Reason to panic?

[petcrazy18]

Hey guys so lately I've been a little hair panickyshudder:.

I've been taking care of my hair for 3 years now and while I've seen some tremendous changes (growth and shine).. I've run into a snag. Lately I've been incredibly concerned about my ends. My hair seems to have tapered quite a bit and thinned.
So I did some "detective work" and considered differing variables.
-I have a working routine with no cones
-Ive kept my hair up in a hair stick bun with a smooth object (nothing that rips through the hair) everyday now for at least the past 3 months to protect the ends
-I oil my hair lightly with coconut oil (so I have something penetrating the hair follicle) after every shower
-I haven't trimmed my hair since I've grown it out (3 years)
-A month ago I was combining out my curls a considerable bit more with my wide tooth comb (now only use my fingers to comb)
-my diet has been lacking in comparison to my old routine (I still eat healthy and vegan but I don't have such a wide array of vitamins)

So that's what I got. Looking at the photos, do you guys think I should be slightly concerned?
If so, I understand micro trimming or a blunt chop are possible options. One simply being less traumatizing than the other haha.

My hair is to my bum now and it would be so sad if I had to cut it :(. But I trust you guys as a community so let me know your thoughts or opinions:).

http://s6.postimg.org/k6iu70grh/IMG_1206.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/k6iu70grh/)
http://s6.postimg.org/sdffcbw7x/Full_Size_Render.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

[Nique1202]

Ends will tend to thin and fairytale over time because of everyday friction and accumulated wear. It's totally up to yourself whether you want to microtrim to restore the thickness, but that doesn't look like a whole lot of taper to me anyway. You may be making a molehill into a mountain, you know? If I were you, I'd just make sure to be vigilant about friction on the ends (you don't necessarily need to wear it up 24/7, but watch out for when it rubs or gets caught on clothing, chairs, bags, etc.) and maybe use a silicone-containing serum on the ends once in a while to give them a little extra slip and protection. It doesn't need to be at every wash, or even every other wash, just take a drop, rub it on your fingers like you probably do with your coconut oil, and just run your fingers through the bottom few inches. Take note of how it feels, dry and the next time you get it wet. When that feeling goes away, reapply.

[TrapperCreekD]

I wouldn't panic, your hair looks pretty thick and even (second pic isn't working for me) for your stats.

A couple things that jumped out at me: by not trimmed do you mean so scissors have touched your hair in three years? How were you wearing your hair before you started bunning it everyday?

Some hair is super resilient, but three years is a long time, especially if you're a finey. Most people need a trim or two, or at the very least some S&D to keep any splits from going wild. By the time your hair's butt length the ends are getting tired, especially with no trims, because they are, after all, several years old. If you were wearing your hair down before three months ago, that's also hard on the ends. I'd microtrim (maybe take off a half inch to start) and s&d for splits, if you have any.

[spidermom]

Also, the ends taper over time because of the shed and regrow cycle. Every day at least a few hairs reach the end of their growth cycles and shed out. Then a new hair begins to grow, and of course it will take years for the new hairs to grow long enough to fill in the ends. That is why your hair is always thicker at - for example - shoulder length as compared to waist length.

[cat11]

woah, I wouldn't panic, I'm jealous :) I think your hair looks great, your braids are impressive, and your routine sounds solid!! Thumbs up.

[Arctic]

To me it looks like you have almost no taper above the elastics in the first photo - I can't see big enough version of the second photo to comment about it. So if you feel your ends are very thin, it looks like they thin quite quickly (the area below elastics, it's hard to say from the photo how quickly it tapers from there).

I'm thinking it's possibly simply the prolonged no-trimming that has caused your taper on your tassles (mechanical damage, shedding, uneven growth), unless you have noticed the tapering happening suddenly.

I do suggest ramping up your diet; vegans need some supplementing and wide variety of foods. If you have recently became a vegan, a big diet change like that might cause a temparary shedding, but you didn't mention shedding more than normal.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I wouldn't panic either and your hair is beautiful! Yes, hair does generally taper as it gets longer and the ends will be thinner than, say at your shoulder. My ends at tailbone + are quite thin, though this also includes thinness from a big shed nearly 3 years ago. I am doing micro trims every few months (trimming a quarter to half inch each time) to gradually trim away the thin ends to where the hair is thicker. It is a long process for me as I have inches to trim, but for you it may not take as long. Micro trimming is the much less traumatic solution to the thin ends problem and you might also come to love having freshly cut, tidy ends, too, particularly if you haven't trimmed for several years. If you do regular small trims of a quarter inch or so you will still get good growth - and tidy ends, the best of both worlds.

My personal opinion is that fine hair like mine and yours does benefit hugely from regular, small trims to keep fresh ends. I tried growing for 2-3 years with no trims and my ends really didn't like it.

Hope this helps! :)

[Anje]

I *wish* I had so little taper as you!

Your hairs don't exist in a synchronized growth cycle. Some shed out every day (annoyingly, not always only the longest ones), and new ones sprout every day. Those newer hairs obviously aren't as long as the ones that got an earlier start, so they only are able to fatten the top portion of your braid and don't reach all the way down. Therefore, the ends are thinner than the base of the braids, and they always will be. The longer your hair is, the smaller the proportion of your hairs that have been growing long enough to reach all the way to your hemline.

Therefore, you have taper. Completely and totally normal. If some hairs grow faster than others rather than all your hairs growing at exactly the same pace, that will exacerbate what taper you see. If you have hairs that shed out at a greater variety of lengths (largely a genetic thing), that will also increase your taper. Maintaining a length will usually reduce it by allowing slower-growing hairs to catch up to the fast ones, but only to a point, because you will always have the shedding/regrowth cycle.

[Seeshami]

Despite AspenSong's mission to spread rumors to the contrary even his majesty the big fat naughty mess who is not magic, tapers. Yes he tapers just like every one else.

The naughty mess says, "no I don't I AM magic"

No you're evil. There is a big difference.

The naughty mess says, "You say evil like it's a bad thing....."

[lapushka]

From what you've posted, I see nothing wrong with your hair. You might want to have a slight microtrim after 3 years of no-trimming, but that's all I got.

[Alastríona]

I'll second all of these comments. A slightly lacking diet might affect you general health and therefore your follicles (shedding and new growth) but your ends look quite ok for the length and time without trimming. Good luck!

[meteor]

Oh yes, I can only echo everyone else! :agree: There is absolutely no reason to panic: that tapering is very normal-looking, there is no harsh change that would suggest thinning or breakage, it's very mild and actually very, very minimal, especially for going 3 years with no trims! Well done! :thumbsup:
Normal hair growth cycle makes mild tapering inevitable, especially if trimming is avoided. :)

[petcrazy18]

You guys are amazing, I can always count on you for knowledgeable feedback. Does anybody have examples of how to blunt cut on wavy/curly hair? I have a few long layers but since I haven't trimmed or cut my hair in 3 years I think it's a safe bet to just cut it.

[AZDesertRose]

I don't see much taper at all on your braid ends, and certainly not any more than would be expected at that length.

However, if you do want to trim, look up "feye's self trim method" here on the board. That's how I trim my own hair, although I think mine may be straighter than yours. But you can do a blunt hem, a U-hem, or varying depths of V-hems with that method. (It basically entails parting your hair straight down the middle, a good thorough detangling, and a gentle trim.)

This thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=117694 has a link to the original LiveJournal posts about it (and I just checked the LiveJournal link; it still works).