Hair trimming machine

[Loveletters]

Hi! I have very damaged hair (splits pretty much from bra strap-hip length...) but cutting it off is a no go for me. Too attached to it. Someone told me about a machine that trims only the split ends of the hair off. I've watched some reviews but idk if I can trust those, considering YouTubers might get paid to talk positively about the device. Does anyone have experience with hair trimming machines? Do they work or will they absolutely botch my hair? Absolute nightmare. ;-;

[-Fern]

Why not just do S&D (seek & destroy)? Nothing is automated to "intelligently" trim only split ends. Many of us also trim our own hair, it is pretty easy. Search for Feye's Method.

[lapushka]

That machine has been talked about so much here over the times. It takes a bit off of every bit of "end", so it's like a trim all over in fact.

Split ends are never "all over", they just pop up here and there. Better to trim those bits off with S&D. No need to go "all over".

[Sweet_Decadence]

The Split Ender? It doesn't trim spit ends, just flyaways. So it'll probably take of some of the splits, but it'll take perfectly healthy bits of hair in its wake too. Most folk who've tried it still have splits after using it.

You're money would be much better spent on some nice hairdressing scissors and doing a S&D. Find a nice sunny spot in your home, pop on your favourite tunes and just get to to work. I know it's tedious but it's the best way.

[lapushka]

You know, I couldn't get to that word... flyaways! But that's exactly what it does, off of every little hair. I mean it's like a what? 0.5cm trim?

[Garnetgem]

I have one and after i used it still noticed split ends so i had to keep placing my hair in it,the thing was it took off healthy blunt ends along with it so i gave up and went back to S&D as i felt more in control..so i felt it wasn't worth bothering with for me at least.

[Spitfire]

That sounds like an instance where technology went a little far. :D I don't think I'd trust a machine to snip my ends. I'd just seek and destroy them manually.

Cool little piece of engineering though!

[lapushka]

That sounds like an instance where technology went a little far. :D I don't think I'd trust a machine to snip my ends. I'd just seek and destroy them manually.

Cool little piece of engineering though!

Yes, you gotta wonder how they do that! :)

[Spitfire]

Yes, you gotta wonder how they do that! :)

Right?! I was looking it up and watched some videos of it going on people's hair and I saw the little pile of splits the machine rounded up and I have to admit I was astonished.

Huh. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all...

[lapushka]

Right?! I was looking it up and watched some videos of it going on people's hair and I saw the little pile of splits the machine rounded up and I have to admit I was astonished.

Huh. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all...

Might be better than your regular trim every 3 months. ;)

[MusicalSpoons]

Right?! I was looking it up and watched some videos of it going on people's hair and I saw the little pile of splits the machine rounded up and I have to admit I was astonished.

Huh. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all...

Yes, but were they all splits? Or were some/many/most of them perfectly healthy tapered ends of hairs that had grown quite happily until the automated reaper came and harvested them? ;) :p

[Kat]

And, of course, not all damage is right at the very end. So it trims off the end... and might ignore a split further up?

[lapushka]

Not to mention that if you keep going over a strand over and over again, each time it's taking off a couple mm. That adds up. I mean no wonder you can get uneven if you are OCD about the splits. :shocked:

[Suortuva]

But are those things sharp enough? Or do they cause just more damage to the ends?

[lapushka]

But are those things sharp enough? Or do they cause just more damage to the ends?

I have no idea on how sharp those things are. :hmm: Does anyone here have one?

I think I'll stick to my scissors & S&D.

[ynne]

I feel the same way as others here, since it's taking away lots of healthy hair, you may just go for an actual trim at a hairdresser! (Maybe not right now, better wait, but still.)
You can find more experiences here (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=9878), there are people who tried it, too. :) Hope it helps!

[Feral_]

There’s a technique for just doing the very ends of hair called dusting. A hairdresser friend showed me it. You use a medium toothed comb and go down the hair length and put the scissors flat against the comb’s teeth - hair ends that poke through the comb gets cut in a quick dusting motion, and it does capture split ends if they’re in that section. If your hair is thick you’d have to clip it up and do sections of it starting with the underneath.

[Angelica]

I have one of the original ones. There were a lot of copies around. You are not supposed to put too much hair through at a time, otherwise it will tug. Also the hair has to be clean and dry. I have given up using mine as it does trim every end sticking out and I didn't notice any improvement in the split ends. If you do go for one, only purchase the "legit" one. I don't think it does any harm to the hair if used correctly. But at the same time I'm not convinced about its function. Clever contraption though.

