Does regular trimming aids to faster hair growth?

[Viperalus]

I have heard this many years ago and I would like to ask here, since I never had the chance to discuss with anyone else.

If we consider that when we have more frequent facial shavings (for guys of course) the hair grows faster. I don't know if you ladies experienced the same with shaving of the legs. So is this true?

I was trimming every three months just an inch (2,5 cm) but lately I haven't trimmed my hair for the passed 6 months.

[isabelx]

I'm not sure about legs, but I'm pretty sure it's not the case with head hair. Often people think it's true when it's just that their hair is splitting less so it appears be growing faster.

[Amber_Maiden]

No, I think the hair on your head is quite different than the hair on one's body...

[Zesty]

No, if your hair "stops growing" or "grows slower" when you stop trimming, it just means that you're getting breakage from splits, etc., and are not keeping the length that your roots are pushing out. Hair growth is affected by what you eat, your natural growth rate, how you treat your scalp, etc. -- not by what you do to the ends of the hair.

[jojo]

Trimming hair doesn't make hair grow quicker as hair cut is shorter period! but by removing weak ends you make the ends stronger so they are less likely to break off, so in a round about way stronger ends=retained length= hair reaching goals quicker. Of course if you was to trim 1/2" a month you would just maintain the length, but by trimming or rather dusting little bits off will help.

I hope that makes sense!

[spidermom]

I'm with jojo on this one.

[Viperalus]

jojo you covered it pretty nice!


No, if your hair "stops growing" or "grows slower" when you stop trimming, it just means that you're getting breakage from splits, etc., and are not keeping the length that your roots are pushing out.
I haven't noticed slower rate or stop of growth the past 6 months that I haven't trimmed my hair. But I was amazed at how fast my hair was growing when I was cutting an inch each three months.
In general my hair grow very fast. I am thinking of starting keeping a record.

Oops! its just turned 2nd of December here, I better go and do some measurements.
Good night from Holland
http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af334/Viperalus/Emoticons/hi.gif

[jojo]

It works, I notice my hair seems to be in a rush to reached lost lengths through trimming. It seems this way but probably I allow my hair to grow healthier by getting rid of nasty ends. If you think of it like a frayed rope, its damaged and only gets shorter if they frayed bits aint cut off, but if you cut those frayed bits it doesnt get any shorter, if it was hair you maximising its potential to grow longer.

[BlazingHeart]

Um, it doesn't work on your legs or on a man's facial hair, either. Hair can't respond to things that happen outside of your skin - the follicle can't communicate with the outside hair. If you think you've seen that, it's probably confirmation bias - that is, when we expect things to happen, we are more likely to notice them.

~Blaze

[Viperalus]

It came to my mind a few things that I found some time ago about hair.

At first this amazing article (https://indianinthemachine.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/the-truth-about-hair-and-why-nativeindians-would-keep-their-hair-lon/) about the hair of Native Americans and why would they keep their hair long. In that article is stated that had been studies regarding the length of the hair on Native Americans.
It was known that the Native Americans were the best trackers, when it comes to sense and find information by using their sixth sense. When they took some of them to the US army, they cut their hair off and since that time, they couldn't any more successfully track information as they used to do before their haircut.

Something else is the measured energy on hair photographed with the kirlian technique. See photo below of a strand of a hair:
http://gdvsale.com/podg/files/images/volosy.jpg

On this image the single strand of hair has energy and pay attention to the tip of the hair. It is glowing...

It seems therefore that our hair are functioning as antennae, aiding in our non-visible abilities of living/understanding the invisible world around and inside us.

[Aerin]

That picture is likely static electricity on the hair, not that there are nerve fibers running through the hair. There can be electricity without the body responding.

[lolot]

i dont think it has anything to do because your just cutting the end no shaving your head

[Viperalus]

That picture is likely static electricity on the hair, not that there are nerve fibers running through the hair. There can be electricity without the body responding.
If we follow what we know from science yes, there are no nerves on the hair. But often science fails to "measure" the complete world we are living on.
One example can be shown in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F3ovb2kZ9Q). And in this video we are witnessing the existence of the Chi energy (known as Ether in Greece, Prana shakti in India). This energy is all over but it can't be measured.

And I think that this is the energy that is responsible for activities of our other bodies (astral and spiritual) and furthermore related to long hair.

[Amraann]

I think the Native American comparison is flawed. Those men were forced into a military. Clearly they were not going to help the very men they despised.

