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View Full Version : How long can you go without trimming your hair?



Madeleine13
December 19th, 2015, 07:45 AM
I've never dyed my hair and I don't use straighteners or anything like that on it and haven't trimmed it in year as I am trying to grow it quite long.

Entangled
December 19th, 2015, 08:16 AM
Some people never do. That's easiest with virgin hair. Some people microtrim (mini trims to cut off damage without going short) monthly. Many trimmers go for three or four months--that's me. Some people trim whenever their ends feel bad. It depends on the person.

Hurven
December 19th, 2015, 08:19 AM
I microtrim monthly to speed along the process of growing out dye. My dyed hair isn't very damaged and is not prone to split ends, so if my hair was all virgin I think I would only trim once a year or less.

Aingeal
December 19th, 2015, 09:02 AM
I have a bit of dye in my hair and I'm at almost six months from my last trim. My stylist even told me at my last appt that I didn't need a trim at all. We will see next month when I go in. I definitely take very good care of my hair and that helps. However when my hair was damaged, I needed to trim a bit monthly as my ends would just snap off and split easily.

burny
December 19th, 2015, 09:12 AM
It primarily depends on what style you have/want, and how much you want to S&D. Assuming that you S&D sufficiently often/thoroughly, the primary purpose of a trim, is to maintain the style. each strand of hair, grows at a slightly different rate, so after a couple months, some will have grown an extra few mm, and some a few mm less. Depending on your style, this can either look fairly obvious, or be impossible to detect.

Generally a 'blunt' style would be most obvious, and layered would be less obvious.

Mimha
December 19th, 2015, 09:21 AM
Hi Madeleine13 ! :)

Trim is by no mean an obligation ! As said before by the previous posters, it's all a matter of what you want to do, or like about your hair. Trimming helps to get rid of damaged ends and shape your hemline. But if your hair is healthy and if you like fairytailed ends, you can even decide not to trim at all. It depends also of your personal tolerance to weathered ends, splits, and unequal growth. The people who want to grow their hair to terminal length, for example, usually stop trimming when they reach a certain length, to allow the hair to grow to its full length potential.

Madeleine13
December 19th, 2015, 09:32 AM
Thank you everyone for your helpful advice.

Madeleine13
December 19th, 2015, 09:33 AM
May I just say that your hair is so beautiful.

lapushka
December 19th, 2015, 09:34 AM
Some people never do. That's easiest with virgin hair. Some people microtrim (mini trims to cut off damage without going short) monthly. Many trimmers go for three or four months--that's me. Some people trim whenever their ends feel bad. It depends on the person.

This exactly. If you have virgin hair and it is in good condition, you can go years without trimming. S&D the splits, if you have any and just continue growing it. I haven't trimmed in over 2 years, my ends are fine. I had some breakage a while ago, but it's fine now.

momschicklets
December 19th, 2015, 09:42 AM
I am another one that hasn't trimmed at all in 2 years, and I actually do color my hair! I use a demi-permanent as my poison-of-choice :) but I don't use any heat, I wash once a week and I never, ever rip a brush through my hair. So in other words, my hair is relatively healthy and even at almost BSL no splits as of yet! As long as it stays that way, I feel no obligation to cut or trim. I might dust at the end of the year to even things up a bit, but not because I've gone "too long" without one. Let it grow!!

Anje
December 19th, 2015, 10:05 AM
I trim my ends every few months, just a little, to keep the fastest hairs from getting too far out ahead of the rest. But most of the younger hairs that don't quite reach that far have NEVER been trimmed (unless I caught them in an S&D session), and most of them aren't split even though they're years old. Clearly, you only need to trim of you're trying to maintain a more blunt hemline, a particular length, or if you have damaged ends that you want to be rid of. Consistently good care long-term can help minimize that last one.

Nadine <3
December 19th, 2015, 11:34 AM
My hair has decided it likes a micro trim every six months. I don't have to take a lot off, just the very ends otherwise it tangles.

Zesty
December 19th, 2015, 12:35 PM
It depends on the person, but a lot longer than the general public thinks. My last trim was in late August 2014. I've seen no ill effects and struggle to find a split, but my hair is all virgin and I'm very careful with it. My hemline is a bit softer, because not all the hairs are the same length, but it's only obvious in before and afters IMO. Like this:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12777&d=1409583071 http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20159&d=1449163826

I don't mind it. I might eventually dust once a year or so, but right now I'm committed to no trimming for the rest of 2015 and then all of 2016.

