Seriously Considering Cutting to APL/BSL (LONG)

[MissManda]

Layers, Layers, Go Away!

:justy:

As some of my fellow LHCers are aware, I've been spending the entire time I've been here growing out layers and bangs. I have been very successful in getting rid of a good portion of them by doing small trims since last August. I am very grateful for the support and encouragement to trim my own hair and seeing my hemline gradually thicken and my layers disappear. My hair has become much more manageable and looks better than ever, all thanks to the fantastic advice on this site.

But even with all of this progress, I am still frustrated with my hair. I still have layers and ex-bangs that are somewhere between APL and BSL that are so fried/damaged, brittle, and (relatively) dry, that I'm afraid that they won't get any longer for me to trim off if I continue my micro-trim schedule. Sometimes the ends will just break off for no reason and tangle like crazy, too. I've done oiling, CO, and SMTs, but I think that they've helped as best they could and will not have any further effects. I've also done S&D and that has helped too, but even with that I'm still overwhelmed because my strands are fine to medium-fine with a fairly thick overall volume so that's a LOT of hair to go through.

I've considered visiting a barber or hairdresser, but I do not have any money to spend on that, nor the time to search for someone I feel comfortable with and trust. I have appointments, phone calls, and paperwork to deal with that are way more important to spend my time on than tending to my hair.

Now here's where I feel conflicted. Only the upper remaining layers are in bad condition while the rest of my hair, even my hemline, looks and feels absolutely great. My hair is also 1.5” or so away from hip length. I have nearly reached hip length twice before, but I trimmed the ends off because I wanted to thicken my hemline and get rid of layers. I'm not frustrated because I haven't gotten to hip length after so long because it's just hair and I can take my sweet time with it. I have this feeling that I would really miss the length of my hair because it is just getting to the point where it feels truly “long” to me. My hair doesn't hang too nicely until around waist length and I know I would find the shorter length annoying because I probably won't be able to do most of the updos I can do now and because it won't stay where I want it to.

I had a similar urge to cut back to APL or BSL back in February, so I did a 1.5” trim because I wanted a thicker hemline and get rid of layers. I was satisfied with my hair after that because I had brought my ends from being basically nothing at 2” from the ends all the way up to having a 2.25-2.5” circumference 2” from the ends in 6 months. But now the urge is back and I'm confused about what I should do.

I made a big pros/cons and cost/benefit list for me to read whenever I felt the urge to cut to that short, but now it is starting to have less of an effect on me. DF is very supportive of whatever I decide to do to my hair and I just want to get rid of these icky layers. Heck, I wouldn't mind cutting to MBL/BSL because then at least the bad layers/ends will reach the hemline sooner and I could keep doing my micro-trims as usual.

Gah! I just don't know anymore! I feel so lost and I would greatly appreciate any advice to help me straighten my thought process out.

Thank you! :flower:

[louisemg82]

I had waist length when I cut to APL and I LOVED it because it felt soooo healthy - then the regret kicked in pretty much straight away and I really missed my hair. I think you sound ready to accept it though and if it means you're happier with your hair in the long run, then it might be good for you. I personally would cut less then I think I want. So if you're considering APL, then cut to BSl and see how you feel afterwards. You can always cut more.

[Pantha]

It does seem to be takigna long time to grow out, and you seem to be doing everything you can to fix it, I know you say its a lot of hair to go through with the S&D method, but maybe focusing on the damaged areas may help, I know before I started covering my hair at work I had a lot of trouble with splits in the hair around my face, it wasnt deliberatly cut any shorter than the rest but just broke off and got damaged from my hard hat and getting mud in it and then the damage seemed to travel up if I didnt trim it off it just got worse until I started wearing a bandana under my hard hat, could it be that during the day the shorter layers are getting abraded or rubbed against something more than the rest of your hair and that is why it is remaining damaged?

