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View Full Version : growing to maintain?



LadyHazel
May 14th, 2012, 08:47 AM
My hair is okay. Not gorgeous. Not so damaged you can see it needs cutting off, just okay. I have split ends, I do S and D occassionally and I have my hair trimmed every 3 months. BUT, I want to go for my goal of 30 inches now without cutting my hair which is a realistic goal imo (I'd say I'm around 25 inches now after my trim last week), and i want to get some opinions-
Should I maintain at the length I am now or
Wait until I am at my goal and maintain from there?
Thanks!

embee
May 14th, 2012, 09:01 AM
You might try stretching out the trims. Maybe every 4 months, or 6 months. Of course if you notice problems then get a trim, but I'd play "see how it grows" for a while. I grew to waist with no trims, no money for salon visits. I just put my hair up and went on with my life. It was a wonderful surprise to see how long it had grown. :)

LadyHazel
May 14th, 2012, 09:18 AM
Funny how you say that! The triim I just had I was reallly unhappy with and I still am, so I have been wearing my hair up everyday and playing with styles because of how uneven it looks when down. By uneven I am regarding to my layers (hence the reason for me wanting to maintain) but if I was to maintain as I am now my hair would be this way for months, do I want it this length? No, I want it at my goal length. So perhaps to maintain at my goal length would be ideal as that's the length I willl be most happiest with, on the other hand- damage travels so would it be risky to leave it for such a prolonged period of time without cutting it. I don't brush it hardly ever anymore, I just use a wide tooth comb and a bbb for the occassional pampering/on the go brush but I used to brush it a lot more. Given this information- what do you think? Thank you!

luxepiggy
May 14th, 2012, 09:37 AM
As long as you continue to treat your hair gently (I am a HUGE proponent of fingercombing!) and S&D regularly, I think you should get to goal and then maintain there! But then I've never been into the whole regular trimming deal, myself. Too much trouble! I only cut my hair once a year (^(oo)^)v

cfreya
May 14th, 2012, 09:53 AM
I agree with the others, practice benign neglect, keep it up, S&D and you will get to your goal and THEN you can maintain for health/trim out all the splits, as long as the splits aren't slowing your growth or causing breakage in which case I'd say maintain now :)

cuties
May 14th, 2012, 10:47 AM
Also improve your diet. Means less junk and more healthy food. I think it helps more than any kind of routine or shampoo/conditioner. Also don't forget the water.

LadyHazel
May 14th, 2012, 12:16 PM
Thanks for the advice I drink a lot of water and take multivitamins, the split ends are not causing hair breakage they are not usually exaggerated splits simply just small splits that I catch before the case becomes worse- by treatments could you give me some examples please? :)

palaeoqueen
May 14th, 2012, 05:38 PM
You only have four inches to go to get to your goal, I say grow then maintain :)

PixxieStix
May 14th, 2012, 06:36 PM
You only have four inches to go to get to your goal, I say grow then maintain :)

What she said. :D Keep it up lots, be gentle with it, do your S&D, and once you reach your goal, maintain away to your hearts content! Microtrim as necessary along the way, but I have uneven layers and I'm growing until I get a couple inches inches past APL, have them evened out a little bit, then once I'm a couple inches past BSL I'll have them properly fixed, then keep on growing happily until I reach goal. If I could, I would grow to goal and then maintain, but alas, I do not think that is attainable for 3 years. For you though, absolutely!

Johanna
May 14th, 2012, 08:12 PM
I'm on the side of grow and maintain. I'm doing that with mine at the moment. I'm going to try get past classic and maintain that for a little while till I can trim off a bit more of the dye. I figure if you can learn how to baby and look after the damaged hair so it starts to feel healthy and soft then your hair is going to stand a better chance when that eventually gets trimmed away.

Edit: I've already done a grow and maintain last year at tbl, my ends loved it. If you have a look at my signature the last two pictures show the difference. My ends go from being transparent to thick just from one year of maintaining.

julliams
May 14th, 2012, 09:25 PM
You are still 4 inches away and that could take around 6 months or so. If you trim twice in this time it could take a year.

If it were me, I would get to one inch past my goal and then trim. If however you get to 4 months and your hair really needs the trim, do it. I do think health is more important than length but it's hard when you really want to be longer.

So I guess you have to decide if you want to get to your ultimate length first, or if you would prefer it trimmed every 3 months.