Fine hair LHCers: Do you microtrim?

[Persiangirl01]

This is for all LHCers who have fine hair.

Do you microtrim or not? If yes, has it helped keep the ends of your hair healthier than when you did not microtrim?

What is your hair trimming/cutting schedule?

Thank you

[diddiedaisy]

Well I am handy with the scissors. I keep telling myself to micro-trim every couple of months but I usually get carried away and more often than not trim up to 3 inches at a time. I trim because of thin ends rather than unhealthy ends. I get really bad taper, I have a section in the middle at the back that grows at a snails pace and combined with some sections that grow really fast and some normal, I fear the fight against thin ends is a forever fight. Micro-trimming does work though if you have taper or unhealthy ends. You just have to be patient.

[lapushka]

I went 2 years and some months without a trim (November 2013 - January 2016). I reached my goal of classic September 2015. I had a trim February 2016, and now June 2016. I wouldn't call it microtrimming what is being done now but I do go months without a trim, then have it cut back to classic. And I have F hair. I feel that I don't need microtrims.

If you have lingering damage in your hair, sure. If your hair splits easily? Sure, but other than that... I don't think it's really necessary to microtrim.

[school of fish]

I have fine hair that grows, looks and behaves best when trimmed regularly :)

For over 2 years I've been microtrimming every month, taking anywhere between half to the full month's growth (half when I've wanted to gain length, full when I've wanted to thicken the hemline). I had a great deal of damage, layering and taper to get rid of when I started, and I chose to microtrim it out rather than chop it back and start fresh. It's worked out beautifully for me, without having to lose any length along the way.

Since the beginning of this year I've adjusted my trim strategy a bit - I'm still trimming monthly but I'm now barely dusting for 2 months and then taking about an inch on month 3. It works out to the same amount taken off averaged over a year, but I feel the ends benefit from a bit of a bigger trim from time to time. I also crave a little change after so much time invested in incremental improvememt :)

I should mention that I'm at my goal length of TBL, and that I wear my hair down most of the time. Given the length, fineness and fact that I'm not living in protective updos, I feel the regular trims are necessary for the health of my ends :)

I also believe that this is very much one of those YMMV things. Everyone is so unique in what their hair responds best to, and in lifestyle and personality. Some people aren't split prone, some get scissor-happy, some don't want to trigger trich tendancies, some just find regular trimming to be a pain in the butt... ;) It may be perfect for me but I know it's not perfect for everyone :)

[Stepo_NiNha]

Yes, every 3 months, 1/2 inch (its a small trim, not a microtrim) but It keeps the ends fresh and the hair keeps growing with little to no breakage. If I dont microtrim this often, I easily get the so called false terminal length, I gain breakage very easily. The ends also look awful if I dont trim, gaining lots of white dots, splits and some hairs grow much faster than others. I tried both trim and not trim and I definitely have to trim. This can be different with other people though ;)

[enting]

I have a combination of types of hair, yet they all seem to acquire splits and white dots relatively quickly. I started microtrimming this year to see if it will help. In the past I would get my hair cut only once a year, and they would have to take off about 4 inches every year to get the ends nice again because of all the splitting. So far my hem feels and looks nicer than in previous years, but I'll see how things stand after a year is up.

I started out trimming a finger's width every month, but I think that was either taking off more than I was growing per month, or my measuring is wonky, because I got a shorter measured length the last time I measured my hair than I had two months previous to that. I am going to try to wait 3 months before trimming again, and I will also see if I can trim off less than I have been. I'm not sure I'll be able to yet, cutting a tinier amount off the bottom curl seems to take more skill for me.

In the meantime I am also S&Ding to tide me over until the next trim.

[Agnes Hannah]

Hi Persiangirl01 I am also a finey. I micro trimmed last year, but decided to grow to classic before trimming again, I'm currently at tailbone. When I get to classic I will microtrim again to get my ends in some sort of order. They aren't bad at the minute, but are fairytailing quite nicely, so microtrimming will help to bulk them out and improve the bottom. I protect my delicate ends with oil and lots of condish, oh and wearing it up every day.

[lulikrueger]

I used to do it monthly when I was dyeing my hair, I'd just clean off less than half a cm, 'cause I love the feeling of fresh ends. I've been trying to not do it for a year, just S&D. It does feel healthier when I micro trim, but it still in good condition after 4 four months having stopped cold turkey.

[Cg]

I microtrim every 6 weeks. When I began, I found many splits. I now rarely find any.

[Frankenstein]

I wouldn't say that I microtrim, but I trim half an inch every 3 months. It's helped my hemline and ends immensely.

[pailin]

I haven't trimmed at all except for s & d in 2 1/2 years,and my ends aren't too bad; most of the taper comes my last cut having been layered. Although I am looking forward to trimming an inch or so after this year's no-trimming challenge.

