangly my hair gets when it is damaged, so that is a big factor that will make me cut, even if I'm getting close to a goal.

I'd say that I value quality with a heavy sprinkling of quantity. :p ;)

[rosey4exclaim]

I absolutely care about the quality of my hair more than its length. I think lush, healthy hair, at any length, is much prettier than long, damaged hair. I think that long hair is a responsibility. If I want to have long hair, I'd better make the commitment to take proper care of it. That means preventing damage so I don't have to cut it.

That said, hair health, like all areas of bodily health, is a choice. If someone else has different priorities, that's up to them.

[ravenreed]

Quality, quality, quality. I trim when I need a trim, regardless of whether that sets me back from reaching my goal or not. Consequently, I have enjoyed my hair almost all the way through my hair journey. If I had splitty, ratty ends, I would have given up long ago.

[neko_kawaii]

Quality is a little bit subjective. Some people view fairytale ends as evidence of less quality. I like them personally and think that blunt ends look artificial. I S&D when I start to notice splits every time my braid gets fuzzy, I trim the ends when they become noticeably grabby and clarifying, protein, and moisture don't improve their condition. I trim half an inch and if that hasn't removed the problem then I'll trim another half inch. So far I've only needed to trim once or twice a year and that has worked for me.

[ExpectoPatronum]

At the moment, I'm more for quantity. I have been trying to grow my hair out for years and never made progress because I fell for the 'trim every 6-8 weeks' rule. Now that I've ditched that, I want long hair and I want it now lol. Once I hit my first goal (waist) I will maintain and work on the quality of my hair.

[kysgrl]

I tend to go with quantity first and when it gets past where I want it I trim to quality.

[Babzilla]

Quality is a little bit subjective. Some people view fairytale ends as evidence of less quality. I like them personally and think that blunt ends look artificial. I S&D when I start to notice splits every time my braid gets fuzzy, I trim the ends when they become noticeably grabby and clarifying, protein, and moisture don't improve their condition. I trim half an inch and if that hasn't removed the problem then I'll trim another half inch. So far I've only needed to trim once or twice a year and that has worked for me.
I concur that quality is in the eye of the hair-grower. I love layers and my hair does look kind of square when I go all one length. Will my ends be healthy enough to carry the length? I hope so!

[AmyBeth]

I have always valued my length, no matter how damaged. I would microtrim and baby damaged hair. I would never, will never big chop every again. I never judge anyone else's hair if it is damaged, but I always admire length.

[massivecnqstdr]

I absolutely care about the quality of my hair more than its length. I think lush, healthy hair, at any length, is much prettier than long, damaged hair. I think that long hair is a responsibility. If I want to have long hair, I'd better make the commitment to take proper care of it. That means preventing damage so I don't have to cut it.

That said, hair health, like all areas of bodily health, is a choice. If someone else has different priorities, that's up to them.

So well said! :agree:

[CurlyCap]

Quality. I just don't admire long hair that looks terrible. In fact, I mentally cut it up to where it looks healthy.

For me, I've learned that cutting 1" every 6 months keeps my hair healthy and allows me to accumulate length. I only need to cut more if I do damaging things to it...which I'll do if I really want to.

Like I say in all of these threads, my hair is here to make me happy. Your head is a terrible place to have something that annoys you, so make sure you enjoy it. Right now, I get the most enjoyment out of pretty, healthy curls all over my head, so I currently focus on quality.

[Firefox7275]

Just wondering, in our quest for long hair, are we sacrificing quality of hair for length? How do we strike a balance between growth and health? It's so hard to lose length and I want a fat, pretty hemline!

How do you decide when to time trims? Schedule in advance? Decide in the moment?

how much do you trim? Micro? Medium? Bigger chops?

I prefer qualikty that is why I have not gained much in the last two years, I've been cutting out old damage. I mostly hack at my hair on the spur of the moment whenever the hemline looks too raggedy - I don't really have split or velcro ends at this length. I have cut between one and three inches at a time.

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

A mixture of both for me. For a while I trimmed constantly to get rid of damage, now I just S and D every week and trim every four months and hope for the best. I really don't have the patience to start from a shaved head, which I Would have had to do for maximum quality, but I did cut back a while ago.

[PolarCathy]

Qulaity. I'll probably label hair that most others call "thick!" thinned out and ratty on me, and hack it off. Which is probably why I'm a forever-BSL-type.

When I see thinned out TBL hair, to me that's often APL (or however long it is at its full thickness).

