Bad stuff removal support group!

[Periwinkle]

I just posted in my journal that I've finally decided to get on with the monthly trimming to remove at least my bottom layer (which will probably take about 3 inches) and maybe my other layers and shaping (other layers now at about APL and below, shaping at shoulder).

I'm feeling a little lonely, so who else out there is slowly removing their 'bad stuff' with trimming? Anyone who's done it who can offer words of wisdom?

Any 'hair afflictions' welcome - layering, damage, dye, whatever! Come jump on our slowly-moving bandwagon towards hapier hair :)

[MsBubbles]

Yes this is the thread for me. I am trying to get most of my ends the same length, i.e. 25", before letting it grow longer. My plan is to trim back to 25" every few months and in an ideal world those stupid shorter layers will finally catch up. I am beginning to think it'll never happen. They're only 2" shorter than the rest but it's taking forever.

I keep pushing my 'yes! I can let it grow now' date back further and further into 2009 :( because my hair doesn't exist in a vacuum (unfortunately...any ideas?!) and those poor fried/highlighted/blowdried ends just crap out at a certain point.

Next trim I guess will be in Dec sometime. I hate cutting the healthy bottom layer just to accommodate my all-one-length dream but I feel like I'm cheating myself if I let it all grown down like a knotty rat's nest.

[StephanieB]

I'm feeling a little lonely, so who else out there is slowly removing their 'bad stuff' with trimming? Anyone who's done it who can offer words of wisdom?

Any 'hair afflictions' welcome - layering, damage, dye, whatever! Come jump on our slowly-moving bandwagon towards hapier hair :)

I just cut 2 inches off, top trim off the last of the dead ends from a perm done 2 or 2 1/2 years ago. I hated to "sacrifice" the length... but it looks TONS better, now.

So what if it takes me another 6 - 12 months to get my hair back to BSL?
I'm less than 2 inches away, and probably one inch away, really.

It looks tons better.
End of story. :)

[TaraBella]

Ugh! This is where I am. I was, unfortunately, convinced that a many-layered look on my fine hair would give it more body! Wrong...it just looked all chopped up and stringy! So now, I'm trying to grow all of it out, but getting the damaged (yes, dye/highlighted) ends trimmed regularly. It's finally looking less choppy, but it's a slow go, for sure.
Hang in there! Sometimes getting healthy, pretty hair takes some sacrifice :rolleyes:

[Periwinkle]

I look forward to my trim dates so much it's insane :( After a trim, I feel fine about the layers, but about the 20th (I trim on the 1st day of every month), I start obsessing about it again. Every single day I have to talk myself through my rationale - and even though I agree with it completely (I want blunt ends, which means trimming, so even if I chopped my hair to get the layers out, I'd still have to trim and would overall mean more length lost, plus a whole load of other reasons) I still want to trim early so badly.

I reckon that before the end of 2009 (hopefully in about October), I'll be free of my bottom layer, which is the one that bothers me the most. It'll be a loooong time before I'm totally rid of them....

[Kirin]

I'm on this road, cutting out layers from growing out a pixie, which has given my fine thin hair some freakish layers. I am waiting though now, taking a break from it, to gain some length and then plan to take off only 1/4 of each three months growth until the layers catch up.

[wintersun99]

..............

[squiggyflop]

um well ive just about finished cutting out my bleach damage.. there is still a little on my canopy.. im gonna wait before trimming it maaybe in 6 months or so.. i ended up trimming 7 or so inchis in the first 15 months.. thank goodness my hair was growing sort of fast because otherwise i wouldnt be able to have had any progress.. well good luck to you all.. as ive said im about done with constant trimming

[Jessikinz]

This is definitely a thread for me! I used to be happy with the layers while growing out my hair. But now, it's been bothering me a lot. I really want ALL of my hair to be the same length. My layers are around bra strap length. The rest of my hair is past waist and an inch away from tail bone length. I have fairy tale ends, but really want a nice blunt hemline.

I have 3 tones going on for my hair. Blonde, brown, and black. My natural color is finally growing out. Its a dark brown. I think it's about maybe 2 inches of my natural color. Sometime in my life I hope that my entire hair will be my natural color. And all one length of course! I used to hate my hair color and the texture of my hair. I would flat iron it until it was pin straight. Not to mention all the dye jobs I did to it. My last cut has made my hair grow out into these layers. I have so much bad stuff in my hair, and I really want to remove it. Count me in!

