EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRIMMING NATURAL HAIR – My Natural Hair Extensions

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRIMMING NATURAL HAIR

I use to HATE scissors and someone coming remotely close to my hair with them was an absolute NO GO! At the beginning of my natural process, I was obsessed with having long hair like you probably once were or maybe still are. Trims use to be the enemy. Holding on to my straggly ends seemed like the thing to do. My method of cutting my ends didn’t make it any better. I use to do this whole day process of trying to flat iron my hair to be able to trim it. While really all I was doing was causing more damage to it. One thing I’ll admit to you is I AM the WORSE at FLAT IRONING MY HAIR or using heat in any capacity. This is why I prefer to use a wig or clip-ins. You can find some beautiful natural looking ones. However, you still have to show your hair love and cut the ends even when wearing your protective style. I believe most ladies end up hating trims as a result of going to the hair salon. Hairdressers are often scissor happy. If that wasn’t your experience that was definitely mine. I was made to feel like I needed a trim each and every visit. As a result, I did not want to do trims at all. 

Contents

How To Cut Your Hair

 So, I did what most naturalistas do… I stopped trimming or trimmed very rarely. After a while of treating my hair this way, I noticed that my hair was constantly breaking. No matter what I used or how gentle I was with my hair. Whether I used a brush, wide tooth comb, finger comb, it didn’t matter. It felt like absolutely anything would cause my hair to break into small pieces. My hair started to get thin, weak and brittle. I tried to hang on to my ends but when doing twists, braids or any cute natural style it would come out looking tacky (ends looked uneven and plenty of stragglers) and lifeless. When I had a perm I was told to trim every 4-6 weeks. Well, that is not the case. You just have to go by your own individual hair strands and the overall health and appearance of your hair. How often you need to trim will depend on how well you take care of your ends and your hairs’ natural ability to split and shed. 

You do what’s best for your hair.

 If your hair can look and feel strong 3 months, 6 months or even a year after a trim then, by all means, go for it. While others may need a trim 4 weeks after their last one. Listen to your hair! I do not recommend trimming on a schedule. Trim as needed. At first, I would be in denial that my hair needed a trim but once I brought myself some trimming scissors and cut a little of the lifeless ends. I absolutely loved the difference it had. The best part is when your hair is freshly trimmed prior to having your protective style wig or clip-ins in your hair can begin to grow evenly. Without the split ends travelling up the hair shaft your hair will flourish and look healthier. These are the differences I noticed that instantly made me love trims. 

1) My hair didn’t look as weak and seemed thicker

My fragile ends had my twists looking lifeless. The hair looked weight down by the ends rather than healthy. There were ends that were either straight or wouldn’t even curl and would just frizz up. What I recommend when doing a trim about 1-3 inches which I do once or twice a year. Throughout the rest of the year, dusting my ends here and there if I see a single strand knot or split in every 3 months or so. I absolutely love each style I do once it’s trimmed because it looks healthier.

2) Less breakage

I would wash my hair there would be a large over amount of shedding. At first, I just assumed it was the natural way my hair shed and that I just had more shedding than others. However, it was another way of me holding onto my length vs thinking about the health of my hair. If your hair is coming out a little too much or having small pieces break of it might be time for you to think about your hairs health and consider a trim or blunt cut.

3) Curls more defined and came back to life

I thought my curls and thickness disappeared on me. I blamed it on various factors…, maybe it’s due to the birth of my son or maybe it’s because I’m using the wrong products. NOPE, again it was just the fear of cutting my ends and losing the length I desperately wanted to have. Make sure you are using proper equipment. No craft or kitchen scissors. You want to use hair shears. Once I began researching how to do a D.I.Y cut I started seeing my curls form and my styles come back to life. Paging Dr. Dre gives a great example below on what to look out for when your hair is in need of a trim. The way she does it is only one way you can trim your ends. It might seem, great to hold on to your ends whether you’re transitioning or had some heat damage like me. However, trust me it makes a world of difference. I went from having thin hair that seemed like a needle in a haystack when styling. Now, my hair looks thick and healthy again they way I want it too.