Not trimming damaged hair?

[Sparklylady82]

What would you do if you didn't trim your split ends/damage? Is there anything one can do to keep splits under control with out cutting off? So my question is, imagine that you can't trim your hair, not at all! What would you do or not do to keep your hair healthy without trims.

I really want fairy tale ends and don't want to cut but I have splits so this is why I am asking :-) I know there's not magic cure but I thought it'd be fun to hear people's ideas!

[wilderwein]

Well in my experience, I used to always trim the damaged ends. But that way I wasn't gaining length (since I was visiting professional hair dressers, wich would cut much more than needed)
After a couple of times I realized, that my hair NO MATTER how carefull I am the last of 2 inches of hair length will always get damaged somehow. So I decided to ignore my ends and just grow my hair.
Many people told me that the splits would travel etc. On my hair, that doesnt happen! So I just take extra care of them [ oiling, protective hairstyles, proper conditioning ], and I'll start microtrimming probably next year.

So my advice would be to watch what happens with your hair when you wont trim split ends. If you notice that they travel, then maybe consider microtrimming, if not you can continoue growing!

My only struggle with my damaged ends it's that they tangle super easily, and they are quite thin. But thats also something that my hair naturally has! Even when I was a child I would get super thin ends (and back then I wasnt bleaching/heat treating my hair.

[Decemberrose]

I have dry and bleached ends but no splits or breakage (yet).
I have used the LOC method over 6 months now and that helped a LOT. Don't want to trim it the rest of this year.
Moisture and the tucked under french braid is the key for me right now.

[lapushka]

I hardly have to S&D, but I don't have splits (check sometimes). If I did have a few, what's the issue with snipping a few hairs out, really? It's not going to harm your growth process in the least, so I'd not leave it out.

[endlessly]

I rarely have split ends, but I am guilty of cutting off the dry, damaged-feeling ends just because it makes it easier to care for my hair. I had 3 years where I didn't cut my hair at all no matter how dry my ends looked and that was mainly because I was trying to grow out a bad haircut and needed the shortest layer to reach hip before I felt comfortable trimming everything back to one length. All I did during that time to help prevent further damage to my ends considering I was using hot rollers daily and washing daily, was just to make sure I did as many leave-ins and deep conditioning treatments as possible - basically, I felt I could counteract the damage by slathering my hair in moisture and truthfully, it worked. Even though I felt my hair didn't look its best at the time, I always received tons of compliments from my coworkers about how healthy it was.

[meteor]

^ I agree with all the recommendations above.


With split ends, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

You can seriously help ends with more moisture, more oiling, LOC/sealing regularly... Things like sun protection, updos with ends tucked in, sleeping on silky materials with hair contained can do wonders for preserving ends!
If the hair has been through chemical processing or heat styling or other damage, then ad-hoc hydrolyzed protein treatments can be very helpful, like Aphogee 2-step or DIY gelatin mask, for example.

Also, I think of my ends as the protection for the keratin further up. Yes, my ends are more frayed/fragile than the rest of my hair (whose isn't?), but if I cut them, I'd have super-fresh ends for a few weeks... and then my ends would get a bit rougher with pure passage of time, again. That's why I'm pro limited trimming, if you want hair to grow longer faster.

Split ends are in a different category though - I'd snip if I had them, personally, but I realize that they don't have to travel up the hair shaft (they sometimes do, but not always). There are some products with temporary split-end mending claim: PEC technology (http://thebeautybrains.com/2012/02/hair-repair-new-technology-really-works/) (polyelectrolyte complex, which consists of a negatively charged ion - PVM/MA copolymer - and a positively charged ion - Polyquaternium-28 ), but nothing can fix a split end permanently, since hair is dead, so trimming that is the best solution for a neater hemline and less tangling at the ends, easier maintenance.

[spidermom]

Try it and see what happens. I've been in the sorry situation of having hair break off about as fast as it grew in the past, so obviously my damage was moving upward and breaking off. I wasn't dyeing or bleaching or heat styling or ANYTHING at the time, so that the hel? Small trims on a regular basis works best for my hair.

[wilderwein]

^ I agree with all the recommendations above.


With split ends, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

You can seriously help ends with more moisture, more oiling, LOC/sealing regularly... Things like sun protection, updos with ends tucked in, sleeping on silky materials with hair contained can do wonders for preserving ends!
If the hair has been through chemical processing or heat styling or other damage, then ad-hoc hydrolyzed protein treatments can be very helpful, like Aphogee 2-step or DIY gelatin mask, for example.

