Scheduled a trim - Freaking out.

[JessicaAnn]

I just scheduled my first trim since my big chop for this Saturday and I am seriously stressing about it. The lady I'm going to is the same one who used to cut my hair back before I was growing it out to donate. It was between APL and BSL and layered back then. She is a genius with layers. I actually went to her a couple of weeks after the chop just to get the layers blended a little better. I'm going to have her take just half an inch off the bottom and blend/even up the layers a little. She has hair almost to her waist herself and I have never had a problem with her cutting off more than I want. As a matter of fact when I had bangs she would refuse to cut them short and blunt because she didn't think they looked good on me (and she was right). So I'm sure she's going to do a great job, but I just can't help but feel a little queasy over the whole prospect. After kicking and fighting for the inches I've grown in the last few months even losing a little seems terrible. At the same time the layers could be improved and half and inch off the bottom would make the ends look nicer. Plus, this trim should see me through to summer quite nicely, so better to do it now so I can enjoy the grow out process until then instead of stressing about bad layers and wonky ends all spring.

*sigh* We all know I'm still going to freak out about it every day until then, but I figured getting it out would help some.

[Jesabel]

Haha I just schedules a trim and am a bit nervous too! I do want to freshen my ends so they will be nice for the rest of the year as well :) Like you said it will make growing it out more enjoyable instead of fussing over dry ends.

[cranberrymoonz]

Even though a trim will set back your growth a little, it will improve the quality of your hair. You will have to cut some of the growth anyway, so fighting for these inches wasn't for nothing, it was to improve your hair.

It seems like you have made the dicision to cut already. Now: what you need to do is trust your own decision. You'll be allright. It seems like you have a great hair dresser and she'll do fine. Try to relax a bit and focus on something else. It's only hair. *hugs*

[Magalo]

I'm always happy after a trim. Never sad to lose the length because the fresh, even ends are so great. I was just a few millimeters away from hips, cut 1.5" off and I don't regret it a bit. It's looking much better now!

[JessicaAnn]

Thanks guys, you're the best! I love coming here. I'm a spaz by nature, but you all make me feel a little less like a freak for it. :D I'll be sure to let you know how the trim goes.

[swearnsue]

The pre-trim anxiety! Do you have any Xanax? Maybe take a half?

[hairpleasegrow]

You can always cancel!!!

[Tini'sNewHair]

You wiill be ok, sounds like you are in good capable hands :) Wish i had fresh ends but im going to wait another two months before doing a trim. Good luck and make sure to brag :)

[JessicaAnn]

You can always cancel!!!

LOL, no, don't tell me that! She's going to do a deep conditioning treatment and show me some easy hairstyles, so I really want/need to go. If I cancel I am going to be so annoyed with myself.

[JessicaAnn]

The pre-trim anxiety! Do you have any Xanax? Maybe take a half?

I'm promising myself sushi and noodles after for a treat. So that's what's getting me through. I have a sedative to take for panic attacks on top of my nightly anxiety stuff. I may take one a couple hours before hand just for good measure.

[JessicaAnn]

You wiill be ok, sounds like you are in good capable hands :) Wish i had fresh ends but im going to wait another two months before doing a trim. Good luck and make sure to brag :)

Thanks! I was going to get a trim the first of January but I held off until now. I love fresh ends at the medium lengths, but the longer it gets the more I like the grown out look. So I'm hoping that getting a good trim in now will reduce my need to get one when I hit the lengths I like this summer.

[Tini'sNewHair]

What length are you now? I didnt need a trim at all from when i chopped it off at SL all the way to now MBL, but it is now that i feel like my ends are in need of a trim and im pretty much trying to push it a little longer until i reach waist (I did lots of S&D my splits are down to 99% really, i can hardly find any)

[JessicaAnn]

I'm just brushing APL. Here is my most recent progress thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=119916 . I'm more just wanting to get some more blending done on the layers and see what she thinks the next steps should be and some help with hairstyles. She LOVES long hair on me, so I'm interested in her take on my progress and goals.

[Tini'sNewHair]

Oh yeah I remember your post and I already commented in it. I really dont think that you need to take anything off your length, your hair looks so healthy and in great condition, are you positive that your ends needs trimming? Do you havelots of white dots? Cant it be fixed with s&d? Hmmm think about it.

[JessicaAnn]

Ill have her look at it. The splits that I do have are in the layers, especially in the front where I tend to play with it a lot. I may just ask her to work on the layers a bit and leave the length alone.

[JessicaAnn]

Soooooo, I didn't wind up getting a trim. The gal who was going to cut it wound up having to cancel because her little girl was sick. One of the other ladies at the salon was going to trim it for me, and I'm sure she would have done a great job, but I decided to take it as a sign from the universe and wait a bit longer. I did go ahead and get a clarifying treatment, a conditioning treatment, and a blow out. And let me tell you, my hair LOVED IT! My ends felt great after and the whole length felt like silk. Actually, I haven't washed it yet and it still feels great. I'm slightly bummed because I was hoping to clean the layers up a little as they are starting to look shaggy, but I'm happy to still have the length.

I'm going to reschedule in another month or so and get another conditioning treatment and (possibly) a trim. But let me tell you, if you've never gone to the salon and let them do a deep treatment on your hair, you really should. Whenever I get them I promise myself that I'm going to go back more frequently and have it done, and then I stop doing it for a while and forget how nice it feels and how nice my hair feels after. I do stuff at home, but there is something so nice about having someone else pamper my hair for an hour or so.

[Jesabel]

Sad she canceled but that treatment sounds nice! I got my trim yesterday and I am sooo in love with my fresh, thicker ends! She took off about 1.5inch which is a tad more than I wanted but still not thaat much and it feels like I have new hair. Love it.

[clioariane]

If you trust your hairdresser (since she did a good job before!) I'm sure you will be happy with your trim :)

ETA: Oops, sorry to hear she canceled!

[Kherome]

A blowout?

[JessicaAnn]

A blowout?

A professional blow-dry. If you get someone who is really good at what they're doing (and there are many who are) they take their time without using super high heat and the results will last for several days. My hair has felt like silk and been fairly straight and tangle free since Saturday. It's up in a bun today and I'll wash it tonight, but if there wasn't wind and snow to deal with today I totally could have gotten away with wearing it down for one more day with a little baby powder around my crown. Several years ago I used to live a few blocks from a beauty school and at least once a month I would pay $5 to have one of the girls there wash my hair and do a blow-out. It's a nice treat and tends to get my hair to behave for a while.

[Stormynights]

Split ends tangle. When you brush or comb through the ends you break your hair. If you only break 1/16 of an inch that isn't much, but if you do it 16 times you lose an inch of hair. Regular trims are the best way to grow your hair. The trick is finding a hairstylist that will respect your wishes.

[JessicaAnn]

Split ends tangle. When you brush or comb through the ends you break your hair. If you only break 1/16 of an inch that isn't much, but if you do it 16 times you lose an inch of hair. Regular trims are the best way to grow your hair. The trick is finding a hairstylist that will respect your wishes.

Search and destroy, protective hairstyling, and taking good care of their hair has helped a lot of people here grow their hair without regular trims. I managed to grow mine out past my waist in under three years with very minimal trimming (3 times a year or so). I don't disagree that trimming your ends can be helpful, I just don't know if I would call that the best way to grow your hair.