Self-Trim Advice

[Humbug454]

As the title suggests I need some help on self-trimming!

It will be my first time and I'm going to use Feye's method. I'm well overdue for a trim and have quite a lot of damage because of that, but what would people recommend; that I just trim all the damage off even if it results in losing a fair bit of length (but hopefully increasing growth rate due to less breakage?) or just trim a bit off and then let it grow but prolonging being unhappy with my hair (and possible slower growth rate?).

Need some suggestions to guide me as I can't decide which is best. Anyone else who has grown out damage might be able to help :)

Thank you :)

[guns1969]

Been there, done that .. and it's always a tough decision. I preferred cutting most of the damage off and starting with healthier hair. No point having long hair if it's in poor condition, or at least that's what my opinion was each time. If you carry on without cutting it, you do risk losing more length due to the bad ends anyway. Would you agree?

[Alembic]

Hi Hum - I tend to be very conservative about trimming, I just used Feye's method to do a blunt trim (even though I still have layers growing out). I couldn't bring myself to do more than a dusting but I'm very happy with the results as my hair looks 'neater' and feels not so 'crispy' at the ends. But to tell you the truth I'm considering a more vigorous trim soon, perhaps in September after the swimming season is over for me. Good luck with your self-trim!

[Madora]

Been there, done that .. and it's always a tough decision. I preferred cutting most of the damage off and starting with healthier hair. No point having long hair if it's in poor condition, or at least that's what my opinion was each time. If you carry on without cutting it, you do risk losing more length due to the bad ends anyway. Would you agree?

^^^ Exactly! I can't see taking the pains to grow long hair, and not eliminating as much of the damage before you begin.

If you don't get most of the damage, the damaged hair continues to grow, but is at more risk of becoming damaged because splits can either travel up the strand, or incur more splits.

It would be a shame to spend a great deal of time growing long hair, only to find that it still looks crummy because the damage hasn't gone away.

Better to start with a "fresh" canvas, so to speak, and take it from there. Happy growing!

[Vampyria]

Depends of how patient you are. If you don't want to lose length, you might like try to trim a small amount every month or every other month or how often you feel like it. But this can be a really long lasting process.

I'm growing out dye and thin ends for 2 years now. First I cut off the worst damage, and after that, I was just cutting the thin ends every 2-3 months. I personally prefer a bit shorter hair with nice ends, and would already cut them off, if hair that short would look good on me.

[prettykitty]

I'm growing out thin ends, but they are not actually that damaged. If they were, I'd cut em off. I've used Feye's method for awhile, but the most I've ever cut off is about an inch and a half, I think I'd be a bit nervous about taking off more than that on my own.

[Humbug454]

Thanks for the advice guys - I really appreciate it :)

I think you're right; I'm just going to cut as much of the damage off that I can and as Madora put it start with a (almost!) fresh canvas.

I'm sure I'll be happier with my hair once the nasty bits are gone and it will be easier to keep on top of any future trims :)

Thank you for your help :D

[swearnsue]

Are you sure your ends are damaged? Give yourself a good conditioning treatment first before you cut and make sure your ends aren't just a little dry.

[lmfbs]

The flip side to Madora's argument is that if the damage is localised, you may not want to cut off healthy hair to get the damaged stuff.

I'm growing out bleach damage. I have 4 bleached highlights which is where 90% of my damage is. Obviously I can't just cut off the bleached bits, but I also don't want to cut off the healthy stuff so I can tackle the bleached stuff.

Luckily, my bleached bits are relatively small so I S&D them thoroughly every couple of days which keeps the damage from spreading.

Honestly, if I had damage everywhere, I would definitely cut it off. However, that may not be the case for you. I would try to do a smaller trim (1 inch?) and see how your hair looks and feels. If you're still not happy with it in a month, go with the bigger trim.

[sarelis]

I have recently done my first ever self trim using Feye's method. I had it in my head that my hair was pretty damaged & in poor condition for about the last 4", but I only trimmed <1" & it's made the world of difference! Now when I inspect my ends there is nary a split to be seen! I would suggest just giving yourself a small trim, seeing whether it has improved your hair enough, then if not you can always trim a little more :)

[bunzfan]

How patient are you? because you could always maintain for say 4-5 months and trim off 1/2 a month i have done this to get rid of layers and you see a difference quite quickly in my opinion.

[Humbug454]

I think what I'm going to do (still waiting for my Hair scissors to arrive!) is trim off about 1" off and see how that looks and feels, if it needs more (which it eventually will as the damage is a bit more than that) then I'll just go for it and get it out the way rather than worrying about it more :)

And yes the damage is localised, hard to describe the area but sort of towards the back and at the bottom of the right side of my head (weird place I know!).

I have clarified and done an SMT which did help, but it didn't take long before the ends (only on the right in the area I described) got bad again.

[jadelouise]

if you feel you'll be happier to get rid of all the damage and start with a fresh canvas then by all means do that

do whatever you feel will make you happier about your hair :)

[FrannyG]

I think that your idea of starting with 1 inch is a good plan, but don't be surprised of you get the urge to cut out most of the damage.

It is such an amazing feeling to touch fresh undamaged ends.

Your hair is so long that even with cutting out the damage, it will still be very long, I'm sure. In any case, keep us posted. Good luck! :blossom:

I can't wait to hear how it goes. Good luck and keep us posted. :blossom: