To trim or not to trim? Advice, please!

[racrane]

I need advice whether to trim or not. I am growing out my blonde highlights from last December. I am very pleased with my hair growth, from above SL to below APL in 8 months. In addition, I love my natural hair color and have no desire to highlight again.

That said, I know my ends are very dry and brittle and while there are no split ends yet, the ends are not even. I have been alternating between CWC and CO and using coconut oil as well.

Anyway, I am wondering whether I should go get a trim now or wait until December. I was hoping to wait a full year, however. If you lovely people think I should trim, how much would be sufficient? Thank you all very much! :)

[alyanna]

Hey racrane!
Awesome growth. Your hair looks great! I don't think it looks like you *need* a trim necessarily. Your ends look fine to me.

Personally speaking, I would probably even things out before moving on to the journey of APL-BSL. You're now getting into the "long hair by society's standards" phase. I would want to have my layers and hem evened out at that point so that my hairstyle looks fresh, or more polished, if you know what I mean.

But, if your main priority is to get as long as you can ASAP, then there's no harm in waiting until the end of the year since your hair looks like it's in good shape.

[Khiwanean]

I guess I don't see any reason for you to trim unless the uneven ends are bothering you. I generally only trim to get rid of split ends and my hair tends to grow faster on one side of my head than the other, so it inevitably gets uneven. It's really a matter of whether it would bother you more to get it trimmed or to not get it trimmed IMO.

[racrane]

It doesn't bother me to have uneven ends because it's mostly up or in a braid. I mostly am wondering if I *should*. The ends just seem so dry. But if people here think they look alright, maybe I"m just too critical of my hair.

[natt i nord]

Well, I'd say it looks really okay but you need to know whether you want to trim because of the health of your hair. With my hair it's the way that it is actually completely broken and with split ends, but you just don't see it if you don't look at it exactly.

If you say your hair seems dry I'd vote for trim before it gets worse.

[purplehippo]

Leave a bit of conditioner on your ends when you get out of the shower. Not too much, just enough so that your hair feels silky when it is wet.

[Yozhik]

Racrane, I think this may be a personal preference thing. :)

Some people would rather have length over ends, while others trim more frequently to maintain their hemline while growing. I would take a look at your own ends and decide how much you think is absolutely salvageable, and get that trimmed off. What I hear a lot from people here is that even a very small trim makes a difference in how the ends feel and move, so you could try that, too. Basically, cut how much, however frequently you feel comfortable with, and it should be good. :)

For instance, I have wurly hair, so unless I brush all of the curls out and it's a particularly un-humid day, it doesn't matter if my ends are even or if my hemline is, because the curls make it act differently. Because of that and the fact that even my pre-LHC hair is fairly healthy, I've only trimmed twice since September 2009, when I joined here. I hope that helps!

Also, I wanted to say that your hair is looking gorgeous and so shiny! :flower:

[Anje]

With nasty annoying ends, sometimes it's just a problem of buildup + dryness. Honestly, I feel like this is half of what I post around here (so forgive me if this is just echoing what you've heard a million times before), but try clarifying by shampooing all the way to the ends, then give them a good soak in conditioner or SMT mix. Perhaps follow that up with a bit of oil. If your ends feel particularly rough, stiff, and almost sticky when you run your fingers down them, you might want to try a protein-free conditioner for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference.

[kanaka]

ur hair so beautiful. no need to trim. just try to moisturise hair ends thats it. great progress in 8 months. i loved ur hair color. look of hair is awesome so i guess there is no need to consider a trim.

[spidermom]

If you aren't getting a bunch of broken bits littering the floor/countertop/sink when you comb, you should be fine to wait until December. If you set a goal to wait one year before trimming, it's good for you to stick to your goal. It builds character (or something).

[invisiblebabe]

It looks good to me :) Give it a good deep conditioning on the ends and see if that helps with the dryness.

[racrane]

Thank you all for the compliments. You are all so sweet. :) Anyway, I called my hairdresser who I refuse to part with because she listens to me. I have decided to get a dusting, not really a "trim" so the very ends are gone. I don't think the uneven hemline bothers me too much because my waves make the hemline look odd so that's not my priority. But the worst of the dryness will be gone and that way I won't cut until next August. That will be convenient for me anyway because that's right before college. :D Thank you everyone for the advice, it helped me make up my mind.