SwanFeathers
December 19th, 2015, 12:51 PM
It depends on your hairs personality and how well you baby it. My moms hair is waist length and she totally ignores it, and she never has splits (lucky genes). But my sister is bsl and thick but splits like crazy no matter what she does. They both trike about twice a year, but my sister is in conctant s&d mode

Xi
December 19th, 2015, 01:38 PM
Going on 25 years or so since the last trim...:)

Phanaferous
December 19th, 2015, 02:17 PM
Going on 25 years or so since the last trim...:)

^^Well this blows away my personal record... but for me I've gone 3-4 years at a time. However, now that I know a lot more about keeping the ends moisturized and have a better system in place, I expect to go even longer.

Arctic
December 19th, 2015, 02:48 PM
I once went 9 months, and didn't like it. IIRC I even felt a need to have a bigger trim after that. I much rather trim regularly. I can be a bit type-A with my hemline/hair, and it's a high priority for me to have it freshly trimmed. (Mind you, I also don't dream of super lengths.)

Deborah
December 19th, 2015, 02:57 PM
I don't get split ends, so I just cut some when I want it a bit shorter. If your hair is like that, you can probably just do it when you feel like it.

lapushka
December 19th, 2015, 03:19 PM
I am going to trim between Dec. 31st 2015 & Jan. 1st 2016 to complete the 2015 no-trimming challenge and start afresh for the 2016 one. I am beyond classic now and am going to trim back to classic in a different layering method. That's all. I just wanted to get back to the other layering method and that's the only real reason for a trim. I'm not going to trim a lot, just about an inch or a little over, I think. We'll see what 2016 brings...

Loveisaverb
December 19th, 2015, 03:28 PM
I've never been a routine trimmer, I think I been three years between haircuts before. The last time I've trimmed has been a year now and I'm not really looking to trim anytime soon. :cool:

cat11
December 19th, 2015, 04:26 PM
to keep my ends in the condition I like them in where they dont become grabbier than the rest of my hair or taper, I dont trim any less than every 6 months. But I care a lot about the state of my ends. People have all different standards.

Nique1202
December 19th, 2015, 04:55 PM
Yeah, it all comes down to how your hair takes damage and what you're willing to put up with. Some people's hair shows almost no damage even at terminal, and so they never trim at all. Some people just want extremely long hair even if it has some split ends, so they trim and S&D rarely or never. Some people's hair is easily damaged but they like their damaging routines and their healthy-looking hemlines and have to maintain with trims at a certain length. It's all up to each individual to find out what they're going to prefer as they go along, and what balance they want to maintain.

cathair
December 19th, 2015, 05:44 PM
Coming up to 6.5 years at the end of this month :)

Silverbrumby
December 19th, 2015, 06:26 PM
I have gone 8 months without a trim. I was trying to thicken the hemline but that didn't work.

Silverbrumby
December 19th, 2015, 06:44 PM
I have gone 8 months without a trim. I was trying to thicken the hemline but that didn't work.

pailin
December 19th, 2015, 07:23 PM
I'm at a little over 2 years since my last trim (when I cut layers in). I've never gone so long before because of splits, but this time I decided to do what the long hairs around here do, and just s&d (that decision was pre-LHC, too). But I've actually had very few splits so far, so maybe I'm taking better care of it. I plan to keep on avoiding trimming through 2016 at least (and my hairdresser is on the ground floor of my apartment building!). I rarely wear it down, so I'm not really trying to maintain a style.

Hairkay
December 20th, 2015, 12:57 AM
I have gone a long time without a trim. I grew up without having any trims at all. Then I had over a decade before I tried out trimming but didn't stick to it. Now I s & d and I'll have a micro trim soon which makes it over a year since I last trimmed.

Arctic
December 20th, 2015, 02:31 AM
I wanted to add to my previous post, because someone implied people who trim often do it because of damage - I don't have damage, I have very healthy hair. I don't get split ends. So that's not why I like to trim often. I just... like the fresh ends. My hair also seems to grow unevenly, and I like symmetrical hem. It's more mental and tactile thing to me, no doubt ingrained in me partially during the time of my life (which has been most of it!) when I have had shorter hair (pixie-shoulder), partially just because a set of charecteristics/preferencies I happen to have.

restless
December 20th, 2015, 03:40 AM
Back when my hair was dyed and damaged I used to microtrim it every third month or so, but back in February -15 I did one final chop (well, to me those 2 inches was considered a "chop" anyway ;)) to get rid of the last damage and I havent trimmed since. My hair seems to be doing pretty good almost a year later- no splits, no tangles, no velcro-y feeling and it has kept its U-shaped hemline, so I have no plans on trimming again for yet some time. I seem to have quite a lot of thinning going on from waist down though, but I dont think thats related to the no-trims, but rather a possibly short terminal or some old, long forgotten shed of mine.

Shepherdess
December 20th, 2015, 03:50 AM
I think I went for almost 2 years without a trim (maybe only a few micro-trims at the time). I can't remember exactly, but I knew it was almost two years (2012 & 2013). :)

bte
December 20th, 2015, 04:11 AM
It depends on the person, but a lot longer than the general public thinks. My last trim was in late August 2014. I've seen no ill effects and struggle to find a split, but my hair is all virgin and I'm very careful with it. My hemline is a bit softer, because not all the hairs are the same length, but it's only obvious in before and afters IMO. Like this:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12777&d=1409583071 http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20159&d=1449163826

I don't mind it. I might eventually dust once a year or so, but right now I'm committed to no trimming for the rest of 2015 and then all of 2016.
A tribute to non trimming - great progress.

bte
December 20th, 2015, 04:14 AM
I had a trim in 1994 and not at any time since, so that's 21½ years on Christmas Eve.

akuamoonmaui
December 21st, 2015, 11:12 AM
I found the shorter my hair was, the more I felt I needed to trim. It was a vicious circle. So I gave myself dates that I had to wait for. It really helped. At first it was every 3 months for a couple years, then every four months. This last year it was 6 months. I just joined the 'No cutting in 2016' thread. So now I've given myself the "date" of 1 year.

Madeleine13
December 21st, 2015, 03:02 PM
How do you think my ends are looking? :)

http://i67.tinypic.com/14mamw5.jpg

Todd
December 21st, 2015, 03:11 PM
I like to trim once a year... I like how the ends look and feel after the trim.

I should probably trim off more to thicken the hemline. Maybe next year...

Madeleine13
December 21st, 2015, 03:17 PM
Another photo :)

http://i64.tinypic.com/2m6q05g.jpg

I haven't trimmed it since December last year.

Duchess Fuzzy Buns
December 21st, 2015, 03:54 PM
I had a trim in 1994 and not at any time since, so that's 21½ years on Christmas Eve.
Whoa! :agape: That's amazing.
I feel like I need a trim every three months. My ends just start getting really difficult and grabby by then. I hope to go longer eventually. It would probably help if I did thorough s&d sessions more often, but I get kind of impatient with that.

Madeleine13
December 21st, 2015, 04:42 PM
This is a full picture of my hair. What do you think? I haven't trimmed it since last December and was wondering if I should give it a trim soon. My goal (if I ever manage to reach it) is waist length.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2v2irds.png

Swan Maiden
December 21st, 2015, 05:18 PM
6 months is the maximum I should go before I think I need a trim. I want my ends to look nice. Quality length over quantity length for me.

Anje
December 21st, 2015, 08:01 PM
This is a full picture of my hair. What do you think? I haven't trimmed it since last December and was wondering if I should give it a trim soon. My goal (if I ever manage to reach it) is waist length.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2v2irds.png

Looks pretty good to me. Your hair is starting to taper a bit (normal for a lot of people who go a while without trimming and everyone if they go long enough) and I thought I saw a couple white dots on the close-ups, but over all your ends don't look damaged to me. You could trim if you want thicker ends, but it's totally up to you.

I do think it looks like your hair is rather wavy and has been brushed out a lot. Some extra conditioning for moisture and mainly just combing it out damp and then leaving it might give you smooth waves and less frizz.

school of fish
December 21st, 2015, 08:28 PM
My hair really seems to like being trimmed, and I like a blunt hemline on me, so I'm microtrimming every month like clockwork.

I used to go months between cuts - 4 months, 6 months, I think the longest was maybe a year - and although my hair grew the quality of the ends really suffered. Ultimately breakage started outrunning the growth, and I realized I had to change strategy if I didn't want to keep watching my ends crumble away. Once I started microtrimming the growth began outrunning the breakage, and now I get very little breakage :)

irodaryne
December 21st, 2015, 08:34 PM
I had a trim in 1994 and not at any time since, so that's 21½ years on Christmas Eve.

I have no words :agape: :thud: :thudpile:

Groovy Granny
December 21st, 2015, 09:24 PM
The longest I have ever gone was 18 months...after I was scalped by a family stylist :mad:

bte
December 22nd, 2015, 02:20 AM
Whoa! :agape: That's amazing.
I feel like I need a trim every three months. My ends just start getting really difficult and grabby by then. I hope to go longer eventually. It would probably help if I did thorough s&d sessions more often, but I get kind of impatient with that.

