Dangers of not trimming

[Kellum]

Yeah I know a lot of people here and on You Tube seem to like it. I will try it out and see. I hope I like it, but if not well at least I tried.

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

For me splits are definitely inevitable. I've been in the hair game a long time now and I know it for a fact. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that has the problem.

I agree that trimming a couple times a year should be sufficient. It's possible that I may be being misunderstood when I say frequent trims/dustings. I don't mean like every month or two. When I first started doing it I only did light dustings every 3 to 4 or even 5 months and saw the world of difference. That's not a lot of hair so I don't mean you have to hack off you hair ever 4 to 5 weeks, just to clarify myself.

Even if I didn't have splits I would still trim because the longer your hair is the older those ends are. To our eyes they may look healthy and split free but IMO they are old and weaker, they need to be freshened up to give those strands a fresh new start.

this clarified things for me!

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

Yeah give it a try, you may like it. I know some here did. Good luck!

i wonder though if they like it because they're not examining their hair in the same manor that you would doing traycee's method. i know when i 1st did s&d i never really found that many splits. but once i upgraded to traycee's method i saw all that i was missing! lol hmmm i wonder lol

and thanks for the heads up... i was almost considering getting this too!

 

[Spring]

For those who dust by twisting, doesn't your eyes start hurting after awhile?

 

[caribeandiva]

This thread is an absolute wake-up call for me. I used to think that it didn't make a difference where you trimmed regularly or not. How does a hair split move up the hair shaft anyway?

Nonie's post convinced me otherwise. I booked an appointment and I will get a light trim with my touch up this Saturday.

 

[kami02]

This thread is an absolute wake-up call for me.

I started trimming the front of my hair after work and will do the rest between today and tomorrow. It's only been 3 months since my last trim but I can feel my hair snagging on my clothes.

 

[buddhas_mom]

I completely agree with Nonie and Poka. I went a year without trimming just to see if I would retain more length. That so wasn't the case, I ended up having to cut off two inches of hair after that year. I gained more length trimming every 3 months than not trimming at all. I have fine strands and no matter what I do they split. So trimming is my friend. Plus I've always loved the look of thick blunt ends.

 

[Nonie]

This thread is an absolute wake-up call for me. I used to think that it didn't make a difference where you trimmed regularly or not. How does a hair split move up the hair shaft anyway?

Nonie's post convinced me otherwise. I booked an appointment and I will get a light trim with my touch up this Saturday.

:crazy: I hope you have a good stylist (I wonder if barbers might be kinder?) and even if you do, make sure that you watch her/him like a hawk so she trims what you want and not more. The last time I got a "trim" from a stylist whom I had been told loves to see her clients with long hair , she took off 5+ inches, taking me from this length to this within minutes.

 

[BellaLunie]

WOW! Nonie this is what I'm afraid of.How did that happen and hpw long did it take for you to recover? I'm so close to APL again and I would hate for someone to take that all away.

 

[CoilyFields]

For me splits are definitely inevitable. I've been in the hair game a long time now and I know it for a fact. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that has the problem.

I agree that trimming a couple times a year should be sufficient. It's possible that I may be being misunderstood when I say frequent trims/dustings. I don't mean like every month or two. When I first started doing it I only did light dustings every 3 to 4 or even 5 months and saw the world of difference. That's not a lot of hair so I don't mean you have to hack off you hair ever 4 to 5 weeks, just to clarify myself.

Even if I didn't have splits I would still trim because the longer your hair is the older those ends are. To our eyes they may look healthy and split free but IMO they are old and weaker, they need to be freshened up to give those strands a fresh new start.

I think we're more in agreement than not.

When I said split ends are not inevitable...I meant that they are not something that HAS to show up and be reckoned with EVERY 6-8 weeks (which is what ALL of my stylists have advocated).

I view THAT kind of trimming as unnecessary and if you're really giving your hair proper moisture and care you only end up with natural wear and tear on your ends (as opposed to dryness, excessive heat products, rough handling and other things that cause splits) which can be taken care of a few times a year.

 

[Nonie]

WOW! Nonie this is what I'm afraid of.How did that happen and hpw long did it take for you to recover? I'm so close to APL again and I would hate for someone to take that all away.

Don't laugh, but I actually trusted the stylist. Hadn't been to one since 2001 and had grown my hair in braids to a length that was new to me. All I knew to do was wear puffs, braid-outs, twist-outs...but I wanted to learn more ways to style my new length. I had seen shingling online but wanted to learn it hands on, so when this stylist was recommended as being great with natural hair, I called her and talked to her at length about my wishes. She was on my wavelength and I was beyond excited when she said she could see me that Friday.

When I got to the Aveda salon, my hair was in a shrunken afro and the receptionist immediately assumed I was there for a press. I told her no and told her whom I was there to see. When my stylist came she suggested a texturizer, and I reminded her of our conversation and my desire to stay natural. Then she suggested color. I was starting to get a bit irritated that she was acting like we hadn't already agreed on what we were to do this day. (I should've probably taken those cues to jet outta there but I didn't. ) I said no to all offers and maintained my stance on learning to shingle. When she said she'd give me a trim, I didn't even think anything of it coz she seemed so excited, after DCing then blowdrying my hair, that I had more than she'd thought. We were not sitting by a mirror, and I guess I'm an idiot coz I honestly believed the friend who told me that people go to her coz she actually loves to help clients retain length; so I never even worried about not sitting by a mirror. I was just looking forward to having bouncy hair in a style I'd never worn before.

Well, after the "trim" she used Paul Mitchel Foaming sth and started twirling my hair around her finger. It was a different method from what I thought shingling was supposed to be but she was the pro so I let her do her thang. I ended up with the ugliest hairstyle I have ever worn on this head of mine and even more painful considering the results, $80 lighter. I looked like I had old poop on my head:

I was horrified by the style and thought she was kidding when she said she was done. I don't think I would ever do that to my hair even if drunk. She promised me the style would get better in a day as the "curls drop" and against my better judgment, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I didn't realize just how much she'd slaughtered my hair until two days later when I decided that that mess wasn't getting any better and the "curls will drop in two days" was a lie, that I untwirled the ugly finger coils and was slapped to reality by my newly-acquired TWA.

 

[Nonie]

WOW! Nonie ...how long did it take for you to recover?

If you mean how long did it take to get over the hurt/shock...maybe a week. The anger might've taken longer but I looked for the silver lining and realized this was a chance for me to get to know my hair anew so that I won't ever need any help from anyone else again.

So I started paying attention to my hair to see what it liked without caring what anyone else was doing. I just focused on my hair and confirmed that S Curl was my favorite drug. I just started to enjoy the different things I could do with a TWA. And then when I got tired of daily styling, I braided my hair and left it alone. It took about 16 months in braids to get back to where I was or close--which was a wonderful surprise for me, and probably why I am so laid back about hair growth. erplexed

 

[Spring]

For those who dust by twisting, doesn't your eyes start hurting after awhile?

Is this a problem with those who twist and dust?? TIA

 

[Vshanell]

Is this a problem with those who twist and dust?? TIA

I dont twist to dust much but doing Search and destroys do make my eyes and body hurt because im in one position for soooo long. It really helps to do it in stages so you dont have to tackle it all at once. sometimes it can take me at least a week to finish.

 

[Vshanell]

I think we're more in agreement than not.

When I said split ends are not inevitable...I meant that they are not something that HAS to show up and be reckoned with EVERY 6-8 weeks (which is what ALL of my stylists have advocated).

I view THAT kind of trimming as unnecessary and if you're really giving your hair proper moisture and care you only end up with natural wear and tear on your ends (as opposed to dryness, excessive heat products, rough handling and other things that cause splits) which can be taken care of a few times a year.

Gotcha! I totally agree.

 

[nycutiepie]

Trimming helps some people retain "grow". I think some of it has to do with the hair strand size. IMO fine hair is more prone to splitting so someone w/fine hair would have to trim/dust/S&D more to retain where as someone with thicker more durable strands could maybe go without frequent trims.

This is a FACT.

 

[C@ssandr@]

This thread had me running to the bathroom to do my ''dusting''. But as I inspected my hair I remembered why I haven't had a trim in almost a year. My ends look fine. Granted they are far from blunt but I don't see any splits. Unless ALL of my ends are split all the way up Some hairs look scraggly, but they're fully obedient when it's time to lie down (when they're damaged the just look frayed no matter what).
I put my brand new pair of shears back under the sink.
I'll know when it's time.

 

[BellaLunie]

thanks for sharing Nonie! You've been thru it all. Did you call the stylist up and tell her what she did? I would have gotten my $80 back. I can't wait to be a full DIYer because people will jack you up just because

 

[Miss AJ]

My ends split easily and if I negelct them they become split AND thin...even my splits will have splits lol. I should've trimmed more when my hair was chemically treated, but now that I'm 100% natural and making my best effort to take care of my ends, I don't have to trim as often and when I do it doesn't need to be much because now they splits don't travel up as far as they used to.