I just disagree with the notion that our hair works as an antennae.

The only way hair seems to grow faster when trimmed is like jojo said. Split ends trimmed off causes less breakage.

[purple dust]

Well, I have to tell you that I was born with hair that resembled Omer Simpson's.
My mother was worried about me being bald, so she asked for advice and a Nahuatl woman told her to cut what little hair I had with a razor and put steamed tomato slices on my hair.
I have seen pics of me as a baby and I'm surprised I have such thick, curly and shiny black hair...
So it worked in my case...

[purple dust]

About hair as antennae... we all have been witnesses of emotions that surface regarding hair. Memories and emotional weight can closely related to hair. It's a part of ours that's disposable and at the same time is not. Everything is energy and our hair can respond to that... or doesn't look more brittle when depressed, does it? However, hair acting as antennae, we -as a whole- are receptacles of the many energies surrounding us, not hair alone.

[Avital88]

thanks for posting this article, i also believe in hair as antennae and that it has powers of his own.

[pepperminttea]

At first this amazing article (https://indianinthemachine.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/the-truth-about-hair-and-why-nativeindians-would-keep-their-hair-lon/) about the hair of Native Americans and why would they keep their hair long. In that article is stated that had been studies regarding the length of the hair on Native Americans.
It was known that the Native Americans were the best trackers, when it comes to sense and find information by using their sixth sense. When they took some of them to the US army, they cut their hair off and since that time, they couldn't any more successfully track information as they used to do before their haircut.

There was a thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=78536) on that a few months ago.

[Viperalus]

There's a reason why we have given the ability to grow our hair so long. Nature would not continue to evolve something if it was "dead".

And the one that I have heard about the evolution part on humans that long hair would keep them warm, in fact it's that they used it also for that reason, not that it meant to be in the first place. If the creator would wanted to protect us from the cold would gave us a pelage like all the other animals. But we are not like the other animals...
Instead of a pelage we have hair on our head that grows incredibly long. And there is a reason for it.

Spirituality had always something to do with long hair also.

[lesbia]

My hair seems to grow faster when I trim it...even if it is scientific-less supported ;)

[ktani]

Trimming the ends of hair does not affect growth at the roots.

The reason that became a myth is that when damaged, broken and split ends are removed, it is easier to see new growth.

The damaged hair will often break off on its own in many cases, overtaking actual growth and make it appear as if no growth has happened. ETA: or less growth.

[ktani]

Humams are mammals. Hair provides thermal protection and helps keep us warm. The body's acid mantle helps fight infection.

Hair on ones's head provides the first defence against UV, although not the best protection. Our ancestors had less to worry about that, compared to the state of the ozone layer today.

[ktani]

It came to my mind a few things that I found some time ago about hair.

At first this amazing article (https://indianinthemachine.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/the-truth-about-hair-and-why-nativeindians-would-keep-their-hair-lon/) about the hair of Native Americans and why would they keep their hair long. In that article is stated that had been studies regarding the length of the hair on Native Americans.
It was known that the Native Americans were the best trackers, when it comes to sense and find information by using their sixth sense. When they took some of them to the US army, they cut their hair off and since that time, they couldn't any more successfully track information as they used to do before their haircut.

Something else is the measured energy on hair photographed with the kirlian technique. See photo below of a strand of a hair:
http://gdvsale.com/podg/files/images/volosy.jpg

On this image the single strand of hair has energy and pay attention to the tip of the hair. It is glowing...

It seems therefore that our hair are functioning as antennae, aiding in our non-visible abilities of living/understanding the invisible world around and inside us.

Cat's wiskers function as antennae because of the nerves in the folicles. Hair is dead.

If you use the energy readings, pictures of the glow from people that have been taken surround the whole body. We generate energy.

[Cjatje]

My mum told me I had to cut my son's hair very short, so it would thicken?

[JuliaDancer]

Cutting or shaving babies' or small children's hair to make the hair grow in thicker is a myth. Childrens' hair naturally begins to shed infant hair to grow in thicker as they get older. Everyone who has thick hair as they got older had fine hair as an infant. I've never seen an infant with coarse hair. Shaving your face to grow your hair thicker or faster is also a myth. The difference between 1/16" and 1/8" can seem like a lot of growth, while the difference between 30-1/16" and 30-1/8" would be indiscernable to most people, but it's the same growth. Like jojo says, microtrimming can keep splits from causing more drastic breakage, but trimming itself will not affect how fast your hair is built at the root. That depends on diet and genetics.

