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View Full Version : Cutting hair when goal is reached or trimming along the way?



PurpleKitty11
April 13th, 2016, 11:37 AM
Hi everyone, im currently at waist length hair and i have not trimmed my hair in almost 2 years. My hair does not get damaged very easily and i do the search and destroy method every 4 months or so. So i was wondering what do you lovely people do, do you cut your hair when you reach your goal or do you cut it frequently along your hair growing journey until you reach your goal. Since im at waist length hair i feel like my hair is not long enough yet because my ultimate goal is classic, therefore when i cut even an inch i feel like it makes my hair look alot shorter. Share your thoughts :)

Stepo_NiNha
April 13th, 2016, 11:58 AM
Hi everyone, im currently at waist length hair and i have not trimmed my hair in almost 2 years. My hair does not get damaged very easily and i do the search and destroy method every 4 months or so. So i was wondering what do you lovely people do, do you cut your hair when you reach your goal or do you cut it frequently along your hair growing journey until you reach your goal. Since im at waist length hair i feel like my hair is not long enough yet because my ultimate goal is classic, therefore when i cut even an inch i feel like it makes my hair look alot shorter. Share your thoughts :)

Hi,

I trim 1/2 inch (1,25 - 1,5 cm) every 3 months to keep my hemline even (though my right side still grows faster) and to prevent breakage, since my hair is fragile.

This has been working for me because I avoid hair breakage on its path and I still see growth.

:)

meteor
April 13th, 2016, 12:12 PM
This is very YMMV. ;) Personally, I prefer to get infrequent but significant trims because my hair is resilient and doesn't seem to form split ends/white dots unless I actively damage it. Also, I prefer infrequent trims, because when I get them rarely, I can afford to lose more length (margin of error) due to some communication problem/scissor-happy approach of a hairdresser or something like that. ;)

I think a lot depends on personal preference and on comfort level with uneven growth. Some people love freshly cut ends more than added gain in length, and in this case I would probably micro-trim very frequently rather than do a significant trim very infrequently. It's pretty individual. ;)

Cg
April 13th, 2016, 01:07 PM
I microtrim about every 6 weeks to keep a neat, even hemline. I still get the average 6 inches growth per year or a bit more.

lapushka
April 13th, 2016, 01:42 PM
This is very YMMV. ;) Personally, I prefer to get infrequent but significant trims because my hair is resilient and doesn't seem to form split ends/white dots unless I actively damage it. Also, I prefer infrequent trims, because when I get them rarely, I can afford to lose more length (margin of error) due to some communication problem/scissor-happy approach of a hairdresser or something like that. ;)

I think a lot depends on personal preference and on comfort level with uneven growth. Some people love freshly cut ends more than added gain in length, and in this case I would probably micro-trim very frequently rather than do a significant trim very infrequently. It's pretty individual. ;)

Same here. I have had it microtrimmed the last few times, but am considering letting it grow a while, so a more significant trim can happen (always back to classic).

Sarahlabyrinth
April 13th, 2016, 02:10 PM
I tried growing for a couple of years with no trims but didn't like the way my ends became uneven and thinner so now I have taken up microtrimming every three months. It doesn't seem to affect my growth rate and my ends are looking much nicer these days. When I reach Classic I will maintain for a while before growing onwards.

copperlites
April 13th, 2016, 02:25 PM
I've been a monthly micro trimmer sibnve July last year. My hair is super fine and has a lot of taper and I prefer the feel of freshly cut ends to fine whispy ones. I had a 1 1/2 inch trim at the beginning of March and I'm still 2 inches away from my first goal of waist length. I'm going try and leave it alone until July, keeping it bunned so I don't think about the ends and then I might have a more significant cut back. Ideally I currently need to lose 4 inches to get back to a thickness I'd be happier with in my ends. At this stage that loss of length would make me more miserable than the whispy ends do. I'm hoping that hitting that waist length goal will make me feel less attached to the length .. But maybe it won't. I'm starting to feel length obsessed but I don't want it to be at the expense of quality.

Anje
April 13th, 2016, 03:48 PM
I generally do "trims as needed" -- I'll trim if the ends are splitting badly or if the texture is feeling awful despite attempts at clarifying, chelating, and conditioning.

The very ends of my hair really don't split, it turns out; instead I get splits scattered higher up, or high splits a couple inches up a strand. Therefore, in practice trimming for splits sure doesn't help me much. My hair will thin out if it's grown for a long time without trimming, but it seems to stay thinner toward the ends at all lengths. Some people are able to combat that with microtrimming, but frequent trims only worked to a point for me. Right now, I'm trying to grow without trims to see if the thickness will continue to move downward following the tapered ends.

