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Iamsiam
June 11th, 2016, 06:51 AM
Hey hair lovers! I have been growing my hair for the past eight years. It's finally at a good length- past hip kinda tail bone (sort of). I have extremely thick hair (all virgin) but my hemline is kinda well.... Thinner due to some annoying layers I am trying to grow out. The longest lengths are healthy, but the layer parts have some damage further up the canopy. Should I give it a good chop or micro trim until I have a blunt hemline? What would you do, and what have you done to fix this issue?
I've been drooling over all you ladies pics of long healthy hair!

lapushka
June 11th, 2016, 06:55 AM
I think microtrimming is the best idea. I know when I feel like it's getting too long or for some reason to hard to manage, I get chop-happy, and regret it afterwards (happened on more than one occasion). So just go by inches.

Iamsiam
June 11th, 2016, 07:04 AM
Should I just trim half my monthly growth or should I trim all my monthly growth? Eventually I'd like to go to terminal, but I want my hair as healthy as possible in the meantime. It's frustrating lol. But I guess with that goal in mind I need to be in it for the long haul!

MidnightMoon
June 11th, 2016, 07:19 AM
It is all about whats easier to you. In my case I dont think I could trim monthly for two reasons, the first being that I find it very hard to cut hair myself in the desired shape and amount, and literally cant measure 1 cm and not be wrong and have to cut more, etc. The second is that even if I find someone to cut it I prefer them to cut more than 1 cm because I like feeling and seeing a difference. If it were me I probably do fewer trims of larger amounts, peobably about every 4 months or so. I am growing out dye damage anyways...and havent cut or trimmed my hair in over a year and a half. Sure, the ends could use some dusting but I prefer having it the desired length or close to, and then cut to maintain length. Good luck no matter what you decide to do :)

Mademoiselle
June 11th, 2016, 07:37 AM
I think the same lapushka , if you cut many inches you can miss your long hair and repent, but if you cut slowly each month did not happen and in a few months will have a healthy hem also

school of fish
June 11th, 2016, 07:55 AM
Should I just trim half my monthly growth or should I trim all my monthly growth? Eventually I'd like to go to terminal, but I want my hair as healthy as possible in the meantime. It's frustrating lol. But I guess with that goal in mind I need to be in it for the long haul!

I'm in a similar boat and it is indeed a long game :) For myself, I started at hip-ish with major damage and layer taper (probably up to about APL), and for the last 2-1/2 years I've been microtrimming monthly, taking anywhere from half to my whole monthly growth.

Two and a half years later I'm at tailbone-ish (my goal length), with super healthy hair from scalp to about MBL, and about 9" of damage/layer taper left to grow out. Visually the whole thing looks worlds better, thicker and healthier than when I started, but I know I still have at least another year and a half to go before I feel my hair rehab is complete :)

I've adjusted my trim schedule a bit as I've inched closer to my final goal of blunt, unlayered TBL. I'm still trimming monthly, but instead of taking the same amount each month I'm now on a 3-month rotation where I dust for 2 months and then on month 3 I take about an inch off. It's still averaging the same amount cut over time, but I get to enjoy the feeling of a more dramatic hemline improvement 4 times a year rather than incremental improvement all the time. That's been the perfect compromise for me, and has kept me motivated throughout the long haul :)

This is just my approach - others prefer to chop back to the healthiest point and start fresh from there, still others prefer to grow past the goal length and then chop back periodically... we all figure out what suits our hair and our lives best :)

Hopefully you'll get a few different approaches to give you some inspiration ;) I always find it helpful to read many peoples' strategies and pick out the parts that ring true for me :)

Iamsiam
June 11th, 2016, 08:56 AM
I'm in a similar boat and it is indeed a long game :) For myself, I started at hip-ish with major damage and layer taper (probably up to about APL), and for the last 2-1/2 years I've been microtrimming monthly, taking anywhere from half to my whole monthly growth.

Two and a half years later I'm at tailbone-ish (my goal length), with super healthy hair from scalp to about MBL, and about 9" of damage/layer taper left to grow out. Visually the whole thing looks worlds better, thicker and healthier than when I started, but I know I still have at least another year and a half to go before I feel my hair rehab is complete :)

I've adjusted my trim schedule a bit as I've inched closer to my final goal of blunt, unlayered TBL. I'm still trimming monthly, but instead of taking the same amount each month I'm now on a 3-month rotation where I dust for 2 months and then on month 3 I take about an inch off. It's still averaging the same amount cut over time, but I get to enjoy the feeling of a more dramatic hemline improvement 4 times a year rather than incremental improvement all the time. That's been the perfect compromise for me, and has kept me motivated throughout the long haul :)

This is just my approach - others prefer to chop back to the healthiest point and start fresh from there, still others prefer to grow past the goal length and then chop back periodically... we all figure out what suits our hair and our lives best :)

Hopefully you'll get a few different approaches to give you some inspiration ;) I always find it helpful to read many peoples' strategies and pick out the parts that ring true for me :)

I actually never thought of this, lol. It sounds like a good idea to micro trim and every now and again have a larger trim. I refuse to go to hairdressers because their idea of micro trimming seems to be very different to mine! Thanks heaps everyone for their input. I will see how I go...

Cg
June 11th, 2016, 10:25 AM
It really depends on what your main focus is.

If all you want to do is snip off damaged ends, S&D and microtrim. If you want a thick even hemline, a greater cut is needed. I cut all my layers off when the shortest strands were about APL, which made absolutely everything better - appearance, styling, and feel. I insist on a blunt hemline, so my hair looked 1000% better afterward. And yes, I do know that's mathematically impossible.

Deborah
June 11th, 2016, 10:53 AM
It is entirely up to you. If it were me though, I'd cut off about four inches to start, then reassess in a couple of months. It sounds like you want the damage and layers off. I hate microtrimming and such. I want to see results when I do any cutting. At your present length, four inches would not make your hair look a lot shorter, but it would be enough difference to make you feel better about it, and it would probably look a lot nicer. Then I'd do it again in a couple of months until all the damage and layers were gone. Just my opinion of course.

Best of luck with whatever you try! :flower:

Night_Kitten
June 12th, 2016, 02:00 PM
It really depends on where your shorter layers are and how much length you're willing to loose (if any)...
If you like your hair length and want to keep growing, I would suggest S&Ding the damage on the shorter layers, while at the same time trimming ~1/2 the growth from the hemline (doesn't have to be a monthly microtrim if that's too much bother, could be once every couple of months...) that way the layers will slowly catch up to the hemline while your hair still keeps growing and the damage is under control :)

01
June 13th, 2016, 02:18 AM
I started from scratch, cut it all into bob, I'm at waist now so no drama. I don't regret. But you say you have healthy hair, mine were blah, so maybe it'd be better if you micro trimm.

kuroi
June 13th, 2016, 05:31 AM
Assuming you want to stay at the lenght you are now you can maintain the bottom and microtrim the layers along with s&d to get rid of damage. If you still want to grow further just microtrim the bottom instead of maintaining. I'm also doing this and it's working wonders for me.