Noni, what do you think about Teri from www.tightlycurly.com ? She states that she hasn't had a trim in about 10 years and mentions that if one is natural and using no heat, etc. then trimming isn't necessary.
Personally I think trims should be done at least once a year bare minimum and at least 1-2 inches should be taken off. If you're growing your hair out then trimming every 6 weeks may be too much but trimming once a year isn't so bad. To each his own though.
Here is what Teri Laflesh says about trimming:
I got the above quotes from Teri's website at www.tightlycurly.com in the Answer Bank section. Just type in the word "trim" in the search to pull up the questions and her answers. I find her views on trimming interesting. I do agree that those that are natural and don't use any dye or heat and also practice low manipulation can get away with not trimming as much but I still feel uneasy about the no trimming at all thing.
Nonie, you are a wealth of information and are so knowledgeable. That's why I'm asking your opinion about this. I know you believe in trimming too just like me, but Teri's hair doesn't look bad despite not having been trimmed in 12 long years, lol. It does make me wonder. I think trimming once or twice a year is good for someone that is natural and rarely uses heat but more frequent trims are needed for someone that frequently uses heat, relaxes, dyes, or uses drying hair products such as gels. So I can kind of see where Teri is coming from. The less you alter your hair, the less damage; thus, the less it needs trimming. But no trimming at all sounds a bit extreme to me.
I don't know many people with Teri's story and I can't knock her coz her hair is proof that
she doesn't need to trim. She might have magic hair.
I've also been thinking about this and from my own experience, trimming once or twice a year would've left me with short hair for life. (I'll post pics in a bit to demonstrate why I say so.) That said, I was not coating my hair with anything. I just was not manipulating it. So I got length.
It just wasn't the sort I was proud to have when I wasn't trimming regularly. And my ideal schedule is 6-8 weeks. Either Wanakee or Brenda (www.blackwomenrejoice.com) put that in my head and 1/4 inch is so little to lose in 2 months that I am very comfortable snipping away. And for those who think trimming that "often" would lead to hair not growing, let me correct the myth by showing you some pics.
Keep in mind I was not applying anything to my hair once it dried. I would shampoo twice a week, condition (I didn't know about deep conditioning or protein conditioning--learned that later in 2003 just before I joined the forum from Cathy Howse; nor did I know about ACV rinsing--learned that in 2004 on LHCF). So once I rinsed out conditioner, I just let my hair airdry and went about my business. I was in braids so manipulation was kept to a minimum, coz I wasn't using a comb even when I undid and redid one braid at a time. You can see there are a lot of things my regimen was missing that might have made a difference but what did I know?
In August 2001, I was relaxed with about an inch of new growth. I decided to transition because my hair was damaged and I wanted to prove to the new stylist I had found that my hair wasn't "the kind not meant for relaxing" as she had claimed. I planned to grow a new head of virgin hair and then go back and show her what my hair was made of and impress her with how good it looks relaxed when one starts from healthy hair. So I followed the regimen I just stated in the previous paragraph (which really initially was to wash my hair whenever it felt dry, and that eventually worked out to be twice a week). I also baggied nightly--something I have done since jherri curl days. I was cutting off a 1/4 inch of my ends every 6-8 weeks, by undoing a braid, snipping then rebraiding it before moving on to the next one to do the same.
By August 2002, I no longer had any relaxed hair and my hair was about 5-6 inches long stretched, having grown to that from one inch with me cutting off 1/4 inch every 6-8 weeks throughout the year:
Continuing with that regimen, trimming 1/4 inch (aka dusting) every 6-8 weeks, by August 2003, a month after I joined LHCF, my hair was about 9-11 inches stretched:
But now I was on a forum where I was discovering new ideas like trimming not being necessary and that moisturizers had to be used without fail. The idea that my hair would be longer w/o trimming and with keeping it moisturized was exciting. So I tried to adopt these new ideas...and by November 2003, my hair had thinned like crazy.
...which did not appeal to me at all. I had to cut off quite a chunk to get it back to what I considered "normal"
...which IMO was a loss much greater than if I had just kept on with my regular dusting.
I don't believe using moisturizers were the culprit. I believe it is the lack of trimming that allowed my splits to get longer and tear off higher up the strand leaving skinny ends.
So for those who believe that taking off this much__ every 6-8 weeks would stop you from having long hair, ^^there is proof that it isn't true. And I got that, when I was leaving out important things like moisture, sealing, DCing, protein treatments...all the things we know make hair grow well.
....as a natural and with my hair type the moral of the story is that i have to be dusted at least every 6 months or i can expect to get a haircut. trimming is a must, i think the more heat and chemicals you use require trims/dustings more often....for naturals who wear their hair textured ( wng's, twist/braid/knot outs) i think every 4-6 months is good. split ends are the debil,lol. no you can't avoid ever getting them but trimming/dusting along with proper maintanence keeps them at a minimum.