[lapushka]

There’s a technique for just doing the very ends of hair called dusting. A hairdresser friend showed me it. You use a medium toothed comb and go down the hair length and put the scissors flat against the comb’s teeth - hair ends that poke through the comb gets cut in a quick dusting motion, and it does capture split ends if they’re in that section. If your hair is thick you’d have to clip it up and do sections of it starting with the underneath.

For me, IDK, but almost all my hair gets "caught" even in a fine-tooth comb, so it's a bit unclear how that would work? Is it the same reasoning as twisting the hair and snipping off what pokes out (which are perfectly fine ends often, just hairs that haven't caught up growing, which makes it sad to cut those off).

[lapushka]

I have one of the original ones. There were a lot of copies around. You are not supposed to put too much hair through at a time, otherwise it will tug. Also the hair has to be clean and dry. I have given up using mine as it does trim every end sticking out and I didn't notice any improvement in the split ends. If you do go for one, only purchase the "legit" one. I don't think it does any harm to the hair if used correctly. But at the same time I'm not convinced about its function. Clever contraption though.

Thanks for that review. It says it all, doesn't it? :)

[Spitfire]

Yes, but were they all splits? Or were some/many/most of them perfectly healthy tapered ends of hairs that had grown quite happily until the automated reaper came and harvested them? ;) :p

"Automated reaper" Ha ha!

You're likely totally right about there being a lot of healthy ends being sacrificed in this... thing. I'm trimming way too often (I'm paranoid of splits traveling "up" as I've read in many places) as is though and if I want fairy tale ends at classic one day, I'm going to have to find some other method. I never thought much about S&D till I started reading on here so I'll do some of that!

[Feral_]

For me, IDK, but almost all my hair gets "caught" even in a fine-tooth comb, so it's a bit unclear how that would work? Is it the same reasoning as twisting the hair and snipping off what pokes out (which are perfectly fine ends often, just hairs that haven't caught up growing, which makes it sad to cut those off).

You don’t put the comb right through as you would normal combing, just lift lightly, but yes you are correct that it’s a similar principle to the twist and snip method. As for cutting off hairs that haven’t quite caught up - I take the opposite view and think of them a bit like plants - the trim is a stimulus to grow more vigorously :-)

[MusicalSpoons]

You don’t put the comb right through as you would normal combing, just lift lightly, but yes you are correct that it’s a similar principle to the twist and snip method. As for cutting off hairs that haven’t quite caught up - I take the opposite view and think of them a bit like plants - the trim is a stimulus to grow more vigorously :-)

Huh? :confused: Hair grows from the roots (and the roots only) regardless of what happens at the ends - once it's formed and left the follicle, it is purely subject to how we and the elements treat it.

[Ylva]

Huh? :confused: Hair grows from the roots (and the roots only) regardless of what happens at the ends - once it's formed and left the follicle, it is purely subject to how we and the elements treat it.

Yep.

Plants are alive all over. The follicle has no idea what happens at the ends or anywhere along the strand for that matter.

[ynne]

There’s a technique for just doing the very ends of hair called dusting. A hairdresser friend showed me it. You use a medium toothed comb and go down the hair length and put the scissors flat against the comb’s teeth - hair ends that poke through the comb gets cut in a quick dusting motion, and it does capture split ends if they’re in that section. If your hair is thick you’d have to clip it up and do sections of it starting with the underneath.
Does the friend recommend it when there is such a high percentage of split ends on even the shorter hairs, that trimming them individually would be basically pointless? Personally, I don't get split ends at those shorter lengths, so I figure I'm not the target customer here, but maybe it is for people who need an overall trim-? Does it start from certain length, like ears and below, or do you trim even those few centimeters long baby hairs? (Genuinely curious! I'm hoping to understand the purpose a little better.)

[Kat]

You don’t put the comb right through as you would normal combing, just lift lightly, but yes you are correct that it’s a similar principle to the twist and snip method. As for cutting off hairs that haven’t quite caught up - I take the opposite view and think of them a bit like plants - the trim is a stimulus to grow more vigorously :-)

I guess if I were doing this, I would look at the hair as I went and only clip the ones with splits. I do something similar on occasion (because a traditional S&D takes way too long for me*)-- when I re-braid my hair, I'll look it over and if I see any splits poking out I'll trim them. I figure if I do that regularly, I'll be getting a fair number of them without it taking all day. But I wouldn't just trim anything without seeing if I saw damage.

