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inty
July 9th, 2010, 08:21 AM
I had a trim today and it left me a bit confused...

I wanted to get a little trim because the ends were feeling slightly rough.

My hairdresser looked at my ends and asked me when I they were cut last time. I said October (and tiny self-trim in March, but that they don't count :rolleyes:. After this she said that from what she sees, the last 2 cm of my hair strands are "dead". I tried to ask what she means by this, and she explained that this is from rubbing and frizzing against my back. I guess what she meant was 'damaged', not dead, because all hair is dead anyway :)

So I let her cut those 2 cm, but I am still puzzled. I thought splits are signs of damage, but I haven't seen that many splits. And still, 2 cm!!! Seems like a lot to me. Where did that come from? :( Maybe I will try more wearing up/oiling/etc, let's see if that helps. I just oiled my wet ends with jojoba oil, and it felt so good (why didn't I do it before regularly... :o)

Or was she trying to 'calculate' my damage from time passed since last trim and use that as a justification to cut something? :confused:

Anyway, can someone help me figure out what are the signs of this "other" damage, if hair is not splitting, but feels a bit rough, then what? And how to deal with it?

Otherwise I am satisfied with the trim. She evened out the strange deep V/U which I don't know how it appeared... It looks a bit neater this way.

Anyways here's the still wet hair after a trim

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4874&pictureid=76338

Thanks for reading ;)

spidermom
July 9th, 2010, 08:50 AM
Sometimes the cuticle gets a bit roughed-up and has a different feel even though there are no white dots or splits. When I take a pinch of hair and run my fingers down the hair shaft, if there's a significant difference in feel toward the ends, I first do a clarifying wash to get rid of any possible build-up followed by a moisture treatment. If there's still a difference in feel, I know it's time for a trim.

Maybe that's what the stylist was talking about.

PS - I don't buy into this idea that hair is dead. If it has a root and it's growing, it most certainly is not dead, and I don't care who says it is. When it sheds out, then it's dead.

Jessclewlow
July 9th, 2010, 08:55 AM
Personally i find that a lot of hairdressers have this ****** for cutting your hair off more than you actually want. Anyway. your hair will rub on your back, and obviously damage over a period of time... remember your hair is very fragile and delicate so wear it up and out the way as often as possible, give it plenty of conditioning and avoid heat :)

I would imagine that if she has seen the odd hair that is damaged up to 2cm higher than the ones at the bottom she has automatically decided to whip the lot off! 2 cm aint too bad though.. last time i went she hacked about 3-4 inches off mine!!! Argh!

Trust me ive had more than one similar episode with hairdressers to a point where i just refuse to go to one now. and just have a mini micro trim once ever 2-3 months to make my hair feel fresh and tidy from splits.

Next time you go to get it done dont let them cut what they think off... just let them do what YOU want them to do.

Sunsailing
July 9th, 2010, 08:59 AM
I tried to ask what she means by this, and she explained that this is from rubbing and frizzing against my back. I guess what she meant was 'damaged', not dead, because all hair is dead anyway :)

If you ever have a trim at a GM salon, they cut it very differently from everyone else to help prevent the damage caused from the hair rubbing against your back, etc..
They cut it so that the "outer" hair is just slightly shorter than the "inside" hairs.
In theory, this caused the hair to slightly curl outward, thus preventing the ends from rubbing as much.

anniemae
July 9th, 2010, 09:03 AM
Did your hair look dry all over? Maybe you just need to do some protein treatments and then deep moisturizing treatments.

Also, is your hair overly porous? Hair that has high porosity tends to be dry. Here is a good article about high porosity:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/375435/hair_porosity_help_for_dry_damaged.html?cat=69

Good luck!! I think your hair looks great!! :)

MsBubbles
July 9th, 2010, 09:17 AM
Some people just want to sound like they know what they're talking about, or that they know something you don't, even if they have to make it up.

naereid
July 9th, 2010, 09:17 AM
Here's my personal reasoning.

I think hairdressers just want your hair to be perfect when you're leaving the salon. If it's a bit dry or splitty or something, they don't think they've done their job right. And the quickest way to fix any imperfections is to cut them off!
My hairdresser also told me I should cut off the last 10-15 cm. I thought about it long and hard and decided that of course my ends can't be in perfect condition. They're old. They've gone through a lot. It's normal that the ends of long hair are not absolutely perfect. That's kind of a mantra for me now. :p

May
July 9th, 2010, 09:22 AM
Hair is not alive...well what we consider hair anyway. The follicle and the root are "living cells" but the keratin they're producing does not contain living cells. They're like polymers. Here's a link discussing the basics of hair http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/hair.html

I honestly don't understand how a hairstylist can call parts of the hair "dead" and what not...I mean, really, it's just damage. That being said not all damaged hair has to be cut off. There are varying degrees of damage. As soon as hair starts coming out of the scalp it's being "damaged" by simply being exposed to the elements.

