Newbie question.... haircuts?

[Jessy22284]

Hi! I'm new here :D... I tried to search the forum so I wouldn't duplicate this question.... my hair is actually (FINALLY) pretty healthy and I've been trying to grow it out for a couple of years now after I donated it in college (7 years ago!).

My hair dresser insists that I need to come in every 8-10 weeks to "ensure healthy hair growth". And, unfortunately, I'm finding a lot of mixed messages on the internet. I probably make it in every 12 weeks because of my work schedule and she's gotten a lot better about not taking massive amounts off, and I make sure she only takes a little bit off the ends every time I go (and I'm doing my part to make sure that my hair is healthy, too).

How often do I really need to get my hair cut?? I do have a side bang (I have a big forehead/fivehead that I kind of need the bang for), but I could go in for maintenance on that.... I just feel like every time I get my hair cut I lose a lot of what I've gained... It's frustrating.... any suggestions?

[spidermom]

When I joined LHC, I was going to my stylist approximately every 8 weeks for a trim. I gained about 5-1/2 inches of length per year on that schedule. I've also gone a full year without a trim, and I gained 7 inches of length in that year, but the ends were in pretty bad shape, so I had most if not all of that 7 inches cut off.

What I've decided from my experience is that trims help my hair a great deal, and I'll never go so long without a trim again. About every 2-3 months I trim my own hair.

[CharleaMurphy]

She's probably looking for money.
You don't really need to go that often depending on the condition of your hair.
If your hair is healthy there's no reason to get it cut (other than your bangs)
If you're finding a lot of split ends then it's time for a trim.

[Vallena]

I haven't had my hair cut for almost a year now. I've done some light S&D, but no more than 3 times. My ends are healthy, and I keep my hair up almost constantly. I will probably get a trim at some point, not because I need it, but because I want to be rid of these layers! Her income is also based on how frequent people get cuts, so its very clearly in her favor to tell people to come in more often than not.

[HintOfMint]

It depends on your growth rate and how much she takes off. Unless one is obsessive about growth (like most of us here are), one probably overestimates how much they grow. Similarly, there's the "hairdresser's" inch (which a lot of us estimate as an inch as well) which is a lot larger than a real inch. Many of us would estimate with our fingers that two inches is actually one inch. It's an easy mistake to make.

The average rate of growth is half an inch a month

In short, even though you said she's better about not taking so much off, she could be taking off an inch and think it's a paltry amount. If you go in every 2 months (8 weeks), and your hair grows half an inch a month, then you're cutting off two months of growth each time and you're just maintaining your length.

It's not diabolical hankering after money, it could be simply a matter of flawed perception. Either way, you probably don't want to go too often unless you know for a fact that she is indeed taking off less than you are growing.

I get a haircut two or three times a year, whenever my ends start feeling dry and no amount of clarifying and deep conditioning helps. I have found a hairdresser that will take off literally an inch, when I ask for an inch, and literally half an inch when I ask for half an inch.

When in doubt, halve whatever amount you really want trimmed off. If you want an inch, tell them half an inch. If you want half an inch, say a quarter inch. That helps quite a bit.

ETA: when I was more obsessive about growth, I did a strict every-six-months trim, no more and no less. Now I'll go in an extra time a year if I feel the need (translation, if I feel like being pampered), but I'm also less careful with my hair in that I wear it down more and deal with the tangles afterwards.

[morguebabe]

I get my hair cut twice a year. I get my bangs/fringe cut every 6 weeks. But the rest of the hair stays in a pony tail I don't let them touch.

[torrilin]

With good hair care practices (no heat, gentle combing, lots of conditioner, lots of updos), my hair is ok with trims around every 6-9 months. With judicious use of trimming individual splits, I can go longer in principle. In practice, I tend to like the feel of a small trim every 6-9 months anyway. My ends get pretty snarly if there is too much in the way of natural layering.

Plus I'll trim as needed for my (all too regular) bouts of needing to maintain a length so I can learn to manage it. I can get 8-9" of growth in a year, and I'm pretty slow at learning updos, so my hair outgrows my abilities pretty easily.

