Trim now or later?

[florenonite]

I last cut my hair in July, got about an inch off to have fresh ends when joining LHC. My intention then was to trim yearly. I figured I could do this, as I once went from February to December without a cut and my hair seemed fine. However, my ends are starting to bother me, as are my layers. Now I have a dilemma: should I cut now (a cut being maybe 1/2 "), giving myself nice new ends and fewer layers (and thenceforth probably trim twice a year) or stick to my guns and wait it out till summer?

Here are my reasons for waiting:
1. If I mess up, I can get an appointment with my hairdresser within a couple days to fix it. If I mess up now I've got to wait till I get home at the end of May as I don't trust anyone else with my hair.
2. My hair is really quite short. I can do a cinnabun, a French twist (just) and I can just do two cheater-figure-8s. Part of this is the difference in length between my layers, the shortest of which are at my shoulders, the longest almost at BSL.
3. My hair is sooo close to BSL. If I wait two months it might just get there.

My reasons for cutting would be:
1. Get nice new ends ^.^
2. These ends might jump-start growth so I actually get to BSL faster than if I wait till I get there to trim.
3. I hate my layers. They were great before to avoid the dreaded pyramid-head, but now they're just an impediment to doing anything. If I trim a wee bit to let them catch up slightly, I won't be able to do anything more, but once I get back to this length I will be able to do more things.

Maybe I should just trim off a tiny amount now, just to make the ends nicer, and then at the end of the summer do a half-inch to help the layers catch up. What do you think?

[Poppy Seed]

Stick to the two week rule - if you haven't already - and see how you feel about it then. At the end of the day though, half an inch is not a huge amount, and you'll get it back in a couple of months (even if your hair grows quite slowly).

Nice blunt ends do feel nice, and getting rid of more of those pesky layers would be a bonus as you don't like them, however I don't believe there's any really conclusive proof that trimming actually makes hair grow faster: some people say it helped them while others say they never noticed any difference. Personally, I think it depends how long your hair is when you trim - growth is more noticeable on shorter hair than on longer (think about getting a trim every 6 weeks or so to maintain a short style!).

I used to survive on three different styles for ages until I discovered LHC looking for new styles, and you're already beating me because two of my styles were 'down'!

[Lize]

I have the same dilemma right now. Not that I have decided a certain date that I will trim, but my ends are bothering me and at the same time I really don't wanna lose any length right now being very close to, or almost APL. Also my hair is really starting to look long for the first time. I think I might actually decide to wait for a while.

If you are that close to BSL then maybe you should stick it out until you reach that milestone? That is a good motivation to wait in my eyes. On the other hand, if the ends are really bothering you maybe you should trim. 1/2" is really just one months growth. But if you are afraid to mess up maybe you should wait until you can make an appointment with the hairdresser that you trust. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help! I'm just as ambivalent as you. :D

[julya]

Well, my hair is longer than yours, but I just gave myself a nice 1" trim and it was helpful for me not feeling so frustrated with my hair.

[Rosamaria]

You say that your shortest layers are shoulder-length and imply that it is the short layers which are making it difficult for you to put your hair up in different styles. Trimming your long ends won't sort this out! You will still have those short layers which will be shorter than the rest of your hair.

The only way to get round this would be to cut all your hair to the length of the shortest layers and then you would probably not be able to put it up at all!

I advise patience. Your hair looks great. Keep it growing until your shortest layers are at the length you want all your hair to be - then cut it in a blunt cut if you want.

I am in a similar situation to yours - except that my hair is a few inches shorter. I've been through this growing-out phase a few times (due to my own stupidity!) and have found out that whatever you do, there are no short-cuts. Hair grows at the rate it grows and there is nothing you can do but wait! In my experience trimming layers looks neater but you lose all that hair length and are stuck with in-between length hair for a long time. Not trimming is messier but your hair looks long, you can do things with it and over-all it is my preferred method!

[florenonite]

You say that your shortest layers are shoulder-length and imply that it is the short layers which are making it difficult for you to put your hair up in different styles. Trimming your long ends won't sort this out! You will still have those short layers which will be shorter than the rest of your hair.

The only way to get round this would be to cut all your hair to the length of the shortest layers and then you would probably not be able to put it up at all!

I advise patience. Your hair looks great. Keep it growing until your shortest layers are at the length you want all your hair to be - then cut it in a blunt cut if you want.

I am in a similar situation to yours - except that my hair is a few inches shorter. I've been through this growing-out phase a few times (due to my own stupidity!) and have found out that whatever you do, there are no short-cuts. Hair grows at the rate it grows and there is nothing you can do but wait! In my experience trimming layers looks neater but you lose all that hair length and are stuck with in-between length hair for a long time. Not trimming is messier but your hair looks long, you can do things with it and over-all it is my preferred method!

I think I was a bit unclear in my post. What I meant was that if I trim slightly there is less of a difference between the layers such that when I regain that length (1/2" or so, so in about a month) it is easier to do updos and the layers don't stick out so much. Currently they pose a problem even with braids because they stick out and make it fuzzy. It will be quite a while until I get rid of them entirely, as I'm not cutting my hair back to shoulder length! Maybe I should wait until I'm on the long side of BSL (my final goal being hip, and that's a really long time to deal with the layers) and maintain there till the layers are gone or something.

My main reason for wanting to cut is that the ends feel ... gross. I've been noticing quite a few splits and bent ends lately. The slight decrease in the difference between my shortest and longest layers (which is currently about 5") would just be an added bonus more than anything else.

[tiny_teesha]

i woudl trim LATER, your hair looks great at the moment, i only trim in dire need...like NOW for me :)

[amaiaisabella]

If your ends feel gross, is there any way you could get away with 1/2 inch trim? Even at my short length, 1/2 an inch doesn't look any different, and the ends feel a LOT cleaner.

Or you could S&D, which I don't know if you do already.

[spidermom]

If it were me, I'd wait until I got home in May for the trim. It's great to have someone you trust work on your hair, and it's only one month away.

But that's just me. My self-trimming skills are very low on the learning curve, and I've got a good stylist so no motivation to improve my skills.

[mommy2one05]

I would wait till later since you can do some new things with your hair now.

[Kazazi]

I think your hair looks lovely at the moment...I would wait :)

[TheBlondeApple]

Maybe I should just trim off a tiny amount now, just to make the ends nicer, and then at the end of the summer do a half-inch to help the layers catch up. What do you think?


A microtrim makes a world of difference in the way your ends feel!
Anja

[lady_hero]

I'd stick it out. Maybe a deep treatment might help the endie-ickies...

[Sillage]

I think this is one of the rare times I wouldn't trim. :eek:

I would definitely wait until I could get a pro to trim them for me. Self trimming is way too scary for me!

[florenonite]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

I'm going to wait until June and baby the ends until then, with some S&Ding if I deem it necessary. Then I'll attempt a self-trim and if I mess it up I can wear it up for a few days until I get an appointment with my hairdresser.

Thanks again for the advice.

[khyricat]

I'd suggest a smaller trim at this point, but thats me... then again I haven't cut in a year myself at all.. even a dusting...