But I don't have the proper scissors yet. I'm going to be buying my own hair scissors soon, and do my very first trim. I'm not sure how much I will trim, but knowing me, it wont be very much.

[spidermom]

Back in 2005, the bottom 6 inches of my hair were fried from curling iron and flat iron use. I originally planned to trim it off a little at a time and had two 1/2" trims approximately two months apart. However, my hair wasn't growing much, and one day I snapped and had the remaining 5 inches cut off all at once. For 2 days I went around thinking "what have I done?" and feeling sad. After that it was so wonderful to enjoy my silky hair instead of fighting with bad ends every single day. AND it began to grow again. It was so worth doing; I'm not kidding.

[Fantak]

I need to trim about 4 inches off the ends because I want a thicker hemline. I cut about 4"off when I first joined LHC (I thought it was an inch.. don't know how that happened..) and everytime I look at my hair now I say to myself, ah if I left the ends it would've been almost at classic by now; at the same time I figure I won't be so self conscious and be able to enjoy my hair so much more if I just cut off the remaining ends.

After driving myself nuts, I decided I'd wait until I get to classic and maintain until the ends have thickened. It's not that easy though, I still contemplate cutting my fairy tale ends off and being rid of them for good whenever I get a glimpse of the back of my head (which as an LHC member has become a not-so-unusual angle to look for in the mirror).

[Yedda]

Yes, this is me too. I've already made my major cut, as you can see in my pic. My hair was severly damaged from not taking care of it, and way too much dying. Somehow it got terribly thin also and I still have not determined a cause.

I'm working on learning to take care of my hair, and hopefully my hair will be long and gorgeous.

[Addy]

I am stuck with extreme breakage from chemical hair dye. :evil:

I have been growing it out since August and have a significant amount of regrowth to show and I was also growing out layers from a hair cut gone bad. I am finally happy to say that I am almost layer free. I have a little bit left on my left side, just a tad... hair stylist was using a razor on my hair to blend extensions and cut into my natural hair. :run:

I've since stopped wearing the clip ins though because I'm sure it also contributed to some of my breakage but not all. I was a flat ironing queen. I know I fried it. :o

I'm on the road to recovery now. :D I think I'll trim once I'm past BSL, hopefully not too far from now. :cool:

[venividibxtchy]

I don't know if this qualifies as "bad stuff", but I'm looking to grow out my layers some more. I don't have damage -- knock on wood -- but, my hemline is not exactly that attractive in the interim.

I don't mind some layers in my hair (or a taper to my braid...depending), as long as they are long enough that they don't pop out of braids too greatly, or worse yet, the situation I have now: thin-looking ends, because only a portion of my hair is at that length. Some of my hair lingers around BSL, whilst another bit is a few inches past my natural waist. Go figure.

At this point, I don't know whether to sacrifice full growth for trims in the immediate future, or to just let it grow and even things up once my shortest strands are goal length. I figure I'll just trim off 0.5" six times (every 2 mos) in 2009...that will only set me back about 3-4 mos. Opinions?

[suicides_eve]

i have a few pieces of bleach damaged hair left on my ends, most i have gotten out with trims, i think b/c i am so close to my goals i will wait on trimming the remain bits. The damage was dyed dark brown but has since lighten up which kinda gives a highlighting look to my hair. I'm just gonna ride it out.

[girlcat36]

I have about 6" of cone-damage. I am at 23", with a growing in underlayer that is about 17". I would like to be free of the damage, and have an even hemline, so I would have to cut back to 16-17".
I.just.can't.do.it.
I don't like short hair; it looks bad on me.
I have been microtrimming over the last 16 months.

[Demetrue]

I keep going back and forth on this. The bottom 3 inches are damaged and layered, but they are the only length I have at this point, so if I cut back to chin length, I won't be able to pull my hair back any more or put it up, which I am just starting to be able to do. I am still thinking to try to resist trimming for 4 months so I can pull it all back, then start micro-trimming the damage and layers until they are all grown out.

[Katze]

I'm in!

