Ladies that don't trim until hair goal.. PROS VS. CONS

[kgard7777]

I have been trim happy in 2007 and lately I have looked at some fotki's of ladies that don't trim until their hair goal is met. They have beautiful hair so I tried it and so far so good. However, I have noticed my hair tangles when wet now.. What are the other pros or cons to doing this no trimming? By the way I am at brastrap length and I am shooting for waist by the end of next yr. God's will

 

[hothair]

As a recovering scissor addict I have to say the one thing I've noticed is its easier to see progress which keeps me encouraged, I've decided no trims till I reach my shoulder length goal - I haven't even dusted - I don't trust myself with those shears. And since I BC-ed in March and I've been in protective styles -I figure there can't be MUCH damage

 

[HoneyA]

I haven't trimmed since I started my journey and I don't plan to until I reach midback. Since I started using coconut, castor or olive oil every single day and doing lo mani, my hair and ends are looking thicker. I am very happy with my hair now. So I am not going to trim for another 6 or so months. I'm shooting for WL late next year too. I'm on course so far.

 

[freshlikemoi]

o0oh I wanna hear this thread.......can't wait to see what ladies have to say about this. Cuz I havent trimmed my hair since April 21st...

 

[Nanyanika]

I haven't trimmed since DEC 2006, the pics are in my siggy....however, at my next touch-up i'm going to cut my hair probably two inches, their looking a bit ragged now and i have some splits. I decide to trim one inch at every touch-up i want to have thick hair when i reach my ultimate goal.

 

[Miss*Tress]

Pro: Chicoro
She lets her hair grow as it likes and once she reaches a goal, she evens her hair, then doesn't cut again until the next goal. I like thick, even ends as much as the next person, but I'm trying to follow Chicoro's technque.

Con: SistaSlick
According to her theory, strands of blunt cut hair bear stress evenly causing fewer strands to break. It makes sense, but I wear my hair up or curly most times so even hair is less important to me.

 

[Longhealthyhair]

This is a good thread. I really would love to hear your responses ladies...

bumpity bump bump

 

[HAIRapy]

I refuse to trim my ends unless there's split ends. If your ends are healthy, there is no need to trim your hair. People only need to trim if they have split ends or if they absolutely can't stand to have uneven hair. I refuse to trim to even out my hair until my shortest hairs reach BSL. I will only dust IF I see split ends. I read in a book (I think Cathy Howse's book) and I agree that trimming ends have nothing to do with your scalp growing hair. You see the length/growth when you leave your healthy ends in tact. We (Because I know a lot of women who do) have to stop thinking that trimming makes our hair grow.

 

[sareca]

I trim when my ends look bad. My last trim was March 2007. My ends where tangling, thinning, and splitting so I took off about an inch. Right now I have no plans to trim. They don't need it.

 

[♦K.O♦]

I trim when my ends look bad. My last trim was March 2007. My ends where tangling, thinning, and splitting so I took off about an inch. Right now I have no plans to trim. They don't need it.

Off topic: Your November update in your sig is fabulous!!!

 

[Covergirl5906]

I am on the fence with this one....I recently read how Cathy Howse has said that there is no need to trim until you reach your goal b/c you are gonna expose the healthy ends to the elements anyway and they will split again....she also says that split ends don't split all the way up. nor do they stop your hair from growing....I'm not sure where I stand on this yet....I am starting to think a few split ends are unavoidable anyway no matter how good you are at taking care of your hair...

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I am on the fence with this one....I recently read how Cathy Howse has said that there is no need to trim until you reach your goal b/c you are gonna expose the healthy ends to the elements anyway and they will split again....she also says that split ends don't split all the way up. nor do they stop your hair from growing....I'm not sure where I stand on this yet....I am starting to think a few split ends are unavoidable anyway no matter how good you are at taking care of your hair...

I was on the fence with this too but then I thought about it. Maybe this will help you make a decision or not....just sharing.

If I take a sheet of paper and start to tear it, will the tear be linear or kinda go off to the side?

I think thats what she meant. A tear will more than likely go off to the side and break there. oppose to split all the way up to the root or wherever.

I must admit though that seeing a split end all the way up to the root would be kinda cool to see. I would have to take a picture because I have never seen or heard of someone having it before.

 

[LunadeMiel]

I refuse to trim my ends unless there's split ends. If your ends are healthy, there is no need to trim your hair. People only need to trim if they have split ends or if they absolutely can't stand to have uneven hair. I refuse to trim to even out my hair until my shortest hairs reach BSL. I will only dust IF I see split ends. I read in a book (I think Cathy Howse's book) and I agree that trimming ends have nothing to do with your scalp growing hair. You see the length/growth when you leave your healthy ends in tact. We (Because I know a lot of women who do) have to stop thinking that trimming makes our hair grow.