Also, I think of my ends as the protection for the keratin further up. Yes, my ends are more frayed/fragile than the rest of my hair (whose isn't?), but if I cut them, I'd have super-fresh ends for a few weeks... and then my ends would get a bit rougher with pure passage of time, again. That's why I'm pro limited trimming, if you want hair to grow longer faster.

Split ends are in a different category though - I'd snip if I had them, personally, but I realize that they don't have to travel up the hair shaft (they sometimes do, but not always). There are some products with temporary split-end mending claim: PEC technology (http://thebeautybrains.com/2012/02/hair-repair-new-technology-really-works/) (polyelectrolyte complex, which consists of a negatively charged ion - PVM/MA copolymer - and a positively charged ion - Polyquaternium-28 ), but nothing can fix a split end permanently, since hair is dead, so trimming that is the best solution for a neater hemline and less tangling at the ends, easier maintenance.

I just want to share my enthusiasm, couse I think about my ends the same way!!!!! I feel like they are protection for the rest of the hair!
No one actually gets my point when I try to explain them, so finding someone who has the same strategy with me made me happy :flowers:

[meteor]

I just want to share my enthusiasm, couse I think about my ends the same way!!!!! I feel like they are protection for the rest of the hair!
No one actually gets my point when I try to explain them, so finding someone who has the same strategy with me made me happy :flowers:

Thank you so much, wilderwein! :flowers: And I'm glad I'm not the only one, too! :hifive:

This idea makes sense for me from 2 angles:

1) Almost everybody has more frayed ends than the rest of their hair (regardless of the length): you can have hair trailing on the floor behind you or just a shoulder-length bob, and yet the ends are still the most fragile area (even if the hair is not long!), demanding a bit more care and protection, so it must be the exposure of the ends to the elements that makes them fray more. And don't get me started on all the commercial products that exist just to address the "ends".

2) Layers or complicated cuts with large exposure areas for ends: from my personal experience, more "porcupine"-like structures did always contribute to more hair ends sticking out in the sun or rubbing on collars/coats/hats/chairs, etc and that's where I used to get white dots... It's a breeze growing out straight hems for me, but working with layers was way harder - it was more difficult to moisturize all ends (on all layers) and I used to find splits on layers higher up... Totally personal and anecdotal stuff, of course :oops: , but it does make me think of ends as being a bit protective for the rest of my hair. :flower:

[Frankenstein]

I had split/bleach damaged/fairytale ends for 5 years before I cut them off. Once they started splitting I couldn't really control it but using a lot of conditioner on them helped to make them look nicer and keep from breaking so much that I'd lose length.

[hinabelle]

I have damaged ends, and layers that are the shortest at the base of my head. I refuse to trim my ends off just yet, so I wear protective styles 24/7 and keep my ends nice and oiled. I also practice a trim method that is in between dusting and s&d'ing. I "search & dust" :lol: whenever I have free time. It keeps my ends less snaggly while not taking off any length. My damaged ends will likely stay until the majority of my layers are at MBL.

[wilderwein]

Meteor WHAT CAN I SAY???? I think exactly the same way!!! And when I had that theory in mind I decided to grow my layers out too! I mean my shortest layers was like 6 inches long and still they were equally damaged with the longer ones! Ends are gonna get more damaged no matter what! Besides it's the last thing that it will take ALL the manipulation of detangling and braiding and all the hair stuff. I mean no one stops detangling their hair before it reaches the ends! So it's perfectly normal for them to get a little bit more damaged since It's "the edge" of the hair.

[meteor]

^ Absolutely! :agree: That's my rationale exactly.

I think, once I realized that, I knew that no amount of trimming is going to replace a great solid routine and proper care for ends (whether they are many years old or just a day old - right after a trim), they still need a bit of TLC, if we want to grow long. ;)

[Marika]

I've always had tons of split ends no matter what I do. Trim regularly/no trims at all, S&D once a week/no S&D at all, chemically treated hair/natural hair, cones/no cones, sulfates/no sulfates, hair down 24/7 / hair up 24/7, no brush, stretch washes, do that, don't do that...blah blah. Long story short , my hair has always been damaged but it doesn't look that bad. Many people say they don't have any damage but their hair still looks worse than mine in my opinion. And even here on LHC, I feel most of us have the same issues, damage or no damage.

I microtrim nowadays (every 1-2 months) because I've realized I like bluntish hairline. I don't do S&D at the moment because I just don't see the benefits. I could spend 10 hours a day doing S&D and my hair would still be full of split ends. And yes, I have sharp 'hair cutting only' scissors. If I wanted fairytale ends, I wouldn't trim at all. If split ends droved me crazy, I wouldn't have hair at all. I think I was born with split ends and I'm pretty sure I'm going to die with them and that's ok :cool:

[Sparklylady82]

Thank you for all of this wonderful advice everyone who posted!!!



You can seriously help ends with more moisture, more oiling, LOC/sealing regularly... Things like sun protection, updos with ends tucked in, sleeping on silky materials with hair contained can do wonders for preserving ends!
If the hair has been through chemical processing or heat styling or other damage, then ad-hoc hydrolyzed protein treatments can be very helpful, like Aphogee 2-step or DIY gelatin mask, for example.

Also, I think of my ends as the protection for the keratin further up. Yes, my ends are more frayed/fragile than the rest of my hair (whose isn't?), but if I cut them, I'd have super-fresh ends for a few weeks... and then my ends would get a bit rougher with pure passage of time, again. That's why I'm pro limited trimming, if you want hair to grow longer faster.

Split ends are in a different category though - I'd snip if I had them, personally, but I realize that they don't have to travel up the hair shaft (they sometimes do, but not always). There are some products with temporary split-end mending claim: PEC technology (http://thebeautybrains.com/2012/02/hair-repair-new-technology-really-works/) (polyelectrolyte complex, which consists of a negatively charged ion - PVM/MA copolymer - and a positively charged ion - Polyquaternium-28 ), but nothing can fix a split end permanently, since hair is dead, so trimming that is the best solution for a neater hemline and less tangling at the ends, easier maintenance.
Very interesting! I am always hoping you will post because you know SO much! I have really been focusing on LOC and oiling so that is good! My hair LOVES oil! I oil the ends twice a day and do a deep over night oil treatment before a wash and seal wet hair with oil. Lots of oils!!! I could wear more protective styles. So interesting about the protein...I'm kinda scared of it though because I have some coarse hairs and I don't want them to break.

Try it and see what happens. I've been in the sorry situation of having hair break off about as fast as it grew in the past, so obviously my damage was moving upward and breaking off. I wasn't dyeing or bleaching or heat styling or ANYTHING at the time, so that the hel? Small trims on a regular basis works best for my hair.
Interesting! I should have pretty strong hair but because it is damaged it breaks and splits, especially on the canopy where the shorter layers are. I think Meteor said they stick out of everything so they get damaged easier. The canopy is also more fine than the rest of my coarse hairs. Anyway, I think I will try it for the rest of the year and just really baby it. It's breaking sometimes 2 inches up the shaft so what the heck is a 1/2 inch trim going to do for that? Nada. Unless I shave my head....NOPE not going to happen ;-)

I have damaged ends, and layers that are the shortest at the base of my head. I refuse to trim my ends off just yet, so I wear protective styles 24/7 and keep my ends nice and oiled. I also practice a trim method that is in between dusting and s&d'ing. I "search & dust" :lol: whenever I have free time. It keeps my ends less snaggly while not taking off any length. My damaged ends will likely stay until the majority of my layers are at MBL.
Dusting makes me crazy. I start snipping the splits and then there are suddenly so many and I get overwhelmed. I'm so impatient.


I've always had tons of split ends no matter what I do. Trim regularly/no trims at all, S&D once a week/no S&D at all, chemically treated hair/natural hair, cones/no cones, sulfates/no sulfates, hair down 24/7 / hair up 24/7, no brush, stretch washes, do that, don't do that...blah blah. Long story short , my hair has always been damaged but it doesn't look that bad. Many people say they don't have any damage but their hair still looks worse than mine in my opinion. And even here on LHC, I feel most of us have the same issues, damage or no damage.

I microtrim nowadays (every 1-2 months) because I've realized I like bluntish hairline. I don't do S&D at the moment because I just don't see the benefits. I could spend 10 hours a day doing S&D and my hair would still be full of split ends. And yes, I have sharp 'hair cutting only' scissors. If I wanted fairytale ends, I wouldn't trim at all. If split ends droved me crazy, I wouldn't have hair at all. I think I was born with split ends and I'm pretty sure I'm going to die with them and that's ok :cool:

Yes! I am growing out layers too. I was stupid and cut them in last October thinking it would get rid of more damage BUT like Meteor said, it was good and fresh for a few weeks and then the hairs were still damage and the wear happens anyway!

[Sparklylady82]

Meteor have you tried anything with the PEC-technology?

[meteor]

Thank you so much, Sparklylady82! :flowers: You are very kind! :D

You are probably right to exercise caution with proteins, if your hair is coarse. Coarser hair tends to love oils and silicones and everything softening, slip-inducing more. :flower:

[meteor]

Meteor have you tried anything with the PEC-technology?

