Cut off all the damage? Or grow?

[Enigma]

Ok, so I'm starting fresh with my hair and did a major cut to get rid of a lot of the bleach and heat damage. However, it's not all gone, and the only truly healthy parts of my hair are the two or so inches of roots.

I'm taking really good care of my hair now, but I'm wondering whether I should cut absolutely all the damaged hair off to prevent my hair from splitting up to the top, or whether it's ok to just let it grow and get regular trims along the way, and that way eventually getting rid of the damage.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

[joflakes]

I had a similar predicament and went for the chop, but then again one side was nearly shaven and the other chin length!
I think either way it works out the same (though I am not experienced in these things) as eventually it'll be chopped. Depends on if you can brave a really short hair style or not I guess!
Mine feels lovely and looks shiny but the style is somewhat lacking!

[spidermom]

I think I'd just maintain or maybe trim off a little less than it grows so that I can see a little progress while I'm getting rid of damage.

My strategy in the past has been to grow as long as I could stand it, then get the damage cut off all at once. I think I'd approach it differently (as above) now.

[rock007junkie]

I think a cut is really mandatory only if you see splits because they can travel up and damage the rest of your hair. If your hair only feels dry and such a little TLC could make it better with time....along with DTs, PTs and oiling among other things

[rocket_surgeon]

You can do either. I don't think you'd get results that are all that different. I think it's more important that you like your hair while it's growing out. If you love the length, keep the length. If you hate the damaged sections and are okay with very short hair for a while, cut off the damage.

Personally, I went for the big chop, because I was sick of my dye job and having to get my short hair restyled all the time. But, YMMV.

[blondie9912]

I have the same conundrum as you! I'm growing out highlights and dye damage from this summer (dyed over my hair about 5 times in 2 weeks.... :disgust:)

I have only about an inch of roots, but I was to literally shave my head! Its so frustrating to have that little smooth bit at the top, and the rest so...yucky

My advice would be (assuming you don't have any physical splits, just dry/damaged hair) to just trim your hair about half an inch a month. That way your ends will 'feel fresh' and you will be able to maintain your length somewhat, while growing out the damage.

If you're someone who can stand having short hair/don't need to be able to style your hair for any 'highly photographed' events, I would chop it! Of course, I can't do that seeing as I'm graduating in June :D

Also, if you're considering the chop, think about the fact that you will not be able to put your hair in a braid/bun/ponytail if it's incredibly short.

[HairFaerie]

The same thing happened to me. I had a platinum pixie!
I let it grow a few inches, had it trimmed, grew a few more inches, had it trimmed, etc. It didn't take too long for all of the bleach damage to eventually be cut out with no long term ill effects.
Like some people already said, unless you start seeing some major splits, a big chop isn't necessary. Little by little worked well for me and I am glad I did it. Now any growth that I get, I can keep and it's healthy all the way down. :)
Also, the advise about keeping it oiled and taking very good care of it in the meantime is sound advise that worked for me as well.
Good luck!

[prosperina]

It's nice to be able to do some buns and some brains. Especially if you hang around here a lot, you'll want to do some of the styles other people can do. There's very little you can do with short hair. I'd just maintain the length you have until the damage grows out.

[cowgirllong]

If it were me, I would not chop it all off. I love to have my hair to play with. I think it would be a lot more fun to do the oil and home made deep treatments than to have no hair. And those things can really do a lot for your hair. Not to mention, with small trims every month or so, you'll get rid of damaged hair pretty quickly!

[sisi33]

I'm of the opinion that you should chop it off- which sounds violent! But when I tried to grow out damaged bits, I got annoyed that almost all of my hair was looking nice, but the ends looked like I had baked them at 400F for 3 hours- in a word, terrible. Also, it's fun to cut it off- which is why my hair is so short right now:rolleyes:

OR, you could try the slight trim for a few months/ however long you can last, and see if that works out! That might be better, as you can always cut off more, but most people *cough UltraBella cough* cannot seem to grow they're hair by willing it to grow! :D

[dulce]

I had a dyed all over pixie 3 years ago, grew it out and kept dying all over to past shoulders,then decided to let my gray come in,let the grayish roots come in several inches then added a few silvery highlights twice over the next year to hide /blend the demarcation line.Never had to dye or high -light again.I now have my natural colour to APL and dyed remnants to waist.I condition well daily,no flat iron or heat.My dyed parts are well blended with my natural and are as shiny.I have no splits when I check.So dyed does not mean you have to cut it off,treat it well,keep it conditioned and it [dyed hair] will recover over time.I grew to waist while transitioning to gray from all over dyed hair.

[Vanille_]

It's a really personal choice, but think about this: (sorry if it has been said yet, I haven't caught up)

You want to grow your hair long. That's going to take years, right? You will have long hair for years and years and years. This may be your last chance (or at least for a long time) to have short hair. Enjoy it. Play with it. See how you like it. You may be surprised how much you like it. We all like changes, but there's no rush into growing your hair. There's no need to be upset about cutting it either, enjoy it while you can -- cause it's not going to last!