[XcaliburGirl]

Quality is a little bit subjective. Some people view fairytale ends as evidence of less quality. I like them personally and think that blunt ends look artificial. I S&D when I start to notice splits every time my braid gets fuzzy, I trim the ends when they become noticeably grabby and clarifying, protein, and moisture don't improve their condition. I trim half an inch and if that hasn't removed the problem then I'll trim another half inch. So far I've only needed to trim once or twice a year and that has worked for me.

I agree. Just because the hemline isn't blunt and there is taper in the thickness doesn't mean the ends are not healthy.

[Pixie2013]

Quality all the way! I don't think thin ends or layers necessarily mean unhealthy hair, but ratty splitty ends drive me crazy on myself at any length. I am constantly playing with my hair and I just hate crunchy dry ends. When I start to meet resistance at the ends while running my fingers through my hair, it is time for a cut. And I have never been satisfied just cutting off a bit of damage at a time; it ALL needs to be gone after a haircut. As far as other people go, I think visible damage makes hair look bad and as another poster said I mentally cut off the damage to figure the "real" length. Of course I would never tell someone she should get a haircut because it is not my business, just as I would never tell someone if I think her clothes are unflattering. I am sure plenty of people look at my current pixie haircut and "mom" clothes and think they don't look good, but people should do whatever they want with their appearance.

[Foxylocks]

Even though I favor quality, right now my hair is at waist with scraggly, thin, ruined ends because of chemical dyes from a long time ago. So I cannot say much for myself. The only reason I don't cut it off is because I am growing my natural color anyway, and I always keep it in a bun.

[sarahthegemini]

Quality, absolutely. I'd rather have short(er) healthy hair as opposed to long but ratty, straggly hair. I'm aiming for BSL and I've already cut away most if not all, of damage. I originally had bsl hair but it looked so ratty that I trimmed to apl. And then again to sl. If my hair looks awful when I reach my goal, I'll trim it back again.

[lapushka]

Quality to me as well. I'd also rather have shorter hair, but it being well-maintained is much more important to me. Shorter meaning at least BSL to waist, preferably waist, not short-short.

[arcane]

To me having quantity is an important part of quality!

So both. :P I just don't enjoy my hair short, and for me, that means my hair isn't very good (it doesn't behave very well when it's shorter than BSL). It just doesn't look as nice even if it is slightly thicker/less damaged.

I did do a major chop from waist to shoulder in Feb '12 because the quality of my hair made me loose quantity (it was breaking off, and getting thinner and thinner), plus I knew I was heading for a major shed (medical/mental stress). I haven't cut it since, and I'm back at waist. I also stopped dying it, and only occasionally heat style (a few times a year), so the quality of my hair has gone up a lot. I don't consider a blunt hemline a sign of quality, and I enjoy how my ends are starting to fairytail. I also naturally grow a v-hemline, and IMO it's the type of hemline that looks best on me. I am thinking of doing a trim of an inch or two come the new year, to help get rid of what's left of the bleach damage, but as of right now, the quality of that hair is ok to me (I S&D every two weeks).

[catamonica]

Quantity is better. I haven't cut my hair since 2011. Five day's wearing it up protects the ends. If you need to trim, trim. On a web site called singing mommy, there's a picture of a woman with hair down to her knee's. She said she has not cut her hair in twenty year's. And if you want it to grow long, don't cut. Her hair is healthy & beautiful.

[chen bao jun]

I just want quantity at this point, sorry.
I never have ratty ends or if I do, you can't see them, because of shrinkage.
You also can't see any length, because of shrinkage.
I'm a curly, as you may have guessed.
the quality of my hair has improved incredibly since being on LHC already, its soft, I have curls and no frizz and it has even grown, but barely looks longer.
I just want my hair to look as if its bra strap at this point (which it actually is).
The only thing I WONT do to get the appearance is flat iron or otherwise straighten it, which would make the length apparent--but would destroy my curls. First the appearance, and eventually would actually destroy them.
Oh--I guess quality must be a little important to me, or else I'd do that---?

[QMacrocarpa]

How do you decide when to time trims? Schedule in advance? Decide in the moment?

how much do you trim? Micro? Medium? Bigger chops?
I'm for quantity, and for me going for quantity means I need to trim a bit now and then to prevent splits and breakage from keeping up with my growth rate and giving me a false terminal (I don't S&D).

A couple years ago I put recurring trim-reminders every six months in my Google calendar, and when those come up I consider whether I should trim. So far, I pretty much always decide that yes, I should trim. My hair is quite prone to splits and breakage, and if left untrimmed for a while the ends start tangling instantly, like the moment after I've detangled, they're tangled again. That gets on my nerves, and if I ignore it, splits and breakage will turn up before long. If I'm not getting splits and breakage, I'm happy pressing on for quantity. As to how much I trim each time, I self-trim the smallest amount I can, perhaps around half an inch.

[Night_Kitten]

For me quality is broken down into 2 separate sections - 1) real quality (are there a lot of splits or other damage like velcro ends) 2) how much I like the way my hair looks (natural taper, see-through ends and such...).
As for section 1 I'm totally for quality on my own hair - when I see damage I trim to get rid of it... As with the proper care my ends are healthy and don't split much, I hardly need to trim to get rid of damage anymore...
As for section 2 it's a balance between quantity and "quality" (in brackets, as it's not related to damage but rather how much the tapered look gets to me). I plan to grow to terminal eventually, so eventually I'll be a proud owner of fairytail ends, but for the time being I'm a not-so-proud owner, which means that if I take a pic and the way the taper looks really bothers me, not too long after I trim between 1/2'' and 3'' depending on how much it bothers me...

[jacqueline101]

I like quantity like buying in bulk.

[TenaciousTangle]

I used to do quantity over quality, with no trimming at all. I had very broken ends and most of my hair towards the bottom was thin. My experience then had been that it took hair forever to grow and that if I cut my hair it would take so long to get it back that the ends would be ragged by then anyway. I hoarded my hair and loved it too much to maintain it's integrity with trims. It looked ok, but many people described my ends as being 'dead' and I think that this was an accurate description.

Then one day I cut my hair. I took eight inches off. The length came right back, so I cut more off. This is my hair's life now. I cut it, it comes back, I cut again and it comes back. Once the damage is removed my hair grows like a weed. My hair has passed my 'goal' and I am no longer concerned with length; it's past my fingertips and ready for a big chop again, I think. I have instead turned my focus to quality. I just joined this forum so I can work on the quality of my locks. I love my hair much more now and I enjoy no longer feeling like I have a lot invested in every inch that grows. There's a tremendous freedom in this for me, as worrying about quantity was too much commitment for me to be able to really enjoy my hair (or take care of it very well, for that matter).

This is not to say that I think people who go for length are hoarding hair. No, not even remotely! That's just what I was doing at the time.

[TenaciousTangle]

I used to do quantity over quality, with no trimming at all. I had very broken ends and most of my hair towards the bottom was thin. My experience then had been that it took hair forever to grow and that if I cut my hair it would take so long to get it back that the ends would be ragged by then anyway. I hoarded my hair and loved it too much to maintain it's integrity with trims. It looked ok, but many people described my ends as being 'dead' and I think that this was an accurate description.

Then one day I cut my hair. I took eight inches off. The length came right back, so I cut more off. This is my hair's life now. I cut it, it comes back, I cut again and it comes back. Once the damage is removed my hair grows like a weed. My hair has passed my 'goal' and I am no longer concerned with length; it's past my fingertips and ready for a big chop again, I think. I have instead turned my focus to quality. I just joined this forum so I can work on the quality of my locks. I love my hair much more now and I enjoy no longer feeling like I have a lot invested in every inch that grows. There's a tremendous freedom in this for me, as worrying about quantity was too much commitment for me to be able to really enjoy my hair (or take care of it very well, for that matter).

This is not to say that I think people who go for length are hoarding hair. No, not even remotely! That's just what I was doing at the time.

[TenaciousTangle]

Whoops! Sorry for the double post; my browser freaked out on me. I can't edit yet to remove one :p Many apologies.

[spidermom]

I have recently changed in this regard. Before it was always quality, but I had it in the back of my mind that one day, when the quality was good enough, I'd grow to find out the longest length my hair could reach.

I gave up on that. No matter what I do or don't do, I always have lots of split ends. So now split ends be damned; I'm growing it!

[shutterpillar]

I've been sacrificing quantity for quality for over a year now. I've trimmed about six inches of damaged ends and layers out of my hair, and I'm pretty happy about it. I could have been at hip by now, but the last six inches would be horrible quality hair that would be very damaged, broken, scraggly and thin. It would not be something that I would be proud of, and I'm sure it would constantly be bothering me.

As of now there is no real trimming schedule... just whenever my hair needs it. I'll trim anywhere from a couple centimeters of hair to a couple inches. I imagine that when my layers and damage are gone, I will assume a more predictable trimming schedule.

[Babzilla]

Thank you for the thoughtful perspective, everyone.

I used to get a lot of comments from people that I needed to trim my ends. I suffered a loss of about half my volume due to stress and medication.

My volume is back and I hope to gain some quality!

[ravenheather]

For me it depends what you define as quality. If my hair was damaged I would trim. But I won't trim healthy ends to maintain a shaped hemline.

[Sharysa]

Just wondering, in our quest for long hair, are we sacrificing quality of hair for length? How do we strike a balance between growth and health? It's so hard to lose length and I want a fat, pretty hemline!

How do you decide when to time trims? Schedule in advance? Decide in the moment?

how much do you trim? Micro? Medium? Bigger chops?

I aim for quality AND quantity (minimum goal is waist, maximum goal is classic). I actually hate my blunt hemline because my hair does NOT need help looking thick (thick, coarse hair with a nearly-4-inch ponytail). So I'm trying desperately to grow it out into fairy-tale ends until I reach waist length. This means no trimming the actual length, but I DO trim my split-ends every month to keep it healthy.

However, non-blunt hemlines do not mean your hair is unhealthy. My hair moves better with a fairy-tale hemline than it ever did with a blunt hem, especially because I found out my hair is actually wavy and not straight. When I stopped trimming my hair into a blunt cut, my hair slowly started waving up more after I let it out of its braids..

I chose to S&D once a month because monthly split-end trims are more frequent than yearly chops, but not as OCD-inducing as weekly or daily trims. Plus my hair is too strong to need daily/weekly trims anyway.

[majesticmoon]

I have a lot of split ends and most of my hair has bleach damage on it. I do like long hair and wont even leave the house if my hair is cut above my shoulders. I will admit for now i am sacrificing a bit of quality for quantity. I only have about 6 in of roots not bleach damage so... However when i grow it out to where my none damaged hair is to a certain point i plan to chop the damage off. I do micro trims to keep split ends in check and pretty much i am very natural with my hair now.

[Leeloo]

Since any freshly cut ends will eventually become damaged, if you want a thick hemline regular trimming is needed.

[CurlMonster]

I am very similar to majesticmoon, all of my pre-LHC hair is very damaged. I would have to chop my hair very short to be rid of the damage and that would make me very unhappy. So I plan to keep the length even if it isn't in a good condition - this way I can still enjoy doing buns and having a long braid while I let the damage grow out. I figure the time it takes for the healthy hair to get to hip length is the same whether I chop my damaged hair or leave it, so I may as well keep and enjoy the length while I wait.

So yes, I hope to one day have both quality and quantity, but for now I will chose the damaged hip-length hair over the super-healthy pixie cut.

[HintOfMint]

Quality, 100%

I had a huge chop about 5 years ago because I had damaged my hair so badly with heatstyling. I don't regret it one bit. I just didn't see the point in having long hair if it looked fried.

Unfortunately, I'm THAT obnoxious girl on every other "should I do a big cut to get rid of damage/thin ends" thread, in almost always recommending a cut, not a microtrim.

[Magalo]

I'm also looking for a balance. I WANT length, but I still have a lot of old damage and layers to get rid of, so when I feel like I need atrim, I do! A half inch to an inch once in a while.

[Natalia]

I try to avoid trimming. I do one decent one per year and maybe 1 or 2 dusting plus S&D when I get the motivation for it. Since I mostly wear my hair up anyway I am willing to sacrifice more of the health than the length. Updo's stay better with longer hair and mine is thin so the extra length helps add volume. I have years to go before I grow out all my past dye damage and im not willing to go above hip length for it. Since I hit tailbone I haven't trimmed above that, it would have to be really bad for me to go back to hip. If I want to wear it down I do bun curls or the like since it hides the damages ends better.

[Quahatundightu]

A bit of both from me, more due to the taper issue. My quality is good now I've been at lhc so long, I think I've cut off all my pre lhc hair. It's definitely worth investing the time in improving the quality of your hair if you want to grow long. But my hemline isn't as thick as I'd like it to be, so I've been trimming. I really want to make it to classic length, but I also want to have hair I feel good about wearing down. It's a trade-off! I vacilate between trying to grow and getting fed up with my taper which makes me more scissor happy.

[YamaMaya]

I've always thought it's better to have shorter hair of better quality than longer hair that resembles tangled straw. Granted, I don't trim my layers as I want them to grow out as fast as possible, but I s&d them regularly to get rid of all those little bent ends I tend to get in lieu of splits. About a month ago I made the choice to cut back an inch to try and catch up a bit, which knocked me back to BSL, but I'm glad that my blunt hemline is finally taking shape.