Keep Growing or Trim

[melomane]

So I started my long hair journey in March, my hair was a few inches behind bsl. Now my hair is right at WSL and I love it, exceot for the past two months I've been awful to my hair. My dance team required me to straighten it for every performance, one time I straightened it dry because I didn't know better. The length of my hair seems to look better but the ends are awful. The last 2 inches look like a micro braid when I braid them, and the hair starts thinning two inches above that. Also I've been majorly busy for a while and haven't S&D my hair since early September, and have fallen into the habit of showering in the morning and then noot wanting to comb my hair and put it in a bun. I put it in a side braid, but tucking the tail up before tying the ponytail, witch I'm pretty certain now has been causing a lot of the thinning. I've determined my hair grows about 1 inch per month, and my ultamite goal is classic length. So, if any of you were in my situation, would you keep growing it out for a few months then trim it back to WSL, microtrim it to maintain this length for a few months, or just trim it now? Any advice is appreciated(:

[ZeppHead]

If I were you and I see alot of damage, split ends and thinning I would take off what I needed to then go ahead with growing and just s & d as needed. Are the ends dry or indeed damaged? ? You can pamper the ends for a while and see if that improves the condition but if not I would definitely take off an inch and slowly take off only what's needed. Do it slow don't take off too much at once because you'll be able to tell if you've taken enough or need more off by the look and feel of it afterwards. Are you done with the heat? It would be ideal to air dry and let your hair rest so you can maintain healthy hair after your trim so you can grow out without having to regularly trim off heat damage.

[ZeppHead]

If I were you and I see alot of damage, split ends and thinning I would take off what I needed to then go ahead with growing and just s & d as needed. Are the ends dry or indeed damaged? ? You can pamper the ends for a while and see if that improves the condition but if not I would definitely take off an inch and slowly take off only what's needed. Do it slow don't take off too much at once because you'll be able to tell if you've taken enough or need more off by the look and feel of it afterwards. Are you done with the heat? It would be ideal to air dry and let your hair rest so you can maintain healthy hair after your trim so you can grow out without having to regularly trim off heat damage.

[Lyv]

I would just maintain at waist until the damage is cut out and not cut all at once.

[melomane]

I think the damge towards the ends is mostly dryness/splits. We have a new show coming up and I probably won'y know what we're doing with our hair until Jan :/ Odds are we won'y have to use heat but I don't know for sure.

[spidermom]

I'd cut away the damage as soon as possible. I feel better when my ends feel/look better.

[Chocowalnut]

If you're growth rate is an inch a month I'd definitely trim a couple inches get it nice and healthy and you'll have the length back in only a couple months

[ZeppHead]

Is it mandatory to straighten your hair? What's your hair like naturally? Can you try a heatless straightening technique this last time? What about blow drying straight? I really hate straightening irons. I used them religiously years ago and it damaged my hair so bad. I would try to find another way to straighten if you must but really try to steer clear from heat at all after that.

[melomane]

Other than football games (where I blow dried my hair straight or tried combinations of other techniques) it was mandatory to have stick-straight hair, so even straight hairs used a straightener. The first time used a straightener I made the mistake of not putting any type of serum between my hair and the straightener, and in the middle of the season I purchased a better quality straightener so I didn't need to go over my hair more than a couple times. I have thick (4 inch) hair with long S waves.

[Zebra Fish]

I'd maintain until the damage is off (that's what I'm doing at the moment - I have a thinned part and slowly trimming it before let it grow again), unless there is some major damage/splits than probably cut a bit off.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Why don't you try micro-trimming? Trim, say half an inch one month, do nothing the next month, then trim the following month and so on. You will still get growth and remove the damage as well. Personally I am thinking of something like this for myself for next year and I hate losing length.

[melomane]

Thans for all of the advice! I thin I'll trim an inch off and maintain WL for a few months.