Reached Knee -- Grow, Maintain, or Chop?

[Doreen]

This month I finally reached my goal of knee length! While I am overall satisfied with how my hair is doing, I think there is room for improvement and I'm sort of at a crossroads. My ultimate goal is terminal, but I have a lot of new growth coming in that needs to catch up (to thicken the hemline).

Maintaining seems like the logical thing here, but I'm lazy enough that the thought of trimming seems tedious (currently only S&D with a small trim once a year), plus this halfway benign neglect routine has gotten me this far anyway so I justify "how bad can it be?"

I have also vaguely thought about cutting back to Classic which is where the taper starts but that would mean losing over a foot and really impeding my journey to terminal. I'm scared I would lose the motivation to reach terminal if I was looking at adding an extra 3-4 years by chopping.

Would love to hear some advice or input.
A couple length shots: (lighting is not great; doesn't help that I have black hair but hopefully you can tell from where the pink of the robe is showing through)

http://36.media.tumblr.com/ac7a5dcca528e39626203644b5546ce9/tumblr_nnrabcmzrT1the2bao2_250.jpg
http://40.media.tumblr.com/762f9d9bf8e0f81b076fe8e8143b3e03/tumblr_nnrabcmzrT1the2bao1_250.jpg


ETA: Wow, thank you for all the kind words! I think I have always been concerned about a perceived taper in my hair because of braiding; when I get down to the end to tie off, my thickness is that of a pencil or less, but maybe that's just the way I'm sectioning? Either way, I think I am going to just let it grow a bit more and check in again at the end of the year when I've hopefully reached calf.

[Larki]

Hoooooly cow! Your hair is drop-dead gorgeous! To be totally honest, I don't see much taper at all - I can just BARELY see the pink of the robe in the last five or so inches. If I were you, I'd just keep on growing! No need to cut, in my opinion! Absolutely beautiful hair!!

[ZoSo]

Beautiful hair. My opinion is to go terminal. Your hair looks like it can grow forever:)

[DancingGirl]

Your hair is beautiful :thud: I agree with Larki you can barely see the pink. I would just keep growing.

[mermaid lullaby]

Your hair is gorgeous!
Don't ever chop it off!

[gthlvrmx]

Keep growing, the taper isn't that noticeable.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

You are happy with it - we all think it is awesome - you want to know where terminal is - keep growing :). Amazing hair!

[diddiedaisy]

Your hair stunning. In my opinion the taper is so minimal I would leave it alone. Your hemline looks thick to me, keep growing to terminal :)

[ashke50]

From your description I was expecting significant visible taper towards the ends, but no sign of that at all. Your hair looks incredible, and your hemline looks great. :thudpile: By all means grow on!

[aurorae]

cut? cut?? cut???!.gurrrl. i dont even see no taper.keep on growing.

[Panth]

If that's taper, then I should cut to about APL...

Maintain (if you like the length but don't like the idea of going longer) or just keep growing. Perhaps trim half your new growth for a while if you like super-blunt ends. However, personally I see no reason to cut anything at all.

[lapushka]

Why not just keep growing for a bit (until there's something to cut off) and then maintain at knee?

[Beatnik Guy]

Magnificent! :bowtome:

[GrowingOut]

Your hair is just STUNNING! The color, the thickness, and your ends are just lovely! I'd advise against cutting, unless you want it, because you don't need it.

[Nique1202]

If you want your ends to look thicker, it won't take much more than 3-4 inches off the bottom because the pink is barely showing through at the ends. Instead of chopping back to classic, what about fingertip or mid-thigh? That would only take a year or less to grow back in, your hair won't look or feel that much shorter, and it will satisfy your urge for a chop and less taper/fairytaling. I don't know where the new growth is that you want to catch up, but it will catch up eventually when you reach terminal and you'd set yourself back just as long waiting for it as chopping back to it.

Also, regular trimming/maintaining doesn't necessarily mean sitting down and measuring a precise and fiddly 1/4 inch every month. Once or twice a year taking off all the growth you've had since your last trim makes the same difference in the long run as long as you don't have splits traveling up the hair shaft in the mean time.