*I tried S&D once in my life. After about two hours, I think I had done *half* of my hair. No way was I going to invest another two hours in the other half, or spend 4 hours on a regular basis doing it. I decided to take my chances and let it go instead.



Does the friend recommend it when there is such a high percentage of split ends on even the shorter hairs, that trimming them individually would be basically pointless? Personally, I don't get split ends at those shorter lengths, so I figure I'm not the target customer here, but maybe it is for people who need an overall trim-? Does it start from certain length, like ears and below, or do you trim even those few centimeters long baby hairs? (Genuinely curious! I'm hoping to understand the purpose a little better.)

Well, my hair is (very very) tangle-prone, and tangles/detangling damages my hair, so I have damage all over my hair, not just on the ends. I also have hairs of all different lengths due to different growth cycles, damage, etc. So, I look for splits and damaged parts all along my length, because I know it's not just at my ends, and that my "ends" are not all at the same place anyway.

[MusicalSpoons]

I guess if I were doing this, I would look at the hair as I went and only clip the ones with splits. I do something similar on occasion (because a traditional S&D takes way too long for me*)-- when I re-braid my hair, I'll look it over and if I see any splits poking out I'll trim them. I figure if I do that regularly, I'll be getting a fair number of them without it taking all day. But I wouldn't just trim anything without seeing if I saw damage.

*I tried S&D once in my life. After about two hours, I think I had done *half* of my hair. No way was I going to invest another two hours in the other half, or spend 4 hours on a regular basis doing it. I decided to take my chances and let it go instead.


Well, my hair is (very very) tangle-prone, and tangles/detangling damages my hair, so I have damage all over my hair, not just on the ends. I also have hairs of all different lengths due to different growth cycles, damage, etc. So, I look for splits and damaged parts all along my length, because I know it's not just at my ends, and that my "ends" are not all at the same place anyway.

Same here, and I agree with the overall sentiment of your post - I once spent about an hour on around a quarter of my hair and couldn't take it any more. I've occasionally made a conscious effort to try in small bursts but a single lock can take 10 mins and I just don't have the physical or mental energy for it. I now just try to snip off splits or dots when I see them, though I'm not always up to doing that either and weeks will go by without it. I can't afford to obsess and I'm not convinced it really makes too much difference to my hair to be honest; I suspect the main benefit is that it makes me feel better as it's something I feel I *ought* to be doing!

[Kat]

Same here, and I agree with the overall sentiment of your post - I once spent about an hour on around a quarter of my hair and couldn't take it any more. I've occasionally made a conscious effort to try in small bursts but a single lock can take 10 mins and I just don't have the physical or mental energy for it. I now just try to snip off splits or dots when I see them, though I'm not always up to doing that either and weeks will go by without it. I can't afford to obsess and I'm not convinced it really makes too much difference to my hair to be honest; I suspect the main benefit is that it makes me feel better as it's something I feel I *ought* to be doing!

*sigh* I'm not, either, but my hair is also difficult, lol. I used to do the damp buns and sulfate-free and trying to file the seams off my combs and all of that... can't say I ever saw much difference, so I gave up. I guess at least it's license to be lazy, haha.

[Longlegs]

I get split end but also unfortunately mid-shaft splits too, so I prefer to cut them manually when I see them. I usually sit on the couch and put on a DVD of a show I've watched before but still find entertaining, but not enough to keep my eyes glued to the screen. Then I snip away.

[Feral_]

Huh? :confused: Hair grows from the roots (and the roots only) regardless of what happens at the ends - once it's formed and left the follicle, it is purely subject to how we and the elements treat it.

Ah of course thinking about it you’re right, it’s ‘dead’ in that sense unlike a plant which has life all the way through it! I guess that’s why hair grows quicker with scalp massage as the increased blood flow makes the roots more lively.

[ZoeZ]

Would this not thin the hair out too much if used regularly? I don't see how it would only trim split ends. If it's taking healthy ends, that kind of precludes growing your hair longer (if that's your aim). I think I'll stick to the old-fashioned methods. :)