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Update Picture, here's me, 2 days after a haircut.
As you can see from the picture I always keep the front of my hair much shorter than the back. (In fact my hair is layered throughout.)
One of the perks of cutting my hair this way, is that after a trim, because I have more taken off the front, and just the split ends taken off the length whilst maintaining the layers is that my hair actually "looks" longer after I have it cut.
Its an optical illusion, because the difference between the length of my bangs and the length at the back increases. Its actually about a quarter of inch shorter than it was 3 days ago, but it "looks" 2 inches longer.
I can tell, but regardless, it looks absolutely FABULOUS!!!!!
Justin~
ps: Trims have a place. Trouble is, most guys are not as sensitive as you in knowing how to go about it to the ultimate advantage.
Looks great!!!
peace, jonalbear
Your hair looks great! very nice and a great photo. I have been trying to decide what to do with mine, oyu may have hit on it there with your cut. to bad I can't go to the same person! But I can find someone to trust. Thanks for sharing it looks nice. Take care
In this picture your hair looks fine and one can't tell about a cut which is good. In the second one the short hair in front of your shoulders does not look right at all.
Lest any one new get any ideas, David is well adept at getting trims the way he wants them and has a hair dresser he can trust. So beware if you think you can copy this - most hairdressers do not understand how to meet these requirements at all and disaster is merely a second away.
That's because the rest of my hair is pushed behind my shoulders and hanging down my back.
This is true.
Its actually just a matter of understanding a bit of the jargon about cutting hair and talking to a hairdresser in terms they clearly understand, don't be vague be explicit.
For example, my prime directive to my hairdresser is "take as much as necessary to get rid of my split ends, but as little as possible." Before the first cut is made we agree how much needs to come off the length. Because I get my hair cut every 3 months, this amount is usually between 1/4-1/2 of an inch. So I always have net growth.
If you are unsure of your ability to communicate the cut you want, take a photo. Don't shy of taking a picture of a woman with longhair if it illustrates the style you want.
I work on the principal that if you have short hair then you get your hair cut in a particular style and there are many different styles to choose from. For some reason though when it comes to cutting long hair, most men just think that "long" equals a single style and it patently doesn't. And a long hair style is defined as much by how it is (or isn't) cut as it by whether its worn loose, in ponytail, braid etc.
Women who have longhair will have it cut in variety of ways as guys we shouldn't shy away from all those options either. The same variety is open to us and we should be bold enough to explore it.
Have you encountered a slowing of your growth rate? I found that mine slowed drastically around mid-back. If had the cuts 4 times per year you get, I would keep losing length overall. If your growth rate remains steady though, I guess you could make it all the way to classic with such trims.
I thought I had reached terminal, but I've found that by trimming regularly I need to have a very minimal amount taken off the length.
I didn't get my hair cut at all for 12 months between Feb 2009 and Feb 2010, and by the end of the year it looked so tatty and frayed that the little length it had gained was invisible as it was limited to a few unbroken strands. I really thought I'd hit terminal length.
After my cut in Feb 2010, I had a net gain of just 1 inch on February of the previous year.
However, throughout 2010-2011 I've been getting my hair cut more regularly and I've noticed my hair has been getting longer again, even though I have had more trims.
Its not that cutting your hair makes it grow faster, but damaged ends break more easily than freshly cut ends.
So getting 1/2 inch trimmed every 3 months helps maximise the potential growth over the period (1.5 inches/3months typical) by minimising the growth lost to damage.
I now think I have a chance of going to for waist length as my growth rate is currently at about 4 inches per year (after trims) which considering I thought I'd hit terminal length is pretty awesome.
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Your method works well for you, and will work best for anyone with fragile, easily damaged, hair. Your hair easily gets weathered and tattered at the ends. Mine does not, when at similar length as yours. Mine has to be much longer to sustain damage. My super long strands (3 feet plus) do sustain damage. The ends just break off. My hair reaches my knees.
Scott
Scott you are totally right, if you have curly or wavy hair then your hair is naturally weaker and as such more prone to damage, but also if like me you use heat-styling (hairdryers, GHDs) then your hair will also take more damage.
So if you have a strong natural hair-type and are extremely gentle with your hair, you can achieve good constant growth rates until your hair reaches your butt or even beyond!
But equally if you have a naturally weaker hair type and/or you give your hair a bit of abuse with regular heat styling then a trim every 3-4 months can stop damage limiting the length your hair will grow to.
I sometimes feel like I'm a lone-gun advocate of trims, but I'm not the only person it works for, look at pretty much every young woman you see with hair that beyond the middle of her back, I can guarantee that most of them worked the trim method and all of them that colour their hair definitely have.
I have to say you make a pretty convincing case, especially after relating your results from not trimming for a whole year.