Thank you,lauren_alia and irodaryne. Once you go beyond a few years without a trim, and accept how you hair looks, then there's no point in trimming ever again. so I am aiming for at least 39 years without a trim, as I was 39 when I last trimmed - I am 60 now).

Madeleine13
December 22nd, 2015, 03:25 AM
Okay, thank you. Maybe I will get just half an inch cut of or something then. Or do I just ask the hairdresser to cut of any split ends? Yes, I haven't been brushing my hair when it's wet as hair is harder to brush when it is wet and pulls more on your hair so that's why I don't brush it until it's dry.

ETA:

Looks pretty good to me. Your hair is starting to taper a bit (normal for a lot of people who go a while without trimming and everyone if they go long enough) and I thought I saw a couple white dots on the close-ups, but over all your ends don't look damaged to me. You could trim if you want thicker ends, but it's totally up to you.

I do think it looks like your hair is rather wavy and has been brushed out a lot. Some extra conditioning for moisture and mainly just combing it out damp and then leaving it might give you smooth waves and less frizz.

Okay, thank you. Maybe I will get just half an inch cut of or something then. Or do I just ask the hairdresser to cut of any split ends? Yes, I haven't been brushing my hair when it's wet as hair is harder to brush when it is wet and pulls more on your hair so that's why I don't brush it until it's dry.

Obsessed1
December 22nd, 2015, 04:20 AM
I've gone 5+ years without a trim and most recently I went about a year. But my hair had a lot of split end, but has been colour treated. I didn't care about them though as I have naturally wavy kinky hair that has a bit of a "ratty" look whether it's been trimmed or not (unless I style, deep condition etc). I now have a lot of bleach damage so plan to cut off a fair bit each month, but aim to only trim as much as my roots grow and I'm not going to get highlights or bleaching anymore. Plus I'm doing search and destroy every 2 or 3 weeks.

Obsessed1
December 22nd, 2015, 05:31 AM
I have to brush my hair when it's wet as brushing wavy/curly hair when it's dry makes it look like my hair has been fried by lightning haha. But I brush it under the shower with conditioner in it. I used to rip through it when it was damp before I started recently taking better care of it due to getting red bleached out of my hair. I find that works well - I don't hear any snapping and it doesn't tangle

Madeleine13
December 22nd, 2015, 09:09 AM
I was worried about going to the hairdressers and them cutting too much of so I looked up a video on YouTube of how to do it and trimmed it myself. It seems to have come out okay. I didn't take off much. Only about half an inch, but it does look neater :)

mermaid lullaby
December 22nd, 2015, 09:19 AM
I have gone a year without a trim. Although, I S&D when there are split ends.

irodaryne
December 22nd, 2015, 09:48 AM
Thank you,lauren_alia and irodaryne. Once you go beyond a few years without a trim, and accept how you hair looks, then there's no point in trimming ever again. so I am aiming for at least 39 years without a trim, as I was 39 when I last trimmed - I am 60 now).

I know I could go several years without a trim (and have done it before. I usually only get my hair cut when it's for a new style, but I'm terrible at going in for follow up trims to maintain the style so two years after cutting a bob my hair will be somewhere down my back and I'll think "Oh I want a pixie cut!"), it's going 21 years that impresses me.

humble_knight
December 22nd, 2015, 10:01 AM
My last trim was in Sep 2014, so not as long as most of you. I've noticed growth though, which was the reason I stopped trimming. I'll wait until some time in 2017, then brave a visit to a barbershop, where I will ask for a dry blunt trim using clippers. I don't trust normal salons in my area.

embee
December 22nd, 2015, 10:09 AM
My last trim was a blunt cut, which was a mistake. It was right before I joined LHC too. So it's been 10 years now. :) I'm *so* happey to have my fairytale ends again!

yahirwaO.o
December 23rd, 2015, 07:12 PM
I cant go more than 2 months without a micro trim. It looks undone and very ratty. Its hard for me, but I prefer a neat perfect cut look for my fine hair!!!

Beezle
December 24th, 2015, 02:41 AM
I'm the same, yahirwaO.o. I left mine far too long without trimming and ended up losing all of the growth in trying to neaten and delete grabby ends. I must get brave enough to micro trim my own hair regularly.

khryz
December 24th, 2015, 04:21 AM
I've gone only 3 months without a trim. BUT i'm trying to change all of this! Joining LHC is helping me feel guilt-free about not getting those "regular" trims. :)

Beckstar
December 24th, 2015, 06:45 AM
I cut my hair into a pixie in April this year and haven't trimmed since. I have split ends and really need fresh layers but I'm too lazy to cut so we'll see ....