[turtlelover]

A microtrim never ends being just a microtrim with me by the time I get it all even (crazy waves LOL) so I am better off just waiting longer to trim and expecting to lose a half inch by the time I get it straight! HAHA

[Thoughtfulnod]

I'm a little confused on telling the difference between thin ends and unhealthy ends. I thought that trimmimg only helped with unhealthy/split ends?

[pailin]

I think thin ends often mean that you've had some of the ends breaking off or being S&D'ed a lot, or that your hair grows unevenly (or if you're in my situation, you have old layers). As long as it's not a sign that you have lots of splits and such, I think the only reason it matters is if you want a thicker hemline.

[01]

Nope. I either don't trim at all or do huge trims.

[Silverbleed]

I went 2 years and some months without a trim (November 2013 - January 2016). I reached my goal of classic September 2015. I had a trim February 2016, and now June 2016. I wouldn't call it microtrimming what is being done now but I do go months without a trim, then have it cut back to classic. And I have F hair. I feel that I don't need microtrims.

If you have lingering damage in your hair, sure. If your hair splits easily? Sure, but other than that... I don't think it's really necessary to microtrim.

Ohh I really hope my hair would stay as good to keep it growing for two years. I really do not want to trim it as I'm not yet at my dream length, but it's up to my hair for how long I could stretch it. Currently I haven't found any splits yet so that makes me happy. Once I'm at a comfortable length I may do S&D's but... I dunno I don't like cutting :') At all.

[lapushka]

Ohh I really hope my hair would stay as good to keep it growing for two years. I really do not want to trim it as I'm not yet at my dream length, but it's up to my hair for how long I could stretch it. Currently I haven't found any splits yet so that makes me happy. Once I'm at a comfortable length I may do S&D's but... I dunno I don't like cutting :') At all.

One month at a time. One growth step at a time, and you'll get there. Just S&D, that's all. The rest will be fine. I didn't feel the need to cut during those 2 years either, because I was growing towards a goal. Since reaching that goal (classic), I have no issues with trimming at all. It depends on which side of the coin you are at. ;)

[TatsuOni]

No. I trim one or two centimeters twice year and do S&D in between. This year I've trimmed it a bit more to get a straighter hemline, but now I'm back to twice a year:)

[MidnightMoon]

I dont. I have the feeling my hair is so fine any dry/damaged parts will just break/fall off on their own every time I comb/brush :P

[lithostoic]

Yes, I've done it once and loved it, will probably do every 4-6 months. However my hair is more medium than fine, so a real finey might have to do it more often as the hair is more fragile c: Totally depends on you though.

[Anje]

Entirely too much trouble for me, and the longest parts of my hair typically aren't where I get splits. I snip off a few inches if the texture of the ends feels especially bad after all attempts at clarifying, protein, and moisture haven't helped. Otherwise, I just stick to S&D.

[Deborah]

Never. I just let it grow until I want it a bit shorter, then I cut off anywhere from four inches to about a foot. All those little trims would annoy me too much. It's healthy hair and it grows back very quickly, so it is always long, just to varying degrees.

[Nadine <3]

Only if I notice my hair knotting up more often or I actually see a bunch of dots or splits. I try and stay away from the scissors because I'm really impulsive lol

[nekosan]

I've pretty much always done search and destroys. I'm not patient enough to microtrim. My ends are so fairy tailed that I'd need to cut off at least 2-3 inches to get more than the longest few hairs.

[Lejli]

I micortrim every 1-2 months. I have to pretty much do it because my hair is super damaged, but at the same time I dont wanna just chop it all off. So its a great alternative.

[kuroi]

My hair is very fine and splits easily so I find microtrimming is necessary to prevent it getting worse. Cause of my micro-trimming I now barely have splits at the bottom so I try to s&d a bit more a microtrim a bit less to gain more lenght. I also have layers to grow out so its a nice way to not loose lenght but still work towards both of my goals.
That said if your hair doesn't split as easily as mine you might be able to not trim as often and still be fine. I suggest you grow and just check once a month to decide if your hair needs a trim or not.

[Zebra Fish]

I wanted to thick my ends, so I was microtrimming for a while and realised it did nothing. But my ends were fine (healthy). So in a 3-4 month period I chopped quite a lot (~15cm) and now I'm in the no trim for this year. Ends still healthy and the chop did its function (I'd have to take off some more length as I had a very deep V, by a haisressers' mistake, to get thick ends, but can't take it all at once :p). So, I'd guess it depeneds on what your goal is. While I was gaining length, it worked just fine (I'd get 0,5-1 cm every 1,5 months) but I realised the ends were to thin for my liking. I S&D every now and then if I feel the need for it.