I think my hair type is quite similar to yours. I have mostly fine hair with a bit of medium textured hair mixed in. It also gets a lot of wear and tear from my physically active lifestyle.
I've been waiting longer between trims (6 months) and I've been having to get 2 inches cut off because the ends are so wrecked. I'm giving serious consideration to your routine of trimming more often but less hair when you do.
Jason the nice thing about having hair as long as ours is that we have plenty of hair to play with. We can try something and if it doesn't work out... Well, we've have been doing this long enough to have the patience to grow back the few inches we've lost.
I do think that if for the next couple of haircuts you trimmed 1 inch every 3 months instead of 2 inches every six, your hair would suffer less damage between trims. And then during the second half the year you would be able to drastically reduce the amount you had cut to say 1/4-1/2 inch every 3 months and rapidly increase your net growth.
The reason I think this method works is because once your ends are damaged they snag more, as you battle to comb out the knots, this increases the damage. Getting the ends cut regularly makes them less likely to snag and in the short-term protects your hair from damage.
A way to test this theory is see if your hair (particularly the ends) gets harder to comb when its been 3-4 months since your last cut compared to 0-2 months. If you notice you are battling your hair more later in your "trim cycle" then its time to reduce the time between trims. If you find this to be the case then I'm confident this "trim little, trim often" method will work out better for you.
After reading through this thread I've decided that I should go ahead and get a maintenance cut now rather than waiting for my hair to grow out a bit more. Originally I thought I'd be sufficiently past the awkward stage by the end of January, but I'm not quite there yet. However I'm starting to think that if I wait much longer the tips of my longest hair is going to be so beat up that I'll end up having to take more off. Sometimes the obvious isn't always so obvious. :)
Before anyone asks, I have a hairdresser I trust to do exactly what I want and err on the side of caution. She always tells me it's easier to take a bit more off if needed than glue it back if we take off too much. :)
--Dale
Hi Sorted, good to see ya again here:)I have to say that is a unique cut and seems to work for you but I would be very uneasy trying to copy that cut for myself.My hair is perfectly straight, just like yours, but I'd be afraid of the volume I'd loose being my hair is not all that thick anyway.You know us guys with fine straight hair have to be careful;)Still I give you credit for trying and fortunately you have a trusted stylist who didn't ruin your hair.Cheers my friend.
Mark
Hi Sorted,
You are truly lucky to have the type of hair you do (thick and straight), and your new cut turned out very well indeed. I cannot afford to layer my hair in any way, since it is not that thick. (after all, I will be 58 years old in August, which is far from young)
It is always good to see you posting!
Take care,
David
My hair is actually naturally wavy, but I can straighten it with a hair-dryer or using a GHD. So the picture is a little deceptive of my natural hair state.
I didn't see the "before" pic so ovbiously that fact
disqualifies me from offering you my "comparison opinion.
BUT I am able to give you my opinion on your current look: Great looking!
Thanks for sharing and Good Luck!
This haircut has done your hair very well (don't think I'll say that too often here). The colors combine with the style to make an awesome look.
Thanks very kind of you to say.
Great looking hair. That's one of the benefits of having long hair; if the hair is healthy and a great color, it adds an additional quality to a person's overall appearance. And you've certainly struck gold with your hair.
Thank you very much!
While I do prefer the all-one-length look, I have to say you pull off the layered look very well and it seems to be working well for you.
Cheers Jason n/t
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Hi David. I would never be able to tell that you had a trim. Your hair looks fantastic. Whoever it is that does your hair is worth their weight in gold.
Scott
I actually changed hairdresser's last year, because the girl who used to cut my hair was first pregnant then seriously ill and off work for over a year. I've been able to get on with most stylists by just having a free and frank discussion about what I want, listening to their advice and asking questions when I didn't understand something.
The horror stories usually result from one of 3 things:
1) You go a barber instead of a unisex salon, (barbers have no idea how to cut long hair, they are never taught and have no practice).
2) You go to a hairdresser after 6 years of no trims and expect to get away with just having half an inch off! Er NO! Generally your should expect to lose an inch for each year you have gone without a haircut. (Remind yourself though that 1 inch = two months growth, not a long time and that if you return 3-4 months later you will not need to have anywhere near as much length taken off.)
3) You fail to communicate what you want and don't agree what is going to happen to your hair before the stylist starts snipping.
I agree! I've never had any trouble when getting "trims", or even when cutting several inches. My hairdresser knows what she's doing, and she does ask questions.
Salons are not evil, you just need to learn which ones are good and which ones are not. You can't expect to get exactly what you want from a small barber shop that charges $5 for a haircut, at least not with long hair.
Looks great David!
Very nice job done with the trim and maintenance.
- Oren