~~ How Often To Trim & ~~
~~ Self Split End Trimming ~~
By Robert / PurpleBubba
Back to Articles Home / Contents
How Often To Trim
Trimming hair is a personal choice. In my opinion here are only 3 real reasons for trimming hair.
1. To remove damaged ends or split ends.
2. For giving hair shape if it has grown uneven. (See link near bottom)
3. To change the style of the hair because you desire a shorter length or shorter pieces such as bangs or layers.
So unless you have one of those reasons there is no need to trim. They say trim every 6 weeks but from what I've read in posts in the past 2 years there is no one size / time fits all with trims. Some people may have more damage than others due to chemicals or if they live in a climate that causes more damage or other factors.
Also a person could go 6 months without a trim get a trim and then maybe within 2 months they have splits and need a trim. Again weather, chemicals, heat damage, and lots of other things could cause that.
If you don't like getting trims in a salon my advice to you would be to read the rest of this page. If you cut your own splits then you will only have to get salon trims when you want to shape your hair. Be sure to get proper Scissors (Click here for article on choosing) because bad scissors can make things worse. You don't have to follow my directions exactly. Just simply snipping a few splits during a TV commercial once in awhile would be better than nothing.
Self Split End Trimming
You'll need 6 - 8 Clips or Small Ponytail holders or something to make sections.
Make a center part from forhead all the way to the nape of the neck dividing your hair in half.
Next make a part fron Ear to Ear that goes from side to side so that now you have + shaped partings & 4 sections.
Now Take the 2 back sections and split both of them into 2 smaller sections so that now you have 2 large Side sections and 4 small back sections. You can make these into small ponytails if you wish.
If you'd like to see an example diagram showing 8 sections Click Here
Now take the 2 sections furthest back and bring them around to the front and lay them on your chest. Pick up one of those two sections and start looking for split ends. If you spot a split end snip it off just barely above it. Continue working on these two sections & only these two until you are satisfied that they are split free.
Now here is where sectioning comes in handy. When you finish those first 2 sections you now have the option to go on to the next 2 back sections or you may stop and take all sections out and put off doing the rest till a later time or day. Please realize that any trimming method is going to take time. There are lots of hairs on a human head, that is why this method is good because you can take a break. Next time you trim just make the sections again and start with the 2 sections you left off at.
Okay now if you have all 4 back sections done, now split the 2 side sections into halves like you did the back. this gives you 8 sections all together to finish. You started with 2, 4, 6, sections, now you have 2 more.
Continue working 2 sections at a time, one right & one leftalways. Don't do 2 sections from the same side at on time, it's better to trim one per side. The neck helps keep your tails from mixing.
If you like this method then here is what I suggest so that you can get on a good schedule. Do 2 sections per week. So take a 4 week period. You do the 2 farthest back sections in week 1, do the next back sections week 2, then week 3 you do the 2 sections above the ear, then week 4 you do the very front sections. Then the following week you go back to the very back and start the
process over.
Now if you miss a week you have an option. Either start from the 2 sections you missed the previous week or do all 4 that should be done by then. It doesn't really matter as long as you stay going in order.
Here is what is nice about this, you can take 7 days to do those 2 sections. As long as you keep using those same sections you will never be out of place or forget where you left off. You just section the hair and look through the tails till you find the one you haven't trimmed yet. This can be a very relaxing thing once you get into it. You could section your hair and sit in your favorite chair to watch TV and then during the commercials trim a few splits off. The nice thing is the more you do this the less you have to do. You may get to the point where you actually have to wait a week or more just
to see any splits.
For those of you who are considering something more
like a normal trim to give your hair shape or make it
even you should consider trying these instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feye's Self Trimming Instructions
Feye has a page with instructions that she came up with for trimming or
cutting your own hair. This is for people with longer hair that can be made
into a ponytail. She has instructions for cutting Straight Across, Different "U"
Shapes, and "V" shapes. I have used her instructions to trim my own hair
into a slight "U" shape. Many others have tried them and had success as well.
About Me & Disclaimer I am a former cosmetology student who has completed 800 of my state's 1500 hours. The information on this site is meant to be taken in a casual sense and is not intended to be absolute fact nor professional advice. My opinions and articles are based on my learning in school as well as my participation in several hair care forums over the past 4 years. Please do not do anything dangerous like take vitamins or use chemicals solely based on what I have written. For things like that you should seek a professional or a doctor. I am Not an expert. I will never claim to be even if I do learn everything there is to know about hair. Please Be Careful.
If anyone has any questions about these articles you can Email Me Robert / PurpleBubba and I will help you.