[spidermom]

My thought on this is that we all have hairs of every length because of the shed and regrow cycle, so 5 years from now, whether you even everything out now or not, you're still going to have shorter hairs and longer hairs, and the shorter hairs will still get damaged and split but are too short to be reached by trimming the bottom. There's never-ever a time when you will have hair all one length.

There's trimming to keep the shape, and then there's S&D to get the splits on the shorter hairs. There are also ways of trimming so as to maintain the layers in good condition (the ponytail from the top of the head method - also known as compact layering).

[MeganE]

I'm going growing out layers too, but I'm not really tempted to cut any shorter because I regularly trim the layers at the same time as my hemline. They're in as good of condition as they could be. If I wasn't trimming them, I'd have no hope of letting them grow in to where the rest of my hair is.

If you can't trim your own layers right now, you could try adding in your own layered cut. You might lose some ground in terms of layer growth, but then it would at least be a cut that you could trim them regularly yourself. Maybe then you could maintain the length you have now.

ETA: Oh I just noticed that Spidermom suggested this too. Yes, I use that technique, cutting from a ponytail on top of the head. If I were you though, I'd try to select the layers that I wanted to trim, and find whatever angle brings most of the ends closest together before you cut, even if the ponytail you're cutting ends up being straight back from your head, instead of straight up. Cutting straight above the head might make your shortest layers lose a lot of length to reach the ends of the longest layers... if that makes sense?

[MissManda]

Thanks for the replies, all! :)

Yes, I do focus my S&D efforts primarily on my layers, but they still take up a great deal of hair, which is still overwhelming, even at 15-30 minutes per day to distribute the S&D sessions. I still have chemical damage to get rid of and that combined with mechanical damage isn't making things any better. Whenever I ask my DF to show me where the damage starts, it's always the demarcation line between the chemically-treated hair and my virgin hair.

I'll admit that I don't wear my hair up as much as I could, but I am quite aware of the damage that wearing it down could cause. I don't think updos help the very damaged parts of my hair all that much anyway, since they just tangle more and/or break off. I'm not saying that they don't protect my hair because they obviously do (my ends probably wouldn't be so nice if I didn't wear my hair up at all), I just think they don't do much for the hair I have that is beyond repair.

I also don't expect to ever have all one length hair. :agree: I expect certain hairs to be shorter and more damaged than others, but since the layers are still a big chunk of my hair that it detracts from how my hair looks, feels, and behaves. I do agree that worrying about individual strands/hairs being shorter and more damaged than the rest of the hair is silly, but I do not think it applies here at this time.


ETA: I'm not so sure about the cutting my own layers thing. My initial instinct was it would be counterproductive even though I understand the reasons behind it.

Will cutting in my own layers make my hemline thinner? I don't think I could take it if I see my braid taper any more than it already does. Yeah, I know it's silly, but I have this weird obsession with making my braid even in thickness and not having my layers sticking out of it. :bigeyes:

I am also visually impaired and the thought of re-cutting in layers scares me ten times more than using Feye's Self Trim ever did. I can't and don't use mirrors for trimming or doing updos because it is very frustrating and doesn't help me. It sounds like this technique may have to rely on a mirror and doing it by feel would be, um, too tedious for my liking.

Then there's how my hair looks with layers, which I don't like at all. :/

I'll think about it some more... :)

[Firefox7275]

Do your damaged layers ideally need a proper cut or would a dusting suffice, assuming you could find a way to do so safely/ a trusted person? Unless you are 100% certain, I would err on the side of caution and take another 1 1/2 inches from your length. Then do the process of the layering method without necessarily cutting. What I mean is tie the ponytail on the top of the head or use a Creaclip, then get your DF (or another trusted person) to tell you what they see from their vantage point. It may turn out that you catch a good portion of the damaged hairs and can easily trim half a inch. If not put the scissors away and decide whether you'd rather spend the time S&Ding or finding a long-haired hairdresser. It doesn't have to be expensive, you could try a local hairdressing college or a mobile hairdresser.

