PDA

View Full Version : Would you sacrifice four inches to have a floppy braid tassle?



samanthaj08
September 13th, 2013, 12:02 PM
My ends are thin.. ponytail measures just over 3.5", the very ends are barely .5". Horrible taper, I know. They're a little rough, but only starting on day 2 or 3 post-wash. My braid tassle (usually 4 inches) can stick straight out, but I want it to be floppy and thick and soft.

Would you sacrifice the length? :( I'm at such a crossroad..

When my hair is straight, it meets my goal.. so I'm half tempted to just tough it out to classic then cut it back to hip.

Any advice?

GrowingGlory
September 13th, 2013, 12:05 PM
No! :) I would have patience instead.

HintOfMint
September 13th, 2013, 12:18 PM
I have pretty extreme layers that make for wimpy braid tassels :rolleyes: They annoy me, but it's not so terrible. I figure if the braid is super thick most of the way down, it doesn't look bad. Sometimes I just tie my braid up higher and do some sort of curl in the tassel to hide the wispiness. Taper is pretty normal and pronounced in braids.

If you wear your hair loose often, and the ends are scraggly or wispy, then I'd entertain a cut. But if the wispiness is only when you braid it, then I wouldn't worry.

Anje
September 13th, 2013, 12:38 PM
Eh, I've been maintaining at this length for ages and ages, hoping to get some more thickness at the ends. It worked to a degree, but I don't think it's going to improve much more. I've come to accept that I'm going to have a bit more taper than I would ideally like, and I like my hair anyway. There's a happy medium between trimming for thickness and gaining length, but you've got to figure out where that point is for you. The occasional trim because the 'sprinter' hairs have gotten too far out in front of the bulk of your hair is perfectly acceptable and can make your ends look much nicer while not sacrificing much apparent length.

Babzilla
September 13th, 2013, 01:09 PM
I would grow past my next goal and make the cut. JMHO!

lapushka
September 13th, 2013, 01:27 PM
My ends are thin.. ponytail measures just over 3.5", the very ends are barely .5". Horrible taper, I know. They're a little rough, but only starting on day 2 or 3 post-wash. My braid tassle (usually 4 inches) can stick straight out, but I want it to be floppy and thick and soft.

Would you sacrifice the length? :( I'm at such a crossroad..

When my hair is straight, it meets my goal.. so I'm half tempted to just tough it out to classic then cut it back to hip.

Any advice?

Difficult (and it's not even my hair - haha)! I would slowly trim, microtrim, so that the tassel can slowly grow thicker, and you can still --within a reasonable amount of time-- reach your goal length.

Vrindi
September 13th, 2013, 01:35 PM
Micro trim. It's been helping my taper slowly thicken up, and at the same time, I'm still gaining length. Patience! :)

samanthaj08
September 13th, 2013, 01:47 PM
I think I'll shoot for past goal then and even it up then, with microtrims along the way ^^ thanks, everyone!! :)

goldenlady
September 13th, 2013, 02:06 PM
I don't think I could/would sacrifice 4 inches for anything.. I recently chopped an inch off.. It hurt!

leslissocool
September 13th, 2013, 02:11 PM
Well this year I cut 6 inches off my hair. When it grew again (I was past TBL, cut to hip, now back at TBL) and the thickness increase was dramatic. I'm micro trimming now every other month. I think I really needed that cut, my hair looks so much better now.

YamaMaya
September 13th, 2013, 02:27 PM
I trimmed from Waist to BSL to try and get rid of some of my awful diy layers, it was all the farther I could stand to go. I'd say trim it as far as it feels comfortable for you, because you can cut it off in seconds but it takes months to regain the length.

Leeloo
September 13th, 2013, 02:38 PM
My ends are thin.. ponytail measures just over 3.5", the very ends are barely .5". Horrible taper, I know. They're a little rough, but only starting on day 2 or 3 post-wash. My braid tassle (usually 4 inches) can stick straight out, but I want it to be floppy and thick and soft.

Would you sacrifice the length? :( I'm at such a crossroad..

When my hair is straight, it meets my goal.. so I'm half tempted to just tough it out to classic then cut it back to hip.

Any advice?

What about a micro trim? That might make a good enough difference for you to wait it out till classic and will let you keep most of the length.

Amygirl8
September 13th, 2013, 03:03 PM
I recently cut off the "four inches" and personally I really love the thickness of my braid tassel and just the ends of my hair in general.
However, if you're hair is perfectly healthy (mine wasn't) I don't think I would do it.

rose313
September 13th, 2013, 03:10 PM
No, cut it when you reach your goal since you're already so close. 4 inches is a lot, and a braid is only one of many styles you can do.

