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Hey guys!
I have been growing my hair for about 10 months now and I have not been to the hairdressers at any point during that time. What is worrying me is that people keep telling me that I need to get it trimmed or I'll get split ends. If I leave it untrimmed the split ends may split up the hairshaft and when I finally go to the hairdressers they will cut LOADS off!
This is really worrying me as I am only 16 years of age. I wash and condition my hair most days and it seems to be in good condition it's just the split end nightmare is terrifying me! HELP ME!
Also, is it normal to have your hair thin and receede a little when it gets longer? My hairline has gone further back than it was 10 months ago.
Thanks.
Yup, that sounds about right. I don't know about having to cut loads off, but you might find your hair some length shorter than it was when you went in.
The last time I had mine trimmed (about a year now), the hairdresser had to cut nearly 4 inches off before she reached the point where the split ends ended.
Those are the split ends your friends have been warning you about. Split ends do that. Get it trimmed, asap.
Split ends are caused by bad hair care, not by non-trimming. Well-cared-for hair will not split until it is very old, and I mean a lot older than ten months of growth. If your hair is only ten months old, you've got to be abusing it bigtime to be getting split ends already. Do you already have them? It appears you are only confronting the possibility down the pike at this point, but since you've raised the point, it makes sense to at least ask.
You say "people" are telling you to get a trim. "People" is a plural word. And they "keep telling you" that. Man, how many people are telling you that and how many times? I seldom had anyone come up to me with advice when I was growing it out, and I sure never got the same advice twice. I smell a rat here, and the rat I smell is people ganging up on you to frustrate you and hopefully derail your efforts to grow your hair.
Not unless you let them! What do you think will happen if you don't go to a hairdresser's at all? You will become a longhair is what.
First of all, you don't need to trim off splits if you don't have them. Trimming off healthy hairs accomplishes nothing other than making you have less hair.
Second of all, splits will not travel up the shaft to the roots and make you bald. Several of us who've heard that line and ignored it found it to be a falsehood. Once you start taking care of your hair the shafts will cease to split and the split parts will eventually break off where the splits start.
But you probably don't even have splits yet.
The good news in that last sentence is your hair seems to be in good condition. I take that to mean it is not split now. The bad news there is you are washing your hair every day. That is probably overdoing it, and thus inviting splits to appear in months or years to come. The solution though is not to cut off healthy hair now. It is to stop abusing your hair so much. Wash and comb it as little as you need to. Most longhairs wash their hair two or three times a week and some do it just weekly. You have to experiment to find out what works best for your hair. In between washes with shampoo, you can just moisten your hair with water for control, or soak it a bit more to help move the oil from your scalp down into the ends where the hair is drier.
Take care of your hair and there will be no nightmare. Your future holds dreams of a flowing mane. :-)
Length alone does not cause a thinning of the hairline above the forehead. Your hair may be lying on your head in a different way now because of its length or its weight. The weight of it may be pulling it flat against your scalp, letting more of the scalp show, for example. Try combing your hair in a different direction if that bothers you.
You don't have to worry about baldness because you are growing your hair, and you don't have to worry about split ends at the short length of hair you now have if you take care of your hair.
So relax man, take care of your hair, and enjoy growing your mane! (Remember, the fastest way to do that is to "just say no" to trims.)
I agree with most if not all of what Bill says in principle but I'll add a few comments below Bill's.
From some of the guys I see and speak to including my brother, it is a general observation (though not applying to all guys) that guys don't care for their hair as much as girls. They don't condition it as much, they brush or comb it more harshly and they tend to keep it tied straight back into a ponytail often with an elastic band (ugh!!). I agree it is a question of damage and time, but I would say that guys should keep an eye out for them. Also, I and a couple of girls I know with long hair trim or look for our splits at least once a week while watching tv.
Maybe so - or maybe just some helpful well intended advice. Just keep growing. Just take off the minimum needed and don't let them become a problem so lots does have to get chopped off. Prevention is better than cure.
Hmmm... but I would say that an occassional visit to a salon is worthwhile. I have seen a lot of long haired ladies and men (more so men) who have very bad looking hair at their ends and could well do with some harsh treatment, to get their hair looking good. Length isn't everything, go for the longest hair you can in the best condition you can get it.
Absolutely agree on this one :)
Ha Ha... I never heard that one. Agreed again :)
But you may as well check. Get used to taking the time to look after your hair. If you want really long hair then it will be 4 or 5 years old at the ends. What's a few minutes a week (say 30 mins) in 4 or 5 years of growth.
Hmmm... I wash my hair more or less every day. But using a gentle shampoo and being gentle with your hair, as well as the conditioner you use is important too. Don't let your hair get too greasy either - long lank hair looks horrible :(
This could be true. Also do you tie your hair back a lot into a ponytail. I have heard this can cause the front hair line to recede a bit if done too tight or too often.
Good luck :)
Sam
I agree, I haven't had a haircut for 1.5 years, going from bald. Everytime I hit a dead end in terms of hair care, I go straight to the books and internet. Now I have a good small collection of quality hair products, after researching what my hair needs and doesn't need. When I was growing my hair out it just seemed like it was never going to look good. It was kinky, hard, and didn't have a pleasant feel to it. Little did I know that my hair was going to look better long! The texture was because I had curly hair, now I get compliments all the time from women because I take care of my ringlets. I treat it like silk, and I trip out when I accidentally even pull a snag a little bit when I detangle in the shower. I strive for perfection. Going too far? Maybe, but I think it's all worth it.
OK. I'm going to throw in my two cents. But first, there is a correct way to trim split ends. Using this technique, you don't lose overall length.
Grab a small bunch of hairs (experiment a little with the amount). Take this lock and twist it until all the ends poke out. Now simply snip all the ends, but only the ends with damage. Damage will be split ends. It may also be other damage that has not achieved split status yet. Generally, damaged hair looks lighter in color, like it's scuffed.
Trimming the whole head by the same amount is easier, but it removes a lot of hair that doesn't need to be removed.
Your experience with splits will depend upon the quality of your hair. My head hair is over 45 inches long now (using the GM measuring method), and my beard extends down to my waist. The hair on the top of my head exhibits splits very differently to how my beard does. My scalp hairs generally have splits only at the very ends, if at all. These don't generally spread either. My beard, however, has hairs that sometimes even emerge split. Sometimes a single hair will have dozens of splits running down the length of the shaft. Other hairs will sometimes get a split and gradually spread down the shaft until it travels all the way to the root. Usually, though, if it travels, it divides the hair into two unequal parts until one part simply shears off the other. Sometimes a split will show up in the opposite direction to what you would expect (one shaft at the end and two near the base).
The point is that hair varies.
The way you treat your hair, though, can greatly affect its condition. The ends are most susceptible to breakage for the same reason that the fastest part of a whip is the end. Furthermore, if you have an untrained brush/comb stroke, it is probably strongest when the tool is at the ends of the hair. This is where Samantha's comment that guys are rougher comes in.
To properly brush your hair with minimal damage, always make the end of the stroke lighter than at the base. This is hard to do until you get used ot it.
If you want long hair stay out of arms reach of hairdressers.
Get a magnifying glass and take a close look at the ends of your hair.
If you can even find any split ends you'll see that they are very short splits. Do what you will with them, but NEVER turn yourself over to a hairdresser with scissors if you want long hair.
In fact, its a good idea just to back away from any overly helpful people who start talking to you about "split ends."