Your hair looks great though. Sometimes getting things refreshed makes all the difference in the growing journey. :p

I :heartbeat your colour and waves by the way. Beautiful!!!

haibane
July 9th, 2010, 09:28 AM
I think a lot of it is just that the ends get dryer because they're more exposed. Whenever I work moisture into my ends every which way (honey and oil and conditioner) they seem to perk back "to life" and become soft like the rest of the hair.

inty
July 9th, 2010, 12:47 PM
Sometimes the cuticle gets a bit roughed-up and has a different feel even though there are no white dots or splits. When I take a pinch of hair and run my fingers down the hair shaft, if there's a significant difference in feel toward the ends, I first do a clarifying wash to get rid of any possible build-up followed by a moisture treatment. If there's still a difference in feel, I know it's time for a trim.

Maybe that's what the stylist was talking about.

PS - I don't buy into this idea that hair is dead. If it has a root and it's growing, it most certainly is not dead, and I don't care who says it is. When it sheds out, then it's dead.

Thank you Spidermom! This makes a lot of sense. I will try doing this 'test' as soon as have doubts about trimming, and follow clarify/moisture/check trail...
As for the hairdresser, ehh... I am not going to go back to them in any near future, hopefully I can manage it mostly with self-trims.

I also read an article about damage, and frequent microtrims, etc, and will try this method, when I find that I need a trim.


Personally i find that a lot of hairdressers have this ****** for cutting your hair off more than you actually want. Anyway. your hair will rub on your back, and obviously damage over a period of time... remember your hair is very fragile and delicate so wear it up and out the way as often as possible, give it plenty of conditioning and avoid heat :)

I would imagine that if she has seen the odd hair that is damaged up to 2cm higher than the ones at the bottom she has automatically decided to whip the lot off! 2 cm aint too bad though.. last time i went she hacked about 3-4 inches off mine!!! Argh!

Trust me ive had more than one similar episode with hairdressers to a point where i just refuse to go to one now. and just have a mini micro trim once ever 2-3 months to make my hair feel fresh and tidy from splits.

Next time you go to get it done dont let them cut what they think off... just let them do what YOU want them to do.

Good idea... Or even better, next time I'm doing it myself :-P


If you ever have a trim at a GM salon, they cut it very differently from everyone else to help prevent the damage caused from the hair rubbing against your back, etc..
They cut it so that the "outer" hair is just slightly shorter than the "inside" hairs.
In theory, this caused the hair to slightly curl outward, thus preventing the ends from rubbing as much.

Hmm, interesting, thanks, Sunsailing! Don't know if I will have the possibility, but will keep this in mind.


Hair is not alive...well what we consider hair anyway. The follicle and the root are "living cells" but the keratin they're producing does not contain living cells. They're like polymers. Here's a link discussing the basics of hair http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/hair.html

I honestly don't understand how a hairstylist can call parts of the hair "dead" and what not...I mean, really, it's just damage. That being said not all damaged hair has to be cut off. There are varying degrees of damage. As soon as hair starts coming out of the scalp it's being "damaged" by simply being exposed to the elements.

Your hair looks great though. Sometimes getting things refreshed makes all the difference in the growing journey. :p

I :heartbeat your colour and waves by the way. Beautiful!!!

I tend to agree with Spidermom, that while it grows, it is not dead.
Thank you so much for your compliment :) This made my day after a bit sad and confusing trip to the salon :o


Did your hair look dry all over? Maybe you just need to do some protein treatments and then deep moisturizing treatments.

Also, is your hair overly porous? Hair that has high porosity tends to be dry. Here is a good article about high porosity:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/375435/hair_porosity_help_for_dry_damaged.html?cat=69

Good luck!! I think your hair looks great!! :)

Yes, it probably looked dry, but not all over, just the end were 'roughing'. So I see some treatments and experiments coming :)
I wondered about the porosity myself, will check the article! Thank you! (and for the compliment too :)

Dragon
July 9th, 2010, 12:58 PM
I think they just like to make out that they no what they are talking about so they can take off more then you wanted when you first walked in. By the way, your hair looks very nice.

May
July 9th, 2010, 01:57 PM
I tend to agree with Spidermom, that while it grows, it is not dead.
Thank you so much for your compliment :) This made my day after a bit sad and confusing trip to the salon :o

That's wonderful. Well it's just a fact that I wanted to share :) Enjoy your new 'do!