Charrise asks:
-Describe your hair (coily, curly, wavy, fine, coarse, etc.)
– Do you ‘Search and Destroy’, clip the ends of twists, or
straighten to trim, or go to a salon?
-How often do you trim? How do you know when the time has come?
– My hair is fine and wavy (mostly s curls with a few coils).
-I conduct Search and Destroys and on occasion, will clip the ends of my twists.
-It depends on the condition of my hair. If my curls are acting a donkey and tangling and snagging no matter what I do, I’ll snip the ends of the twists prior to rolling them for a Twist-n-Curl (I do this a few times a year). Usually it’s a micro trim (less than an inch), but sometimes I’ll chop off more (like last December).
I conduct Search and Destroys whenever I happen to grab a curl and can see more than a split end or two without straining. I do this while sitting in front of the TV, or standing in the bathroom mirror… even while on the internet. The lighting in all three situations is perfect! After snipping a few, I become anal and my sessions can last more than an hour. I cut just above the split and apply moisturizer as I go. After I finish a S&D, I’m usually on my way to re-style, because it leaves me with a frizzy, undefined mess.
So yeah, I trim when detangling becomes more difficult than usual, and when I too easily run across split ends.
Also, I buy my hair shears from Target, Sallys, Walgreens, or Ulta. I never spend more than fifteen dollars and ONLY use them for my hair. I threw my shears away in early January because my preggy hormones were making me reach for them more often than usual. I’ll probably buy another pair in August.
Oh and by the way, my hair is thick! It's probably 4b or 4c. I'm not 100% sure. Let's just say that it's thick 100% Nigerian hair 🙂
I just trimmed my hair last night. I did small/medium twists all over and I cut the ends where it began to tapper off. I absolutely love the result. My hair looks great all over. My main issue is that I CANNOT stop touching my hair. I just love to play with it. Anyway, before last night, I hadn't trimmed my hair since October! Yikes! I was well over due.
I have 3c, it's very thick but each strand it selves are fine.
I just do search & destroy sometimes, i can never estimate with my hair how much i have cutted hahahah so i prefer s & d. 🙂 Eventhrough it takes long, i like to do it with on pc or watching tv. Just spend two hours today!? But it was indeed needed. I think over the next 6 months i will do it more regular, i want it longer for the summer.
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My hair is wavy/kinky.I dust my ends once in a while when needed.I braid my hair and use my hand as a guide(Feyes Method) and snip off the hair that sticks out! It's a great way of keeping up with my ends its addictive though.
@ CocoaDreamee…I don't think you can feel split ends..but you can definitely see them…it a piece of hair that is split…like ripping a piece of paper in half. It's best to find them and cut them where the split begins so it dosn't continue to split up the hair shaft.
I have hair like yours…very tight coils….4b hair and I don't have a trim schedule either. I trim about every 6 months. It's better to trim when the hair is straight.
The search and destroy method doesn't work for me. Too much work and too much time. If I see a knot or a split end…I will cut it, but that is when I see one. I don't search for them.
– My hair is curly. It's more fine and soft on the edges and in the back and more coarse in the middle.
– I tried the search and destroy method. It took me several hours to finish one side of my head and I gave up. I then tried cutting the ends of my twists, but realized that was not for me at all. Finally I decided to go back to my old faithful routine of straightening and going to the salon to get it trimmed every 3-4 months. I'm most comfortable with this method. When I blow dry and get a trim, I feel like they may be cutting off too much. I don't like using the amount of heat necessary to get my hair straight, but I figure that it's not too bad as long as I treat my hair really kindly the rest of the time.
-I trim every 3-4 months. When I start noticing large numbers of individual knots on the ends of my hair, I know it's time. I've seen these knots cause splits in the past which I know are only going to get worse.
WAVY HAIR
TWIST AND SNIP, FLAT IRON AND TRIM
I TRIM AS NEEDED. WHENEVER I NOTICE THE ENDS OF MY HAIR IS GETTING SNAGGED I JUST TRIM IT OFF.
I have thick, coily hair (very tight coils)
I only do search and destroy if there is a knot I just cant get out, I usually just tug and it comes out right above the knot, (as I type this I see how bad that sounds LOL) but uh…I don't have a trim schedule anymore. When I do trim it's when my hair is in twists. Here's a stupid question, what does a split end look/feel like?
Oops, forgot to say that my strands are mostly medium, but I have some that get pretty fine and some that get a lot coarser. I really have a mixed bag of every factor you can think of for hair on my head.
My hair is tiny kinky S waves that coil into O's on the ends, around 12" give or take a few all over.
I typically trim the ends of twists. I was doing every other month, but I'm now trying out every 6 weeks. I have a calendar reminder set. I also search and destroy when I see something and feel motivated.
However, I think having someone else trim would be more effective, simply because they can see my entire head at once and wouldn't tire from the arms up thing.
Thank you, Nikki for the post. But I also have a question. When you have small knots in your hair do you cut those out as well? Or do you allow them to grow out?
I have curly hair!
The easiest way for me is to twist the hair, then trim the ends that look raggedy, dry and brittle…I could go to the hair salon, but I prefer to do most things by myself.
I usually trim every 6-8 weeks, or whenever my ends are looking real crusty
which brands of scissors are good? so many choices!
Nikki you've read my mind!!! i've been wondering about this.
did a search and destroy recently but only on a half of one of the rear quarters on my head b/c of lack of time. will probably recommence this as a regular practice.
i trim when there are too many splits and when my hair becomes less manageable. the ends are usually very rebellious anyway, but when they REFUSE to smooth, i know it's time to cut.
I JUST DID THE BIG CHOP MY HAIR IS THICK AND CURLY THIS MY SECOND TIME GOING NATURAL I NORMALLY TRIM ON DRY TWIST THEN APPLYING SOME TYPE OF OIL.I NORAMLLY JUST TRIM WHEN I NOTICE A LOT OF SPLIT ENDS.
My hair is fine and coily. I got my first trim last month since my big chop which was three months ago. I trimmed it because my ends were tangled and knotty. So I will probably trim every two to three months.
– My hair is thick and curly
– I do S&D as well as straighten to trim
– Color has dried my ends so I trim to get rid of splits and move closer to getting the dreaded color out of my hair. When the ends are dry and my fro looks ragged, I know it's time to cut (usually every 2 months).
– My hair is kinky and curly (but manageable)
-After trying to cut my hair by myself (horrific experience), I have learned my lesson and I go to the salon to get my hair trimmed.
-I trim my hair every 6-8 weeks at the salon or when i notice that my ends are really dry and brittle.