How do you know when to trim? SPINOFF to 'is trimming mandatory'

[crazydaze911]

hey ladies, i thought this was important enough to create a new thread.
how do you know when its time to trim? i think my ends look bad now, but others would say its just cuz its curly. my last trim was in january, and by march, another beautician wanted to trim it again! my hair grows slow and i did not use any heat in between visits, so i said 'no' (it was only 2 months in between). Plus, the same day i get a trim, i see splits, so i'm totally lost - any advice?

btw - i used to trim with every relaxer (every 3 months) and retained no length. now i am transitioning w/out BC.

Thanks!

 

[crazydaze911]

bumping for assistance......

 

[prospurr4]

When deciding if I should trim or not, I ask myself:

- Are the ends thin/see-through due to damage/splits? Then, I would trim.

- Are the ends thin/see-through due to natural layers or hair growth patterns, which results in all the hair not being caught up to the same level? Then, I would not trim until I have passed a major length goal so that the trim will produce thicker ends while still remaining at goal. This is especially important if the person desires to grow her hair to longer lengths, so as not to impede progress. If the ends are not appealing to the eye, I suggest wearing updos and curly styles as a way of "hiding" the ends until it's time to trim.

 

[charmtreese]

I normally know it's time for a dusting when my ends are knotting, tangling, or snagging on to one another. Also if I notice tiny little breakage at the ends, and Im confident that it's not a moisture/protein situation. Lastly, if my ends just feel rough, not smooth like the rest of the strand, I know it's time for a little clip, clip.

I do not think that thin ends always warrent a trim nor do uneven ends. I have fine/thin hair with layers, during the growout periods I get thin ends from my bottom layers growing faster then the rest, I do not trim until I have a substantial amount of growth and then I will trim for a neater thicker appearance.

 

[tiffers]

I only dust or trim when my ends are snagging and catching on themselves. That's SO annoying!

I don't trim just because my ends are uneven or a little thin. I'm in protective styles 99% of the time anyway, so the appearance of my ends doesn't matter

 

[HAIRapy]

I only dust or trim when my ends are snagging and catching on themselves. That's SO annoying!

I don't trim just because my ends are uneven or a little thin. I'm in protective styles 99% of the time anyway, so the appearance of my ends doesn't matter

ITA with this entire post Also, when I see split ends I cut them off, but I may not trim everything else. I'm also always in protective styling, so other people don't see them- and I try not to look at my ends but every so often.

 

[The Savvy Sistah]

Great Thread!!!

I need to trim my ends (at least an inch) but I really don't want to go to a salon.

My problem is that being natural I really can't tell if it's just dryness & frizziness or split ends.

When my hair sheds it's from the root and sometimes I see a little knot at the end, but no as many now since I'm using my Denman

What should I be looking for? I don't want to cut what seems to be dry ends because I thought they were split.

Is there a video or technique that someone can recommend because getting my almost BSL hair cut at salon is out of the question for now.

 

[crazydaze911]

Thanks for the responses. Im transitioning so my hair ALWAYS feels a mess. i dont see splits on the ends, but when i do, i clip the individual strands. I do, however see dryness (maybe damage?) and unevenness like the look of teeth. Please see attachment (blow up of my ends from my siggy) and give me ur opinion. i think it looks horrible, but it was only 2 months after my last trim!!!!! and i wear a bun EVERYDAY.

bumping..........

 

[tiffers]

Thanks for the responses. Im transitioning so my hair ALWAYS feels a mess. i dont see splits on the ends, but when i do, i clip the individual strands. I do, however see dryness (maybe damage?) and unevenness like the look of teeth. Please see attachment (blow up of my ends from my siggy) and give me ur opinion. i think it looks horrible, but it was only 2 months after my last trim!!!!! and i wear a bun EVERYDAY.

bumping..........

Girl, please! There is NOTHING wrong with your ends! Nothing at all! I've seen a LOT worse, and you're nowhere close to having raggedy ends!

 

[HAIRapy]

Thanks for the responses. Im transitioning so my hair ALWAYS feels a mess. i dont see splits on the ends, but when i do, i clip the individual strands. I do, however see dryness (maybe damage?) and unevenness like the look of teeth. Please see attachment (blow up of my ends from my siggy) and give me ur opinion. i think it looks horrible, but it was only 2 months after my last trim!!!!! and i wear a bun EVERYDAY.

bumping..........

Maybe on your last trim, the person didn't get all the damages ends. How long after your trim did you hair begin to get that way? The reason why I ask it because my ends were like that too, for a LONG time- uneven too. What I did was had a big trim done, I had my stylist take off about 3 inches of hair. That got all the bad ends and my hair has been fine ever since- that was back in March.

ETA:: Are you airdrying in your bun? Your hair may not be damaged at all... if you straightened it, I bet it would be fine.

 

[Starian]

When no amount of moisture keeps them frizz free. When even a rollerset ain't helping my ends...when they look like rats been chewing on them in my sleep...

My ends usually look like this around month 5 of no trimming.

 

[MD_Lady]

It's a personal judgement call, IMO. When my ends were getting shabby and making my hair look thin (even though no one else seemed to notice) I trimmed because it was detracting from my hair's overall appearance (even though I lost some length).

