Skip to main content
Benefits of Trimming Hair - To Cut or Not To

Benefits of Trimming Hair - To Cut or Not To

Profile picture of Patrick Mahinge

Patrick Mahinge

Hair Care Expert

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

We all love to have long hair. However there is no secret to having it long, just the normal good care and of course trimming. A question arises, what are  the benefits of trimming hair? Damage is a nightmare to many women and it is inevitable no matter how hard you try. It is however not beyond our control. You do not need to spend a lot of money on expensive treatments to maintain long hair. A regular hair trim is all you need.  It will definitely bring back it to shape.

Forget about the secrets people share on magazines and other materials about  growth. They are of course passed down from one generation to another but do they really work? Regular trimming do help in  growth, so we are told, but hair growth is something that is predetermined genetically.  Other factors that you should consider are ones diet, general health, amount of iron in the body which are known to determine hair loss and growth. One really needs to watch out on these.

Not to discourage you, there are many benefits of trimming hair. Apart from keeping the ends from splitting and looking frayed, it will also help in keeping it healthy and long. Splits ends are known to cause breakage and this can travel up to the shaft. Hair grows half an inch per month approximately so if trimmed every eight weeks your chances of having it long are high.

What Are Some of the Benefits of Trimming Hair?

Each of us has their own preference when it comes to hair . As long as your hair is healthy, then you can keep it at your preferred length.  Many of us also expose our hair to many tortures to make it look longer. From blow drying to flat ironing, using harsh shampoos, weather conditions like the sun and wind and also poor diet can make your hair not grow. For you to achieve healthy looking hair, trimming it regularly is a must.

If trimmed regularly you are able to achieve an inch of hair growth every month. It simply means that if you want your hair longer be ready to have it trimmed regularly.

It really pays off to visit your hair professional for a hair trim. For women who are patient enough they see the end result in their long hair. Trimming has its own advantages and disadvantages. The following are some of the benefits of trimming hair

1. Healthy Hair

Who wouldn’t want healthy looking hair? Having your hair trimmed is the best way to have your hair looking good and healthy. A regular trim is advised to achieve this.  You can talk to your stylist or hairdresser to also advise you on what products to use on it for you to achieve better results. Regular conditioning will also give your hair great looks.

2. Avoiding split-ends

Women who have long hair are definitely concerned with split ends. This is because it is known to break the hair cuticle which weakens as the hair continues to grow. Eventually, it leads to breakage and thus no growth. However, regular trimming is known to avoid such because the split ends will move up if not cut or trimmed. So to avoid split ends, have your hair trimmed regularly. This will ensure hair growth and you can be sure to have long hair. It is advisable to have the split ends trimmed by a professional at the salon to avoid cutting off your hair unnecessarily.

3. Boosts your hair growth

Growing hair takes a lot of patience just like having long hair does not happen overnight.  It takes a lot of process of good care. If you have it trimmed regularly, you are sure of avoiding hair stagnating growth factors such as split ends. This, in turn, gives room for new growth of healthy strands. It is advisable that if you notice your hair has split ends, have it trimmed to boost its growth.

DISADVANTAGES OF TRIMMING YOUR HAIR

Every coin has two sides. There are a few disadvantages of trimming your hair. Having your hair trimmed at the salon is likely to cost you more money unnecessarily and having it done at home will not be well done and also you are likely to cut more hair than needed and spend a lot of time.  It is believed that trimming your hair may make it not grow because it will be exposing your hair shaft, therefore making the new shaft to dry up hence no more hair growth. It is also believed that at the end of the day you are likely to trim more hair than you grow. You are also unlikely to need any trimming if done too often because there will be no new hair growth.When done carefully, the benefits of trimming hair outweigh its disadvantages.

HOW TO TRIM YOUR HAIR AT HOME

Long hair can be the most difficult to maintain if not well cared for. It can get damaged by environmental factors. This can end up making your hair thin out. Split ends are the most common problems that make people trim their hair. It has a temporary solution like treating it with conditioners rich in proteins to make it stronger. However the split ends will eventually come back. The permanent and necessary solution to deal with this is to trim the split ends.

The best time to trim is when wet.  Brush or comb through to remove any tangles. Section your it out and make divisions that you can trim well. Use different clips to hold the hair that you want to trim and carefully trim the ends. Repeat this process with all the sections until you have trimmed all the divided sections.

For growing out your it in a healthy way, trimming is an essential part of it. This is important because removing the ends of the hair prevents further splitting up the hair shafts. It is advisable to do this every six weeks will work magic on your long hair. For short hair, dusting or micro-trim works well. This barely means removing the most minimum off the dry ends.

Questions have been asked on how you know when it is time to do the trimming. There are some in-explainable bad hair days. On such, your hair always feels dry, straw- like and dull. This I when your curls are rough and frizzy and everything that can go wrong with your hair actually goes wrong. When these happen, you know it is time to trim. Basically, this should just be removing half an inch or an inch above the split ends.

It is evident that some people may never need to trim their hair regularly for it to appear fabulous while others are in dire need of trimming more often. This is caused by the different types of  texture and to some extent the components we use to treat them. Trimming is totally dependent on individuals and what you want to achieve .

Ways of trimming.

  1. Search and destroy method

This is the most commonly used method of trimming your hair. Although it is time consuming, the result is really gratifying. You will need good lighting, a mirror and a really sharp pair of scissors.  Make twists of your hair strands to make your work a bit simpler. Carefully and diligently look at the twists selecting the damaged hair and cutting it off. You wouldn’t want to cut that which is not damaged. This is a good way to do away with only the damaged hair on your head though it will need a lot of patience. You will be sure to do away with the split ends and knots.

  1. Individual Twists or Braids trim

Just like search and destroy method, a sharp scissor good lighting and a mirror is a must. You need to clip your mane from the end of medium to small twists. It is advisable to have smaller twists for better trims and better results. Unlike the search and destroy, you just cut the whole end of the twists. It is simpler and time saving.

  1. Straight hair trim

This can be done on either blown out hair or natural hair. Form large twists of hair with the strands on your head then trim the ends regularly. The advantage of doing this on straightened out hair is that you will be sure to remove the shrinkage. It also ensures that you do not cut off more than you intend to and the cut is even. Less shrinkage means easily manageable hair.

  1. Curls that no longer curl trim

Advisable for people whose clumps in curls but can also be done on any other hair. Sprinkle some water on your hair and run your fingers through it. This should be done on portions of hair at a time to ensure that all the strands are catered for. As you run your fingers, the texture should all be same. When you feel the texture change, it is a clear indication that the hair is damaged. Firmly hold the damaged part and cut it off using your sharp pair of scissors. Do this repeatedly to ensure all the damaged hair is cut off and all the strands have been taken care of.

CONCLUSION

Whether to have your hair trimmed or not is your personal decision. We all want it  long that is good looking, healthy and beautiful. If trimming it will make it longer, go for it. After all it is just hair; you can as well decide to keep it short! It will eventually grow.

Share: