Quality v. Quantity

[CurlyOne]

I have been thinking about stopping the growing process, not cutting loads off but trimming to keep up with the growth. This has been gnawing at me for a while and it comes down to having quality or quantity.

When I came here I first tried CO and was met with disastrous results, the shedding was massive and when it finally cooled off I think I lost about 1/2 of my thickness. To be honest the shedding hasn't really stopped, it is still pretty high. So I think I am going to slow down and try to get my quality back and not worry about going longer until it's back to normal.

Has anyone else thought about this or am I just too controlling over my hair?

[psycho]

That's actually what I've been doing with mine for the last few years (you can see how it looked when I started in my blog) because I didn't want to chop it all off, but my ends were ragged and I had a perm to grow out (luckily it was a one-time act of stupidity), so I'd been trimming to keep it around 38" up until very recently. Now it's looking good, I like the ends and all evidence of the perm is gone so I'm letting it start getting longer again.

[CurlyOne]

I just went and saw your Before and After pics Psycho and they are stunning! It really does give hope. But it seems to daunting, I have to find a way to stop shedding and get all that hair back, it's like having to grow a second head of hair.

[longhairedfairy]

You'll get there! Just baby that hair:)

[psycho]

I just went and saw your Before and After pics Psycho and they are stunning! It really does give hope. But it seems to daunting, I have to find a way to stop shedding and get all that hair back, it's like having to grow a second head of hair.


Thanks :cloud9:

Do you take vitamins or anything? Since the hair is still shedding like crazy, it makes me wonder if maybe there's a reason other than the CO regime :confused:

Might also talk to my sister (Gem, on these boards), she used to have very thin hair and was able to find ways to get it thicker and more recently has had to find ways to recover from malnutrition-related hair loss...she does a lot of experimenting and might have some ideas.

[Arctic]

CurlyOne, have you seen a doctor about the shedding? Many deficiensies (iron, zink...) and disorders (thyroid, hormone imbalances...) can cause hair shedding as one of their symptoms.

That being said, I read quite often that peole notice their hair is shedding more with CO (also if they put C or oil on their scalp on non-CO routine). And personally I feel my scalp got complitely messed up from CO experiment last autumn, but I can't be 100% sure, because I also made other hair care changes and had/have been under a lot of stress for a long time.

What is your routine now?

[Arctic]

Oh, and to your question, lol!
I'm in a bit different situation with my hair than you, but for me the quality is more important than the quantity.

When I started seriously grow out my hair I went as long as 9 months without trimming, but that is too long time for my fine, fragile hair.
My hair is a slow grower, so I have just adjusted my thinking that I can never get long hair quickly (well no-one can but you know what I mean). And I am now trying to trim every 3 months, but only a little bit, and see how my hair feels about that. I try to take care of the ends in a best possible way so I get to keep as much growth as I can. Knowing me, I would be very unhappy if my hair wouldn't feel soft and pleasant to me.
I try to enjoy every state and length and not keep thinking about my "goal".

[Curlsgirl]

I have been sort of doing this not really because of quality necessarily but because I kind of like my hair at this length. Also of course doing trims will KEEP it healthy and I can straighten it from time to time if I want to and really enjoy it in different ways. Not sure if this fits in this thread but I was thinking this this morning so I thought I would throw it in! :D

[harley mama]

Curlsgirl, I have also been considering trimming back and getting my ends into shape. It is a hard decision to give up any more hair after my huge chemo shed. But, I dislike my thin ends and hope that by trimming on a regular basis, I will gin some thickness back.

I can't imagine why CO would cause such a huge shed for you. I agree with Arctic. A trip to rule out other causes might be wise.

Good luck.

[brok3nwings]

im sorry to hear that you´re shedding that much... but in your position i think i would do the same...i dont know if anyone would have any kind of wash method that would go well with shedding...

[tiny_teesha]

No, i do this too! I have trimmed my growth rate for the last 5 months, just this month i was sick of not seeing results fast enough so i trimmed 1.5inches. And it is much better, i will continue to maintain- i too had a shedding incident due to a mask.
I think if you are patient definitely maintain. Emi-chiee does it too.

[FrannyG]

I'm all about quality vs. quantity. I trim 1/3 of my growth every 3 months. I find that this keeps up with the slowest growing hairs, and keeps my hemline as neat as possible.