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View Full Version : Severe Taper?



DragonLady
April 23rd, 2014, 06:49 PM
I have pretty severe taper starting around waist length. I know part of it is because I burned my hair a couple of years ago, but it tapers down severely and there are only a few dozen hairs at the hemline.

I'm considering a trim back to knee length, and am thinking about keeping it trimmed there for a few months to see if it helps to thicken up the ends a bit.

Has anyone tried this, and if so, did it work?

I'm only about 18" from ankle length now IF I count those few straggly strands. But I'm really hoping to see more strands reach that length at once, if it's possible?

LauraLongLocks
April 23rd, 2014, 07:45 PM
Looks like you have a very long goal in mind, so you probably don't want to lose all that length in one shot. It doesn't sound like you want a change in your length because you are unhappy with it in any way, either. I would trim half my growth every other month until I was happier with my hemline. In fact, that's exactly what I'm going to do when I reach TBL.

DragonLady
April 23rd, 2014, 07:48 PM
No; I'm not unhappy with my hair at all. I just *wish* for a thicker hemline. :)

LauraLongLocks
April 23rd, 2014, 08:25 PM
In that case, I wouldn't go for the big chop. It doesn't sound like it would make you happy. Just do some microtrimming every two months until you find your happy spot. If you aren't happy after a while, then revisit the big chop idea. You can always go to the big chop if the microtrimming doesn't work out for you, but if you take off a bunch all at once you will likely regret it.

DragonLady
April 23rd, 2014, 08:28 PM
Yes; I think I like the idea of just trimming half of the growth every couple of months. I do very much enjoy seeing it grow longer and longer, so cutting it -at all- is a distressing (de tressing?) thought.

LauraLongLocks
April 23rd, 2014, 08:33 PM
It'll be nice because you'll continue to see growth, just not quite as much, and at the same time you will be improving your hemline. I actually got the idea from Emi's blog http://longhairedatheart.blogspot.com/2010/03/even-hemline-without-loosing-length.html

MadeiraD
April 23rd, 2014, 09:17 PM
I intend to do the micro trimming too once I reach classic, so that's what I reccomend.

Lyv
April 23rd, 2014, 10:44 PM
I think trimming half your growth is a great idea, you'll get to work your way to 2 different goals at once if you do that!

willowcandra
April 24th, 2014, 05:49 AM
I've done a big chop twice now from classic to tail and then from classic to waist. Lovely blunt ends for about a month and then bad taper again.
This year I decided that I would, for the first time in 14 years on the forums, start doing monthly micro trims blunt at the end. It looked really silly in January because there was a taper with a cm straight at the bottom.

I've just done a fourth trim of the year and I have a hand span of thin hair at the ends but the hemline is thickening up and visibly so. I guess I'm taking about 3/4 of a cm each time. I took two inches in January.

But it is really working for me and I don't think a big chop is needed now. By the end of the year if it keeps going this way it should be looking much fuller.
I never believed trimming worked ever so I went years without and had major fairtale issues and juts a month is enough for a taper to appear.
I found some blogs of people doing micro trims and they all showed similar things-one had major taper at tailbone length but trimmed down to knee and had blunt thick hemline. I'm not trying to gain length at the moment, not on purpose so I cut whatever extends past the thickest points. However I am convinced I am gaining length at the same rate if not more than before. SO I am getting longer anyway. Weird.

I also noticed one side of my hair is so much thinner than the other and I realised this is the side I pick and scratch all day. A really bad habit I have developed, not helped by stress. So I am trying to leave it alone and stop rubbing it when talking.

CurlyOne
April 24th, 2014, 07:01 AM
It'll be nice because you'll continue to see growth, just not quite as much, and at the same time you will be improving your hemline. I actually got the idea from Emi's blog http://longhairedatheart.blogspot.com/2010/03/even-hemline-without-loosing-length.html

This was amazingly insightful, thank you so much. I have a lot of taper when I am growing out and I have cut from BSL to shoulder maybe three times by now in an effort to have a better hemline. Feel kinda stupid for not figuring this out of my own. Thank you!

LauraLongLocks
April 24th, 2014, 07:57 AM
This was amazingly insightful, thank you so much. I have a lot of taper when I am growing out and I have cut from BSL to shoulder maybe three times by now in an effort to have a better hemline. Feel kinda stupid for not figuring this out of my own. Thank you!