AmyBeth
April 13th, 2016, 04:20 PM
I lost alot of my length experimenting with different hemlines along the way, because I think they are all beautiful, and couldn't decide! I guess I settled on blunt, shallow U shaped at around waist length and have micro trimmed every 3 months all the way to upper thigh. I decided on that because I wanted a solid hemline the whole way, rather than fairytaling the whole way and then getting stuck somewhere waiting for all the hair to catch up. I can relate to valuing every half inch and not wanting to sacrifice any length to trimming, though. Your hair is to make you happy, so figure out what makes you happy, and do it. Either way is beautiful, imho.

Kherome
April 13th, 2016, 04:24 PM
Definitely cutting along the way or you'll arrive at goal with tatty looking hair.

Brijna
April 14th, 2016, 03:09 AM
The first time I trimmed my hair after a bigger cut last august was april 1st. I trimmed about 1" and am back to 27,5" respectively 70 cm.
I plan to do that everytime I pass a "decade" in cm, so when I will be at 83 or 84 back to 80 cm. If my hair keeps growing like in the past six months, I should be able to trimm it next time around Christmas.

Groovy Granny
April 14th, 2016, 05:05 AM
In spite of my intentions to wait (longest was 6 months) the layers always went wonky and I trimmed them out.
Now I am at goal and micro trimming to maintain.
It depends on what is important; hemline health or length along the way ..... your gut will tell you (see where your thoughts are mostly).

lapushka
April 14th, 2016, 07:50 AM
Definitely cutting along the way or you'll arrive at goal with tatty looking hair.

That's not true in my case. I didn't trim for 2 years straight, and my hem was pretty nice at classic. After a few inches beyond, I had it (finally) trimmed but not because the ends needed it, but because it had gotten to be too long.

It is very much a YMMV thing. ;)

Silverbrumby
April 14th, 2016, 10:13 AM
That's not true in my case. I didn't trim for 2 years straight, and my hem was pretty nice at classic. After a few inches beyond, I had it (finally) trimmed but not because the ends needed it, but because it had gotten to be too long.

It is very much a YMMV thing. ;)

Ive trimmed to get a thicker hemline and that didnt work to gain length.

Now I'm not trimming but doing S and D as needed. My hemline, unless APL, will always fairytale. I am planning to trim once this year, maybe twice. My ends are okay going on 7 months without a trim. I am finally at 29 inches, for the first time im forever. It feels long for me now.

Cg
April 14th, 2016, 10:17 AM
Definitely cutting along the way or you'll arrive at goal with tatty looking hair.

And yours is absolutely beautiful!

lapushka
April 14th, 2016, 01:37 PM
Ive trimmed to get a thicker hemline and that didnt work to gain length.

Now I'm not trimming but doing S and D as needed. My hemline, unless APL, will always fairytale. I am planning to trim once this year, maybe twice. My ends are okay going on 7 months without a trim. I am finally at 29 inches, for the first time im forever. It feels long for me now.

Amazing! :applause
Congrats. :D

AJNinami
April 14th, 2016, 04:53 PM
If I didn't trim I'd never reach that goal! Haha ;) I was trimming about an inch a month for a while, but now my ends have improved so I've been dusting every month or so (when I feel it needs it). I just did a semi-significant layer trim of about half an inch, so that helps as well.

Stepo_NiNha
April 15th, 2016, 03:39 AM
If I didn't trim I'd never reach that goal! Haha ;) I was trimming about an inch a month for a while, but now my ends have improved so I've been dusting every month or so (when I feel it needs it). I just did a semi-significant layer trim of about half an inch, so that helps as well.

This. I also trim a little (just a little - half an inch every 3 months) to keep gaining length at the same time I prevent breakage. I already did S&D but my hemline thins out and I don't like it. I prefer micro trims.

I believe coarse hair can grow easily without any trim or very rare trims. But my hair is fine and definitely it benefits from scheduled micro trims.

if i get more than 4 months without trimming, my hair starts splitting into a point that I might be losing length instead of gaining it. :)

molljo
April 17th, 2016, 03:21 PM
I microtrim about once a month or so, usually in the neighborhood of about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. It helps me feel neater and scratches that itch to ~do~ something without caving and hacking it all off.

mermaiden_hair
April 17th, 2016, 03:48 PM
Definitely cutting along the way or you'll arrive at goal with tatty looking hair.

