What's The Point Of Trimming

[Dragon]

I don't understand the point of trimming because hair don't just split at the very ends. I understand trimming does get rid of the splits at the end of the hair but what about the rest of the splits?
Whats the point of trimming?

[trillcat]

It is not just about splits.
Long hair can get a bit raggedly looking. Uneven hemline, frizzedly frizz, fairy tail ends, and no, not every one wants them. Maintaining after goal.
Lots of reasons to trim.

[FrannyG]

I am currently gradually trimming out damage, while still growing. So I cut 1/2 of an inch every three months. That way, I still see growth but bit by bit I am losing the thin ends caused by breakage.

Also, even before I had the breakage, I trimmed regularly to keep my hemline looking even and as thick as possible.

[smileycat]

I trim similarly to FrannyG. I have very old color at the ends that is prone to splitting. I just had 1/2" trimmed off Saturday after 4 months of growth, in fact, and my hair is now much less tangly since the ends aren't sticking to one another on the damage. It looks better and feels nice and smooth again, too!

[Lianna]

There's also the technique of holding a section of hair, twist and cut the ends that stick out with split ends. That helps with the ends that aren't in the hemline.

Like others have said, it helps to maintain the hemlime, for those who don't like fairytale ends.

[MsBubbles]

I see you have medium hair with a wave. Since I have very fine, thin and straight hair, trimming as I grow stops my ends from looking like rats tails. I tried going 3 months without a trim once and my ends looked horrible.

I'm dusting each month to get rid of old highlight and blowfrying damage. Those ends that I cut aren't necessarily split, even.

[Carolyn]

I trim to give myself a nice thick, straight across hemline. I do S & D (cutting off individual splits one at at time that are higher up in the length) to get rid of splits. A combination of both is giving me the hair that I want. If you are going for fairy tale ends then you wouldn't trim as often and as much.

[Igor]

Agreeing on what have been said. Also, don’t forget you get damage that isn’t visible to the naked human eye. Chances are your ends are more damaged than the rest purely based on age, so you can get rid of damage before it becomes visible and develops into a full-blown split.

[luthien_belewen]

I thought I wouldn't have to trim at all this year, because my hair is still fairly short and healthy...but my ends really started looking ratty...I had a 1/4 inch trimmed off and my ends feel so much better--as in, I can get a comb through them! So, if your ends are still looking healthy, I would say you wouldn't have to trim then. You can also just trim individual splits too "S&D". I think people with wavier hair can get away with not trimming as much, more so than people with very fine straight hair.

[enfys]

Apart from what everyone else has said (which I agree with) splits aren't always at the ends, but often are. Say half your splits are at the end. You don't trim. You have all your split ends. You trim. You now only have half as many split ends. This is probably especially true for those who have either grown for a long time without trimming (older ends) or those growing out a lot of damage (weaker ends).

Personally, I like blunter ends and I'm slowly making my layers catch up to my ends. I am only planning to cut 2" per year though, so S&D and gentle handling are how I plan to keep splits at bay. Trimming will be cosmetic.

[Angeletti]

Trimming keeps your ends looking thicker. I haven't really cut or trimmed in years and my hair has grown at different lengths leaving me with a somewhat uneven hemline that is a little thin due to previous layers and such, not something I'm really happy with, so I plan on trimming every month once I reach goal to make my hemline appear nice and thick once again. As some of the others said above it also gets rid of damage you might not be able to see just by looking at your hair.

[Madora]

The longer your hair is, the more delicate and brittle the ends become, and thus subject to the splits.

Of course you can have splits all along the individual strands..it all depends on how gently you treat your hair.

Trimming the split ends makes the hair look fuller and stops those split ends from splitting further, which only causes more grief.

[curlymarcia]

I used to S&D and also trim. I have fine hair and uneven hem, and trimming a bit is necessary for me.

[spidermom]

Trimming holds back the fastest-growing hairs so that slower-growing hairs can catch up and make the hem thicker. Also, a regular schedule of trimming will allow those split ends that are higher up to eventually get to the bottom and be trimmed off.

It's amazing; sometimes the tiniest trim will solve a multitude of tangling problems.

[juliaxena]

I don't know about splits not being just at the ends. If you take good care of your hair from start there should be very few splits in the first place and mmost likely just at the ends. I saw maybe 10 split ends in the time I have been a member here and growing my hair and they were all just baby splits at the end. So I don't think it's entirely true splits appear everywhere anyway.

[spidermom]

I don't know about splits not being just at the ends. If you take good care of your hair from start there should be very few splits in the first place and mmost likely just at the ends. I saw maybe 10 split ends in the time I have been a member here and growing my hair and they were all just baby splits at the end. So I don't think it's entirely true splits appear everywhere anyway.

You know how you have hair of every length because of the shed and re-grow cycle? Well, sometimes you have splits on the ends of shorter hairs, so a 1/2-inch trim from the bottom of the longest hairs won't cut those off.

[jojo]

I think upto APL trims are not that necessary as the hair is not that old, so you shouldn't really see damage unless you have treated your hair bad. From APL down splits and breakage are more likely due to hair catching on seats, bags and age. Trims at this point and down are better as it helps retain the length, for example if you have hair which no matter what you do breaks as it is naturally fragile, although you may still grow 1/2" a month, it wont show in the length or will take longer to show, but by keeping the ends fresh it will allow it to show what you are growing plus its a must if you want blunt ends.

[Catia]

I don't understand the point of trimming because hair don't just split at the very ends. I understand trimming does get rid of the splits at the end of the hair but what about the rest of the splits?
Whats the point of trimming?

I scratched my head over this one for a couple decades too (before LHC). I didn't have splits at my hemline. My longest hairs were [very]coarse and they did not split. I did, however, have some split ends further up in the hair that were more of the M variety. I didn't trim my hair for 29 years, and I got sick and tired of everyone giving me advice (IRL) to trim my hair "To get rid of split ends". This advice was based on their ignorance of *my* hair, as much as I was ignorant of theirs. And no, this wasn't because my hair looked rough - the conversation would go along the lines of:

Them- Your hair is so long! When was the last time you cut it?

Me - I never cut it.

Them- Oh. How often do you trim it?

Me - I don't trim.

Them - Oh. But you have to trim it to cut off the split ends!!(the especially annoying ones use the term "dead ends" here). :disgust::rolleyes:


I now understand that different hair textures are more prone of course, as well as *hair lifestyle*.

Bottom line is do what you think is appropriate. It isn't necessary to trim, it's a choice.

[Henrietta]

I see your point of view, but... without trimming I'd have split ends in my hemline and everywhere above. When I trim- I have them only above my hemline. Or even not like this, since S&D method is still my friend...
Loosing some length is worth having healthy hair. And thicker-looking.