Dumb question. How do you know when you need to trim?

[long.hair.maybe]

Forgive me for asking a stupid question.

I've always just trimmed regularly without thinking much about it, but now I'd like to trim as little as possible but I'm not sure how to recognise when a trim is absolutely necessary and unavoidable.

[Sundial]

- When you have tons of splits all over, or
- if your ends still feel crunchy and frazzled (worn out) even after clarifying and a deep treatment.

You also have to make sure your parched ends aren't the results of too much protein or leftover grit from henna (if you henna)

[Barniie]

Are your ends thinning?
Do you get "faery-knots?" (little, one strand knots in the ends of the hair)
Are your ends split and/or really dry?
Does the hair look scraggly?

:)

[MandyBeth]

Depends. I am growing out henna, I trim 1/4" a month. Otherwise, when you don't like the ends.

[alwayssmiling]

Not a stupid question.

I decided to trim when I am S&ding (cutting individual splits) and notice that there are more splits than healthy ends. Also when I finger comb dry hair it can be snaggy, and clarifying and are moisture treatments do nothing - a small trim makes my hair feel nice again.

[Jezerellica]

I think it is different for everyone. Especially with your end goal in mind. For me, it is as little as possible since I am going for length. But if I see ends split, broken, or fuzzy looking, it is time to trim. :scissors: Just a little. Then if I feel the need to take off more, I take my time and make sure that is the problem, not that I need to clarify, etc. I have hilighting damage at my ends that is so annoying. Good luck! :flower:

[Mesmerise]

For me, it's always been getting to a place where my ends look BAD and I just know I wanna chop 'em off! They may not be split, just straggly.

Hairs don't all grow at the same pace, so after some months the ends of the hair become less and less blunt and "tidy" looking. Now, some people don't mind this and keep growing anyway, but for me that was always an indication that it was time for a trim!

I don't get a lot of split ends, although when I've had over processed hair, finding a lot of splits was also a good indication that a trim was in order.

It really depends on how fussy you are and what you want to achieve! If you're growing your hair long, it's best not to trim too frequently. No more than once every three or so months (unless it's badly damaged) and then only a small amount off each time. If your hair is fairly healthy then once or twice a year is often enough (at least it was for me :p).

Now I am self trimming my hair, I can trim fairly frequently but only do a "dusting" of the ends, which I like better than going to the hair salon twice a year and potentially getting too much cut off! However, if you've got short hair it's much harder to self trim so you often have to rely on going to a salon. In that case... I think less is more!

[lapushka]

Hair can grow a long way without needing a trim. Years even. It's just like Sundial said, first always make sure the dry, crunchy, ends aren't due to not clarifying or that they aren't caused by products you've used, so that you don't trim unnecessarily.

[Tea Lady]

It's tricky to know sometimes. I have, in the past, trimmed off a lot due to not being happy with my ends, or the way my hair was acting, when a deep conditioning treatment or other intervention might have been all that was needed and would have altered that plan. I am trying to learn now to make a trim the last resort, as I am going for tailbone, classic or beyond.

Things I could do first:

Deep condition
Search and Destroy (small sessions of only trimming splits)
Wearing updos and not obsessing about my hair for a while
Changing products
Giving my hair a light oiling
Considering the season - humidity and other weather situations can affect the way hair looks


And so forth. If after all of these were done, I still felt trimming was the only option, then I would do a very small trim (not like in the past when I have cut large chunks of length). Sometimes a half inch is all that is needed.

Tea Lady

[spidermom]

I like to maintain some thickness and shape to my ends, so I trim when it's looking straggly, also when there are more split ends and white dots than I want to try to eliminate one by one through S&D.