Hair health without trimming

[Wravyn]

Recently I had a discussion with a new friend about my efforts to grow my hair out again. I mentioned that I try not to get it trimmed too often because they always take more than I ask off the length. My friend said that she hasn't trimmed her hair in a few years and that oiling and brushing regularly has helped naturally shed any split ends that develope.

I know we have challenge threads here that are no-trim for a year, but I'm wondering what anyone else's long-term experiences with this have been?

[CherryFrizz]

I didn't trim for about 3 years after a big chop. It's kind of caught up to me, and, now, I have to trim a bit more than I'd like to get rid of the damaged ends. But, I had dye/heat damage, so that's part of it. For 2 of the 3 years, though, it was fine!

That said, I love fairytale ends, so I always admire the no-trim look on healthy hair. The ends of my own hair, though, just got damaged, felt like velcro, and looked like straw. :(

[littlestarface]

I used to have untrimmed healthy hair but my hair thinned and grew too fairy tale at the ends and for me I like the look of fresh trimmed ends. I would go like at least 7 years inbetween trims at times.

[MusicalSpoons]

I went for almost 2 years without trimming the first time, then trimmed only because I wanted to even up my hemline, not because there was anything wrong with the hairs there. I skipped the next trim between the 2 half-year challenges, again my ends felt perfectly healthy and they weren't as drastically tapered as I'd anticipated, so I saw no reason to trim and couldn't be bothered :lol:

Most people can get by fine with no-trimming if they are not too bothered by an uneven hemline, as long as they make sure their ends are adequately moisturised and wear their hair up. Some people's hair doesn't tolerate it and splits anyway even if it's virgin without heat or dye damage, but *most* people's hair does okay.

[spidermom]

My hair just loves to split no matter what I do, so I need more frequent trims to keep the ends in good condition. About every 3-4 months seems to be my sweet spot.

[cjk]

The ends are the oldest. Even with perfect care they'll have been exposed to the sun, to the rain, to the snow, have rubbed against your shirt or coat, and so forth.

Even trivial damage eventually builds up.

Trimming is neither right nor wrong. It's a thing. But some people trim way too much, if their intention is to grow long.

[GrowinIt]

I was watching a youtube video about growing longer hair, and it mentioned that if you want long hair, you should stop trimming your hair as often! If you think about it, the "dead" ends can protect the healthy part of the hair. If you trim those ends off, then you are exposing that healthy hair to now be an end that can become damaged. I think my main reason for getting trims has been so I at least think that I look "properly" groomed. I do think though that I have been trimming too often, and that if I seriously want it to get longer, I need to stop, for a while. It also suggested braiding your hair as often as possible, at night, and during the day, so I've actually just started that as of last night, I will sleep in a braid and wear a braid on most days. Before I braid it, I will brush or comb it to distribute oils and remove naturally shedding hairs.

[lapushka]

I reached my goal length, quite fast a couple times now, because I don't trim at all or a lot when I am trying to attain goals. When I cut back to hip November 2016, I grew out to classic no trims in 2018, spring, so that was what I needed to do.

Now that I am on my goal length, I keep it maintained. So I trim when it starts to get in the way again.

[AmaryllisRed]

I haven't trimmed in nearly three years.
But I don't oil or brush my hair, either. I'm curious how that is supposed to help naturally shed split ends?

[MusicalSpoons]

I was watching a youtube video about growing longer hair, and it mentioned that if you want long hair, you should stop trimming your hair as often! If you think about it, the "dead" ends can protect the healthy part of the hair. If you trim those ends off, then you are exposing that healthy hair to now be an end that can become damaged. I think my main reason for getting trims has been so I at least think that I look "properly" groomed. I do think though that I have been trimming too often, and that if I seriously want it to get longer, I need to stop, for a while. It also suggested braiding your hair as often as possible, at night, and during the day, so I've actually just started that as of last night, I will sleep in a braid and wear a braid on most days. Before I braid it, I will brush or comb it to distribute oils and remove naturally shedding hairs.