I didn't have split ends when I found out about those products, so I didn't try them. But I would look up reviews for them, because some folks report those products to feel sticky? :hmm: I would think if one doesn't have split ends, it's probably better to avoid this stuff, because it will be easier to avoid unnecessary build-up risks.

[memeow]

I have split ends, and while I do trim, I'm not chopping back to the point where there are no splits. I have baby hairs that split around 3 inches long...no thanks!

So, I trim about 1/2" every three months (about a third of my growth) which at least gives me the illusion of keeping things in control. I've tried S&D but I get kind of fixated on it, and honestly, I probably have thousands of split ends...I'm not going to get them all or even make a substantial dent in them. So I decided to stop worrying about that. I'm planning on maintaining for a while next year, to see if that helps.

To deal with them in the meantime, I've gotten very careful about detangling (only with my fingers, when dry or full of conditioner), wearing my hair up at night, using a conditioner with protein, and using a leave-in with amidimethecone. I also wear my hair in a bun most days to keep the ends protected. I've tried using coconut oil on the ends but it seems to attract lint to my hair, which causes tangles, so now I only use it as a pre-wash treatment. I really hope that most of the splits are due to pre-LHC mistreatment and that as the years go by I'll grow out the damage and they'll leave, but it's been more than a year and I don't think the situation is much better. Even as a kid I was prone to them, so it might just be my hair-type!

The good news is, all the gentle treatment has made a significant difference. My hair is growing way faster than it was in my pre-LHC days, and that's including the trims. I don't think the actual growth rate has changed, rather, I'm retaining more hair. So while the splits still exist, they don't seem to be causing noticeable breakage, and they don't seem to travel up too quickly. But I'm not joining any of the "no trim challenges" until I get rid of them--I think taking a little bit off every few months gives me a fighting chance of growing out the damage.

[LongCurlyTress]

Sparklylady82, it is best to bun it up everyday with a bit of EVOO and then forgetaboutit. From what mostly everyone has said here, and I needed to read it too, damaged ends are a part of having long hair so instead of worrying about them, just go about enjoying your life, put your hair up and practice benign neglect. :) Good luck hon and really, your hair is very pretty and it will continue to grow. If you like fairytale ends well then, just forgetabout it! One of my favorite longhairs, has curly fairytale ends all the way to the back of her knees. She just buns it everyday, trims maybe an inch every 6 months and her hair is gorgeous. Hugs! :)

[HintOfMint]

My experience has been that damage travels up. Frayed ends break off, leaving more frayed ends, leading to more tangles, leading to more damage... In my experience, it's best to nip that stuff in the bud.

The good news is that it doesn't take too many frequent trims to keep damage at bay. For me, it's a trim every 6 months, with S&D in between.

[Nini]

I just stopped getting my regular haircuts back when I went for fairytale ends. I'll S&D whenever I feel like it and I have a pair of scissors available. And I either braid or wear my hair up. My hair's just not meant to be worn loose.

I've never had a particular goal in mind though, except I always wanted my braid to hit a particular point, which it has. I'm not sure how you'd maintain a certain length and still have fairytale ends though. Someone else would have to chime in on that.

[Sparklylady82]

My experience has been that damage travels up. Frayed ends break off, leaving more frayed ends, leading to more tangles, leading to more damage... In my experience, it's best to nip that stuff in the bud.

The good news is that it doesn't take too many frequent trims to keep damage at bay. For me, it's a trim every 6 months, with S&D in between.
This is what I'm afraid of! I did a huge s&d session last night and I'm hoping if I keep up on that I can keep the damage away? I hope!


I just stopped getting my regular haircuts back when I went for fairytale ends. I'll S&D whenever I feel like it and I have a pair of scissors available. And I either braid or wear my hair up. My hair's just not meant to be worn loose.

I've never had a particular goal in mind though, except I always wanted my braid to hit a particular point, which it has. I'm not sure how you'd maintain a certain length and still have fairytale ends though. Someone else would have to chime in on that.
Good advice! Yes I hope someone comes in about keeping fairytale with our without trims.

[Sparklylady82]

I didn't have split ends when I found out about those products, so I didn't try them. But I would look up reviews for them, because some folks report those products to feel sticky? :hmm: I would think if one doesn't have split ends, it's probably better to avoid this stuff, because it will be easier to avoid unnecessary build-up risks.
I am going to try it out and I'll let you know! :-)


way[/I] faster than it was in my pre-LHC days, and that's including the trims. I don't think the actual growth rate has changed, rather, I'm retaining more hair. So while the splits still exist, they don't seem to be causing noticeable breakage, and they don't seem to travel up too quickly. But I'm not joining any of the "no trim challenges" until I get rid of them--I think taking a little bit off every few months gives me a fighting chance of growing out the damage.
I agree, the damage and splits ate probably lingering on from pre lhc days. Imagine how much worse the condition would be without finding lhc! I think it just takes time and patience. I'm not good at bring patient so this grow out process has been hard! Some are so graceful about it!