It's all in your attitude, and I think that having short hair can be very fun. There are lots of things you can do with it, that you can't with long hair. Search youtube for videos!

Good luck to you :)

[Deborah]

Your profile indicates that you hair is down to you neck. At that length, if it were me, I'd cut back to chin length, then keep trimming back to chin until all the damage was gone. Then the hair could grow out in all its glory without you needing to worry about any more damage.

You don't say whether you like or dislike your hair when it's short. If you like it well enough, you could cut off all the damage now and be done with it. Then you could let it grow and grow, trimming only to get rid of splits and the layers required for short hair.

Either option would work.

I hope you find a solution that you are happy with. :)

[Shermie Girl]

Ugh. The cut it or grow it question. Only you can decide what is right for you and your own hair. Personally, I am the grow some and trim some, grow and trim and grow and trim until it is gone kinda girl. I just recently trimmed away the last of The Henna Removal Disaster and Peroxide to Match Nightmare and for the first time since I was nineteen, I have all virgin (or chemically unaltered, for those of you who don't like that term ;))hair. It took a long time. I had a lot of damage to get rid of.

It was worth it. :D:cool::cheese:

[Mesmerise]

I have hair that I call "damaged" but I don't chop it, because it doesn't split (much :o). It's just not as nice/healthy as the new hair is. If it were splitting madly, I would cut it, to prevent it getting worse. I think it really depends on the degree of damage. If it's not badly splitting, then you can keep it and just gradually trim it so you don't need to go for a major chop. However, if it's breaking easily, splitting etc. then chopping off is sometimes the best way to go.

[jojo]

I take it your hair is neck length, so micro trimming is out of the question unless you trust somebody to do this for you on a monthly basis or even trimming half your monthly growth so you grow while you remove damage. However if I was in your position id bite the bullet and trim all remaining damage, even if this was 3" your talking that by April you will back to where you are now, possibly longer and have damage-free hair.

but I am not you if you decide not to cut just be careful to baby the hell out of it. SMT's are excellent and id suggest one after ever wash and also if you still have peroxide your hair will also need protein.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[hs_atreides]

I agree that it depends on the kind of damage you have. Seems that you could try some protein treatments and ample moisture treatments to keep it from further damamge while you microtrim it away.

Splits should be trimmed away, IMO. No sense losing more length to them unnecessarily!

[LaceyNg]

i agree with the other poster who said i'd go for the chop, since you're only at neck now (not to say neck isnt an accomplishment, but not the same as chopping TB, know what i mean?), and since you plan on growing it out super long, they're right, this might be your last chance for a LONG time to have short hair! i say go for it!

of course, my hair's a tad below BSL now, and i could handle to lose the last 5 inches or so, because of damage :/ my plan is to just baby it and trim here and there, since i dont seem to be having much breakage or splitting

[ange1ito]

I would go for the chop mainly because I can't stand the ends looking awful and snarling the healthier hair's with them too when I comb out the knots. It sure helped me when I chopped back.

[Fairlight63]

If it was me I would let it grow with trims every 2 months to get of the ends. If you take really good care of your hair & not color it again or anything - deep condition it & all - you might not have to cut off as much as you think.

[Lostsoule77]

Personally I'd slowly trim away the damage as it grows. If you'd be ok with your hair cut that short then there is no reason to not chop it. If you won't then you should be fine just microtrimming along the way. Just baby the length and once you get to a certain point you can maintain until all the damage is gone and then just grow long with all healthy hair. :)

[coffinhert]

I am in the same predicament and I've chosen to keep the length. I search and destroy split ends at least once a week, and I do deep conditioning treatments (cassia, avocado, SMTs, etc) every 2 wks. When the new growth is at shoulder length I'll do a major chop but until then I'm only gonna trim 1 inch off a year. Search and destroy is pretty cool.

Several years ago I did a chop from APL to pixie to cut off dye, and I regretted it so much. I just love playing with my long hair.

[sheignerin]

I basically have the same problem, and I've decided to "baby" the damaged ends and let it grow. I have a hairdresser I love who cuts my hair once a month at the moment, and we're slowly getting rid of the damage.



(I'm just waiting for the day I decide I want to go back to red, I love it oh so much!)

[summergreen]

I would start by letting it grow, with micro-trims and/or S&D, and see whether it splits and how badly. Ive been growing out highlights for 3 years with fairly regular S&D and Ive never seen a split thats got further than a half inch up my hair (and thats when Ive left it for quite a while). Some people have faster moving splits though, and if you find out yours are speedy, you could show them whos boss with a bigger trim!

[summergreen]

oh have just realised that at neck length you probably cant do S&D, just ignore me!