Kwantslonghair
December 24th, 2015, 07:15 AM
I trim about once a year, I do dust the ends when it starts to tangle

Agnes Hannah
December 24th, 2015, 07:54 AM
I have trimmed three times this year, next year I'm going for two trims on the equinoxes. When I get to Classic, I am planning on maintaining there.

parkmikii
December 24th, 2015, 12:07 PM
I used to trim about every 3 months but now I'm in the no trim challenge, can't wait to see how it goes :)

hanne jensen
December 28th, 2015, 03:14 AM
I dust when my hemline starts looking like wwwws. My hair doesn't grow evenly and I have galopers. Sometimes it's every 3 months and sometimes it's every month.

HollyLindsey
December 28th, 2015, 05:18 AM
I've personally noticed with my hair, that I am able to go a year or so without trimming if my hair is cut straight across and blunt with sharp scissors. I have all virgin naturally fine hair and the only times I get pretty bad splits is when my hair is thinned out, razored, slithered, or the scissors are cut into the hair. Does anybody else notice this with their hair?

bunneh.
December 28th, 2015, 05:44 AM
I went as long as 6 months or so without trims, but that was around 7 or so years ago. After that I trimmed more often (every 3 months) and now I'm trying to rush to classic so I won't be trimming at all in 2016, only S&D. I have hennaed hair and my hair is in good shape, but if it wasn't I would probably be microtrimming monthly.

HollyLindsey I believe the reason that happens is because of the method used. Thinning shears and razors and cutting into the hair all cut hair in weird angles and what not that can damage the ends and cause them to split easily. So yes, cutting in the straight line perpendicular to hair is best in terms of reducing split ends I would say.

Carolyn
December 28th, 2015, 06:40 AM
It's a personal decision. There is no right or wrong. I usually trim every 3 months. If I am actively growing, I will have a half inch trim and do my own S & D. I recently trimmed 4" off and am 2" above waist. I plan on maintaining or going a couple inches shorter for now. I am not a fan of fairy tale ends so I like to keep my hemline nice and thick. The longest I've ever gone between trims is 5 months. I've high lighted and dyed for years but have stopped now and only use very occasional heat styling. I know most people here would say that's a lot of trimming but it's what I think I need to do. Fairy tale ends are my worst nightmare.

oceanlove
December 28th, 2015, 08:45 AM
When I had super long virgin hair, I went for 8 years while growing it out with no haircut or trim. Started dying it and had to trim it every 3-4 months because of damage and eventually had to chop off most of it :( am back to growing it out again, and have not trimmed it for 3 months now, no issues so far! Will see how long I can go.

Dark40
December 30th, 2015, 12:21 PM
I have gone a whole year without trimming my hair.

Fericera
January 1st, 2016, 12:04 PM
The longest I went without trims was from birth to about nine years old. The ends were thinned out quite a bit from my mom's vigorous brushing, but it didn't look bad in my opinion. Just thin to where my braid tassels ended and then the rest was protected 99% of the time.

As a teen/adult the longest I've gone has been about two years. I'm currently beating that record though, and going for my third year of no trims. I'd like to go for five, but I'll have to see. I might make a pit stop at waist/hip to get a blunt hemline before continuing downward, or I might not. I'll just have to see how my hair behaves, and how I feel about the aesthetics of it.

curlysamantha
January 16th, 2016, 09:45 AM
I think mentally I could go for a year or two because I will literally just forget about it and not make it a big deal. That being said my hair would become disgusting and barely grow because it would be so damaged and unhealthy. I keep a strict schedule for trims, every six weeks. My goal is to be able to expand that to 7 or 8 and then probably more later on.

trolleypup
January 16th, 2016, 01:01 PM
Trims? Decades.

S&D? Every several months it gets noticeably more tangly so a round of S&D is needed.

Garnetgem
January 17th, 2016, 03:46 AM
Not trimmed in a while at least a year but i do S&D every few weeks so its kept okay,a few years ago it was every 8 weeks regular trims but now i am more relaxed about trims.

Brunettebybirth
January 17th, 2016, 06:52 AM
Six months.

lapushka
January 17th, 2016, 07:44 AM
Last time I went from November 2013 until January 1st 2016, so little over 2 years. Now I am going for a year of no-trimming again. Just a year, because I have a feeling FTL might not be where I stay at - I don't know just yet. We'll see. :)

Mademoiselle
January 17th, 2016, 08:28 AM
Six months and my ends are the hell =( I prefer to cut 1cm every 2 or 3 months

lapis_lazuli
January 17th, 2016, 09:14 AM
I haven't trimmed my hair in two years. I only S&D now :)