I agree with this, especially when it comes to my own hair! The traditional advice everywhere is that if you are growing your hair out, to go for a professional trim every 12+ weeks, so that your hair can still look nice and groomed while it is growing. I have come to accept the fact that I am just too damn lazy to trim my own hair, so I'll just have it trimmed every 3-4 months now.

OP, as long as you do everything you can to keep your hair as healthy as possible, making sure that you have a good protein/moisture balance, doing treatments such as hot oils, deep conditioners/masks, protein treatments, clarifying treatments, keeping your hair up and away with protective styles (braids, buns, etc.), you are able to stretch your trims as long as possible without your hair suffering. It all depends on how you treat it on a daily basis.

http://www.blackhairinformation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/healthy-natural-hair-pyramid.png

turtlelover
April 17th, 2016, 03:49 PM
I don't like the look of untrimmed hair on myself or others, so I tend to do a little bit of something at least every 3 months. Even a small trim makes it behave better and look much nicer and thicker at the ends.

diddiedaisy
April 17th, 2016, 07:33 PM
Ive trimmed to get a thicker hemline and that didnt work to gain length.

Now I'm not trimming but doing S and D as needed. My hemline, unless APL, will always fairytale. I am planning to trim once this year, maybe twice. My ends are okay going on 7 months without a trim. I am finally at 29 inches, for the first time im forever. It feels long for me now.

Congratulations, does this mean you are around the waist mark?

Sweets
April 18th, 2016, 11:47 PM
My hair started at shaved-2 inches (asymetrical pixie). I've been babying it, and I pushed past the awkward stage (actually, I really don't think I ever had it - my cut was interesting enough to not have the duck/mullet thing). I am now at chin-to-collarbone length. I don't plan on cutting until I see damage. The layers are interesting and I can even get away with them at work (casino beverage manager - I mostly wear suits).

My hair type is full of body, but mostly straight. As long as I baby my hair, and bun it when it's long enough, I don't think I'lll trim it for at least a year. I've used a straightener only once on my hair...never blow-dryed, never dyed. I get just under an inch of growth per month.

I will probably even everything up around APL or BSL, but I will continue to have short layers.

I guess my approach is see how you feel when you feel like you've hit the next milestone!

Or, YMMV. :)

laitlune
April 18th, 2016, 11:58 PM
My hair is classic length and whilst growing I used (and still use) a mixture of micro-trimming and S&D. My hair is very thick and wavy, but splits easily and my right side grows much faster than my left, so those methods were really integral to keeping a neat-looking grow cycle! I also trim depending on my mood, so sometimes I prefer a neat hemline and sometimes I trim it into slightly more fairy-tale looking ends. I think I would feel rather disappointed if I reached my goal only to have to trim it back immediately, so I think trimming along the way was best for me, personally!

lapushka
April 19th, 2016, 05:15 AM
My hair is classic length and whilst growing I used (and still use) a mixture of micro-trimming and S&D. My hair is very thick and wavy, but splits easily and my right side grows much faster than my left, so those methods were really integral to keeping a neat-looking grow cycle! I also trim depending on my mood, so sometimes I prefer a neat hemline and sometimes I trim it into slightly more fairy-tale looking ends. I think I would feel rather disappointed if I reached my goal only to have to trim it back immediately, so I think trimming along the way was best for me, personally!

I did the exact opposite. Didn't care about my hemline and just let it grow without trimming for 2 years, until I reached classic. Then about 4 months after that I trimmed it back to classic, and got a nice full hem (well as much as you can get with layered hair).

samanthaa
April 19th, 2016, 11:42 AM
Forcing myself not to trim is the only way I've been able to grow past my false terminal, which was nearly WL. I was stuck there for years because I'd always trim back 2-3+ inches and wonder, "Why is my hair not growing??" Not I'm solidly at WL, and still growing, and this is the longest my hair has ever been. My ends are terribly uneven. I saw a picture of myself [exhibit A] (http://i.imgur.com/vOZrRQ8.jpg) with my hair down from this past weekend and thought, "Wow, my ends are horrible," but I love my lengthening braid and really don't want to cut now.

I joined the no-trim 2016 challenge (my last trim was Sept. 2015) and figure I'll reevaluate in July (maybe I can wait until Sept. and make it a full year?) to see if I need to trim. If not, the plan is to start microtrimming in 2017 to even and thickening up my hemline. I have fine, thin hair so "no trimming" is perhaps not the best idea for me, but I needed to draw that line. I've been S&D'ing...when I remember.