Since coming here I have been slowly getting rid of dye, bleach, and heat damage as well as the grow-out from a "trendy shag cut" I had in 2004. That means I have gained 4 or 5 inches since coming here almost three years ago. While it is frustrating to not get fast, quality length, I want to enjoy my hair and that means being able to wear it down. My ends are still see-through and about 1/300th the thickness of my hair at the nape, but they do look a LOT better.

I don't stick to any schedule, but trim when I feel like it. I trimmed in August and again in October, and am going to try to not trim again until my baby is born (end of March). I have such severe taper (from 3 inches to .01 inch) that there is no point to which I could cut it all off to start from scratch - chin to shoulder is a horrible, unflattering length for me and I will never go back!

Honestly I do not know if my hair will ever have a thick hemline. But I am determined to get the old bleach and dye out, cut off as much taper as I can, and also enjoy the length!

[noelgirl]

This is me; I'm so close to my "for now" goal of waist, but I don't think I'll be happy if when I reach it the ends are as dry as they are right now. A few years ago I was heat-styling semi-regularly, and that damage is now the last couple of inches. That said, I do see myself keeping some layering, even when I do reach longer lengths, since for some reason my hair has nicer waves with some long layers (which in turn helps me resist the temptation to fry it). It looks good all one length when it's straightened - but I don't want to straighten!

[WavyGirl]

Count me in. I started with apl (24") and 2.5 years on I'm only just past bsl when dry (32.5"). A gain of 6.5". However I have a steady growth rate of 0.5" per month and everything down to nearly bsl is now undamaged. No heat, colour or rough brusing and styling. Hopefully by the end of 2009 all of my pre-LHC hair will be gone.

I've tried micro-trims and no trims during that time and it doesn't matter what I do I always hate trimming and I hate my ruined ends too. I am seriously thinking about getting the last 3 inches of damage trimmed off early next year by a professional. I think part of the problem I am having with my hair at the moment is due to the natural layers that constant s&ding has caused. I normally self-trim, but I really feel a truly blunt hemline would help and I never quite manage that myself.

Another thing that is making the wait harder is that my natural hair seems a lot wavier than I remember. When I joined I thought I was mainly 2a with a bit of 2b. Now I'm a definite 2c. So I have way more shrinkage when dry than I thought I would. In my siggy it looks nearly waist, but normally it doesn't look that long. I keep hoping to be able to maintain at dry waist, but it's taking forever to get there.

I keep myself positive by thinking about the fact that I should see some real strides in length when all that nasty damage is gone and that the worst part is nearly over.

As for tips, I would have to say keep a record of your growth and trims. The number of times I've convinced myself that I've reached terminal because I can't see it getting longer is not funny. Thankfully I chart it every month and can look back and see that it is growing and that I keep trimming it off. Sounds stupid I know but seeing it written down makes that growth more real to me. I know I would have given up before now thinking I couldn't ever have long hair if I wasn't doing this.

[Periwinkle]

I'm so glad to see so many people have posted. We are not alone!

[Amara]

I am also growing out "bad stuff"! I have henna from shoulder-ish all the way down (about 9" of natural color). I want all natural color - but it'll be a looooong road. I also have some long-ago damage on the longest bits, which lived through chemicals and heat. They split pretty easily.

[Fantak]

I am also growing out "bad stuff"! I have henna from shoulder-ish all the way down (about 9" of natural color). I want all natural color - but it'll be a looooong road. I also have some long-ago damage on the longest bits, which lived through chemicals and heat. They split pretty easily.

I hope you don't mind me asking.. but do you plan to wait until you get to your goal and maintain? Or do you do regular trims? If so can you please tell us how often you trim and how much you trim?

Ty!

[maskedrose]

I'm also battling with damaged ends. 4-5 years ago I highlighted my whole head every six months or so, and 3 years ago backed down to partial highlights. Because my hair is naturally so light, my stylist only had to use toner for a short amount of time to lighten it sufficiently. Still, all that really has taken it's toll on the length. In the past, I always had the urge to trim once I went past BSL, and now I know why. The last 2-3 inches are dry and frizzy and they split really, really easily. I'm only a couple inches away from waist, where I plan to maintain, but I'm not sure if I can handle these ends for another six months!! I'll probably end up trimming an inch or so off in February, just to help matters a little. I've also started doing regular cassia treatments and adding more moisture to my routine. I've currently got 4" of virgin growth, and I'm really not sure why I felt the need to highlight it for so long - it's barely a shade darker than my highlights! And it's sooo much shinier....