[dancingfrog]

I haven't done a microtrim yet but I probably will start sometime. Right now my hair stylist cleans up my hem every few months. No schedule, just when I notice things are getting ratty, or when I schedule an appointment to get help looking particularly presentable for an event. My braiding and updo skills have a long way to go!

[Silverbleed]

One month at a time. One growth step at a time, and you'll get there. Just S&D, that's all. The rest will be fine. I didn't feel the need to cut during those 2 years either, because I was growing towards a goal. Since reaching that goal (classic), I have no issues with trimming at all. It depends on which side of the coin you are at. ;)

Yeah I think you're right. I bet it'll change once I'm feeling comfortable with how my hair looks. Right now it's a total mess with all those layers and uneven sides, so I'm really fearing any cuts lmao.

[missrandie]

I don't microtrim. Of course, I haven't seen any splits, m ends feel great, and there is no need. I haven't had a trim for over a year, and even the leftover bleached ends (1/16 in long) haven't split.

I'm alright with fairytailing happening as well. Search and destroy until I reach a point where I want to microtrim, lol!

[Mirabele]

I dont. I have the feeling my hair is so fine any dry/damaged parts will just break/fall off on their own every time I comb/brush :P
My hair is like that, too. I very seldom see split ends, not because my hair is healthy but because the damaged and split parts just break off. I didnt microtrim before LHC, i microtrim now ocasionally (6 weeks-3months) but i dont see any big difference for the ends or for my growth. My hemline looks better with microtrims but i seldom wear my hair down anyway.

[H.e.L]

I've been trying for a couple years to remember to microtrim/dust my ends monthly, but I had a baby last June and my trimming discipline has mysteriously taken a back seat for some reason. hahaha :p
However, during that time my ends have improved quite a bit, and it's also grown at quite a respectable pace. My hair has gone from shoulder blade to around hip in ~two years despite (semi-)consistently dusting the ends. (Sometimes my "micro"trims are more trim than they are micro.)
I have relatively thin ends still, though, so I'm trying to thicken up in general. I also have tons of layers to grow out from massive, continuous hair loss due to persistent scalp irritation. I have recently discovered aloe gel/juice treatments and that has improved the condition wonderfully. I went from losing a small "mouse" of hair every shower (sorry if TMI) and over 100 per day to ~38-70 most days and ~100 on shower days.
But when I started, I was trimming just 1 or 2 hairs per microtrim. In the last year-ish, they've been looking more like proper trims, where I actually have to work the scissors to trim properly instead just doing a cursory snip.
I am very pleased that I can trim/dust my hair that consistently and still gain a bit of length.
When I get to tailbone I will most likely go from microtrims to full on maintaining so I can thicken my ends up more.
Long story short, I have always had trouble growing my hair out due to thinning ends, but microtrimming has fixed that for me.

[gawrique_]

I gave up on microtrims :( Having quite the tapered ends I hoped to align them a bit while keeping a slow growth. Well the only thing that happened was that I dusted literally 5 hairs for months with almost no improval. What worked for me was just ignore the ends mostly (maybe occasionally doing S&D) and then cutting a couple inches at the end of the year. Like half of the total growth. So two steps forward and one back.

That was with normal hairloss on my fine hair. With increasing shedding I had to cut back until there was something you could call a hemline (had an reverse U at before). And after this radical cut I maintained the hemline at the same length with micrograms until the hairless was over. So microtrimms work for me only while maintaining already "full" ends. A tapered shape while growing did not work well with microtrimms ;)

[MidnightMoon]

My hair is like that, too. I very seldom see split ends, not because my hair is healthy but because the damaged and split parts just break off. I didnt microtrim before LHC, i microtrim now ocasionally (6 weeks-3months) but i dont see any big difference for the ends or for my growth. My hemline looks better with microtrims but i seldom wear my hair down anyway.

Yeah, microtrimming just seems useless to me. I can feel a difference in texture and hemline if I take off a good amount of inches, but some mm or cm? Not.

[Inga-Marjukka]

My hair is like that, too. I very seldom see split ends, not because my hair is healthy but because the damaged and split parts just break off. I didnt microtrim before LHC, i microtrim now ocasionally (6 weeks-3months) but i dont see any big difference for the ends or for my growth. My hemline looks better with microtrims but i seldom wear my hair down anyway.

This is exactly what happens to me too! I had no idea this was an actual thing. Sometimes a bunch of tiny, very thin broken hairs fall on my lap when I'm brushing and so far I've been a bit confused by them. It's a brush, not a lawn mower, what's happening? :lol: This makes sense since I never find any massive splits, only tiny ones that are only just beginning their promising careers in shaft-destroying.

