I had to do what needed to be done.

[Auryn]

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I had my mom take scissors to my hair to get rid of quite a bit of damage. Went from just below BSL to APL for a total of about 4 inches. I had been thinking hard about this for quite some time and decided my hair would look better if I got rid of the damage.

I've still got a solid foot of color to grow out and am still debating on whether or not I should cut all of that off once my natural color is at a length that would look ok cut short. But that is still at least several months away.

On the upside, I don't have an oddly placed layer anymore, just a nice pretty blunt hemline. Hopefully this will help my curls a bit.

So have any of you guys cut a bit of length just to ensure that your hair looks healthy?

[camirra555]

I hate getting trims because I hate losing length but it's necessary for healthy hair so I just suck it up. Now that I have stopped using heat, except for trips to the hair dresser, I hope to only trim twice a year

[lizzyjo]

I plan to do this sometime soon, but hopefully not more than two inches. I just want to say way to go for taking a big step in your hair journey. That couldn't have been easy.

[vindo]

I have not had a bigger trim since 2003 but on my journey I have been trimming frequently, in the past every 2-3mths and since 2003 monthly, so I am sure it took a lot of length away if you add it up.

[paper]

I'm growing out hair dye too. My plan is to maintain between APL-BSL while trimming off dye. It took me so long to get this length, I don't want to cut it too much.

[LutraLutra]

I'm glad that you're glad that you did it, if you see what I mean. :)

[melrose1985]

Glad your happy. I'm planing on once i get to BSL to maybe have a trimming plan so i can get some length but get rid of the damage and black end of my hair. The damage isnt do bad in my hair so i'm on a "one year no cutting" plan so in sept i will maybe cut something. Well see where it is!

[ravenreed]

I am actually happy at the length I am now, so trimming to remove odd layers doesn't bug me. I would like to get to tb, just to do it, but I suspect it will be too much for me and I will end up back around waist.

[AJoifulNoise]

In July of last year I went from this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/SycoTrekkie/2009/cutbefore.jpg

To this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/SycoTrekkie/2009/cutafter.jpg

It was partly to get rid of dye and partly to combat thinning ends. And also partly for personal reasons.

I'm so, so glad I did it. Now, some 8 months later I am creeping back to where I was in July '08. I figure I will be there (perhaps a bit longer) at the year mark. Though, I am still timming to remove dye and keep my ends thicker every 6 months now.

Enjoy your fresh ends!

[Runzel]

I'm growing out some minor layering and plan to cut off about an inch sometime. It isn't damaged, but it just doesn't look that good. Since starting S&D the layer has gotten even thinner and more uneven, and my hemline is beginning to look like a 2 year old attacked it with scissors. :laugh: But since I wear it up all the time, it's hardly noticeable.

To spare myself a little heartache, I've decided to wait two months before trimming; since that's the average amount of time it's supposed to take to grow an inch.

I'm not really looking forward to it, but like you said, it has to be done. Good job on biting the bullet!

[enfys]

It's what I'm planning; the 35>44 in my stats is where I intend to maintain at 35 until all my dye and layers are gone.

When I get there it may be too difficult for me and I'll want to get further towards my goal without trimming.

It's hard when you're torn between a blunt hem and overall length.

Auryn, well done for making a firm decision. Now you get to reap the benefits.

[Loviatar]

Thinking about it right now actually. I have one layer left and my ends are seethrough. But it would mean losing about 2 in. To me, that's a lot.

I am glad you're happy with your fresh healthy ends :)

[wintersun99]

Yep, been there done that. Currently growing out a cut from APL+ to Pixie.

[Jessikinz]

yup I have done this last month actually. I didn't do it myself though, I can't trust myself with scissors just quite yet. I went from tailbone length to waist length. I have still got quite a bit of dye to grow out, but if I were to cut all that off I would be back to pixie length. So I'm going to do small trims a couple times a year. I love a bunt hemline and knowing that I got rid of awful damage.

[JamieLeigh]

Not everyone is a fan of "maintain and trim", and some people actually do better with "whack off all the damage and start over fresh". Either way, whatever works best for you, and it sounds like you're happy with your decision. I bet it feels good to know that all of your damage is gone and you can start over the right way. :flower: Congratulations on making your decision in a way that best benefits you and your hair.

Personally, I was faced with that same decision over my last two inches which are still splitty and fairly damaged. But I decided to just do the maintain thing. It's what will work best for me, but it's definitely not a satisfying choice for everyone. :)

[Unofficial_Rose]

Well, you can see how short my hair is in my avatar!

Regrettably, the sides were getting a bit see-through and scraggly, so I had to cut off about an inch a couple of days ago. At my length, it seems like a lot and was depressing - still a short and mumsy cut. :( But I couldn't live with it as it was, so I can relate to what you're saying.

Nevertheless, sometimes you've just got to do these things, and besides, it's a done deal now - you can enjoy the nice thick hemline!

[Auryn]

So, I noticed something last night after I washed my hair...it didn't curl up like it usually does. I'm not sure if it was the conditioner was heavier than normal or that my hair type has actually changed a bit. I'll give a couple of more washings to see what happens.

On an up note, my hair noticeably softer than it was before :) Which will make my boyfriend happy...he was amazed that at how soft my hair was before I cut it..I'm wondering what his reaction will be now. I guess I'll find out come May ;)

[Juneii]

you're incredibly brave, if I were to hack off my layers to have a blunt hemline I would go from mid-back to APL. even if it does look better, I can't bring myself to do it!

[Guenever]

Oh yes, I have!!
In August 2008 I chopped off 10" - went from tailbone (38") to mid-back (28")
That was freaking hard. but as you said, it had to be done. I wasn't happy with my hair at all... and well... *CHOP*

Problem is that now that I'm growing again, and I'm almost back at waist, I see my hair doing the same thing as last time -- tapering.. gah! :justy: :rant: that's just the way my hair is, I guess.. which depresses me as I'll never reach my goal.. "Hair? - we need to talk!" :patrol:

But.. I'm trimming regularly now, which doesn't leave space for much growth, but at least I keep liking my ends..

So.. good on ya for cutting. Your hair will grow out beautifully, I'm sure! :flowers:

[Arctic_Mama]

It's tough to lose length but you'll have it back before you know it.

[crystal_89]

My hair wasn't damaged but I went from waist to apl to fix up some dodgy layers. At first I tried to get a bit more than the growth trimmed off every 2-3 months, but I couldn't stand waiting so I just got about 2 years of growth chopped off instead. Now I feel like my hair grows quicker than ever.

[Nastacia]

I haven't ever chopped my hair up to my shoulders or higher up. I never had it short, I guess that is a good thing. :D Since I came to this society I'm loving my hair more and more, just to think how I wanted to chop it all off. *shivers*
I trim it once or twice a year, as soon as it becomes difficult to brush through the ends.

[Maelyssa]

Absolutely! I did it about a year back. Haven't done more than a microtrim since then but it looked SO much better after the cut. Felt better too. I couldn't have been happier.

[KajiKodomo]

I'm glad that you did what you did to make yourself happy. If you're not happy with your hair, what's the point? It's more about happiness, not length, so congrats! :D

[Eryka]

That is what I do now. I hit my goal of knee length so whenever I feel the tips brushing my calves I cut off about 2-3 inches. Grow it out, trim. Grow, trim. Never ending cycle. I'm doing this until i have a blunt & untapered hemline. This will take sometime because I lost 1/3 of my hair to a fungal infection and it will take time for that to return to normal. So I will have a regrown and untapered hemline in about 5-6 years.