Dusting - How often and how much

[Lianna]

Please share your thoughts on how often and how much hair should be taken off while dusting.

[Cailie]

It depends what you want.

I am all for health over length (or, said otherwise : length only when healthy).
I dust about every month or month and a half, because I want to keep those ends super strong before they get any kind of damage. I'm all for the prevention.

How much I take off... hmmm, I try to dust as little a possible about 1-3 mm, sometimes a little more, but mostly less than 1 cm (on a 2-2.5 cm growth / month)

So it still gets longer :D

[MsBubbles]

I second what Cailie said. I think I will always dust a few mm once a month as long as my ends have these old highlights in them. The faster length-gains are not worth the fried-looking ends, otherwise.

[jane01]

I don't do it anymore since I got too carried away and I now have all over uneven hair length

[Lianna]

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering if 2mm every month would be too much, maybe not then. The purpose is really just health.

[jera]

I've only dusted a quarter of an inch twice in the past year because my ends really don't need it much anymore and I'm trying to gain growth now. ;)

[countryhopper]

As little as possible as infrequent as possilbe.

Actually, I never dust my own. I have no damage to grow out and no splits to get rid of. I plan trim half an inch from the total length every few months (maybe every 3-4) just to have an even hemline and to get rid of any dried out/unhealthy ends.

[Carolyn]

How are you defining the word "dust"? Is it a small amount trimmed off the hemline of your hair or is it cutting off split ends one at a time? I define dusting as cutting off split ends one at a time and trimming a tiny bit off the hemline as a micro trim or a mini trim.

I do a mini trim about every 3 months and take off about 1/2". I've been doing this since December and it seems to be working well. I "dust" sometimes daily or sometimes weekly. I do when I see splits. I snip them off about 1/4" above where the split begins. Sometimes I find just a few dozen and sometimes I find hundreds.

[Sammich]

I dust about 1cm or half a cm, usually, a big difference for me usually! :D
But like others have said, it depends on what you want.

[alwayssmiling]

How are you defining the word "dust"? Is it a small amount trimmed off the hemline of your hair or is it cutting off split ends one at a time? I define dusting as cutting off split ends one at a time and trimming a tiny bit off the hemline as a micro time or a mini trim.

I do a mini trim about every 3 months and take off about 1/2". I've been doing this since December and it seems to be working well. I "dust" sometimes daily or sometimes weekly. I do when I see splits. I snip them off about 1/4" above where the split begins. Sometimes I find just a few dozen and sometimes I find hundreds.

This is how I would describe dusting. Cutting off any visible damage usually individually then cut the tiniest amount off the very ends to make them look neat and healthy.

[Lianna]

How are you defining the word "dust"? Is it a small amount trimmed off the hemline of your hair or is it cutting off split ends one at a time? I define dusting as cutting off split ends one at a time and trimming a tiny bit off the hemline as a micro trim or a mini trim.

I do a mini trim about every 3 months and take off about 1/2". I've been doing this since December and it seems to be working well. I "dust" sometimes daily or sometimes weekly. I do when I see splits. I snip them off about 1/4" above where the split begins. Sometimes I find just a few dozen and sometimes I find hundreds.


I don't mean search and destroy, I'm not really skilled with that. By dusting I meant cutting no more than 2mm of the hemline and layers (if one has them), I know it can be a little bit more for some.

Isn't a trim, isn't about evenly cut hair, it's about clipping off the ends so it's healthy and soft. I thought most people understood dust as being a small trim of 1/4 inch or less.

If I'm going to dust every month (or maybe two), I wont get trims.

[BrightEyes7]

I just started dusting (cutting off 1/2 cm or less off hemline) once a week or every other week. It has really changed my hair. I occasionally heat style so this keeps my hair at its strongest. I'm also trying to grow out layers and fringe so it really helps with my taper.

I'll keep doing this until I have grown out all layers and then I think I'll do it once a month. I really am at my goal length I think.

[TinaDenali]

I just S&D bits a pieces here and there every several months. But, honestly my ends in the back haven't seen scissors in years.

[restourceful]

Haha! I thought this thread was going to be about dusting furniture! :doh:

[Pixna]

Haha! I thought this thread was going to be about dusting furniture! :doh:

LOL!! Well, if you're talking about THAT dusting, I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me!! :lipssealed:

However, if we're talking about hair, I dust maybe 2 or 3 times a year, taking off about 1/8 inch.

[Yozhik]

I S&D, but I haven't trimmed my length at all since October.

Lately, I've been contemplating dusting, but I'm afraid I won't do it evenly!

[mimo]

I've been dusting roughly once a week for the last few weeks, simply because I have a TON of damage, but for some reason I feel better about gradually taking the damage off rather than cutting it all at once.

[Chamomile betty]

I think it depends on how you like your hair. I only went 2months this time. I wanted what little dry ends I had from summer off. I've gone up to 3.5 -4months without a dusting before.
The key is to make sure your just dusting the ends.

hth