ITA with your entire post. I used to trim my hair every 4 weeks (and I wondered why my progress what so slow). I haven't trimed my hair in 4 months. I have absolutely no splits ends (although my relaxed ends are overprocessed). I don't plan on cutting my hair until I BC.

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

Bumping....I'd like to hear more since I don't plan on trimming until my next goal.

 

[silvergirl]

i just cut my hair all one length cause my hair grows better when its in a blunt cut.

i dont plan on using scissors till i reach the elusive waist length goal. then ill even it up and keep going.

 

[Whimsy]

i never trim. i only trim when i get touchups (ever 4 months) i know it's bad, i know. And now that i'm transitioning i'm going to have to make an effort to go get trims....
it's definitely a CON to not trim... splits galore is what you're in for if you don't trim regularly. and cutting off damaged ends is depressing.

 

[lana]

When I first got on this board, I tried the 6 months no trim thing. I deep conditioned, laid off the heat and my hair looked A HOT MESS within six months. I actually had better looking hair BEFORE taking that advice.

Now I've learned my lesson and I do my own trims when needed. I can tell it's needed because my ends will look frayed, frizzy or have visible splits. My hair doesn't split all the way to the root, I don't believe that's possible. But it will split in various places and you end up with fried looking hair.

 

[JustKiya]

Scissors haven't touched my head since I cut off the last of my colored hair in Feb 07. I'm natural, and I wear my hair either up or curly most of the time - so even if I HAD split ends (which, I'm sure I do, as some of my shed hairs are split) I can't see them, and they ain't bothering me, so I leave them alone.
I have natural layers, and I don't plan on evening them out at any point, so that's another strike against me trimming.

If (and that's a REAL big if) I ever get my hair straightened/pressed, I'll most likely do a search and destroy then, because my ends will be easier to see.

I'm real big on not fixin something unless it's broke.

 

[bravenewgirl87]

I have been trim happy in 2007 and lately I have looked at some fotki's of ladies that don't trim until their hair goal is met. They have beautiful hair so I tried it and so far so good. However, I have noticed my hair tangles when wet now.. What are the other pros or cons to doing this no trimming? By the way I am at brastrap length and I am shooting for waist by the end of next yr. God's will

I try to not get a trim until my goals are met, but I tend to give in. That peer pressure is difficult to overcome. but, I had about the same amount in new growth that was trimmed off, and I intend to stretch until January. So, the way I see it... I should grow back what I trimmed (1/4 of inch). I refuse to trim again until I reach my first goal. Ladies, please don't let women who know nothing about hair presuade you to relax or trim earlier than you need to. I wanted a trim for a more "pleasing" look... But I would take slightly uneven but full/long ends, over short stringy crappy ends. The only time you really need to try is of the splits have caused hardcore appearance problems. Even after you trim them ,you're still going to have to take care of them. As my sylist say, you can never really get rid of the splits. You can only seal them off so they don't travel so far up the hair shaft.

 

[HAIRapy]

I try to not get a trim until my goals are met, but I tend to give in. That peer pressure is difficult to overcome. but, I had about the same amount in new growth that was trimmed off, and I intend to stretch until January. So, the way I see it... I should grow back what I trimmed (1/4 of inch). I refuse to trim again until I reach my first goal. Ladies, please don't let women who know nothing about hair presuade you to relax or trim earlier than you need to. I wanted a trim for a more "pleasing" look... But I would take slightly uneven but full/long ends, over short stringy crappy ends. The only time you really need to try is of the splits have caused hardcore appearance problems. Even after you trim them ,you're still going to have to take care of them. As my sylist say, you can never really get rid of the splits. You can only seal them off so they don't travel so far up the hair shaft.

To add to the red portion- don't let sissor-happy stylists pressure you into thinking you have to trim excessively either.

 

[Dposh167]

i've already gone down the path of not trimming and just letting my hair grow. after about 4 months i ended up having to trim off a lil more than 1/2" of hair due to to splits. So i already know from my personal experience that i have to trim splits or else mine will get worse.

i gave myself a blunt cut in sept. and that blunt cut is still intact 3 months later due to baggying. but even after all that healthy hair practice, i have a veeeerryy small amount of splits. but not a lot to the point where i need a major trim.

so i agree with the girl above who said u'll prob get lil splits regardless of what u do. but what i've learned is that baggying DEFINITELY helps curve this.

 

[aloof one]

I decided not to trim until my hair goal and this was my experience: I was about a half an inch or so away from APL yesterday and had to trim damaged ends from not trimming since September 7th. I spent three months gaining almost 2 inches just to have to cut off 3 inches last night. Basically I had to chop an in of hair in the back for every month I neglected to dust/trim. My hair just feels healthier when I'm not forcing it to last without trims. I am totally going back to trimming 1/4 in. every 2 months.

