To trim or not to trim, that is the question!

[Hollyfire3]

Ok so i need an opinion, my hair is about BSL (was about 2 inches longer) just last week i HAD to cut off 2 inches (hence the not past BSl thing) and now i'm confused. My hair is very thick and curly/wavy but, between blowfrying in the summer, too many protein treatments (BAD protein overload) and general miscare, my hair needed the trim. So now, I am starting fresh, sls free shampoo, fresh salon color, the trim of course, only i moisturizing mousse seamless detangling comb and gentle treatment. I need to know, will my hair still grow as fast if i get the recomended 4-6 week trims? Yeah, i know i will be sacrificing about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of length each time but, will my atempt to grow out long layers and have blunter ends work better if i do this as opposed to going 3-4 months with out ANY trims? I can't trim my own hair, (too much hair and too many wurls to go through without messing the cut up) but, i want hair longer (MUCH) longer than BSL (it may even be shorter after that trim) Basically, should i just bite the bullet, get regular trims, do good stuff to maintain and call it a day or, should i forget regular trims and create this cycle of having to cut too much off when i DO trim? I am simply woried that in order to have healthy hair, i must have BSL or shorter hair because of the curls and the fact i color. Or was this a one time deal and the only reason so much had to come off was because the damage of summer, treatments, heat styling etc was finally catching up and as long as i trim, take care of and do right to my hair, it will grow much longer!? Sorry to babbal, i just think my hair look MEGA short right now and NEED to know there is hope! If you must know, my hair goal is when Piper on the show Charmed has super long, thick hair, which i KNOW i can achieve!

[Kelikea]

4-6 week trims seem a bit excessive, I think it is a way for the salons to ensure their business. 3-4 month trims should be fine, and you can go even longer if you stay away from the heat and don't protein overload. Your hair will grow at the same rate, regardless of the trims. Do you know what your growth rate is? If it grows an average of 1/2 in a month, if you trim even 1/4 in every 4-6 wks, you are losing up to 50% of your growth each time. You will lose a bit of length to breakage and normal shedding, but you can minimize it by taking extra good care of your hair. It sounds like you recognize the mistakes you made this year and can concentrate on babying your hair more in 2012 and grow your hair out healthy!

[Hollyfire3]

4-6 week trims seem a bit excessive, I think it is a way for the salons to ensure their business. 3-4 month trims should be fine, and you can go even longer if you stay away from the heat and don't protein overload. Your hair will grow at the same rate, regardless of the trims. Do you know what your growth rate is? If it grows an average of 1/2 in a month, if you trim even 1/4 in every 4-6 wks, you are losing up to 50% of your growth each time. You will lose a bit of length to breakage and normal shedding, but you can minimize it by taking extra good care of your hair. It sounds like you recognize the mistakes you made this year and can concentrate on babying your hair more in 2012 and grow your hair out healthy!



Thank you! If only i knew how to post pics so you can see the difference from before and after the trim! The reason i want to trim so frequently is because although my hair is thick, it is curl so it is fragile, when the time to trim comes (in about a month or so) it needs it alot and i LOVE the look of freshly trimmed hair because i can pretend i have easy to keep fresh trimmed looking straight hair and it just looks so good. Is there any sue fire way to make a trim last longer? I really do think that i need to trim this often but don't want to loose alot of length. I am also obssed with a thick hemline, no fairytale ends for me! So, can i just for a bit sacrifice length for health until my hair is fully back to its old self? By the way, i think my hair grows slightly faster than 1/2 a month, maybe about 3/4? anything i can do to make it grow faster, with retaining the length, especially the blunt ends? i was about every other to every 2 days and i only use mousse.

[Hollyfire3]

By the way, what are the most basic, healthy hair tips? i seem to have forgotten them lately . . . no special treatments or such just how to keep hair healthy.

[jesis]

I have 2c hair. I had a lot of the same questions as you when I began the long hair journey.

As far as trimming, I can't trim my own hair either. What I can do is S&D's which are actually better for you because you are only sacrificing a minimal portion of your hair, not the 1/4"-1/2" of hair that would be taken off at a salon. If you want to keep your layers, those are easy to do yourself for a while. Just go layer by layer, or curl by curl, and follow your hairstylists cut. Easy, effective, and free. I only go to the salon every 4-6 months now.

You don't have to have BSL or shorter hair to have pretty hair. There is a thread somewhere that is something along the lines of "Show me your waist-length curly hair!" Lots of beautiful waist length curly/wurly hair. Really an inspiration.

If you can, try putting it up and forgetting about it more. That will help you a lot. :)

GL!

[Hollyfire3]

I have 2c hair. I had a lot of the same questions as you when I began the long hair journey.

As far as trimming, I can't trim my own hair either. What I can do is S&D's which are actually better for you because you are only sacrificing a minimal portion of your hair, not the 1/4"-1/2" of hair that would be taken off at a salon. If you want to keep your layers, those are easy to do yourself for a while. Just go layer by layer, or curl by curl, and follow your hairstylists cut. Easy, effective, and free. I only go to the salon every 4-6 months now.

You don't have to have BSL or shorter hair to have pretty hair. There is a thread somewhere that is something along the lines of "Show me your waist-length curly hair!" Lots of beautiful waist length curly/wurly hair. Really an inspiration.

If you can, try putting it up and forgetting about it more. That will help you a lot. :)

GL!


Thanks for the encouagment! Now, how does S and D work? I don't see it producing the same, just cut feeling of a salon trim and besides, what about frizz and uneven curls and stuff? I don't want to try trimming my own hair for fear of having to get MORE cut off just to fix the cut i gave myself.

[Zesty]

You definitely don't need a trim that often. I haven't trimmed my hair in over 1.5 years and it still looks fine because of good treatment/benign neglect. If you're concerned about damage, 3-ish times a year is plenty -- and if you think it's looking good and doesn't need the trim, don't get one! Keep all the length you can. If you treat your hair better and the hair color you get done doesn't involve bleach, it should be fine.

[Hollyfire3]

You definitely don't need a trim that often. I haven't trimmed my hair in over 1.5 years and it still looks fine because of good treatment/benign neglect. If you're concerned about damage, 3-ish times a year is plenty -- and if you think it's looking good and doesn't need the trim, don't get one! Keep all the length you can. If you treat your hair better and the hair color you get done doesn't involve bleach, it should be fine.


Oh wow, i am soo confused now! I was told by people that i need to trim my hair often to grow it and it does look better but seems to stay the same length, is my hair just destined to be piecy on the ends when it gets long? or is that just poor treament and damage? I need to know that my hair is messed up due to something i did, not somethign i can't change (i know that sounds crazy but i think its true) i just don't know how to make a hair cut look good for that long! Maybe give up heat styling, stretch washes use few products? I didn;t stick to that this summer and now i'm paying, will this all work it i finnaly commit and do it right? I just need hope i can do this. .

[Amber_Maiden]

I only trim 3 to 6 months. Not every 4-6 weeks. That seems a bit much...

[Kelikea]

Check out the wavy and wurly thread or the wurly and curly thread and CO only. Maybe you need more moisture? Have you tried oiling or oil shampoo? Some mousse can be drying, I'm not sure about the one you are using. Salon coloring can also be damaging, it just depends on the products and process. They tell you to trim every 4-6 weeks so that you will come back and spend more money! You trim the ends, which are dead, and your hair grows from inside of your scalp, which is alive. Trimming that often will not make your hair follicles speed up their growth. Make sure you are eating a healthy diet, drink lots of water, get some exercise. If your diet is off, that may stall your growth.

[Hollyfire3]

Check out the wavy and wurly thread or the wurly and curly thread and CO only. Maybe you need more moisture? Have you tried oiling or oil shampoo? Some mousse can be drying, I'm not sure about the one you are using. Salon coloring can also be damaging, it just depends on the products and process. They tell you to trim every 4-6 weeks so that you will come back and spend more money! You trim the ends, which are dead, and your hair grows from inside of your scalp, which is alive. Trimming that often will not make your hair follicles speed up their growth. Make sure you are eating a healthy diet, drink lots of water, get some exercise. If your diet is off, that may stall your growth.

I know oil does not agree with my hair but i have yet to try CO washing, i have checked out the curly and wurly thread, lots of great advice there, i love it! The colo is dark, not bleaching and i know it is amonia free and such, i don't think the color is the problem. i just want my hair to look freshly cut like straight hair does for a long time.

[shikara]

You have gotten very good info and tips from the previous posters! You certainly do not need to trim as often as you have been told. Do all you can to protect your ends, and treat your hair with gentle loving care. You said yiur hair doesnt like oil and i dont know if yiyve tried this, but if you wet the last couple inches or so (or even all your hair) and aply a little oil, and maybe put that is a large soft roller overnight, the oil will have a real good chance of soaking in. There is an article on LHC about taking care of damaged hair that has a lot of excdllent advice about taking care of hair in general. As far as growing yiur hair as fast as its own potential, Kelika hit it spot on about healthy eating, ecercise etc. Also get suffucient rest, have stress relieving strategies, and maybe try an essential oil or two on your scalp. Rosemary oil, for example, stimulates growth, tea tree oil helps to ensure al the 'grie' is remived from your scalp etc. making sure your follicles can 'breathe'. Good luck!

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/lmarie29/th_1d68cf2c.jpg (http://s1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/lmarie29/?action=view&current=1d68cf2c.jpg)

[BlazingHeart]

As far as how often to trim, it really depends on how tough your hair is. I've gone up to 2 years with no noticeable issues, and at that, I could have gone longer - only reason I didn't is because I wanted a change and got a completely different haircut. My hair is unusually tough, though.

Just look at your ends. When they start looking split or frazzled, consider a trim. If you start getting a lot more tangles, clarify and do a moisture treatment, and if you're still tangly, you may be in need of a trim. Let your hair be your guide, not your stylist! They, after all, want to get paid.

[missdelarocha]

Hair doesn't grow all at the same time... Hence why your ends don't stay in a perfectly straight line, some of it is not growing at all right now, there is no way to grow your hair out perfectly straight, though when you do get to your goal length, you can definitely maintain a perfect hemline again!
Obviously you can/may choose to get trims whilst growing but it will delay the process (unless you get/have splits, in which case you should trim), good luck!