Braids aren't protective for everyone; if I lived in braids it would destroy my hair and I would never have managed no-trimming (or probably even reaching my goal). The friction of the little hairs sticking out all down the length damages them, and even if I do a braided bun, those individual ends poking out dry out. So buns are best for me, and I'm not the only person who has problems with them. However as with everything else, it's very individual and for some people braids genuinely are the best thing ever. Just people don't always consider whether braids actually are damaging for their own hair because the perception is that contained = protected.

[AmaryllisRed]

Braids aren't protective for everyone; if I lived in braids it would destroy my hair and I would never have managed no-trimming (or probably even reaching my goal). The friction of the little hairs sticking out all down the length damages them, and even if I do a braided bun, those individual ends poking out dry out. So buns are best for me, and I'm not the only person who has problems with them. However as with everything else, it's very individual and for some people braids genuinely are the best thing ever. Just people don't always consider whether braids actually are damaging for their own hair because the perception is that contained = protected.

Yes! Braids don't seem to prevent much damage for me. Maybe it's better than wearing my hair down, but I've noticed when I get in the habit of wearing braids and not bunning them, I get tons of splits.

[GrowinIt]

Ok, thanks for the info =). Maybe I will change it up, and alternate braids and buns =). What I like about braiding (and bunning), is that my hair is contained and I won't keep touching it and running my hands through it all day.

As for how brushing helps shed split ends, I wonder if maybe the thought is that the oldest hairs would be most likely to shed, and therefore older hairs that are possibly split ended hairs would naturally get brushed out? Although, I find for myself, that my shed hairs tend to be shorter ones, not longer ones, the longer hairs seem to want to stay in there.

[MusicalSpoons]

Yes! Braids don't seem to prevent much damage for me. Maybe it's better than wearing my hair down, but I've noticed when I get in the habit of wearing braids and not bunning them, I get tons of splits.

Yup. Sleeping in one is a surefire way to wake up to splits on virtually every visible end! And yep, even on satin - terrifying!

[Dark40]

I haven't trimmed in 3 years either. The only thing I need to do in order to keep my ends looking neat is dustings, and that's only taking off the tips of my ends.

[MusicalSpoons]

I haven't trimmed in 3 years either. The only thing I need to do in order to keep my ends looking neat is dustings, and that's only taking off the tips of my ends.

:confused: that's still trimming, just a teeny-tiny amount.

[Ophidian]

I have only done one minor trim since I started growing my hair out in April 2016. My hair is not prone to splits, but I do oil the ends regularly and keep it bunned so they aren't exposed to the elements. It is definitely thinner at the ends, but the overall shape is a nice gradual taper that I really like.

[snorkie]

I trimmed sometime this spring. Just enough to take the thin stragglers. I try not to trim unless it is screaming for me to do so. I keep my hair up in a bun 99.8% of the time. I used to do braids or multi scrunchie ponytail but the ends always seemed so rough. I’ve done the constant bun thing for 4 years now and the rough ends are a thing of the past for me. The gal that dyes my hair is pitching a fit over it though. Says I need to let her trim and that if I don’t let her do it soon she will stop doin my hair. I told her I’m allergic to scissors and it ain’t happening. I suspect next month we will argue again.

[hennalove]

Recently I had a discussion with a new friend about my efforts to grow my hair out again. I mentioned that I try not to get it trimmed too often because they always take more than I ask off the length. My friend said that she hasn't trimmed her hair in a few years and that oiling and brushing regularly has helped naturally shed any split ends that develope.

I know we have challenge threads here that are no-trim for a year, but I'm wondering what anyone else's long-term experiences with this have been?

Congratulations on your hair growth goals. I haven't trimmed since May 2017. I do S&D basically when I remember or notice split ends usually after using henna/indigo. I agree that oiling helps with split ends but brushing is really an individual thing. Shedding split ends due to brushing is breakage. Despite multiple layers of henna, I still try to prevent breakage which for me means regular oiling and minimal brushing using a wooden bristle brush. I also use a wood comb and my hair is up most of the time. I lightly oil my ends a couple of times a day as well a a full light oiling before bunning morning and evening. Some mornings I will oil then leave down for a couple of hours but now that my hair is long enough to sit on, I only do that when waking up with my morning coffee.