[Ki]

Last time I went to the hairdresser I mentioned that I was trying to grow my hair. She actually told me not to come back so often (the last time was 5 months ago!). As has been mentioned above hair doesn't grow that fast and sometimes a stylist will take off more than intended. She basically said that as my hair was in good condition it really wasn't necessary to come in for regular trims, as that would just be maintaining the length, more or less.

[darklyndsea]

It depends a lot on your hair and what you're happy with. I personally can and do go years between trims (basically I don't let scissors touch it unless I want an actual haircut, not just a trim), but somebody whose hair splits more or who is more fussy about their hair's appearance/behavior/number of splits might feel that they need to get their hair trimmed more often.

Basically? If you're happy with your hair as it is, you don't need to get a trim.

[woolyleprechaun]

My hair tells me when I need a trim! Im growing out damaged, highlighted and layered hair, so it looks like it needs a micro trim every three months, usualy. In the days when I had healthier hair, I didnt need to trim at all. Just see how you go! :)

[heidi w.]

Right now you're under a "style" of sorts, such as those bangs present. To maintain those bangs, is it possible for you to consider self-trimming those to refrain from overly often trimming the length?

Your hairstylist needs consistent clients so she can have a stable income. I wonder that you couldn't recommend that she visit LHC and take a gander and become familiar with some of the concepts.

I hardly ever trim my hair simply because my hair doesn't grow a whole lot anymore. I keep it trimmed where I now have it at approximately mid-calf length. I have had my hair longer, nearly to my ankles, but to me it looks unkempt and overly thin because natural tapering, so I trim it a bit higher. The last trim I had was approximately 8 or so months ago.

If I trimmed regularly according to your stylists insistence, I would actually lose length overall, and eventually have far shorter hair. I once tried an experiment to see if hair grew better with trimming the recommended every 8 weeks. I measured before cutting and after cutting, and it turned out that in my case, almost no growth occurred whatsoever, which led to my hair being cut shorter and shorter over time. I was in my mid-40s when I conducted this experiment. The stylist I had at the time truly believed that with frequent trimming on a schedule that my hair would grow. But here's the thing: hair doesn't grow from the ends; it grows from the hair follicle which is under the scalp skin.

A lot of folks here have researched and learned how to self-trim. I'm not that brave, but people do it, and since for you it's bangs that more often need a pickup, I wonder that you could look in a mirror and self-trim? It's an idea, at least.

Also, as it concerns hair growing the longest possible, there's a guy who is now deceased, Mr. George Michael, who began a long hair specific salon, and eventually wrote a book about care of very long hair. In it he proposes the idea that having bangs can kind of lead to hair not growing eventually as long as is possible given your genetics, and suggests that no bangs are the best idea. It is his theory, and I can explain it further if needed, but it's an interesting proposition. So, possibly in time, you might consider growing the bangs out, perhaps, (even)?

Most LHC folks who want uber long hair do not visit hairstylists in any regular way. Most who trim, will trim while dry. I do; I never allow a stylist to wash my hair. The last time I allowed this most of the time I spent at the salon was me detangling my own hair which was a fiasco after my hair had all been piled on my head and scrambled around. It was terrible, painful, and terrifying. I have resolved to never do that again. I even bring my own comb and detangle my own hair. All they do is cut; and I am very specific as to the measurement to remove, and I have brought a tape measure with me to keep them honest. You'd be surprised how many stylists have no idea how little an inch really is.

But it's your hair and your decision. That's the main thing, and you can do whatever you like, include refuse your hairdressers insistence. Your dresser sounds that she may be good, but I wonder that she isn't saying what she's saying because of a need for a steady source of income rather than what's best for your hair goals. This person doesn't seem overly familiar with the goal of growing one's hair longer, and how to get there. When one cuts their hair off, it simply doesn't grow long. And there's pretty much no refuting that. It's somewhat axiomatic.

ETA: I don't want to bash your stylist. I'm sure she's been good so far, or you wouldn't stick with her. But I wonder that she may benefit, and perhaps you as well, from more education, and becoming very clear regarding your hair goals. A lot of LHC folks are fearful and negative about hairstylists, but there is no need for that, really. There are lots of good stylists. I'm sure she's good at her job within the parameters of hairstyling. Hairstyling and long hair do not necessarily go together well, all the time. END ETA

heidi w.

[longcurlygirl<3]

You do not need to cut your hair every 8-10 weeks because that's like an inch of growth and they usually are cutting an inch! So if your hair is healthy, in updos, why need a trim so often, in 3 years I have only gotten a hair cut 3 times once per year.I'd be classic by now but my hair was damaged now it's healthy :) and cutting your hair doesn't make it grow faster, it's a myth.

[lapushka]

Every 8-10 weeks? The hair won't have grown *that* much, and so the stylist can still see the style that was cut into it, in order to... exactly! Maintain that style. They will simply cut the growth all off again. That's why you need to come in so often. Other than that, when growing out your hair, there really is no need to go to the hairdresser that often.

[jeanniet]

Your hair needs to be trimmed when it needs it, and that may not be very often at all. Many of us here do microtrims or "dustings" rather than actual trims (to me a trim is more than 1/2" off). I dust my hair about once a month and take about 1/8" to 1/4" off to freshen up the ends. I haven't had an actual trim since 2009, and in that time I've gone from chin to hip. My ends are in pretty good shape, too. I also S & D for splits. Most stylists see a lot of hair that's damaged, so it's understandable that they would adhere to the 8 week schedule, but if you're taking good care of your hair it's really not necessary--and if you want your hair to grow long, you have to find ways to avoid cutting it!

[jesis]

My hairstylist used to tell me this, too. I think if you take really good care of your ends (S&D regularly, keep them oiled and well conditioned, wear your hair up a lot with the ends protected) you only really need to go in about every 4 months and even then, you probably only need a dusting. My hair has gotten pretty healthy over the last two years. My hairstylist barely takes anything off anymore when I go in, except for my layers.

It's really important that you be open about your hair goals with your stylist. If she knows how hard you are trying to grow your hair out, she'll want to become part of that journey. And you could always go in every now and then and get a deep conditioning mask, or get your nails done, just so she knows you aren't leaving her in the dust.

[Darkessa]

Hi! I'm new here :D... I tried to search the forum so I wouldn't duplicate this question.... my hair is actually (FINALLY) pretty healthy and I've been trying to grow it out for a couple of years now after I donated it in college (7 years ago!).

My hair dresser insists that I need to come in every 8-10 weeks to "ensure healthy hair growth". And, unfortunately, I'm finding a lot of mixed messages on the internet. I probably make it in every 12 weeks because of my work schedule and she's gotten a lot better about not taking massive amounts off, and I make sure she only takes a little bit off the ends every time I go (and I'm doing my part to make sure that my hair is healthy, too).

How often do I really need to get my hair cut?? I do have a side bang (I have a big forehead/fivehead that I kind of need the bang for), but I could go in for maintenance on that.... I just feel like every time I get my hair cut I lose a lot of what I've gained... It's frustrating.... any suggestions?

I don't want to read through everyone else's posts to see if this has been said... But honestly. There is no specific time period for how often you should get it cut.

Listen to your hair. Cut it when you feel like it needs it.
Any more than that and you are losing length for no reason. Any less and you'll lose the health of your hair.
Your hair will tell you when its ready for a cut, when it starts to get scraggly and angry at the ends.
I trim my own hair, and whenever I feel a bit scraggly I Clarify.... Deep Condition, then see if it still needs it. If it does, I just take the smallest amount off. Then go from there.

If you cut your hair too often it wont gain length. Most hair dressers just want your business and money. (not all are this way though, its rare to find one who TRULY listens and understands people growing their hair LONG)

[beautifulending]

I use to get my hair cut every 6 weeks and I didn't hardly get any growth and I learned that is not normal for me because my hair grows like a weed. So now I get it cut about 2-3 times a year that's all I need. If you keep your ends moisturized you will not need to get it cut as ofton.:agree:

[caadam]

I recently got this lecture from a cousin of mine who's an aspiring hair stylist at Paul Mitchell. Considering I'm her DISTANT family (I mean this on the basis of location and emotionally lol), I will freely and without shame say she treats those who are not stylists as though they know nothing, which won't be good of her to act that way when she starts cutting hair for a living. I think if she saw this forum she wouldn't know what to do with herself. lol

Saying that, I would say it shows how little she knows about something as simple as trimming despite the $20k she spent on her education. I honestly think it's her repeating whatever her instructors might've told her.