 

[crazydaze911]

Girl, please! There is NOTHING wrong with your ends! Nothing at all! I've seen a LOT worse, and you're nowhere close to having raggedy ends!

I hope ur right. Thanks so much!

 

[crazydaze911]

Maybe on your last trim, the person didn't get all the damages ends. How long after your trim did you hair begin to get that way? The reason why I ask it because my ends were like that too, for a LONG time- uneven too. What I did was had a big trim done, I had my stylist take off about 3 inches of hair. That got all the bad ends and my hair has been fine ever since- that was back in March.

ETA:: Are you airdrying in your bun? Your hair may not be damaged at all... if you straightened it, I bet it would be fine.

I had a HUGE trim that gave me blunt ends about 3 years ago and it just grew back into a mess (that was while i was still trimming every 3 months, i've since stopped b/c i havent seen any retention). i was hoping losing so much hair would have helped, but it didnt. your lucky it helped you so much. i usually air dry my bun, but that pic was taken after i had it blowdried or the day after (cant remember).

 

[HAIRapy]

I had a HUGE trim that gave me blunt ends about 3 years ago and it just grew back into a mess (that was while i was still trimming every 3 months, i've since stopped b/c i havent seen any retention). i was hoping losing so much hair would have helped, but it didnt. your lucky it helped you so much. i usually air dry my bun, but that pic was taken after i had it blowdried or the day after (cant remember).

To the bolded: Okay, I understand the huge trim, but why the trim every 3 months? If your ends were fine after the big trim, there was no need for regular trimming. you'd be cutting away your growth progress. What do you mean it grew into a mess?

I don't know... I don't know why your trim didn't help- I'm really thinking hard too. When you do your buns for airdrying, how are you laying your ends? Do you ball them up under/within your bun or do you kinda lay then flat around your bun? I used to ball mine up and they looked similar to yours, but mine were worse looking and they were dry and crunchy. I started doing my buns with the ends wrapped flat around the bun/ponytail and that's what kept my ends so nice after my trim I believe. Also, I haven't had a trim since March. Because your hair is wet when you do the bun, it should be easy for your ends to lay flat and dry flat too

 

[crazydaze911]

To the bolded: Okay, I understand the huge trim, but why the trim every 3 months? If your ends were fine after the big trim, there was no need for regular trimming. you'd be cutting away your growth progress. What do you mean it grew into a mess?

I don't know... I don't know why your trim didn't help- I'm really thinking hard too. When you do your buns for airdrying, how are you laying your ends? Do you ball them up under/within your bun or do you kinda lay then flat around your bun? I used to ball mine up and they looked similar to yours, but mine were worse looking and they were dry and crunchy. I started doing my buns with the ends wrapped flat around the bun/ponytail and that's what kept my ends so nice after my trim I believe. Also, I haven't had a trim since March. Because your hair is wet when you do the bun, it should be easy for your ends to lay flat and dry flat too

I used to trim every three months cuz i was under the impression that since the relaxer changed the cuticle/hair shaft, the ends would be in a worse state and needed trimming. I've since stopped relaxing and trimming regularly. after the big trim, i waited a while out of fear. my hair just grew into the normal V but thinner/pointier than it was before the trim. by a mess - i mean - totally uneven - like a bunch of w's - some split, some good. i really try to protect them, but i also have HIH disease whenever any piece accidentally falls out of my bun, so that may be the problem.

with buns - i make a ponytail (changing position of the hair band daily) and then wrap the hair around and put a scrunchy to hold it in place or use a hair clip. i think most times they are laying flat, but i think they are fragile so i dong agressively tuck them in. do you think that ends will split and will have to be trimmed regardless of how careful you are with ur hair? how long do u usually wait to trim?

 

[HAIRapy]

I used to trim every three months cuz i was under the impression that since the relaxer changed the cuticle/hair shaft, the ends would be in a worse state and needed trimming. I've since stopped relaxing and trimming regularly. after the big trim, i waited a while out of fear. my hair just grew into the normal V but thinner/pointier than it was before the trim. by a mess - i mean - totally uneven - like a bunch of w's - some split, some good. i really try to protect them, but i also have HIH disease whenever any piece accidentally falls out of my bun, so that may be the problem.

with buns - i make a ponytail (changing position of the hair band daily) and then wrap the hair around and put a scrunchy to hold it in place or use a hair clip. i think most times they are laying flat, but i think they are fragile so i dong agressively tuck them in. do you think that ends will split and will have to be trimmed regardless of how careful you are with ur hair? how long do u usually wait to trim?

No, you don't need to trim just because you have a relaxer. The only thing you really need when you get relaxers is moisture because relaxers are drying to the hair- atleast that's the way it is for me.

I do think ends split sometimes even with careful treatment. But you get more and worse splits with a whole lot of manipulation- excessive combing, brushing, heat, and just being rough with the hair. You trim on an as needed basis. You don't need to trim on any kind of time schedule if your ends are healthy. Try doing DCs with heat (under a dryer or heatcap) for awhile and see if that brings back the moisture to your ends.