Cons I Experienced:
My hair would ALWAYS get caught on the comb
I would lose a lot of hair just trying to detangle
I experienced more tangles when I combed my straightened hair
My straightened hair was stiff and had no body
My ends would clump together in an unsightly way and just sit there
The ends would not get straight and lay flat, but rather they were dull and feathered out
My hair would NOT hold a curl, bump, flip,... anything!
My hair was "long" by some peoples' standards... but raggedy by everyone's standards

Pros I Experienced:
My hair was longer, despite its bad health
I didn't have to go through the process of washing, conditioning, drying, straightening, and holding up my hair to trim all my ends
I had that funny looking "tail" on the back of my hair
My bangs grew out a lot

 

[zzirvingj]

Off topic: Your November update in your sig is fabulous!!!

I second that

 

[Cichelle]

I haven't cut or trimmed my hair since the summer of 2005. I see trimming, at this point, as a last resort. It is only for damaged ends that cannot be helped otherwise and I have not experienced that yet. I have gone through periods where my ends felt very dry. But I switched up my regimen and eventually fixed the problem. I guess the only con, if you can call it one, is that I do really, really baby my ends. I wear my hair up and don't use heat.

I do plan on trimming at some point in the future to get rid of layers. But that time is not now.

 

[gymfreak336]

I decided not to trim until my hair goal and this was my experience: I was about a half an inch or so away from APL yesterday and had to trim damaged ends from not trimming since September 7th. I spent three months gaining almost 2 inches just to have to cut off 3 inches last night. Basically I had to chop an in of hair in the back for every month I neglected to dust/trim. My hair just feels healthier when I'm not forcing it to last without trims. I am totally going back to trimming 1/4 in. every 2 months.

Cons I Experienced:
My hair would ALWAYS get caught on the comb
I would lose a lot of hair just trying to detangle
I experienced more tangles when I combed my straightened hair
My straightened hair was stiff and had no body
My ends would clump together in an unsightly way and just sit there
The ends would not get straight and lay flat, but rather they were dull and feathered out
My hair would NOT hold a curl, bump, flip,... anything!
My hair was "long" by some peoples' standards... but raggedy by everyone's standards

Pros I Experienced:
My hair was longer, despite its bad health
I didn't have to go through the process of washing, conditioning, drying, straightening, and holding up my hair to trim all my ends
I had that funny looking "tail" on the back of my hair
My bangs grew out a lot

I agree with everything you posted. My experiences with not trimming have been the same. I lost more in the long run than I gained especially when you consider that the ends that had split and just broke apart where more prone to breakage afterwards.

 

[SandySea]

I was just pondering this issue. I haven't trimmed since my siggy when I got a couple of inches cut during the first week of May. My ends haven't been protected at all. They do not look freshly cut, but I don't think a trim is absolutely necessary. I'm trying to get to APL by the summer. I'll wait a few months to trim unless my ends start looking really raggedy. It depends on what your goal is. If I didn't care about gaining length, I'd trim every other touch up. It's really nice to walk out of the salon after a touch up and be able to notice that your hair is longer. I'm greedy for length right now, especially since one of my co-workers noticed that my hair has grown
.

 

[Gisselle]

I went to the salon two weeks ago and I asked for a trim and she cut my "V" off to a blunt cut. I was really disgusted when I left because I went from midback to brastrap. I don't think I'm getting a trim for a long time.

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

I think I might dust a little at my next retouch then.

 

[MizAvalon]

I refuse to trim my ends unless there's split ends. If your ends are healthy, there is no need to trim your hair. People only need to trim if they have split ends or if they absolutely can't stand to have uneven hair. I refuse to trim to even out my hair until my shortest hairs reach BSL. I will only dust IF I see split ends. I read in a book (I think Cathy Howse's book) and I agree that trimming ends have nothing to do with your scalp growing hair. You see the length/growth when you leave your healthy ends in tact. We (Because I know a lot of women who do) have to stop thinking that trimming makes our hair grow.

Agree with this post. I don't really care about having blunt or super even ends. As long as they're healthy(which they are) I see no reason to trim them.

Granted, I have a very low maintenance routine. Low heat and mostly protective styles. Ladies that manipulate their hair more probably do have to trim more often.

 

[Empress Yahudah]

If ur hair and ends are healthy there is no reason to trim ur hair. Unless ur trying to maintain a certain cut or style.

I only "dusted" twice this year because I like my ends even and realy that second dusting wasnt needed at all I only did that because of the whole "dust/trim for growth according to the moon" thingy

Going forward I will only dust once a year till I reach waist length as long as I keep my ends/hair healthy