Depending on your hair and what you do with it, you might or might not have to trim every 6-8 weeks. Any hair stylists that stand there and say, "You HAVE to trim 6-8 weeks" are generalizing hair, which they should honestly know better than to do that. Everyone has different hair, thus not everyone will treat their hair the same, right? It's reasonable and not that hard to put together.

For me, I find myself only trimming... maybe once or twice a year. I don't because in my case, I don't do a lot of damage to my hair. I use no heat or dye. I just wash, oil, comb, braid, or bun. That's it. I understand, though, that even some women who have that same kind of routine might have to trim more often because their chemistry is just different from mine. Just how it is.

However, someone who uses heat every day, uses lots of hair products, and dyes their hair regularly, would most likely have to trim every 6-8 weeks (and maybe not! Everyone is different!). That's where stylists are getting that idea. Also, to my understanding from my stylist cousin, the 6-8 weeks rule is to "prevent split ends," not to trim off split ends.

Well... honestly, that doesn't apply to me STILL, because my split ends don't show up for months on end. So, I guess my rule would be trim every 6-8 MONTHS in order to prevent split ends?

Everyone... is... different. Some stylists are very stubborn in accepting this reality. So if you tell your stylist that you don't want to trim every 6-8 weeks because you find out you don't have to, and your stylist argues with you, tell them to back off and just let it go.

Also, let's do some very simple math:

Let's say you've been keeping track of your hair's growth over a few months and have estimated about 1 inch a month. Which is pretty awesome growth.

Now, if you trim an inch every 6-8 weeks as prescribed by a stylist, at the end of the year, you'll only have about 5-6 inches of growth to show for.

However, let's say that while you're keeping track of growth, you notice that after six months of growth, you just start getting split ends. At that point, you can estimate that you'll only need to trim twice a year. So if you get an inch of growth a month and trim maybe two inches a year, you'll have about 10 inches of healthy growth to show for.

So in the first scenario, you're only going to have 5-6 inches of growth every year with excessive trimming, which is only HALF of the amount you would have if you trimmed twice a year when needed.

WHAT A CONCEPT o Oo!!!!

Of course, that's if you can get away with that kind of trimming schedule. lol But you see how if you COULD get away with just trimming once or twice a year how STUPID trimming 6-8 weeks really is? In this case, it's completely unnecessary.

But I digress. *sigh* :D

ETA: Any sarcasm or aggression is in no way directed to the OP. The aggression is directed towards certain stylists who insist, in every situation no matter the person, that you HAVE to follow a straight line of rules, and sit there and argue a client into submission, basically talking down at the client. That's all.

[Miss Catrina]

You need a trim when you need a trim. There is no set schedule. It all depends on how quickly you damage your hair.

If your hair doesn't look/feel like it needs one - it doesn't.

The hairdresser likely just wants money.

[QMacrocarpa]

I'm on a plan of roughly once- or twice-a-year small trims (that I do myself). When my hair needs a trim I know it because the ends are immediately tangle-y again after I've just finished combing. If I ignore that symptom, I start finding lots of short broken hairs after I detangle, and then it's time for a trim for sure. There's no one perfect trimming interval that's ideal for everyone, because different heads of hair vary tremendously, but even with my split-prone hair, I can go much longer than the standard recommendation without having shredded ends. I like this take (http://www.prismnet.com/~cortese/hair/index.html#trims) on the trimming question.

[IndigoOptimist]

Personally I don't trust hairdressers. I've only ever been to people I know (hairdresser friends :) to hair cuts and I still don't get what I want... I haven't had someone else cut my hair in almost 3 years now and I think my hair is doing fine. I S&D and Every 4/5 months I section off my hair into layers and cut around 1cm off everything. This works fine for me and I fine it's better because you can schedule it whenever you need to. Sometimes I'll have done something damaging to my hair and need to trim it sooner than before, sometimes I can leave it longer :)
Doing that isn't for everyone, but it lets you get to know your hair a lot better I think, which can help in other areas off your hair care too... And it saves money, which is nice for students like me :p

[Amber_Maiden]

I go a full year or a year and a half without trimming my hair. S&Ding is enough.

[frodolaughs]

It's hard to grow your hair out if you're trimming it frequently because it's easy to get all your growth (and more!) cut off. If you have a good sense of whether your hair is healthy you can probably judge for yourself when you need a trim--it's really a matter of personal preference. I trim maybe twice a year. The hair you see is dead and cutting it has no effect on how it grows. Trimming removes existing damage. Wearing your hair up can help prevent damage from occurring in the first place. Trimming also evens out your hemline; since individual hairs grow on different schedules some will be growing while others are in a 'rest' period, so if you don't trim you'll eventually get a much softer hemline, aka 'fairytale ends.'

[Seeshami]

Since I was 16 I trimmed my mother's hair and when I moved out at 18 I started to trim my own. I have my own salon style scissors but it's a personal comfort zone thing. I will never trust a stylist I do not know extremely well and doesn't ask me what the last crazy thing I put in my hair was.

I can't remember when but my last visit was to put in layers and some bangs. The bangs are now bsl. :D

[Jessy22284]

Thank you so much for all of the answers!! I haven't had a trim in about 2 1/2 months, and don't have very many splits or white dots, and my ends feel very, very good, and according to her schedule I would have been due for a trim. I feel a lot better now - and I admit that I have been a little brain washed. After the last time I came home from the hair dresser I said to my boyfriend - she still took a lot off and I've been taking such good care of my hair, I feel like all of my progress is gone! And he asked me - well, why are you even getting your hair cut, then? And that's basically what everyone else is saying... :o I think I can trim my own bangs (and Heidi, I will think about growing out my bang - I have had them for almost 9 years now) and in the mail yesterday I got my tweezerman S &D scissors... so I'm going to try to not do trims unless I need them. I don't think I can trust myself to do my own trims. Not even Feyes method (sorry - Sp on that) I'm not brave enough. Thanks again everyone :D

[DancingQueen]

Well, as you can hear already, you will also find mixed messages on LHC :) I like to trim my hair every 10-12 weeks (preferably 12), and only cut off as much as needed. I tried going 6 months without a haircut, and ended up cutting of 5 cm. because my ends looked horrible (No splits, just taper). I did that twice since I started growing it out, and I have now learned from my mistakes. (I think) :)

On the other hand, I feel like my hair somehow grows faster after a trim (but that is probably not true) :)

[racrane]

Everyone has lots of good advice, but my mine is to just let your hair be, take good care of it and see what it needs. Everyone is different. For me, I like to get a trim once a year and since I take really good care of my hair, it's perfectly fine. (I keep it up 100&#37; of the time, never use heat and use products that I like.) But I learned what works for me. Have fun in learning what works for you. Don't listen to hairstylists. :)

[cheetahfast]

It depends. I'm always wearing my hair up. I haven't trimmed since January 2011, so a year and 3 months. I still don't need one. I go by the condition of my ends. If they start to get bad I'll go. My curls make my hemline never even anyway.

[Alun]

Generally they will suggest haircuts sufficiently often to maintain the exact hairstyle they cut it into - and at exactly the same length! That's what this sounds like.

Some people here have frequent trims and some don't cut their hair atall. Nobody here is going to say any option is wrong, but if you have it cut as often as your stylist suggests, the chances are you won't see any extra length atall.

[Avital88]

i used to get my hair trimmed every 6 weeks too when i was younger, it only started growing when i stopped going. I went a few times without a trim for 4 or 6 months and once 10months and that were the periods my hair grew most.
I recommend to experiment and just not trim it for a good 5 months to see the difference, ofcourse after that period you have to make sure your hairdresser doesnt cut off all the length anyway but just 1/4 or 1/2 inch.
Right now i havent been in a salon for 2 years,im a selftrimmer now.