[Dreamernz]

I do fear loosing my length and so all that progress, but if it has to go it has to go, at least I'll be removing damage too, but my layers are heavy, the shortest layer is shorter than shoulder length (though luckily no shorter than that I think :D) It'll take a while, but letting those layers grow out will give my hair the thickness I want, gulp, I hope :D

[Darkhorse1]

When I'd fried my hair with product, Sun-in and lemon juice, I slowly trimmed the ends away. I did 1 inch every 3 months. Then, of course, a hair dresser got cut happy and while it removed all the deadness, it also cut my hair to my shoulders. :( I didn't go to a hair dresser for YEARS after that.

With regards to damage, the only way to get rid of it is to cut it, but to make it look less damaged, I found olive oil worked very well/hot oil treatments. Even coloring with a semi-permanent color can give hair more gloss--just remember damaged ends are more porous, so they will aborb/take color faster.

Good luck! :)

[rhubarbarin]

Count me in! Before I found LHC I put my hair through a LOT of abuse. Right now pretty much the only nice hair on my head is the 7" or so I've grown since I joined! It's better on the underside, but my canopy is so bad.. highlighted, broken, and very thin. I get tempted to do major cuts and took off about 4" over the summer. However I've made up my mind that I would rather get a major length goal and then maintain there. I will trim an inch every few months this year, and should be at the waist-hip area (30-33") by 2010. I will be staying there for as long as it takes to trim off the damage and thicken up my length.

I have a long road ahead of me and sometimes I feel a little sad thinking that it will be 3 years at least before I have long, virgin, healthy hair.. but I am enjoying growing so much, it's worth the wait.

[dalriada-lady]

I'm joining.

i started with a blunt, haircut below shoulder level, for some strange reason my hair suddenly got layers! all on it's own, i now have a weird length, kind of like a open u, very open. shorter layers ( sides ) are about BSL but the rest of my hair is 1 inch from waist length. i feel so angry that all of a sudden, my blunt hemline grew side layers. i know some is because of broken hair from tangles what i don't understand is why. i take extreme care of my hair and always detangle when wet, take about an hour to detangle, use different products to make combing easier but somehow the tangles are so stubborn, already twice this year i had to tear the tangles out. i have been thinking of cutting back up to the shortest layers but i'm still procrastinating, hoping that with trimming the longer layers every 3 months the shorter layers will grow and reach the rest of my length. but hoping i won't have to cut to BSL again and with trims my side layers will even out sooner rather than later.

[Periwinkle]

Dalriada, have you tried not detangling wet, or only doing it when your hair is full of conditioner? Hair is at its most fragile when wet and since you're a straighty, combing when dry shouldn't give you a poof effect. Maybe that would help with your tangle problems.

I'm looking forward to my trim day tomorrow! I love feeling like I'm doing something about my layers. Also, I found some length shots from January 2008 (I have NO IDEA why I took them but I did) so I'll be able to take a new photo and compare.

[Elenna]

Half of my hair is dyed a reddish brown, and it's in not so great condition.

The new undyed growth is silver mixed with dark brown. I go back and forth on trimming back 2-3 inches.

I like the length when hair behaves, but it is not behaving lately.

[CestMadeleine]

Oh yes, I`m trimming to get out the damaged ends which is about half my hair right now...and I want to even out my layers too. It`s going to be a long and painful process.

[Periwinkle]

Well, I trimmed. It didn't go so well - it's a teeny bit uneven and I took off more than I wanted - but I can see the layers really getting closer to the ends. At some point this year, I'll go to a hairdresser and have a proper fringe cut in, and I can get the ends properly evened out then.

[WavyGirl]

Sorry you had problems with the trim. Thankfully you have waves and they're normally forgiving. Just think, you're that much closer to the ends you want. :flowers:

[crystal_89]

Ooooh... I cut off 2-3 inches twice since the end of September as I'm growing out my old dye damage and crazy layering. Next trim will be in another couple of weeks, though probably not as much as before. Its hard for me to want to trim when I can see my ends are getting healthier.