Trimming once a year?

[icallitbliss]

When I was younger I used to just trim my hair once a year, and it was just a couple inches at that. I never had any problem reaching longer lengths. I've heard that you're supposed to trim every couple of months to keep the ends healthy and to achieve maximum growth, but when I did that, my growth just stalled!

I'm thinking I'm just gonna trim once a year. Like, as long as I'm not coloring, flat ironing, or doing regular blow drying, it should be okay, right?

My hair isn't long enough yet to do S&D, but even if it was, I feel like my hair doesn't get splits much.

What do you guys think?

[earthnut]

Everyone's hair is different. Some people really benefit from frequent micro trims, other people do best with very little or no trims. If your sweet spot is once a year, then you should keep doing it!

Personally, I never S&D, I never see split ends. I trim a tiny bit on occasion to adjust my layers or my ends seem very dry. Once a year maybe? I have no set schedule. My hair seems to grow fastest when I'm ignoring it. :)

[Panth]

How much are you trimming? Generally, "average" hair grows about 0.5" a month. So, if you trim, say, 2" every 3 months then you are likely to cut away all of your growth. If you trim more regularly (i.e. once every 1-3 months) you'll need to reduce the amount you trim - a lot of people here microtrim (i.e. 1/4" or less). S&D is also popular.

However, as for how much *you* should trim - it totally depends on your hair. Some people's hair is fairly resilient and doesn't split - these people may only need to trim if they want to maintain their length or hemline shape. Other people get splits but they don't travel up the hair shaft and they occur at a slow rate so cause little tangling - these people often need to trim, but not incredibly often. Other people get splits that form at a fast rate and travel up the hair shaft quickly, causing tangling, knotting and short sections to break off the bottom - these people often need to trim more regularly to ensure they have nice, blunt ends at all times to prevent the extra length loss that would come from their splits.

As for what your hair is like - experience is the only thing that will tell you. (Also, it will probably change as you grow out damage or improve your routine.)

[lapushka]

There's no fixed rule, as Panth and others have already explained. Do what you think is best for *your* hair. If you are used to trimming every year, keep that schedule. Why change a good thing?

[Stray_mind]

Actually hair grow out of the roots. The ends, i think, are not so important for the speed of growth. Strong and healthy roots will make your hair grow faster and trimming the ends will keep your hemline thicker and stop the tapering. So if your ends aren't split and getting thin, you don't need trimming.

[jacqueline101]

Maybe trimming once a year and your old routine was your best.

[ladyfey]

I rarely trim, probably not even once a year, my hair does just fine with that.

[browneyedsusan]

Everybody is different.
Still, that "trim every few months" business doesn't sit well with me. If the ends get all split and fried that often, I could see it, but why cut off ends that are in good shape? Who makes these rules? Hairdressers? They're the same people that encourage daily washing, blowdrying, and flatironing. No thank you. If the ends are healthy, why cut them off? I just can't get my head around that line of thinking.

:twocents: If you see splits in your sheds, consider a trim. If the ends are good, wait a little longer.

[AmyBeth]

I am one of those who requires frequent microtrims. I don't really get many splits, but I get a real spurt of growth when I do trim. I've measured growth both ways, and for some reason I get more net growth when I trim than when I don't. Everyone has their own optimal growth conditions. Do what works for you.