We get it—sometimes when you're on a hair health or growth journey, getting a haircut is probably the last thing you want to do. But taking care of your hair is more than your diet, masks, and deep conditioners. Getting regular haircuts is also a part of that deal—and not cutting your hair for six months might be doing way more damage than good. But we got the experts—hair stylists Halli Bivona and Chase Kusero to give us all the tea on what happens when you decide to stretch out that haircut.
Meet the Expert
Halli Bivona is a master hairstylist at the John Barrett Salon in New York City. Her work has been seen in editorials, on red carpets, and on runways.
"By not cutting your hair, you are actually risking the length rather than letting it grow," says Bivona. It seems counterintuitive, but by frequently trimming your hair, you'll prevent breakage by removing the dead, fragile ends. When those ends split, they'll eventually travel up your hair and break it off higher, leaving your hair shorter than before—and such was the case with my sad, sad locks.
Byrdie Tip
Stress is very often one reason—among age, diet, and lifestyle—that your hair begins to thin. Trying to keep your stress levels down will lower Cortisol release in the body and help with mental health and hair growth.
It Causes External Damage
"Your hair will continue to rub against clothing, get ripped out by sunglasses, and generally get beat up by your day to day life," Bivona notes. "This roughs up the cuticle, which will cause your hair to lose its shine and cause added dryness and weakness. As your hair gets more damaged, unfortunately, it begins to break off and get caught up more often."
According to Bivona, the best way to protect your hair is to use a deep conditioning mask one to two times a week to smooth down the cuticle and infuse moisture back into your hair. You can use a generous amount of Olaplex Hair Perfector No 3 Repairing Treatment twice a week—it promises to work on a molecular level, seeking out broken bonds in your hair that are caused by chemical damage (like color) and working to repair them.
Kusero adds that how often you wash and condition can impact the hair, too. "The best advice for those with long hair is to wash the hair less," Kusero says. And when washing, use a clarifying shampoo and only condition the ends every other time so the hair isn’t weighed down and looks thick."
Byrdie Tip
Investing in a silk pillowcase may help with external damage even more by limiting friction as you sleep.
Your Natural Texture Won't Behave Like It Used To
If you have curly hair that's looking plain and limp instead of full and bouncy, that's a tell-tale sign it's time for a haircut.
"When you don't cut naturally curly hair, the ends become weak and don't hold their natural shape properly. So, by cutting off the dead ends, you bring life back into your curls," says Bivona.
So How Often Should You Cut Your Hair?
"To keep your hair growing, I recommend doing a dusting once a season," suggests Bivona, "that way you stay on top of those split ends, without cutting off your precious length." Hair artist Chase Kusero concurs — adding that a dramatic cut isn't necessary, just thin out the ends for healthy hair. "Get a very loose haircut, only cutting the shape with texture, so the hair appears to be un-cut, allowing the hair to hang naturally," he says.
"Leaving your hair too long can result in split ends
split ends
Trichoptilosis (from the Greek τριχο- tricho- "hair" and the New Latin ptilosis "arrangement of feathers in definite areas" from the Greek πτίλον ptilon "feather"), schizotrichia, and informally split ends, is the splitting or fraying of the hair-shaft due to excessive heat and mechanical stress.
, dry ends and breakage," Holmes said. "These things can then affect how your hair sits, i.e. in curly hair the curl will drop. In straight hair the ends will become thin and wispy." Cutting off those dead ends will bring life back to your 'do.
"By not cutting your hair, you are actually risking the length rather than letting it grow," says Bivona. It seems counterintuitive, but by frequently trimming your hair, you'll prevent breakage by removing the dead, fragile ends.
If you are prone to split ends or have flyaways, he says to go in for a hair appointment every eight to 10 weeks. If your hair is healthy and strong, you can get away with a trim every 10 to 12 weeks.
If you don't trim your hair often, split ends can emerge and progress up the hair shaft, causing increased breakage and a lackluster appearance. Broken and damaged hair can become tangled and knotted over time, making styling and everyday maintenance more difficult.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, regular trims can help prevent hair breakage that can keep your strands brittle and short. Even if you want to grow your hair out you should still cut your hair, just go a bit longer between trims.
"If you don't cut your hair, it may appear to stop growing," said Vitale. This is because as the ends get older and split, those splits begin to travel up the hair and cause breakage. So those with long hair may feel like it stays the same length, due to the ends breaking at a similar point."
After hair stops shedding, the hair will slowly grow back.This can take 6 to 8 months for all the hair to grow back. The whole cycle takes about 12 months. This type of hair loss is called telogen effluvium.
Going longer than 6 weeks between haircuts will allow splits and breakage to creep up your fine strands. This causes ends to appear straggly and frayed, making hair look even thinner. Regular trims boost volume and maintains your healthy ends.
FALSE: Cutting your hair only affects the shaft, but not the follicle, which is the part responsible for growth and premature loss. Getting your hair cut may mean you feel like it's falling out less as your split ends will have been removed and your hair will look healthier, but it has no impact on new growth or loss.
Do split ends stop hair growth? While split ends don't stop hair from growing at the root, if left untreated, the ends can break off - leaving some hair strands shorter than the rest of your hair.
Tuesday is called Mangal Var or the auspicious day. On auspicious days and on festivals cutting nails and haircut will not be done, as these activities are considered as inauspicious. Same way Thursday and Saturday.
Regular trims can indeed contribute to healthier-looking hair by removing split ends and preventing breakage, which might give the appearance of faster growth. However, the actual growth rate remains unchanged by cutting.
You see, when you get a haircut, the ends of your hair are blunt. This bluntness makes it difficult for your hair to lie flat, which is why it stands up more. After a week, the ends of your hair have had time to soften again and the bluntness has disappeared, so your hair lays down better and looks shinier.
Unfortunately this can happen! As a hairstylist we always want to help protect your hair, but things can go wrong. Knowing your scissors and how to care for them properly can help you to protect your clients hair when cutting. Using hair shears that are damaged or dull can cause further damage to dry, brittle strands.
What happens if you don't wash your hair enough? Not washing your hair enough can lead to dandruff, irritation, clogged pores, breakouts, and even hair loss over time, says Dr. Rubin, explaining that these issues are usually the result of buildup and residue from sebum, hair products, and dead skin cells.
If your hair is naturally in good condition you can really space out a hair trim anywhere between 3-6 months. The 3-6 month time frame really consists of the health of your hair, how well you maintain the health at home and of course when you notice those split ends showing up.
Skipping trims in the name of length can actually be counterintuitive. Contrary to popular belief, missing trims can make your hair more prone to split ends that travel up the hair shaft and cause breakage, resulting in less length overall.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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