[jacqueline101]

I'm with jojo on this and it helps with the strength and monistat is the only thing that makes hair grow faster.

[Viperalus]

Earlier this evening I was thinking about it and my weird memory flashed back. It was 2007 just before I leave Greece and come here in the Netherlands. It was end of August and my ex-partner and my sister (in a collaborative and well organized "attack") managed to make me go and cut my long hair that was about at the middle of my back to cut them right above my shoulder blade.

This flashback hit me out of the blue, I almost forgot it because the emigration to another country is not a small deal and there were happened so many different things and situations changed. Anyway, this flashback came at the correct moment.
I cut my hair right above my shoulder blade in 2007 and now it's 2011 and my hair is at BCL. If we count a slight trimming about each three months, then wow my hair grows really fast. I knew that it grows fast but THAT fast?!
:confused:

[spidermom]

It's not reliable for me. There have been times when I got my hair cut, and it grew back very fast. Other times, like this year, even though I cut it back a lot (7 inches), it grew very little.

I do not buy into the popular opinion that "hair is dead". It has a root. It grows. It most certainly is NOT dead.

My hair stylist told me that the follicle knows everything about that hair, and that when the hair is damaged, the follicle shifts from growth to pumping out a lot of sebum to soothe and repair that hair.

A few years ago, I read a very interesting study of hair from the sikh point of view. There was a study done on men who had cut their hair to take factory work, and cutting the hair impacted them with all kinds of health issues. I believe the study was called "hair power" if you want to look it up.

Just because something is widely believed (like "hair is dead") doesn't make it true.

[Viperalus]

I do not buy into the popular opinion that "hair is dead". It has a root. It grows. It most certainly is NOT dead.

My hair stylist told me that the follicle knows everything about that hair, and that when the hair is damaged, the follicle shifts from growth to pumping out a lot of sebum to soothe and repair that hair.
Certainly spidermom (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/member.php?u=2626) the same here. It is not that hair has its own powers, it's just that we can't be certain with such issues when our spectrum of senses is so narrow. We can't hear subsonic sounds but the elephants can. We can't hear supersonic sounds but the bats can. We can't see into the ultraviolet spectrum of light while birds and some diurnal lizards can. There even more to come, X-ray, infrared etc.

As about the study, the only I was able to find on the iNet was a book with that title. Do you mean that one?

[spidermom]

I don't know. Did you use the word Sikh in your search? After I made my comment, I did a search without Sikh and found thousands of sites that weren't what I was looking for. Then I tried "Sikh hair power" and found a lot of Sikh and hair information, but not the specific study that I was looking for.

I don't know how to attach links. I've tried, but they never work.

[ktani]

The folicle and root of the hair are alive. The hard keratin hair shaft is dead, by the definition of no biochemical activity.

http://www.hair-science.com/_int/_en/topic/topic_sousrub.aspx?tc=ROOT-HAIR-SCIENCE%5EPORTRAIT-OF-AN-UNKNOWN-ELEMENT%5EWHAT-WE-DO-SEE&cur=WHAT-WE-DO-SEE
"We have a very special relationship with our hair and are always surprised, even shocked, to learn that the part we see which goes to make up our precious head of hair is in fact, biologically dead. Furthermore, it receives no further assistance from the root which created it. However, the hair fibre does have an absolutely remarkable structure."

I have had damaged hair. My scalp did not suddenly produce more oil to "soothe it".

ETA: I can certainly see why Natives who had to cut their hair for the military would feel a loss of part of their identity and for Sikhs, it is part of their religious beliefs, not cutting their hair. The psychological impact of that would be manifested in various ways.

[ericthegreat]

Trimming hair doesn't make hair grow quicker as hair cut is shorter period! but by removing weak ends you make the ends stronger so they are less likely to break off, so in a round about way stronger ends=retained length= hair reaching goals quicker. Of course if you was to trim 1/2" a month you would just maintain the length, but by trimming or rather dusting little bits off will help.

I hope that makes sense!

Jojo completely summed up everything I was going to say. Cutting your hair in any way, even if its just a tiny trim will always serve to make your hair shorter. However, since the ends of our hair are the most fragile, they are also the most likely to become damaged and split. If left alone uncut and the damage is serious enough, then those damaged ends will break off, so in effect your hair won't get any longer because its breaking off.