Sparklylady82, it is best to bun it up everyday with a bit of EVOO and then forgetaboutit. From what mostly everyone has said here, and I needed to read it too, damaged ends are a part of having long hair so instead of worrying about them, just go about enjoying your life, put your hair up and practice benign neglect. :) Good luck hon and really, your hair is very pretty and it will continue to grow. If you like fairytale ends well then, just forgetabout it! One of my favorite longhairs, has curly fairytale ends all the way to the back of her knees. She just buns it everyday, trims maybe an inch every 6 months and her hair is gorgeous. Hugs! :)
Thankyou LCT! Your always so sweet and encouraging to me :-) I do need to realize that damage is apart of long hair, I can't expect perfection! Especially with these waves, they've been tangling so easy lately. Just need to dangle and keep it up!

[summergreen]

Catnip tea rinses/soaks? I think there are a few threads on here about them, here's one:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476&page=2


I just want to share my enthusiasm, couse I think about my ends the same way!!!!! I feel like they are protection for the rest of the hair!


I think this too. I cut my hair back to waist from nearly tailbone and the ends thinned out again straight away, its like there has to be a bad couple of inches at the bottom no matter what the length is. I microtrim now but its not thickened up at all.

[wilderwein]

Catnip tea rinses/soaks? I think there are a few threads on here about them, here's one:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476&page=2



I think this too. I cut my hair back to waist from nearly tailbone and the ends thinned out again straight away, its like there has to be a bad couple of inches at the bottom no matter what the length is. I microtrim now but its not thickened up at all.

Yes!!! That exactly was happening to my hair too everytime I was getting a huge haircut! The first days were perfect and then they would get in the same state again!

[meteor]

^ :agree: I can only concur with you, guys! :hifive:
And this mechanism worked on my hair whether it was virgin or chemically processed. :shrug:

[wilderwein]

^ :agree: I can only concur with you, guys! :hifive:
And this mechanism worked on my hair whether it was virgin or chemically processed. :shrug:

SAAME HERE! Fun fact: My ends were even worse when my hair was virgin (couse I was combing my hair terribly, ripping hair strands etc)

Only on LCH I could find people who I think alike! I tried a million times to explain to people out of LCH why I havent cut my hair for so long and they insist "Your hair wont grow"

[ravenheather]

I have found a lot less splits and damage with more consistent use of leave in conditioner. I used to get bent ends/white dots. Moisture and low manipulation seem to be key for my hair.

[B-ecca]

My hair is real thin and fine, so it always looks like I have split ends anyway.

[Sparklylady82]

Catnip tea rinses/soaks? I think there are a few threads on here about them, here's one:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476&page=2



I think this too. I cut my hair back to waist from nearly tailbone and the ends thinned out again straight away, its like there has to be a bad couple of inches at the bottom no matter what the length is. I microtrim now but its not thickened up at all.
Ooooh thank you for the catnip thread! I've never tried that. I do have a sample herbal rinse from nightingbloom (sp??) That I'm waiting to try!


I have found a lot less splits and damage with more consistent use of leave in conditioner. I used to get bent ends/white dots. Moisture and low manipulation seem to be key for my hair.
I've found this too. But I think my hair gets drier with silicone and I actually have shinier and less breakage without cones. I've been doing loc method.

My hair is real thin and fine, so it always looks like I have split ends anyway.
Awe, I'm sure your hair is wonderful! That is the beauty of it, we all have different types of hair and none are exactly the same and all are beautiful :-)

So I'm concluding that trimming damaged hair may not only be un necessary but also harmful in a way. Babying the hair seems like the best option and opinion in this thread! It makes sense that if you trim a damaged hair it will just unravel just as quickly.

[meteor]

So I'm concluding that trimming damaged hair may not only be un necessary but also harmful in a way. Babying the hair seems like the best option and opinion in this thread! It makes sense that if you trim a damaged hair it will just unravel just as quickly.

^ Yes, I think so too.
Also, if damaged hair couldn't be well maintained, but instead was meant to be trimmed off immediately, then there would be no bleach blondes, dyed hair, permed/relaxed hair, keratin-straightened hair... Sure, all that hair has some damage, but you can still grow it and baby it to beautiful lengths! :D

[Halliday]

using oil as a leave in seems to reduce my split ends