How do you decide when (if) to trim?

[ChayahSaahene]

I realize, if you are at the length you want to be, you would trim to maintain that length. I also realize some people make the choice to get rid of split ends, although my ends do not seem to ever split.

So for those wanting to grow length, is trimming usually decided based on the preference for blunt versus fairytale ends? And when are untrimmed ends considered fairytale and when are they thin, straggly ends? I know even that question is a matter of personal choice and subjective, but do any of you with fairytale ends occasionally decide that your ends don't look so good and you need a trim so that they look better, despite losing some length?

I'm having this dilemma because my hair is currently SL + 1 inch (I have had my hair this length twice but never any longer) and it grows incredibly slow and when it does grow, it grows incredibly uneven. I've gone eight months since my last small trim, my hair has grown maybe two inches, and it is really uneven. Before you give me tips on what might be causing the slow growth, please let me explain, it is genetic - I have an incredibly healthy diet, plenty of exercise, take vitamins, use henna/indigo only for color, use no heat, no chemicals, and put my hair up daily with plenty of conditioners. So I don't believe the problem can be fixed by changing any variable to have my hair grow faster.

So for me, it seems my option is to micro-trim and patiently wait decades for my hair to hit waist length.....or.....not trim and allow it to grow ever-so-slowly even if my fairytale ends might not look so pretty.

Any advice?? I have seen very few on this forum that I thought needed a trim to have healthy looking hair, but the overwhelming majority of you have stunning, silky, healthy hair.....so I will gladly put my hair fate in your hands.......

[monsterna]

It's easy to see when ends are too thin and scraggly compared to fuller looking fairy tale ends. Fairy tale ends seem to taper more. That is, the shape gradually get thinner as your eye pans down the length. Thin ends are noticeably different in that the hair is normal and full-looking, then suddenly the rest of the length looks very scraggly and see-through. Once you reach 25 posts, you can check out people's profiles and see their before and afters of them cutting off damaged hair and it then growing out and looking much better. You will definitely know when it's time to trim.

At your length though, which is close to my own, and especially you supposedly not being prone to splits, I wouldn't think you'd have anything to worry about right now. Trimming the hem, when not for damage control, is just something that is done for personal preference.

[jasper]

I think, from the way you have written this question, that you value a neat, even hemline and so I suggest you go the microtrim and patience route.

I am an example of the not trimming for several years type of hair growing method. Uneven hardly describes what I have ended up with. I don't have split ends, and I think my hair is in good condition, but at waist length, it is thin and straggly. The left side is much shorter than the right. I have trimmed a couple of times in the past 12 months, but it will take a 6 to 10 inch chop to get me anywhere near a blunt hemline.

[ravenreed]

I trim to maintain my layers and because one side of my hair grows faster than the other. I also trimmed whenever I had excessive split ends, which it sounds like you are not having a problem with. I like my hair to look good when it is down, and I think it looks better when it is trimmed. However, my hair grows pretty quickly, so it is hard to advise you.

If you are unhappy with the way your hair is now, and you don't trim, it is going to be even more uneven later on. Which is more important to you? Better ends and an even longer stretch to your goal, or getting there a bit faster?

Another consideration is that once your hair gets long enough, you can wear your hair up more, so the unevenness won't be so noticeable. So if you are happy with lots of updo's, you might want to hang in there and not trim. If you plan to wear your hair down a lot, then you might want to trim more.

I hope that helped at least a little.

[Avvoltoio]

I trim my own hair, in 3-4 months, when the ends are thinner a bit, and there are more split end, but i only trim about 3-5 mm.
i am sure you will feel the difference of that little trim too.

[jojo]

Ok for me I value healthy looking hair over fast growing hair. My hair grows pretty slow compared to others on LHC. I have micro trimmed throughout my growing experience, first to rid of a V hemline id gotten due to not trimming for 2 years before joining LHC. I started dusting from APL.

I trim less often nowadays and I am on a no trimming venture in 2011, just to see how much length I can gain, it may mean me having to trim a couple of inches at the end of it but thats OK as healthy looking hair is still important to me, its just curiosity as to how much I can grow :D

As your hair is still shortish and the ends still very young, regular trims are not really needed when you are growing your hair, just regular deep conditionings and even starting to use a teeny bit of oil on the very ends to help the ends stay healthy, those ends afterall are going to be waist length one day, the more you look after them now, the less damaged they will become.