0xalis
September 13th, 2013, 04:06 PM
What vrindi said!!! ^^^^^
Cut like 1/8th of an inch a month if you grow 1/2 an inch a month or more. That way you'll be gaining length, not as much, but gaining, and getting rid of the taper!

jasper
September 15th, 2013, 04:15 PM
4 inches seems like more at different lengths. I just took off about inches and beefed up my braid tassel a little bit. That 4 inches was really not much hair for me, with as much taper as I have. And my hair is still falling a bit below hip length. I can hardly tell those 4 inches are gone.

Sarahlabyrinth
September 15th, 2013, 04:29 PM
Well I wouldn't want to lose 4 inches in one go that's for sure, I would go for microtrimming myself.

MeowScat
September 15th, 2013, 04:31 PM
A four inch cut for a thicker braid tassel sounds like a lot to me. You're close to your goal and cutting off approximately eight months of growth might upset you.

Bun it, micro trim it, but I highly suggest not cutting off that much at once, especially since you're unsure. I've ended up regretting so many times not trimming gradually. I err on the side of caution now. Slow and steady wins the hair race!

You can always trim more later. Tuck your braid under or bun your braid. It's less damaging that way, also.

AmyBeth
September 16th, 2013, 02:00 PM
Nope, nope, nope. Microtims. I know that every body who cuts a significant amount always loves the results, but I couldn't do it.

jacqueline101
September 16th, 2013, 03:55 PM
If you think a cut is in order I'd try a small trim.

Lunnafindel
September 16th, 2013, 07:09 PM
You should remember that if you do updos at all, a floppy tassel is a huge hassle. (;P) Taper makes it way easier to do buns and tuck the ends in behind. A lot of hair at the end can be very hard to hide. If all you want to do is braids and leave it lose, that's not an issue, but if you're anything like me, blunt ends would be much harder.
... at least that's what I tell myself when I'm frustrated at not getting a huge blunt hemline after years of maintaining at knee. It makes me feel better, plus it's true.

samanthaj08
September 17th, 2013, 06:42 AM
You should remember that if you do updos at all, a floppy tassel is a huge hassle. (;P) Taper makes it way easier to do buns and tuck the ends in behind. A lot of hair at the end can be very hard to hide. If all you want to do is braids and leave it lose, that's not an issue, but if you're anything like me, blunt ends would be much harder.
... at least that's what I tell myself when I'm frustrated at not getting a huge blunt hemline after years of maintaining at knee. It makes me feel better, plus it's true.

My updos consist of standard single braid down my back and standard single braid twisted into but and secured with a simple hairstick.

I have absolutely no skill in the way of hair, one of the many reasons I prefer having longer hair.. because you don't have to fuss with it as much since short hair gets messed up really easily (at least for me it does)

Stray_mind
September 17th, 2013, 07:29 AM
It's nice to have thick hemline, but i think i wouldn't sacrifice that much, especially now :D. Trimming once in awhile is my thing.

ExpectoPatronum
September 17th, 2013, 12:45 PM
I'm in the same boat as you. My ponytail circumference is around 4" (A little less now due to some massive stress shed. Grr..) but my ends used to be maybe half an inch. I hated that my hair tapered down to nothing. I've been microtrimming just the very ends while my layers grow out. In the span of just a couple months, my ends have thickened up quite nicely. They're about an inch now and I can tell that they're definitely thicker. The tassle of my braid is even starting to flop a little! Yeah, some length has been sacrificed, but my ends are looking thicker.

I admit somedays I'm tempted to cut my hair to APL to get rid of most of my layers, which are causing my dramatic taper. Heck, even two inches would give me dramatic results. But then I have to remember that 'just two inches' is anywhere between 2-4 months worth of growth. Would I really want to backtrack that far? Do I really want to push my goal that much further back? That helps me stick to microtrimming every month or so.

samanthaj08
September 17th, 2013, 03:09 PM
I'm in the same boat as you. My ponytail circumference is around 4" (A little less now due to some massive stress shed. Grr..) but my ends used to be maybe half an inch. I hated that my hair tapered down to nothing. I've been microtrimming just the very ends while my layers grow out. In the span of just a couple months, my ends have thickened up quite nicely. They're about an inch now and I can tell that they're definitely thicker. The tassle of my braid is even starting to flop a little! Yeah, some length has been sacrificed, but my ends are looking thicker.

I admit somedays I'm tempted to cut my hair to APL to get rid of most of my layers, which are causing my dramatic taper. Heck, even two inches would give me dramatic results. But then I have to remember that 'just two inches' is anywhere between 2-4 months worth of growth. Would I really want to backtrack that far? Do I really want to push my goal that much further back? That helps me stick to microtrimming every month or so.

Yay for similar situation success story :D and for flop.

Best wishes on your layer regrowth :flower: