Trimming after EVERY relaxer treatment--Is it really necessary?

[Crystalicequeen123]

I've been wondering this for the longest time because my stylist seems to swear by this, but I'm starting to disagree. She says that everyone's hair should be trimmed/at least dusted after every relaxer so that it will be healthier, and so that my hair will grow longer faster. At first, I agreed with her since my ends were looking pretty anemic compared to my more healthy hair towards my scalp (due to my hair regimen and mild relaxers), and I like healthy, thick ends.

However , now that most of that "thin" hair at my ends is basically trimmed off, I don't think I want her trimming my hair every single time I get a relaxer. Now granted, I only get my hair relaxed every 12-14 weeks (approx. every 3 months), and I can see that my hair is growing, but still...

I'd like to retain SOME length! I don't think my hair even grows an inch a month so I'm trying to hold on to the little bit of length I have!

What do you all think? Is it just "natural" or "healthy" to trim your ends after every relaxer touch up, or is it not really necessary? I'm confused.

 

[secretdiamond]

answer to your question--- NO!! You do NOT need to trim with every relaxer!! She is lying to you! This is the biggest myth stylists tell you! Only trim as YOU feel needed!

 

[MeccaMedinah]

You shouldn't need a trim after every relaxer.
I just went thru my co-worker's relaxed hair yesterday & I only found 1 split end. She thought that she was supposed to just get a trim on a schedule too.

 

[Lady_Lioness]

answer to your question--- NO!! You do NOT need to trim with every relaxer!! She is lying to you! This is the biggest myth stylists tell you! Only trim as YOU feel needed!

I agree...there is no need for you to trim with every relaxer...I haven't trimmed for a whole year and my hair is doing fine...just as long as you protect your ends, deep condition, and moisturize your hair and ends everyday...you should be fine.

 

[NoNapNique]

If hair grows faster when it is trimmed... Next time ask her to explain to you how is it scientifically possible for hair to grow from the ends OR better yet, ask her how dead hair can send a signal to the roots to tell it to "grow".

Yes, this is a myth... Only trim when you want to even if it is ONCE a year! As long as you are taking care of your ends really well, and your hair holds the style you want, they do not need to be trimmed. The only real reason to trim is for the neat look and feel. We always feel better inside when something looks "fresh"... Hair that is already damaged will eventually make a clean break off of the shaft. And it is also a myth that hair can split ALL the way up the shaft.

 

[KathyMay]

See this why I stopped going to my stylist she would tell me this lie every time I had a relaxer. My hair could have been to APL now.

 

[morehairplease]

See this why I stopped going to my stylist she would tell me this lie every time I had a relaxer. My hair could have been to APL now.

My old stylist use to tell me this same lie! Thank GOD she is NO LONGER my stylist.

 

[KathyMay]

My old stylist use to tell me this same lie! Thank GOD she is NO LONGER my stylist.

EXACTLY!!!!!

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

See this why I stopped going to my stylist she would tell me this lie every time I had a relaxer. My hair could have been to APL now.

Yeah, I think my hair would have been closer to bra-strap length if it weren't for all these silly trims. I mean seriously! I've been working on getting bra-strap length hair since September of LAST year, and my hair was about shoulder length back THEN! Now, my hair is a little past shoulder length, but it's been a whole year now....I think my hair would be longer than it is now without all the trims. I can't prove it though.

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll just tell her to hold the trims next relaxer touch up.

 

[Divine Inspiration]

I agree...there is no need for you to trim with every relaxer...I haven't trimmed for a whole year and my hair is doing fine...just as long as you protect your ends, deep condition, and moisturize your hair and ends everyday...you should be fine.

ITA with this. Since I started my healthy hair journey in February, I've dusted once, and I don't have a head full of splits or "splits that traveled up the shaft." I called myself experimenting this year with not getting trims to see whether my hair would be all jacked up from not getting them, and it isn't.

Most stylists charge for trims, so the same way they spend time convincing folks their hair will fall out if they don't get a relaxer every 6 weeks is the same way they swear by trims. It drives the ticket up which means more money in their pockets.

OT: Lady, you're braidout is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Did you do cornrows????

 

[Lady_Lioness]

ITA with this. Since I started my healthy hair journey in February, I've dusted once, and I don't have a head full of splits or "splits that traveled up the shaft." I called myself experimenting this year with not getting trims to see whether my hair would be all jacked up from not getting them, and it isn't.

Most stylists charge for trims, so the same way they spend time convincing folks their hair will fall out if they don't get a relaxer every 6 weeks is the same way they swear by trims. It drives the ticket up which means more money in their pockets.

OT: Lady, you're braidout is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Did you do cornrows????

Thanx DI, yes I did about 8-9 medium cornrows

 

[Divine Inspiration]

Thanx DI, yes I did about 8-9 medium cornrows

I need to learn how to cornrow QUICK!

 

[Lady_Lioness]

I need to learn how to cornrow QUICK!

Lol...at first for me...I couldn't do a cornrow to save my life...It was so difficult...my mother is the pro of conrows and she taught me...so now I got it down packed.

 

[Divine Inspiration]

Lol...at first for me...I couldn't do a cornrow to save my life...It was so difficult...my mother is the pro of conrows and she taught me...so now I got it down packed.

My mother is the cornrow queen too...perhaps I could have her teach me while I'm home for Thanksgiving...

 

[senimoni]

Lady...your hair is gorgeous....

Question, how do you keep your ends from tangling when you are braiding your hair....I never had this problem when my hair was shorter but now, as I'm braiding the top portion, then ends get all gathered and tangled.....

 

[Lady_Lioness]

Lady...your hair is gorgeous....

Question, how do you keep your ends from tangling when you are braiding your hair....I never had this problem when my hair was shorter but now, as I'm braiding the top portion, then ends get all gathered and tangled.....

Thanx Senimoni... I think the key for keeping my hair including my ends detangled while braiding was the moisturizer that i used...and also everytime i got towards the middle and end of the braids, I made sure that I detangle my hair either with my fingers or my wide-tooth comb b4 i continue plaiting. I hope this answers your question.

 

[Lady_Lioness]

My mother is the cornrow queen too...perhaps I could have her teach me while I'm home for Thanksgiving...

That should be the best time...you'll have alot of time to practice... and if you can... get a hair mannequin to practice on ...that would help you...practice does make perfect...it took me 3 months to perfect it.

 

[Jewell]

No it is not necessary unless your ends are really bad. When I did this trim after every touch-up thing I didn't see any progress in my length because I was getting it cut so frequently.

 

[Hair Peace]

And it is also a myth that hair can split ALL the way up the shaft.

OMG ! I honestly thought that was true! I can't even tell you how many times I've heard that!

 

[uncutandgettinglonger]

Yeah, I totally fell for this myth too, which caused me a lot of problems. I hardly gained any length until I made the decision to go uncut. Trimmed ends look neater, but I prefer not to cut my hair. I like it split ends and all.

Even though I don't really have split ends, I think. I think that I have some hairs that have grown faster than others.

I've been told that stupid hair fallling out lie. Not true at all. Stupid stylists.

The lady that I go to now asks me if I want to trim, and that makes me feel good because I don't want to trim, and there is no pressure to do so.

 

[Doll]

I thought it was true also! My stylist told me the same thing. She said that my style could look better, hold longer, and my ends would be healthier with trims after a relaxer treatment. My length stayed the same even after I started using methods on this forum due to the consistent trimming.

I finally got on the band wagon of stretching my relaxers to approx. 2 - 3 months and that is what made me realize that my hair would grow longer without the damage she claimed! Now my hair is the longest its ever been.

Thanks LHCF!!!

 

[Synthia]

I'm only trimming my hair to slowly even up the length.

BUT ...has no one experienced faster growth after a big cut, trim, or shave?

Once when I had to cut my hair off in fall to neck length after damage one year, by summer it had grown past my shoulders. It seemed to grow faster than normal after a severe cut. I have not noticed this with trims. But it's as if, like a snake the loses its tail, the body tries to rejuvenate itself.

What do you think of that theory? I'm tempted to try it now ...but hate to lose any significant length ...so I'm sticking the normal growth pace.

When my mom recovered from cancer and chemotherapy ...she went from bald to her longest length. That leads me to believe that the body can sense a loss and try to regenerate lost parts.

Anyone experience this? Doesn't that sound reasonable?

 

[beawo]

I read that if you are trying to grow your hair, hair should be trimmed quarterly. I used to dust my ends and not really trim and as a result I had really tangled hair. I have been growing my hair since 2000 and have come to realise the importance of trimming. I think that trimming hair atleast 4 times are year is necessary. Although it may take longer to achieve your hair goals atleast once you get there you will have thicker healthier ends. I want to reach my hair goals quickly but not at the expense of having thin looking hair. Furthermore because the ends are the oldest these should be regularly trimmed to liven up the hair so that the hair does not look scraggy. These ends may also be subject to abuse from using heated styling tools or even plain old relaxer (inevitable overlapping).

 

[controlFreak]

My previous hairdresser used to do this. I'd relax every 6-8 weeks, and she would 'trim' everytime. For a while, my hair was healthier and longer than ever, but after a year or so I noticed that while most of my hair was shoulder length, the top left side was only like 2 inches! She claimed it was breakage, but I reckon she cut it.

 

[Blossssom]

I'm only trimming my hair to slowly even up the length.

BUT ...has no one experienced faster growth after a big cut, trim, or shave?

Once when I had to cut my hair off in fall to neck length after damage one year, by summer it had grown past my shoulders. It seemed to grow faster than normal after a severe cut. I have not noticed this with trims. But it's as if, like a snake the loses its tail, the body tries to rejuvenate itself.

What do you think of that theory? I'm tempted to try it now ...but hate to lose any significant length ...so I'm sticking the normal growth pace.

When my mom recovered from cancer and chemotherapy ...she went from bald to her longest length. That leads me to believe that the body can sense a loss and try to regenerate lost parts.

Anyone experience this? Doesn't that sound reasonable?

I 100% agree with this!

 

[Blossssom]

I read that if you are trying to grow your hair, hair should be trimmed quarterly. I used to dust my ends and not really trim and as a result I had really tangled hair. I have been growing my hair since 2000 and have come to realise the importance of trimming. I think that trimming hair atleast 4 times are year is necessary. Although it may take longer to achieve your hair goals atleast once you get there you will have thicker healthier ends. I want to reach my hair goals quickly but not at the expense of having thin looking hair. Furthermore because the ends are the oldest these should be regularly trimmed to liven up the hair so that the hair does not look scraggy. These ends may also be subject to abuse from using heated styling tools or even plain old relaxer (inevitable overlapping).

That was my MO as well, Beawo... I would trim every 3 months, but here lately I've been trimming every 2 because by month 3, my ends would be ragged.

If you can hold out for 3 months, I suggest that. I may go back to the 3 months myself. Maybe during the "ragged" period, I'll wear my turban so I won't have to look at my hair.

And I totally agree with having thick, healthy ends. Who wants long, ragged and thin ends? Not me!

 

[simplycee]

Trimming your ends will not effect your growth rate. It just isn't possible at least not to me. The ends that are cut off do not stimulate the root to grow faster.

I think every woman I know has been told this at some point by a stylist. I do agree that freshly trimmed ends give a neater appearance. I'll even go so far as to say that trimmed ends even 'hold' a curl better but I don't think its necessary to trim at every relaxer.

Personally, I trim on an as needed basis. Works for me.

 

[Blossssom]

Personally, I trim on an as needed basis. Works for me.

Obviously...

Yes, as needed and I seem to need it every 3 months maximum.

 

[uncutandgettinglonger]

I was told the 'trim or your hair will fall out' lie. or at least I just assumed that's why ppl trimmed. I'm glad to hear that it isn't true, which dosen't really make a difference because I decided to stop cutting anyway.



I'm sorry if I like quadrupple posted. My activation notice went to my bulk folder, and for some reason I thought that I was activated and could post. I haven't been able to find any of those lost posts, but if they come up sorry.