I'm becoming very discouraged.

[RancheroTheBee]

I can't seem to grow out my hair. It grows about .5 inches a month, but I keep thinking, "Oooh, it seems damaged, I'd better trim a little bit off," and before I know it, I've wiped out my whole progress for the month. This has been going on since September, and because of my compulsive need to trim it all the time, I've made practically no progress since then! I also feel bad because this is all my fault, and I feel really stupid for being so rash with my hair all the time. :( It was easier when I was younger, because I didn't know how to cut my own hair, but now that I do, it's like I've unleashed this evil monster.

How do you prevent yourself from going crazy with the scissors?

[RancheroTheBee]

PS: Did I mention that my self-trimming has also given me the ugliest haircut of all time? :(

[MrsGuther]

My advice would be to wear your hair up as much as possible and whenever you get the urge to trim it, just go on the LHC and read the forum! Distract yourself! It works, believe me, thats what I have been doing and it seems to be working great!

[Mrs.Hildy]

I second the advice to wear it up. Assuming that you are female, you could put it in a french twist if it's too short for a bun. Even a ponytail may work, and it would probably look okay.

[RancheroTheBee]

Err, haha. I can't quite get it into a ponytail yet. I can get it into a real fancy half-pony, though. :) It brings aaaall the boys to the yard. Okay, I'm done now.

Yeah, suggestions for styles are unbelievably welcome. I will also accept being berated for my silliness as well.

[Aditi]

I agree with them and if you don't want to bun them you can do braids which gives less damage to hair.

[RancheroTheBee]

Haha, I replied before you got to read it, but weirdly enough, I just remembered that it looks really nice when I just braid the front and pin it to the side. ... Er, did that make sense?

[Melisande]

Make it a personal project. No trims until - Christmas? Open a blog here, and whenever you succeeded NOT to trim, record it here and let yourself be praised :) And take pictures of your growth. It may encourage you to put up with an irregular hemline for a while until you have grown enough "reserve" to trim a bit.

And try to boost your hairgrowth by Jessie's miracle oil recipe (essential oils and scalp massage, there's a thread somewhere...) and some good supplements (I recommend omega 3, zinc, MSM and Biotin). Once you feel that you invested so much into every mm, maybe you won't feel like cutting so much?

[Roseate]

Maybe you could work out a schedule for your trims and try sticking to that. If you grow 1/2" a month you could trim 1/2" every three months and still see some growth. And every three months should be often enough to take care of any damage, unless you are really abusing your hair.

Personally, I trim twice a year. If it's not January or July, scissors are not going anywhere near my head, end of story. There's a support thread on here for people who have resolved not to trim at all in 2009, but if you have hair that splits easily that approach might not be for you.

[RancheroTheBee]

Milesande: That's an excellent suggestion. You have no idea how much that would help me. I'm totally the kind of person that gets way too into personal projects, ha-ha.

Roseate: No, I keep pretty good care of it. But there's this weird patch of really coarse hair in the back that always feels kind of off, and for some reason, I always want to trim it. Probably 'cause it was the first place to break off when I did abuse my hair. And thanks, I'll look into that thread. :)

[Bene]

this might be off the wall, but have you considered a hair sponsor?

i've gotten my b/f to be my hair sponsor. i've watched enough tv to figure out that AA works like that a little. i simply go to him and tell him "i feel like cutting" and he talks me down. :D

[RancheroTheBee]

this might be off the wall, but have you considered a hair sponsor?

i've gotten my b/f to be my hair sponsor. i've watched enough tv to figure out that AA works like that a little. i simply go to him and tell him "i feel like cutting" and he talks me down. :D
Hahaha! I like that idea. o_O; My boyfriend really sucks at that kind of thing, though. He's overly supportive in my decisions. "Should I lop of five inches of my hair?" "You're beautiful no matter what." "Stop being so damned nice!" Hmm. Maybe my mom can help.

[jojo]

I used to do this too, so there is hope!

first what I did was say to myself, no cuts until I reach neck length, then when I reached neck length id say no more cuts until i can get it into a pony tail, then so on and so on.

I am now on no cuts until waist length!

eta-when I say cuts I mean 1/2" or more, I did dust - this much off every month to get rid of a V hemilne!

[rockstarmommy]

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[cindy58]

Just make up your mind to totally stop trimming for awhile. That's what I did at a shoulder-ish point -- I realized I wasn't getting anywhere by continuing to go in for trims. I waited 13 months until my next trim.

[melrose1985]

I agree with the waiting and putting hair back. I'm not cutting till next sept, which will be a year since my last HUGE chop. So now that i can get my hair back i pin my bangs back, and pull the rest into a messy bun. I plan on doing this for a good while to keep my mind off of my hair. So far it's working. And this time i want long hair so bad that not cutting my hair for a year is really exciting... I cant wait to see how much it grows in the time!!

Good luck.

[Xandergrammy]

I gave my DH my hair scissors and told him to hide them. I won't put any other scissors to my hair, so it's safe if I can't find the scissors. I don't trim, but I was a maniac at S&D and had to stop. :gabigrin:

[Pixna]

I can related to the "trimming obsession." I was like that, too. I have put my scissors away and have now vowed to not trim for at least a year (or maybe until I'm terminal length!). Also, I have vowed to only take a hair photo every three months so I can see my progress. Doing that any sooner will make me frustrated, and if I wait, hopefully I'll get some praise and support here so I can keep on going. My husband is my "hair sponsor," as he wants me to grow it long again. I love the idea of having a hair sponsor -- go for it! And if you can't find one, I will volunteer! :D

[spidermom]

If you can't set a plan for hair growth and stick to it, give your hair-cutting scissors to somebody else to "hold" for you. You only get them back for an hour every 3-4 months, or 6, or 9, or ...

[RancheroTheBee]

All of your suggestions are fantastic. I think I'm going to have the BF hold onto them. I also promised myself that for the first month of going without trimming, I get a treat (it involves chocolate and Lost!) and then the next month, I get a treat, and so on until I finally reach six months. Then, I'm going to allow a dusting and then the scissors go back into the care of my BF. Hurray!

Thank you all for your support, by the way. :) I don't know what I'd do without you guys. (Actually, I know what I'd do; I'd be getting a haircut right now!)

[lora410]

Toss out the scissors. I feel the same way, but then again my hair is like my body and to me never looks good..:lol:

[Nightshade]

I feel for you :( Instead of your whole growth a month, why not a dusting or just half your growth? It's what I did and it seemed to work pretty well :)

You can read how I did it and perhaps some more tips in the Damaged Hair article in my siggy :flowers:

[suicides_eve]

i think we have all gone through the compulsive trimming in one way or another, mine was when i was around shoulder length, i couldn't keep them darn scissors away from my hair. wasn't until i was doing my visual photos i could see what i was doing... that kinda gave me the motivation to stop and watch it grow.. i'm now past alp creepin on bsl.

[RancheroTheBee]

:) Thanks, Nightshade. I think that article will be a huge help.

[Nightshade]

:) Thanks, Nightshade. I think that article will be a huge help.

You're so welcome!