Emi puts out a very good case for microtrimming instead of doing the big chop. I have shared this blog post several times because I think it's great. The truth is, you can always decide to do a big chop if the microtrimming isn't going fast enough for you. I know I would have cutter's remorse if I chopped a bunch off in one whack. It has taken a long time to grow to waist+ and I don't want to go back! In fact, I'm really not going to get into any serious trimming until TBL. I'm allowing myself to S&D and to trim the racers every few months, and a yearly 1" trim until I make TBL (which should be next year). At that point, I feel I will have reached my minimum length and I can switch to trimming half my growth until I get the last of my pesky layers and face-framing bits grown out. I may even continue until I get my bangs all the way grown out, but they are still up at eye level right now. Anyway, good luck everyone. I'm glad that Emi's blog post helped!

Panth
April 25th, 2014, 03:19 PM
Try microtrimming instead of a big chop. If you chop, it'll only damage itself and grow taper back in as it grows down. At least now you know how things are and that the taper shouldn't get drastically worse with microtrimming.

If you cut half your growth, you'd still have length gain.

Take a length photo every time you trim, to track your progress. I suspect with hair that long, it'd be very easy to not realise whether there has been improvement unless you had some solid evidence (certainly, I wouldn't be able to tell my progress in increasing thickness and improving my hemline whilst maintaining at knee without photos -- it just feels much like it always has been, probably in part because it's hard to properly see the hemline, even in a mirror).

DragonLady
April 25th, 2014, 03:41 PM
Try microtrimming instead of a big chop. If you chop, it'll only damage itself and grow taper back in as it grows down. At least now you know how things are and that the taper shouldn't get drastically worse with microtrimming.

If you cut half your growth, you'd still have length gain.

Take a length photo every time you trim, to track your progress. I suspect with hair that long, it'd be very easy to not realise whether there has been improvement unless you had some solid evidence (certainly, I wouldn't be able to tell my progress in increasing thickness and improving my hemline whilst maintaining at knee without photos -- it just feels much like it always has been, probably in part because it's hard to properly see the hemline, even in a mirror).


I keep my hair up all the time now, so the taper doesn't bother me unless I want to wear a braid. If I try to look at the full length of it in a mirror, it doesn't look bad (although I can still see where it was burned).

I'm tempted to just let it grow the last inches to my anklebone, then just maintain it there. That's been my ultimate goal for some time now, and once I'm there I can decide later if I want to let grow longer (but I probably won't - the idea of it trailing on the floor when I walk doesn't have much appeal for me).

Night_Kitten
April 26th, 2014, 11:35 AM
I second the "trim half the growth" idea, in fact that's what I've been doing for the last 4 months in a hope to thicken up my hemline eventually :)
I did the biggish trim / cut thing (~3'') twice over the last 4 years, and though at first it seemed to help (hemline looked thicker), when my hair grew to the previous length it was just as tapered as before the trim/cut, so I'd say avoid the chops...

That blog post is great, that's where I first got the idea too... Took me a while to actually DO it as I kept postponing trims, lol :)

vindo
April 26th, 2014, 07:39 PM
This was amazingly insightful, thank you so much. I have a lot of taper when I am growing out and I have cut from BSL to shoulder maybe three times by now in an effort to have a better hemline. Feel kinda stupid for not figuring this out of my own. Thank you!

Glad my article helped you! I just wanted to note that often taper is also related to increased shedding. Some of us don't shed so much that they bald or that the hair thins at the crown, but not enough of it will get very long (it could be something as simple as lacking Iron or Vitamin D.). This can be due to many, many reasons. In case you suspect that you shed a bit much (more than 60-80 a day) you might find this link helpful also:

http://www.longhairedatheart.blogspot.de/2013/08/causes-of-hair-loss-list.html

MINAKO
April 26th, 2014, 08:11 PM
So nice to be reminded of that blog, thanks for all the helpful infos Emi. It was actually a reason for me to first get active in a hairforum.
As for the shedding, i do shed alot, icluding shorter hairs, that may just have avery short terminal lenght, the overall texture is very mixed. It doesnt seem to be a problem tho, since i never notice a decrase in thickness. Currently being at BCL, so i dont know if it would make any difference if it was longer, but i will keep an eye on it.