I hope that makes sense, sometimes I can't explain the concept I have in my head very well. :shrug:

[Deborah]

What if you cut a nice even hemline a couple of inches above your waist? That should be enough to make a good difference, but not so much that your hair would feel short or hard to control. Then, in a few weeks, if you still feel that more needs to go, cut off a few more inches at a time until you are genuinely happy with your hair. You sound as if you are just plain sick of those layers and the residual hair damage you have. Let them go.

You don't need to immediately cut all the way to APL, but this micro-trimming stuff sounds tedious and terribly slow.

Good luck with whatever you try! :)

[Mesmerise]

My advice is to cut to waist. Waist is still long, and you'll know pretty much straight away whether you regret the change to your length or not! If you don't feel any regret, or miss the length, then cut off a bit more and see how you feel!

I understand where you're coming from, as I've done the same thing myself. Often I'm happier with health, but I regret the loss of length. Of course, my hair has never been that close to hip - I'm sure if it was, I'd be reluctant to let it go too!

Still, see how you feel at waist. If it feels really short, and you miss the length then, you'll know you're not ready to go back to BSL or shorter! If you still feel as if you could get more off, then go back another inch or two.

Doing it this gradual way will help you find a spot where you feel comfortable with your hair, and may also make an easier transition if you do decide to go back to APL/BSL.

[jojo]

I was going to suggest cutting to waist too. Reading between the lines I don't think you are mentally prepared for the change a cut to apl would bring and I feel you would regret it. I understand your frustrations, ive had layers in the past and have always cut back to even them up, loved the cut at first and then regretted it.

The choice of course is yours but id advise going for little trims; waist first and then if you are still frustrated, half way between bsl and waist.

Good luck with whatever you decide x

[MonaLisa]

I love layers so maybe my opinion isn't very neutral:)

I don't think you should go for the cut. I think you will regret it, and it won't look better that way.

But also, you should really give a trim to those layers too somehow...keep growing them, but they are so annoying because damage/splits I guess. Microtrim them time to time:)

[MissManda]

All right, thanks for the advice, everyone!

Here is what I have decided:

Since my birthday is a little less than a month away, I thought it would be nice to get my hair as close to hip as I can, then do another 1.5-2" trim to get rid of more layers. If that doesn't satisfy me, then I'll just cut back to waist. I'm about to do a microtrim, which won't affect my length much but will get rid of a little bit more and keep my ends looking nice. If I can't wait until then, I'll just go ahead with the big trim. :)

I think cutting layers using the ponytail on top of the head technique would be much too tedious for me because I'd have even more ends to tend to and shape. DF could probably help me, yes and even though he doesn't mind/notice my trims, but he totally FREAKS out at the sight of my hair being cut. I had a trimming accident a couple of years ago and when he saw what was happening, he got so upset that he almost started crying. I also doubt I'd be happy with the way it would make my hair look, especially in updos/braids.

[Amraann]

Spidermom, what is the ponytail method of cutting?

[IcarusBride]

Do you henna? If not, try cassia before resorting to a chop. I have really porous ends and they tangle/break off and generally drive me nuts, but cassia seriously helps. It's just suuch a pain in the rear to make, apply, leave on to work, wash out, and then clean the bathroom every few weeks.

[MissManda]

Do you henna? If not, try cassia before resorting to a chop. I have really porous ends and they tangle/break off and generally drive me nuts, but cassia seriously helps. It's just suuch a pain in the rear to make, apply, leave on to work, wash out, and then clean the bathroom every few weeks.

Yes, I henna. Thanks for the tip. I do have about 50g of cassia stored in my freezer and have been wondering what I can do with it.

[MissManda]

I'm just checking back in to say that I did a 0.5" trim a couple of weeks ago as well as an additional 1.5" trim today. I am very happy with my decision and a good portion of my remaining layers are gone. My hair is still between Waist and Hip and I will decide if I want to cut to or above waist within the next several weeks.

I'm guessing with two or three more big trims, my layers will be pretty much gone. Yay! :cheese: