To trim or not to trim...

[JessiBird89]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie so bear with me if I come across as completely clueless!
First I should give you my hair's recent history so you can understand my situation a bit better.

My natural hair colour is light brown and my hair is fine and quite thin. From October 2008 to February 2010 I had blonde highlights done a total of about 5 times, intermittedly. In February 2010 I decided I did not want to put my hair through such anguish (fine hair, bleached - you can imagine it wasn't in a healthy state! :() so I dyed my hair a semi-permanent mid-brown so I could focus on growing out the bleach.

I have been trimming and trimming every 2 months and I am finding it so frustrating that my ends a year and 3 months later still have bleach (beneath the now fading semi-permenent dye) My hairdresser told me to keep coming back every 10 weeks to get a trim to get rid of the damaged ends but it is driving me crazy! I feel like I'm taking a step back whenever i gain any length.

I'm at APL and my goal is waist. Should I just suck it up and get that 2 inches of damage off? Or just let it grow and prevent further damage. (I wash with sulphate free shampoo and natural conditioner, deep condition once a week and have recently started protein treatments and using coconut oil which I find is improving my hairs condition) Someone please help! Thank you

[PamelaViktoria]

I highlight my hair so parts of it can get dry. But I cut my own hair, so I have more control how much comes off. If it got really dry, I would layer it but keep the length. Could you do that?

[JessiBird89]

Well, I already have a layer that is growing out at the minute, but it's my longest layer that is the problem - the slightly shorter one is actually quite healthy. Would an S+D do anything to help the dryness and breakage of my ends do you think?

[chelshireling]

Im new too! and i have a similar problem. I've had some pretty stange hair history in the past year (hot pink streaks, bleach, dyed about 3 different shades of red) but it is naturally dark brown and now waste length. Im trying to get to tailbone by next year but i have a lot of damage in some parts, like where the streaks and bleach were) and healthy hair everywhere else. I just try and take care of it with coconut oil because i am not about it cut it all out, which would make it reeeaally short, and any needs to be cut in like one streak but if i was you i might just cut it out.

[luthein]

It will really depend on your personal style. Some like to have a clean slate when they start hair growth. Others will baby their processed hair and cut it / let it shed out over time. If you can get all the splits and breaks with S&D's, opt for that! But if the damage is severe, and it's restricted to those last 2 inches, it may be best to let it go. In time, those splits could work their way up the hair shaft.

[JessiBird89]

I don't know if I can get it cut! It would be so disheartening to get rid of so much. I know its only 2 inches but it would bother me so much. I might just keep up with the 10 week trims to maintain my length but get rid of the damage....though my patience is running low! Wish there was a magical product that actually fixed hair!
I have recently bought Redken Anti-Snap Leave In conditioner as I had a feeling my hair needed some protein - hopefully it will help my hair along its way. Anyone have any luck with it or similar products?

[jojo]

Personally id get the 2" cut off by September you will be back to apl but a healthier apl. Chances are if your hair is as damaged as you say (and we can be our own worse critics!) then although you will still grow, you won't gain length as your ends will just break off. By trimming those 2" off will give you a clean break and get your hair into a healthier state.

Other things you could try to baby your hair is putting some honey into conditioner and applying to dry hair and leave for as long as you can manage, overnight if possible. SMT are very popular which is basicaly the same as above but with aloe vera gel added to it. Coconut or olive oil soaks will also benefit your hair, just remember to use just conditioner when getting it off, no water just plop a load of cheap conditioner on, massage into hair and leave for 5 minutes then rinse off!

Anyway, welcome to LHC, hope you find peace with your hair. There is also an article on damaged hair on the top of page. good luck x

[Mesmerise]

If I were you, I'd keep going with the trimming... but I'd probably try trimming it myself (because you have more control over length that way). If you cut off a small amount each couple of months (like 1/2") your hair will still grow, but you'll eventually cut out all the damage. If your hair grows at an average rate of about 1/2" a month, in 8 months time you'll have cut out all the remaining damage, and your hair will still have grown 2" longer. You won't need to lose any length, and your hair will still grow.

You could even opt to cut slightly less off, which would allow you to gain more length faster, but it would take longer to get the remaining damage out.

It depends on how bad the damage actually is. If the damage is badly split and breaking, then it's probably best to get it cut out sooner rather than later. However if it's just a bit dry and doesn't look as healthy, but isn't too bad with splitting etc. then cutting it out more slowly won't hurt, and you'll gain length faster.

[celebriangel]

Apparently I'm a bit hardcore, because if my hair was as yours is I would chop it off now. 2 inches is livable, and with healthy ends will be back on 4 months.

If I was *very* attached to the length I would probably trim all my growth till I reached the non damaged parts. Particularly with fine hair, I find damage travels fast, so I much prefer to get rid of it. Babying it is also such a pain, and prevents me from mostly doing a benign neglect type thing where I put it up and try not to worry about it.

A few months ago I chopped 3 inches to remove layers, and I'm so glad I did. I miss the length, but it's only about an inch up from what it was now, and I'm *incredibly* glad not to be dealing with layers.

RE getting layers advice... with thin, fine hair I'd say DON'T DO EET! With i thickness you may not have enough hair in your bottom layer to get to waist. I really would stick with a blunt cut; while layers give volume to thin hair at shoulder-apl lengths, once you start getting towards BSL and waist, they start just making hair look thinner.

[Riley_Nash]

I don't know if I can get it cut! It would be so disheartening to get rid of so much. I know its only 2 inches but it would bother me so much.

Don’t bother! Hair grows very quickly (it’s not teeth):). I have very thin hair and splitting ends. After consultations with my master at hair salon Croydon (http://www.ice-hair.co.uk/) i decided to cut ends from time to time. It’s enough to cut 2-3 inches and it’s almost invisible. I hope ends will grow healthier.

[spidermom]

If it were me, I'd rid myself of those last 2 inches.

But it's perfectly all right to keep trimming. Eventually the bleach damage will be gone. It takes patience. Some people trim only half their growth so that they can make small length gains while getting rid of damage.

[Ashenputtel]

highlights are so dammaging it's crazy. I had a lot done with bleach once in march 2010 and my hair is still recovering for it. I also had layers, red head, neutralizing the red... I've must have dyed it about 7 time since march 2010.


Now my hair is really getting healthier. Dye is not nearly as bad as bleach. I've always cut it every three month. Once half and inch, the next time a full inch. And it has grown from SL to nearly BSL.

Maybe you can cut one inch now and half and inch every three months till the dammage is gone.