 

[gradygirl]

My hair splits easily. I tried to go without trimming for long periods of time and I always had to get a cut not a trim but a cut because my ends were chewed up so badly. I now do Traycee's method once a month. I part my hair in four sections and do one section a day so it takes me 4 days. I hate the amount of time it takes but my hair is much healthier because of it. Some people can get away with not trimming but for those of us who can't we can easily have a setback by not trimming regularly.

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

i'm right there with nonie with having an unnecessary cut. i agreed to an inch and the ***** cut almost 6! i was a bit but hurt, but i was more mad at my self because i knew i should have cut my own darn hair! lol

so yes... please be careful when getting your "professional" trims!!!

 

[Nonie]

thanks for sharing Nonie! You've been thru it all. Did you call the stylist up and tell her what she did? I would have gotten my $80 back. I can't wait to be a full DIYer because people will jack you up just because

Nah, I think she knew exactly what she did so she didn't need telling. I'm the one who had no clue. And like Mz.Momo said, it was really partly my fault for not being vigilant and insisting on seeing what she was doing. After all the horror stories of SHSs I'd read here, you'd think I'd have been more alert. So I couldn't go back a few days later to claim my money when I had let her convince me that the mess she did to my hair was cute and would improve, when I knew better. I mean, I know my hair considering I've been natural more years than I've been relaxed and I let some twit tell me I wasn't seeing what I was seeing? So since I didn't strike while the iron was hot, it was kinda lame to cry over spilled milk a few days later. I took it as a lesson well-learned: that no one gives a damn about my hair or how I look as much as I do.

 

[Carrie A]

That's the point I'm trying to make. You dust regularly, you prevent splits from extending up the strands. You protective style, you will find you can get away with dusting less often, as in Nymane's case (every 16 weeks instead of every 8 weeks).

BTW, dusting is relative to everyone. When I dust, I aim to trim a 1/4 inch. A 1/4 inch is only this long __. That's such a tiny amount that most likely people (including me) probably dust a bit more ___ 3/8? ____ 1/2. So waiting to dust after 16 weeks and dusting twice what I do in 8 weeks is the same thing. The idea is just to keep ends from taking over the entire strand.

Yes back when i was relaxed I had a stylist to dust 1/4 in or less every two months. I told her I wanted to grow my hair out of my Halle. She never took off more than that. She just grazed the ends. That was the key. During those two years I grew from a shaved back to APL with no split ends. Unfortunately, I moved and started neglecting my hair.

But that did keep my hair looking neat and prevented split ends. Since I BC I've trimmed only once (in over a year) but my ends aren't so hot either. I'm going to start dusting again every few months.

 

[Vshanell]

So I started my extremely thorough S&D today. I was determined to get every hair but i know that's impossible. I'm happy with my work though. Anyway I put my hair in 4 sections and the one back section took me almost all of Narnia Prince Caspian movie which was 149 minutes.

Guess I'll tackle section 2 tomorrow. Fun times.

 

[BellaLunie]

Poka one day I'll get there! Shoot I could probably do my whole head in an hr

 

[Spring]

When you guys say s&d, does that include the twisting and dusting 1/4in from hairs that stick out, or are you just looking for splits in the hemline? If you mean twist each section and dust, how do you do the back sections safely?

I'm picturing in my mind that you would only be able to go half way up the length in the back???

 

[hillytmj]

My question about this twist/S&D method is how do you know if your doing too much? A lot of little hairs stick out when I twist it. Maybe I need to do this; I've always focused on trimming the ends only.

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

i think more people are doing the traycee method rather than the twisting method. to me the twisting method misses too much hair and is not as thorough. traycees method does take me about a week to finish (i take days off too lol) but i get much better results.

there is a link to traycees method some where in the thread posted by poka i think.

 

[hillytmj]

my other question for Pokahontas is if you do Tracyee's method, will your hair look thin throughout?

I know that's probably a dumb question because your hair and Tracyee's is gorgoeous, but I'm just wondering.

 

[Spring]

reposting Traycee's dusting tutorial .....
http://www.youtube.com/user/KISSseventyseven#p/u/22/d3C0ndGIZpg


I'm thinking if you only dust 1x every 3-4 months, you shouldn't have problems with your hair getting thinner.

update: That's weird. I checked the link and everything was fine, went to rinse out conditioner, came back and now the link doesn't take me to the tutorial.

update: Tried to fix the link and it still doesn't work, but the link is in Pokahontas post #78 on page 4
3/13/10 update: I finally was able to fix the link