Hair 101: How to know when it is time to cut or trim your hair

A question that a hairstylist is often asked is… how often do I need to trim my hair? Weeks? Months? Years (No, please, no!)?

There are many answers to this question, with the most basic answer being somewhere between 4-12 weeks.

So, what is it? 4 weeks? 12 weeks? What is the perfect amount of time to for those lovely locks of hair on your head to grow between haircuts? Well, in order to figure that out I’m going to have to ask some questions.

First, what are your hair goals? Yes, that’s right, give it a think, what would you want to achieve with your hair, such as its health, length or style?

Perhaps you dream of having long flowing hair? 10-12 weeks is about right, giving the hair time to grow, but trimming off the damaged ends before they have time to travel up the hair shaft (yes, this can really happen & perhaps I can explain more of this process in an upcoming post if anyone is interested?). You may find, if you have a lot of damage to your ends from past chemical services, or environmental elements, that your hair may feel dry and get split ends faster. In this case, you may need to go in sooner or look into using a product line such as Olaplex or K18, which can help seal up split ends and keep hair strong.

Or maybe you are just trying to maintain a specific style…generally speaking, 6-8 weeks is the best time span before your hair starts to morph into some crazy unknown shape, but let’s dive in a little deeper…

For really short hair like a buzzcut, a short pixie, or a basic short (1-3″) haircut, the shape will most likely change around 2-4 weeks.

Short to medium, think short bob, or layered haircut, (3-5″) the shape generally changes around 4-6 weeks.

Medium length, (5-7″) longer bobs, shags, layers, this length usually starts to shift shape around 6-8 weeks.

Long hair (7″+), unless you have a lot of shorter layers also, longer hair doesn’t tend to change shape as much, so what is important, as previously mentioned, is to watch for dry and split ends. 8-12 weeks, depending on the health of hair.

What if you have bangs, or fringe? Bangs can be so much fun at first, but can change shape so fast, like in 2-3 weeks. You can always just schedule a bang trim (a hairstylist usually books out 10-15 minutes for this service) in between haircuts, keeping your style fresh.

Hair texture is something also to consider. If you have curly or textured hair, you may be able to go longer in between trims because curl patterns often hide imperfections, and helps to keep the shape a bit longer, but it is important to watch for split ends and know that regular trims can keep curls bouncier and more refined.

If your hair tends to be finer and on the limp side, know that while it has its advantages also, like the ability to look sleek in strait edge bobs, it also can change shape and get damaged from hair tools faster than thicker hair. Shorter time between haircuts may be necessary.

Did you know that seasons can also affect the way your hair grows? Hair often grows faster in the summertime due to an increase of heat and circulation increase. In colder months, hair often becomes drier and brittle due to extreme cold or dry environment. If you are into outdoor sports like swimming in the summer or winter skiing, the ends of your hair can be tortured by the sun, chlorine and wind. Certain healing hair products such as a chlorine remover shampoo or reparative conditioner can help. Trimming your hair sooner than later can help too.

Some people love, love, love the feel of freshly cut hair, while others like how their hair feels and lays best a couple weeks after a haircut (it’s good to remember this when booking a haircut around a special event). Some people just like to stretch it out as long as possible, savoring the change of having a new look when a lot of length is cut off. some people don’t like much change at all (best to go in sooner than later), It’s good to know your comfort zone, and this more than anything else will let you know how long you can go in between haircuts.

also, if you want to learn more about split ends, check out this video!