[lapushka]

Also, regular trimming/maintaining doesn't necessarily mean sitting down and measuring a precise and fiddly 1/4 inch every month. Once or twice a year taking off all the growth you've had since your last trim makes the same difference in the long run as long as you don't have splits traveling up the hair shaft in the mean time.

That's me in a nutshell. I'd rather chop a bigger piece off after more months of growth, than tiny pieces every month. I'm no trimming now, though.

[Calaelen]

It is absolutely gorgeous! If you're not really wanting more length at this stage, I would just maintain with microtrimming if the slight taper you do have is a bother to you.
I am hoping to reach knee sometime this year, and while I want to grow in to mid-calf eventually, once I do hit knee I am going to microtrim for some time to thicken things up a bit. I prefer taper and fairytale ends for myself, but I have illness related damage and taper from 2013 that is visible, so that's my personal plan.

If you want more length go for it! your ends are what mine want to be, and they are BEAUTIFUL!!

I would say NEVER chop...but you know never say never..lol.

[EdG]

Taper is when there is one strand left. You don't have taper. Keep growing (this is the only answer one can expect on a hair board). :)
Ed

[DaveDecker]

Your hair is gloriously beautiful as is! As you are on a quest for terminal I personally would not cut back to classic. At most I would trim 2 or 3 inches... or trim 1 inch and repeat once or twice every few months... or just continue with S&D only until you more firmly feel the desire for a trim, or have reached terminal.

[ChloeDharma]

If terminal is your goal then taper will be inevitable. I think your hair looks lovely and you have a good hemline. If you keep growing and it tapers somewhat it will still look lovely but for the moment I don't think you need to worry, I certainly wouldn't cut any length off if I were you unless you just want it shorter.

[Kherome]

I would get a small 1 inch trim and nothing more.

[Remi]

Oh it's so beautiful. Don't change a thing right now. Just keep growing. If you really think you need to thicken the ends, then MAYBE once every 3 months or so, do a barely noticeable 'dusting' of the ends. That way it can keep growing longer and lusher!

[gossamer]

You could take a halfway measure like I did when I got to knee and trim a little off every 6 months. It keeps the hemline full but also means that you can continue to be mostly lazy :D and continue to have some growth progress towards terminal.

I really don't think you should cut back up to classic. In a year or two when that thickness has travelled down you can reconsider cutting out the slight taper you have.

It looks really, really good!

[spidermom]

The only way to terminal is to keep growing. The ends aren't too thin.

[Carolyn]

If terminal is your goal and you have your heart set on it, then keep growing with S & D only. If you get to terminal, you will have taper. I don't think you can avoid it. I would say keep growing and see what your ends look like in a year or two years. You can decide to cut back some time in the future. Or not.

[truepeacenik]

Is there anything on the ends in the photo? Oil, leave in conditioner?
I see a tiny bit of separation, and only because you directed attention there.

In the same position, I'd go to the upper curve of the calf (top of gastrocnemius for my anatomy nerds) and reassess.
Top of calf doesn't feel like a mile marker, so playing with it there wouldn't be so obvious.

Ed knows. Listen to him.
Dave, well Dave always says keep growing, and he's right. :smooch:

Oh, a slight U or V hemline might make up for your missing 32 strands. (Seriously, not much taper.)

[lapushka]

I really don't think you should cut back up to classic. In a year or two when that thickness has travelled down you can reconsider cutting out the slight taper you have.

It looks really, really good!

:agree: Yes, true; thickness will travel down. Not that I think there's much of a taper to begin with - it does look good.


The only way to terminal is to keep growing. The ends aren't too thin.

:thumbsup:

[trolleypup]

As so many others have said...if your goal is terminal, you WILL have taper and fairytale ends as you approach and once you arrive. I'd say go with S&D only, don't worry about measuring or maintaining a hemline, and let it grow.

[endlessly]

Firstly, your hair is GORGEOUS! I vote for maintaining until the new growth catches up to help thicken your hemline, but honestly, it looks pretty thick and healthy to me. If you don't like the thought of constant trimming, then I would say to just let it grow and see how you feel in another month or two. If you notice the ends are continuing to thin as it grows, then consider a bigger chop, but certainly don't rush to make a decision. Keep doing what you're doing because from the pictures you've posted, your hair is stunning!

[Agnes Hannah]

Hi Doreen, your hair is gorgeous, you can't cut that off!! (I know its your opinion that matter of course!!) I so want your hair!!
Small trims to help improve your hemline (Why I don't know because it can't be improved really:agape:) and go for terminal. Bet you get further than floor!:thudpile:

[cat11]

Your hair is gorgeous, my dream hair. I would maintain for a year /half a year and then keep growing :D

If your goal is terminal that's already a long term goal and the slower you take it the better and thicker the end result will be. It always pays off for super long hair to have some "maintaining" pit stops.

It would look that much more perfect, if that's what you're going for. I see great results with that method, like the girl on "beyondclassiclength.com" who maintained at knee. It's offline now but you can veiw it on waybackmachine. The taper is very minimal but I see what you mean, there is some room for improvement. Alot of people on LHC will encourage you to grow though as long as nothing looks "bad", which it doesn't.

[FallingDarkness]

I'm in love with your hair, like honestly the color, the waves, the thickness, it's all what I want. <3 Please don't cut it. Maintain if you must, but it's already pretty healthy.:)

[MINAKO]

I dont believe in big chops anymore ever since the last one i gave myself, so if anything in your case, i would microtrimm and see how far it takes you. Its always easy to take off another half an inch the next day as opposed to waiting for a foot of length to kick back in.

[memeow]

If you want to grow to true terminal, you really don't want to cut your hair at all. Any hair you cut will not reach its terminal length. You'll have to wait for it to shed and get replaced by a new hair, which will then take however many years to reach its terminal. On the other hand, if you want to just continue growing your hair while maintaining your hemline, small trims might make you feel good. In any case, I'm not seeing any need for a major chop back to classic, unless, of course, you feel that's the length you'd prefer to wear your hair. It looks fabulous in any case :blossom:

[LauraLongLocks]

Keep growing, get trims 1-3 times a year, and enjoy your lovely mane. It is beautiful!

[ravenheather]

Grow. Grow. Grow.

[meteor]

You've got phenomenal hair, Doreen! :thudpile: Congratulations on reaching knee milestone! :bottomsup: I hope you'll decide to keep growing your gorgeous mane! :D

[dellad]

Your hair looks amazing! If you want to thicken up the hemline a little, you can try trimming off just one inch. You would be surprised how much of a difference such a small cut can make.

[hanne jensen]

Your hair is absolutely gorgeous. In the interest of benign neglect which has gotten you to where you are now, maybe a trim whenever you think about it? Sooner or later the newer hairs will catch up. If you chop now, you'll just have the same concerns again in 2 years' time. I don't know if it's the lighting or what, but I honestly can't see that much taper.

[winship2]

Wow, just beautiful! What lovely color and shine!!!

[DaveDecker]

Dave, well Dave always says keep growing, and he's right. :smooch:


Well, Doreen did say she is on a quest for terminal length, so I'm simply being supportive. Besides, with hair so beautiful, how could she not just let it keep growing? :D

[Xan]

I would defenitly grow grow grow. it looks awesome you will be at calf and longer before you know it. Plenty of time for small trims along rhe way.

[Rapunzel_to_be]

Your hair is so pretty!!

[gwenalyn]

What taper? :)

[Anje]

I wish mine tapered so little!

If you're going for terminal, I'm just echoing to say (1) don't trim and (2) expect it to taper eventually. That's what it does.

If you just want to park at knee for a while, I'm one for growing past the goal for a couple months, then trimming back, then repeat. That way, your hair doesn't go shorter than your desired length. (Also, personality-wise, I'm much more the sort who will trim just every couple months when the impulse strikes me, rather than the sort who religiously would trim off the new growth each month.)

[Scarlet_Celt]

Your hair is gorgeous, and has very little taper that's visible, but if you want a really blunt hemline you could always trim a few inches, and carry on growing. However, obviously if you do that then you won't get to terminal anytime soon. It's all personal preference, so do whatever feels right for you! :)

[Belle Paix]

Grow, grow, grow. It's gorgeous, no need to cut!!!