TRIMS!?!? Do we need them?

[Oneprettypa]

Hi ladies!!! Quick question, I have been wearing sew ins got the last 6 months and have not had a relaxer since April of this year. I deep condition and moisturize well between installs but should I get trims in between? It almost seems as if I'm cutting off all of my growth!! I've noticed not many natural ladies have mentioned trims... Although I'm not natural per se, I want to knowif they ate really needed or more of a tradition... Thanks in advance!!!

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[Just11412]

you just have to pay attention to what your hair needs.

if you hair is healthy, i would do a light trim/dusting of the ends. as a preventative maintenance.

for me i need dustings/small trims because my hair is prone to splits.

 

[Seamonster]

My hair needs trims, even as a natural I get spilts

 

[DarkJoy]

yep. every month. however 'trim' is a string word. i dust off 1/4" or less. just enough to avoid splits (fine strands split easily). if you are feeling like you "trim off all your growth" then you are taking off too much. there is really no need to take off 1/2" a month, which really would be all your growth.

 

[chelleypie810]

I don't wear sew ins but I also wear my hair out about 90% of the time. I usually get an actual real trim about twice a year and it usually is only about an inch cut off, if that...

 

[lacreolegurl]

I dust about every 6-8 weeks when I flatiron. When I don't don't dust regularly, I end up having to cut off more length in the end due to splits.

 

[Lynnerie]

I need them. I do dustings with every relaxer. When I was natural I didn't think I needed trims and my hair suffered from splits and I had to cut more off than I wanted to.

I won't make that mistake again.

 

[deedoswell]

yep. every month. however 'trim' is a string word. i dust off 1/4" or less. just enough to avoid splits (fine strands split easily). if you are feeling like you "trim off all your growth" then you are taking off too much. there is really no need to take off 1/2" a month, which really would be all your growth.

I agree. I dust also about once a month - I call it trimming but it's not. Unless your hair is really damaged and splitting badly there is no need to take off 1/2" a month.

 

[BraunSugar]

I think all hair needs to be trimmed. Styling the hair, use of tools, time, & other things all have a hand in weathering our ends. Damage is there if we see it or not. There is no need to take a huge amount of hair off when you trim. If you are in sew-ins for 6 months then I'd assume you have about 2-3 inches of growth. No more than 1/4 inch should be fine to trim unless you have some major damage somewhere.

 

[lamaria211]

As a natural I hardly ever trimmed but now I wish I would have since I've been relaxed I've cut off about 2" now I'm good in the ends dept and won't be trimming again for at least 2 months

 

[Hyacinthe]

I went 3 months without trimming my ends....baddd idea,suffered a major set back because of that.. I Learned my lesson, now I dust my ends every 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[Mjon912]

I'm not natural but my texlaxed hair grows fine with out regular trims, when I first started my journey I hardly ever trimmer my hair, maybe once a year...unfortunately for me one side of my hair always ends up a lot longer then the other, I'm not sure if its actually breakage since i constantly do search and destroys and rarely see split ends or just how it grows, I dust now once a month

 

[Tonto]

I trim as needed. I dust every now and then when I can reach my sheers lol

 

[LightEyedMami]

If you asked me this last week i would have said NO!....But learn from my mistake and TRIM....for the LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, TRIM WOMAN...TRIM!!! DO YA HEAR ME? ......I have been at APL for a long time, sometimes i would go close to BSL, then my hair starts breaking and splitting then im back around apl, my ends just seem so brittle and dry.....well just a couple days ago, i decided to do a dreaded trim (about 1/2 an inch)...and im so glad i did!!!...my hair feels wonderful, i haven't had any breakage since....from now on i will do 1/4 inch dustings every 8-10 weeks...and i have a feeling i will finally make full BSL by January....who would have thought trimming would make me retain better...im kicking myself for not trimming sooner

 

[Oneprettypa]

Thanks ladies!! All of this helps!!! I am so clueless when it comes to my hair! I had never even heard if "dusting" before but it makes sense.

Do you all dust yourselves or go to a stylist? Seems like I end up with scissor happy people and my trims have turned into cuts

 

[MrsJaiDiva]

Trims are sooo neccessary. Regular trims/dusting keeps the big chops away! I trim/dust 3-4x's a year. I do my own trims & dustings using my scissors, and my SplitEnder. My ends are healthy, and I'm better able to retain my length.

 

[ChocolatePie777]

Depends on your hair......i dont get spilts all taht much but get a **** load of ssks......but if i dont wear my hair out for six months(with healthy ends0...i probably could go those six month with out trimming or even dusting for that whole six month....but if im wering it out then yes i have to trim/dust

 

[youwillrise]

for me, trims are necessary. i saw what slacking on them did to my hair. ends tangled on themselves...having to rip through my hair to get it apart at the ends of twists/braids was not fun. i used to trim maybe every 2 or 3 years at most because i wanted to hang onto length. trimming really helped me to eliminate those problems

actually, i should probably do very light dustings more often to really keep on it. if you really keep up with it, you shouldnt have to cut too much length off. i need to get on a schedule...maybe do an every 6 to 8 week kinda thing.

 

[MissMasala5]

Yes. Although now I trim less frequently. I do them myself a few times per year but let my stylist do them at least once per year. Funny thing is I asked him for an actual cut last time and he just trimmed my ends

Sent from my typophilic iPhone using LHCF

 

[divachyk]

Thinking I didn't need trims (because I didn't see splits, etc) haunted me in the long run. Now I trim even if I don't see splits as that's proven to be healthier for my hair.

 

[Aireen]

A lot argue about this but I think trims are beneficial to everyone, some people just need them more than others. I would never advise a person to NOT trim. The amount of times you trim and how much you take off is up to you though. In my experience if the ends aren't brittle, split, dry, bent, rough, etc. while retention is kept at an optimum level then trimming can be minimized but not eliminated. Not using heat really eases up on damage and how many times you have to get rid of your ends.

Personally, I usually trimmed 1/4-1/2 an inch of hair every time I got a relaxer about 3-4x/year. Since I limit heat usage, condition my ends, and keep my hair protected at night, I don't think I need to trim even that much anymore. It's all about keeping an eye on your hair and tending to what it needs. You have to remember though, that damage isn't always visible and prevention is better than cure.

 

[Solitude]

Trims are necessary for my hair.

 

[hillytmj]

I say trim as needed, meaning your ends are strong and not see through. Before I had my setback, I would dust after relaxers and could do this for long periods (2-3 months) without actually needing a major trim. My hair was 100% healthy with weekly DCs, no heat, moisturizing/sealing, etc., so major trims weren't a necessity.

Once I started having breakage, regular trims became a necessary choice for me because i wasnt used to having see through ends. The good news is that you can better retain length when your ends are healthy. In other words, and in my experience, if you have damaged or see through ends and cut them, you didn't lose anything and you'll be surprised at quickly it grows back (as long as youre taking protective measures.) However, if you're trimming perfectly healthy ends, you'll just be cutting off your progress (hence our collective gripe about most stylists).

Hope this helps.
Now that I've course corrected, I'm back to dusting here and there and trimming as needed.

 

[ladysaraii]

Yes they are. For a while I was in the no trim camp, but I started dusting on a semi regular basis and it has helped. I think before I just wanted to hold onto every little bit of progress and not throw anything away.

COme to think of it, I'm overdue for a dusting now.

 

[venusfly]

I think we all need a good trim evry once in a while but once you have a trim and your ends are nice and thick you can then go much longer between trims or indeed just do a minimal dusting periodically to keep the ends fresh and prevent split ends forming. I think, once your ends are healthy, a trim is not a must, a minimal dusting periodically should be enough.