Id wait until you reach APL and then dust the ends to keep them blunt, your hair looks very healthy and a trim isnt really needed as yet! good luck with your long hair journey x

[spidermom]

At shorter lengths, I had a routine of trimming every 3-4 months whether my ends looked like they needed it or not. This was to keep them on the thick side. Although I agree that some fairy tale ends look pretty, I don't prefer it for myself. Also, I think trimming a small amount on a regular basis is less shocking. I barely notice losing 1/2 inch. If I grew for a long time without trimming, I might have to lose 3-4 inches to even my ends back up again, and I would definitely notice that.

However, in the past year I have grown without trimming because I was so close to my goal. Now that I'm at goal, I can trim to maintain the length. Or grow more - who knows? I change my mind just about every hour.

[Madora]

When my hair was 47 inches, I trimmed every 3/4 months to remove any splits and keep a blunt hemline.

Now that I'm a little past 40 inches, and my hair is recovering from a bad self trim I did several years ago, I trimmed off 4 inches from the longest hair as it didn't look good. Then I trimmed again using Feye's self trim method and removed 2 inches from the rest of my hair.

Healthy hair is more important to me than length.

[torrilin]

I doubt your hair grows as slowly as you claim. I'd figure on that distance taking about two years for me with regular trims, since that's what it has taken several times in the past. My average growth rate is around 1" a month. A "normal" person's average would be around 1/2" per month, so with trims at the same rate as me, that person could expect it to take about 4 years.

That's exactly what you experienced.

So your hair grows at a normal rate, and you don't have a problem with split ends due to your frequent trimming. It may be you can actually trim less and still have nice ends... a lot of other people besides me seem to find that to be the case. I usually trim every 6 months or so, which is plenty even for my delicate hair. It may be I can get it down further, but it's not a huge deal to me given my growth rate and hair type and pitifully poor eyesight.

In your position, I'd quit worrying about even and I'd instead worry about splits. Stretching trims to every 3 months or every 6 months won't ruin the look of your hemline, and it might well let you grow a *lot* faster. Depending on how your hair grows, you might find that going to every 9 months or 12 months is doable even. Splits will ruin the look of your hemline tho, rather drastically.

[k8tea]

ChayahSaahene,
If that is your hair in your avatar it is lovely! I would echo Madora and say that health is more important than length. If you hardly get splitends I agree that stretching out trims (and keeping them tiny) might help you reach your goal length faster without compromising the hemline's eveness so much.

[prosperina]

I don't think you need to trim now, but to answer the general question posed in the title of the thread: another factor besides thinning and splits is texture. I don't like hair that feels rough, or at least noticebly rougher than the other hairs. So for me, thin paired with really yucky feeling ends means I trim. Although it's best to clarify and deep treat first because this could be causing the bad feeling ends. I'd wait until APL to start microtrimming.

I think mine grows slow too. About 4 inches or so a year as far as I can tell. And I went from to chin to nearly waist in about 4.5 years with lots of trims at BSL.

edit: not lots of trims, only two I think.

[IcarusBride]

First of all, I don't think you will have to wait decades for your hair to hit waist. I trim 1/4 to 1/2 inch every 3 months and I got from APL to Waist in around 1 year. So from shoulder to waist, even with trims, should not take more than 2 years, but to be conservative let's say 3.

The reason I trim is because I shed at a very high rate, mostly longer hairs, and so the number of hairs that reach all the way to the end are much less than the total number of hairs on my head. This would create a 'natural mullet' on me if I let it do it's own thing. So I trim! For me, I like to do things ritualistically, so I always do trims on the first of the month (on months I decide to trim) and I try to do trims on a schedule, rather than 'whenever I feel the need'. For me, this makes me feel more in control. When I reached Waist I decided to maintain here (trim 1/2", my total growth, every month) for 3 months because 3 is the number of months I usually go in between trims. It seemed very logical to me, though I guess it's actually a bit whimsical.

[WaitingSoLong]

I'll throw in my 2 cents.