One thing that is recommended here is no heat but there was a study showing that low heat blow drying is actually better for your hair. I just recently returned to blow drying and can report no increase in split ends.

[lapushka]

:confused: that's still trimming, just a teeny-tiny amount.

Yes a "dusting" is micro-trimming, but it is still trimming the hair!

[MusicalSpoons]

One thing that is recommended here is no heat but there was a study showing that low heat blow drying is actually better for your hair. I just recently returned to blow drying and can report no increase in split ends.

Those were the results of the study, but its relevance to real-world conditions is debatable at best. I don't want to derail this thread, and I not implying blow-drying on low is more damaging than air-drying - there's simply not the detailed research to know. But if you are interested there have been several threads about it and a comprehensive summary/evaluation is here: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=139254&page=2&p=3280147&viewfull=1#post3280147

That said, the members here who do carefully blow-dry on cool/low-warm report no problems, so you should be fine to continue anyway :thumbsup:

Edit: Ooh actually this is interesting too https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=136688&page=2&p=3182554&viewfull=1#post3182554
But again, no derailment intended :couch: and hat-tip to meteor for those summaries and links!

[Wravyn]

I haven't trimmed in nearly three years.
But I don't oil or brush my hair, either. I'm curious how that is supposed to help naturally shed split ends?

I was wondering the same thing about the natural shedding. . . maybe they just become so damaged that they break off?

[Wravyn]

I trimmed sometime this spring. Just enough to take the thin stragglers. I try not to trim unless it is screaming for me to do so. I keep my hair up in a bun 99.8% of the time. I used to do braids or multi scrunchie ponytail but the ends always seemed so rough. I’ve done the constant bun thing for 4 years now and the rough ends are a thing of the past for me. The gal that dyes my hair is pitching a fit over it though. Says I need to let her trim and that if I don’t let her do it soon she will stop doin my hair. I told her I’m allergic to scissors and it ain’t happening. I suspect next month we will argue again.

Lol it's kind of funny to imagine how crazy that must drive her. Honestly, I would have told her that if she refuses it's just money in someone else's pocket.

[Siv]

I wish I could do without trimming, but I get massive split end issues if I don't :(

[forestwizard]

I can go a long time without needing a trim. In the past, I would obsess too much and end up getting a trim "just in case" and every time the stylist would tell me I had no splits. Since I'm growing out a shaved head (June 2018) I've decided NO cuts or trims for the first 2-2.5 years.

I'm sure much of my hair health is genetics, but I also oil only the ends every night as part of my bedtime routine, and always sleep with a satin bonnet. I've noticed my hair in general feels much better when I use a bonnet, even for naps during the day. My hair isnt long enough to braid yet, but when it's long I always slept in a french braid, and usually wear it like that.

Oiling the ends every night works a little better for longer hair, because if it stays greasy the next day, it's not noticeable at the end of a braid or tucked up in a bun. But, I'd rather my shorter hair look less "styled" and be healthier.

[FaerieToast]

Reading this thread's been lovely ^^ my hairs' split end situation has dramatically improved even within only one month of me oiling and bunning up my hair, and learning how to take care of it better. Instead of having noticeable, distressing split ends already: a mere 5 1/2 weeks after my last trim (which is the norm for me), I've only found 4 or 5 of them (all in the very back)... so I've really been thinking about how I have to change my haircut regimen in reaction to not needing the same 8-week trim schedule anymore. Reading how long folks've gone between trims and not having many split problems makes me happy and inspired!
Take that, 10" lost to trims & cuts within the last 2 years!

[Dark40]

:confused: that's still trimming, just a teeny-tiny amount.

yes, that's true but when I trim I don't need to trim off that much. Only a teeny-tiny amount.

[snorkie]

Ugh...and I truly wish I could tell her that. I live in a very small town and my options for someone that will do bright colors are nonexistent. It really does drive her bonkers that I won’t let her hack off 3 years of growth just to satisfy her urge to cut hair. I have stretched the time between going in to see her though. Started using overtone conditioner. Saves my brights!

[TwisterAZ]

I am not sure what to do about trimming my hair once it starts to look wispy, but if one more person tells me my hair will grow faster if I get regular trims, I'm gonna lose it. LOL