Keeping my hair up in protective buns has really changed my entire trimming game, as in I don't have to do it anymore. I do microtrim very occasionally using what I believe is spidermom's method (part hair in the middle, bring two sides in front of your shoulders, ponytail them under your chin, get trimming), since my hair is really fine and I simply have no patience for S&D. S&D feels so slow and unhelpful I couldn't bring myself to do it after trying a couple of times. I have no discipline for trimming, I just do it when my hair feels like it needs it. And always clarify before doing so, since it could be just buildup. In general my ends have been really smooth since I got used to sticks and buns. Hardcore moisturising and protective do's have helped me achieve the level of smoothness and a condition that would only have been available after a good couple of inches snipped off by a hairdresser in my pre LHC days.

[MsBubbles]

Yes. I guess you could say I do 'dustings'. Back when I was impatiently waiting for my hair to grow (a new milestone with every new inch!), I used to trim half of my growth amount every 2 months or so, because I was also growing out bleach & blowdrying damage. So it was necessary for me to keep trimming off all those ratty ends, but I wasn't willing to make zero length progress, either. I figured out (from where my bleach/roots demarcation line was) how fast my hair grew each month (0.625"/month) and trimmed off half of that much worth. I think it worked pretty well!

These days I have no idea what trimming schedule I'm on and usually trim it whenever it's starting to get on my nerves.

For a while in the early years I tried the 'trimming by the moon' phases just to get my mind off of the whole impatience of waiting for it to grow. I don't think it made my hair grow any faster or thicker!

ETA: Woo! The thread-killer is baaaaccckkk...

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I micro trim every month and i am starting to question myself after reading this thread over... seeing so many fine hairs not dusting!

i take maybe 2-3 CM off and i have only done it twice, but i have no idea how much i am growing each month. i know im not cutting off what im growing though because i can just tell my hair is longer. my hem also looks a little thicker too. but i wonder if i am impeding my growth...
when i first came to LHC i didnt trim at all, i grew for a year and hardly saw length, it was just breaking off. but now i am seeing length so i wonder if i should go back to no trims... guh. im scared to try and find out.

i see L shaped ends more than splits... but they always break off at some point.
i could s&d them but i dont have the time...

i dont know whats most efficient and what will help me see more length...

[Llama]

I have fine hair and I don't microtrim. I trim once or twice a year and only 1/2 to 1 inch each time.
My ends always look best after a trim but if I trimmed every month or 2 I don't think I would see any increase in length.

Besides, I like letting my ends get uneven and scraggly then getting a nice blunt cut. Feels good to be able to see and feel a noticeable difference like that. Lol

[hanne jensen]

I have very fine hair and have microtrimmedevery month. It helped my hair a lot. My hair is very fragile and breaks very easily. Added to that, my hair grows very unevenly and I like a thick blunt hemline. I feel my hair is stronger with a blunt hemline.

Hubby is my duster and he's been unable to dust me since June due to health issues. He was able to trim my hair earlier this week. There were tots of hair over 2 cm long on the floor along with a pile of what looked like dust. This is how uneven my hair grows. Dusting and trimming has helped me to get to beyond waist where before LHC the longest my hair has ever been was a long APL.

If your hair is fragile I would recommend regular dusting.

[Annalouise]

No, I do not. I don't have split ends or damaged hair (or layers). In the past I've trimmed from 1 inch up to 5 inches in one year. This was solely due to having very thin hair at the lengths beyond bsl.
I think trimming hair is a giant waste of time if your hair is healthy. It gives the hair the appearance of being thicker with a more blunt line, but its removing the length. Some people's hair grows such that the length - the guys at the front of the race, are much FEWER in number than the guys at the back of the race. Cutting off the guys at the front of the race doesn't make the race won faster. It just makes the guys at the back now the guys at the front if you get my meaning.
Yup, its a big waste of time.:D

[Cg]

I microtrim every six weeks to keep my hemline perfect, straight, and blunt.

I S&D for splits but those occur only rarely so in reality most S&Ds are just Ss.

[Strands]

I went 2 years and some months without a trim (November 2013 - January 2016). I reached my goal of classic September 2015. I had a trim February 2016, and now June 2016. I wouldn't call it microtrimming what is being done now but I do go months without a trim, then have it cut back to classic. And I have F hair. I feel that I don't need microtrims.

If you have lingering damage in your hair, sure. If your hair splits easily? Sure, but other than that... I don't think it's really necessary to microtrim.

How do you know if your hair is indeed F? I cannot figure out what my type is and it is driving me nuts.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

How do you know if your hair is indeed F? I cannot figure out what my type is and it is driving me nuts.

Most people have trouble with this.. i think there is a forum with a link somewhere that shows how to scientifically find out... cant find it..

Try this forum: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=50861

I have a mix of hairs, so its possible you are between a hair type, dont forget that either!