I only trim to even my hemline and it has to be pretty out of whack to do that but FTE's are not for me. I think they look great on other people. I have never seen anyone with FTE's above waist length. Maybe I am just not looking hard enough.

I do trim splits but I have to say I never experiences splits until almost hip length. When I do trim to even the hemline, it is a half inch or less it seems.

I did an experiment and measured my hair every month for a year to find my growth rate. Mine is 6", the basic average. Maybe you could do the same, while also growing out for a whole year without trims just to see what kind happens with your hemline and all.

Of course it is all personal preference. If you can wear a pony tail, uneven ends are not really noticeable (would have to be drastic). If you prefer to wear your hair down, well, it will be more obvious. Let us know what you decide!

[Vercelli]

I have the same problem though my hair is already at tailbone length (34" -> I'm quite short:p) though it took me a while to get there...
First I would like to say that your avatar picture is very pretty! Second I would advise you to letting your hair grow for a while without trimming, let's say half a year. Maybe then you could to do a microtrim (or trim even more if necessary).
Unfortunately I do have thinning ends which I don't like, I don't have an even hemline and my hair grows sloooowly too due to my genes. Well, but so far I'm still dreaming of an even hemline even though I'm not sure if I'll ever reach this goal. I microtrim between three and six months depending on the looks of my ends though I rarely experience split ends for whatever reasons. By microtrimming I was hoping to keep my overall length and at the same time gaining some overall "thickening" effect as I expect my hair to thicken up faster than growing it longer. Maybe I'm wrong, we'll see.
Let us know what you decided. And remember your hair already IS lovely the way it is! Happy growing!

[Night_Kitten]

Usually I deside a trim is nesesarry if I see splits on the ends or the ends tangle alot and feel rough (usually means theyr'e damaged).
To keep healthy ends a trim once or twice a year is enough, and sometimes even once in 18 months or less will do (depending on the hair's structure and how prone to damage it is)
Trimming more often is usually done to thicken up the hemline, if one's hair is easily damaged, or when growing out previous damage or dye, which from your post I think is not your case...
If a clean and straight hemline is very important to you, you could do microtrims, taking off several milimeters every 3-4 months, that way you keep a fresh hemline while not loosing alot of length... But if your'e O.K with some unevennes, you probably shouldn't trim more than nesesarry to cut off splits :)

[lupiae]

In general, I ask to trim my wife's hair when I start to see splits ends or touching hair ends looks not healthy. I prefer to cutt as soon as possible each time that I see those problems to avoid bigger damage. In general it is needed once each 6 months, but it can also happen often or more rare depending on the life-style, if it is summer (swimming in sea and woshing all days) or winter, etc etc...

[Panth]

I used to trim when the ends felt crunchy, brittle and dry ... then I discovered clarifying and coconut oil. So, I recommend that if you think your ends are nasty and you want to trim them, then try clarifying first.

Also, if you haven't yet, try coconut oil. I like the oil shampoo and occasional applications to the tail of my plait, but there's lots of ways to use it that different people prefer. ^_^

[lapushka]

For me it's high time to trim when whatever damage there is can't be solved by a number of S&D sessions, or when continuous S&D sessions have thinned the ends out way too much. Apart from that, when there's no real damage, I get my hair trimmed when I feel like it.

[LaurelSpring]

Although it would seem that the most appropriate answer for you is microtrims and patience, my personal opinion at sl is to just let it the heck grow. If you keep trimming anything above say armpit at least, its just going to feel like you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast. They always take too much and you always get stuck at the same length and then depressed and cant figure out why you arent getting anywhere and then might think it wont grow and might give up. I say this because it happened to me for years and years.

It seems like there is this hump you have to get over and I think the best way to do it is benign neglect and trying not to think about it too much. Then, after awhile, you will go OMG look how much its grown! Just find ways to put it up and not fret about the ends right now and eventually when you've got a good amount of length to play with, then microtrim any frizzies. This is the only way I got length.

Now, on how to decide on trims....went no trim for a long time for the reasons stated above. Then I had a decent trim which I regretted and was my last salon visit ever. Now I only self microtrim. I was dusting every three months just because, but Im back on the no trim wagon. Straggly feeling ends have made me trim but if my hair doesnt look split or damaged I dont think I need to do it anymore for awhile.