Trim or No? 2 Week Rule?

[x0h_bother]

Hi everyone,
When I first got here, I had tons of heat damage and lots of breakage and no growth in part due to breakage and in part due to the fact that I was a frequent trimmer.
Since then I stretched trims a lot. Since August I began doing 4 month interval trims of 0.5". I am due for my trim April 20th (last one was Dec 20th) but recently my hair has been SO bad. My ends are "pointy," like there is an inch of "point" so not blunt. My hair tangles BADLY more than ever though my heat damage has been growing out for almost a year. (I don't have splits, but I get "kinks" from the tangles kinking the ends of my hair when I separate the strands.) Cones and oil no longer help, clarifying was a disaster as I posted a few days ago and I still have not gotten slip back. I hate updos but my hair has gotten to awful that it is a relief to have my hair hiding in a bun straight from the shower- I can't wait to put it up.
So my question is, should I do the 2 week rule and wait it out? Should I do I trim .5" a month early? Do I let it be? Do I trim more than .5" in April? Why are my ends so pointy? Could my lack of trims be contributing to the tangles? Should I do an S&D (more of a microtrim) though there are no splits? I'm scared to do a micro trim of my pointy ends because they are about .5-1" up, that's a lot for a trim. I viewed some of Feye's self-trim videos but I have wavy hair and sorry to say it may not work for me- I am very scared of cutting my own wavy hair. Help me please! :o

[bumblebums]

The pointy ends are most likely new growth. You don't need to cut them.

[xoxophelia]

I would first try EVOO and some honey (heated in microwave for about 30 seconds) for about 2 hours. Follow this by a normal washing and a very gentle routine to clarify the ends: take a bowl full of water (distilled if your water is hard) and about 1/2 TBSP ACV so it is pretty diluted. Dip only your tangly ends in and move them around for about 30 seconds. Rinse.

I was having your same problems and this helped a ton.

If this doesn't work, then I would suggest either going ahead with the .5" trim the day after or doing about .25" and then again in April. Thats just what I would do anyways.

I hope it works out for you.

[xoxophelia]

Also, I use the self trimming method and I just do it right after I get out of the shower. I do have to tug a little and brush my wet hair, but when it is soaking wet it is also stick straight.

[x0h_bother]

Also, I use the self trimming method and I just do it right after I get out of the shower. I do have to tug a little and brush my wet hair, but when it is soaking wet it is also stick straight.
I forgot to mention this- I have had the WORST urge trim IN the shower! I pull my ends and see how badly "layered" they are with the pointiness and I want to take a scissor to them but then I think they couldn't possibly be accurate that way in the shower. But maybe it is accurate?

[spidermom]

Hard to say without better pictures, but it does sound like you would benefit from a trim.

[Mesmerise]

If you're feeling really frustrated with your hair, then I'd say trimming that 0.5" now instead of April is probably a good idea. If you find trimming every four months isn't working for you, consider trimming every three months instead until the worst of your damage is out. Yeah, it won't grow quite AS fast, but you'll probably avoid the frustration of super horrible ends!

[x0h_bother]

Hard to say without better pictures, but it does sound like you would benefit from a trim.
http://i56.tinypic.com/24659uc.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/2dj7rb.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/4qh7aq.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/2d8q7ug.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/2v8qvdu.jpg

[spidermom]

Yes - trim it (or get it trimmed). The ends will be much nicer, but be sure you trust the stylist and watch everything he or she does.

[Jenn of Pence]

Since you're already a trimmer, might as well go ahead and get it done. Then maybe you can stretch your next one?

I used to think my pointy ends came from splits and breakage, but I've realized that mostly those are new growth, and breakage ends up as white dots. Hopefully it's new growth for you, too. :)

BTW, I think your hair is pretty...the slight curls and the hemline are elegant. :) I hope you get your condition back to your satisfaction! I'm growing out some heat damage, too, I know it stinks.

[Sundial]

I forgot to mention this- I have had the WORST urge trim IN the shower! I pull my ends and see how badly "layered" they are with the pointiness and I want to take a scissor to them but then I think they couldn't possibly be accurate that way in the shower. But maybe it is accurate?

Wow! Are you almost at waist already? You seem pretty close to your goal! :cheese:

You didn't mention your preferred hemline but I'm just assuming that you are growing out layers based on one of your earlier posts? If you are growing out your layers and you are already so close to goal, you could perhaps start taking it easy and start trimming more frequently to close the gap between your layers and your longest strands.

As long as the length you trim is less than your growth for that period, you will still gain length towards waist and yet you won't have to bear with messy ends. If you still wish to grow aggressively then I suggest a thorough S&D first because that can make a huge difference. I am pretty ruthless at S&D and will trim off any bent ends I find because they tend to cause tangles in my hair.

Hope you settle on something that makes you happy!

[katfemme89]

I think maybe the pointy ends could possibly be splits where one half of the split has broken off. But it may be new growth. But if it's tangling a whole lot, I would say it's the first one I mentioned. I would trim it more than usual until the ends stop tangling. The more you pull out tangles the more your hair gets stretched out and damaged. Just cut the damaged crap off...it'll grow back and plus you'll be a lot happier with your hair when it's behaving :-)

[x0h_bother]

BTW, I think your hair is pretty...the slight curls and the hemline are elegant. :) I hope you get your condition back to your satisfaction! I'm growing out some heat damage, too, I know it stinks. <snip>
Thanks! :)

Wow! Are you almost at waist already? You seem pretty close to your goal! :cheese:

You didn't mention your preferred hemline but I'm just assuming that you are growing out layers based on one of your earlier posts? If you are growing out your layers and you are already so close to goal, you could perhaps start taking it easy and start trimming more frequently to close the gap between your layers and your longest strands.

As long as the length you trim is less than your growth for that period, you will still gain length towards waist and yet you won't have to bear with messy ends. If you still wish to grow aggressively then I suggest a thorough S&D first because that can make a huge difference. I am pretty ruthless at S&D and will trim off any bent ends I find because they tend to cause tangles in my hair.

Hope you settle on something that makes you happy!
I am indeed growing out layers and I would sacrifice being as close to my goal at this point for more manageable hair and less layers.

I think maybe the pointy ends could possibly be splits where one half of the split has broken off. But it may be new growth. But if it's tangling a whole lot, I would say it's the first one I mentioned. I would trim it more than usual until the ends stop tangling. The more you pull out tangles the more your hair gets stretched out and damaged. Just cut the damaged crap off...it'll grow back and plus you'll be a lot happier with your hair when it's behaving :-)
I agree with you and everyone who mentioned about the trimming, I have decided to go ahead and get the trim, asking for 1/2in off the ends like always and 1/4 in off layers (which I say as "just nip the layers". :) Thanks to you all for the help!

[Rocket22]

Your hair looks great!!!! I agree you will be happy with the trim. I just snipped the very point off mine and it felt sooooo much better and now I can continue on without hating my five long hairs that were bugging me :)