To cut my hair or not?

shawnanana

I've been trying to grow my hair for the last year now and it's fair to say it could really do with a cut. The ends are all split and dead... I have naturally curly hair and to be honest I don't straighten it very often maybe once every 2 weeks!
So basically my problem is I still want it to grow even longer but it desperately needs to be cut and if i get it cut all my hardwork in growing it for so long will be gone I really don't know what to do, should I leave it and let it grow more or get it cut and basically start again???

another question

Why don't you just get a trim, get the dead ends off, hair always grows faster after a trim anyway, you don't need to get a dramatic chop if your trying to grow it.

shawnanana

another question wrote: »

Why don't you just get a trim, get the dead ends off, hair always grows faster after a trim anyway, you don't need to get a dramatic chop if your trying to grow it.

Yeah only thing is my friend asked for a trim but the dead hair was so far up her hair that she ended up having to get a good 4 inches off!

another question

shawnanana wrote: »

Yeah only thing is my friend asked for a trim but the dead hair was so far up her hair that she ended up having to get a good 4 inches off!

Must have been one of those scissor happy hairdressers....just be firm that you are growing it but that it needs a trim, alot of people make the mistake of saying 'I want all the dead ends off' a trim will help it along and then go back in 6-8weeks and get another trim, by then all the dead ends will be gone and it will be the same if not longer in length than it is now.;)

shawnanana

another question wrote: »

Must have been one of those scissor happy hairdressers....just be firm that you are growing it but that it needs a trim, alot of people make the mistake of saying 'I want all the dead ends off' a trim will help it along and then go back in 6-8weeks and get another trim, by then all the dead ends will be gone and it will be the same if not longer in length than it is now.;)

Yeah I think I'll chance it then and hopefully they won't go too crazy with the scissors! Thanks

Bernice101

Hair is dead protein, how can it possibly know it has been cut and thus stimulate extra growth? Hormones regulate hair growth, not triming.

another question

Bernice101 wrote: »

Hair is dead protein, how can it possibly know it has been cut and thus stimulate extra growth? Hormones regulate hair growth, not triming.

Great to see you were able to offer advice to the op Bernice. Everyone has their own opinion on this but for the majority of people they believe this is true because they can actually see it. Trimming split ends takes the dead weight from the hair and stimulates the hair at the follicle and stops the damage travelling further up the hair itself.

This may be classified as a 'myth' had it not be true for so many people. I for one, speaking from experience over many years of having both long and short hair can say that when I started growing mine out I didn't want to trim it at all as it felt the total opposite of what I was trying to do, however, my hair hardly grew in a few months at all, eventualy got it trimmed and it grew about 1.5 -2 inches in about 3-4 weeks, everybody commented on how fast it grew and how much healthier it looked. And no, I hadn't started taking supplements or hormones or changes in diet etc.

So to finish, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but maybe next time when you decide to comment on a post you might actually offer some productive advice to the op instead of what you did here which was just negative and of no use to the op.

ClubDead

I’ve asked my hairdresser about this over the years and I’ve been told that yes, regular trims is best if you want to grow your hair. A number of times I’ve fell into the trap of “oh I’m growing my hair so I wont get it cut” only to be told that after a year of no cutting that Ill need a good chunk of it cut off because the split ends had travelled up the stem of the hair. Regular trimming (just the bare minimum) would mean that my hair would’ve grown healthier and wouldn’t have required a drastic cut to remove the split damaged hair.

So yes, even if you are growing your hair long you should have regular trims (8-12 weeks) to keep your hair healthy and avoid split ends travelling up the stem of the hair.

charlietheminxx

I get less than an inch off every 10-12 weeks, because I learned through experience a few years ago that not keeping the ends in good condition just ruined the rest of it, and I would end up losing about 4 or 5 inches when I did get it cut

It's really long now and I never need to get loads taken off it because it stays in good condition. Regular trims all the way!!

shawnanana

Even if the dead ends are about 3 inches up your hair do you think the hairdresser will still only take like an inch off?

Missy Moo Moo

shawnanana wrote: »

Even if the dead ends are about 3 inches up your hair do you think the hairdresser will still only take like an inch off?

Hi OP,

You're the paying Customer so you decide how much is taken off, not the hairdresser. They can offer their opinion but ultimately, it's up to you. Be explicit in what you want.

Honey-ec

Bernice is right, there's no scientific basis whatsoever for trims stimulating hair growth - it's not just a matter of opinion, sorry.

However, as ClubDead correctly identified, regular trims will aid in the overall goal of growing your hair as they mean you won't need to go and have a massive chunk of length cut off at the end of the year of growing.

OP, unfortunately there's no other way of getting rid of your split ends other than cutting them. If you've three inches of split ends and you only get the bottom inch cut, the other two inches aren't going to magically repair themselves - you're only prolonging the inevitable; they'll have to go at some stage.

My advice for you is to get all the dead ends cut off and start again. After that, get an eighth of an inch trimmed every eight weeks. This is really the only way to grow hair that is going to look well. If you're not prepared to put that much effort in then, unfortunately, long hair isn't for you.

The Cool

Hi OP,

I would say, even though you've gotten to this length of your hair, unfortunately you NEED to lost the dead ends - and if you want to keep as much of your length as you can, then cut it sooner rather than later. Splits in your hair spread up the strand so you'll only end up having to get more cut off.

At the end of the day there's no point in your hair being long but yucky! I got to that point last year - mostly through being a broke student with no money for haircuts - so that I had hair the length I wanted it, but to be honest, it was gross looking. You want hair that is long but also looks luxurious, rich and cared-for. Nobody wants long locks that look dry and dead.

shawnanana

Thanks everyone! Gonna go ahead and make an appointment during the week