Trimming your natural hair is key to retaining length and maintaining healthy curls and coils. It’s one of those things people are scared to do during their natural hair journey even though there are many benefits of trimming your natural hair. Neglecting trims could result in less hair growth! Simple reason being is if you don’t nurture or maintain your ends then you’ll have a problem with damage. If you’re damaged ends aren’t snipped, they’ll end up travelling up your hair shaft eventually leading you to cut significant amounts of your hair.
We’ll be breaking down everything you need to know re; the benefits of trimming your, how to incorporate trimming into your natural hair regimen. Plus, some techniques to help. Continue reading to learn more or click on the contents for areas of interest to you.
Why Trimming your Natural Hair is Important?
Snipping the ends of your hair can be a daunting experience for some Naturalista’s. We seem to be obsessed with holding onto our straggly ends because we want to hold onto our length and feel a trim will affect our hair growth progress. But holding on to unhealthy ends could actually bite you in the butt in the long run. Unfortunately, split ends and single strand knots affect our hairs overall health and ability to hold on to our new growth. So it’s best to embrace the benefits of trimming your natural hair so it doesn’t become a hindrance.
Here’s a rundown of how split ends can hinder you from retaining length;
- Split ends are caused by the natural wear and tear of your hair and although it’s easy to maintain your hair’s health through a consistent regimen. It’s impossible to completely eliminate split ends without a trim. If you don’t get rid of them, they’ll continue to split all the way up your hair shaft leading to more damage and loss of the entire strand.
- Split ends and single strand knots can snag and tangle easily. Once tangled, detangling your natural hair will become much harder and you’ll end up tugging/pulling on your hair which leads to breakage
- Split ends lead to scraggly and frizzy ends which makes your hair lack volume and become unhealthy.
How Trimming your Natural Hair Regularly Benefits Hair Growth?
Trimming your natural hair regularly can contribute to you maintaining healthy hair which is crucial for growing long hair. But it doesn’t actually make your hair grow faster.
Hair growth begins with your scalp and various factors can contribute to how fast it grows such as genetics, eating habits, supplements etc. Whereas the ends of your hair are the oldest part of your hair and tend to have the most damage i.e. split ends, single strand knots, fairy knots etc. One of the benefits of trimming your natural hair is it gets rid of those damaged ends and stops it from getting worse or leading to any unnecessary breakage.
Trimming and hair growth work hand in hand. To achieve growth, you need to focus on your scalp and hair follicles. But to retain length, you need to have a hair routine/regimen that incorporates regular trims. Sometimes, we’re scared to snip those end’s because we might feel we’re getting rid of our hair growth’s progress. This is where you need to change your mindset about trimming and align it with positive thinking. Think about it as a process of getting rid of damaged ends and keeping your hair healthy.
The Difference Between a Trim, Dust and Cut
You might have heard these phrases being used interchangeably but they actually mean different things. It’s important to understand the differences so you’re choosing the right method for your hair care needs.
TRIMMING helps you maintain the length of your hair whilst removing any damage. It’s basically a way of maintaining your initial cut without losing too much length.
DUSTING is a cutting technique which involves removing just the damaged ends of your hair. The length removal in this process is very minimal and focuses on just removing the split ends of the oldest part of your and any unhealthy flyaway along the length of your hair.
A CUT is just a cut. Here you’re cutting your hair into a shape or style. You’re taking off slightly more than you would with a typical trim. The amount you remove will vary depending on the style you’re looking to achieve.
How Often Should you Trim your Natural Hair?
Your hair grows an average of six inches in a year! During that time your style will definitely start to grow out and your ends will need tidying. Most stylists recommend trimming your natural hair every 3 months and dusting every 2 months. However, depending on your texture, hair, length and style – you may do it more or less regularly. Basically, what works for one Naturalista might not work for you.
The key is to incorporate trimming into your natural hair care routine. If you’re new to trimming we recommend every 3 months until you get used to it. If you’re experiencing breakage and split ends then you might opt for every 8 weeks until your hair is nursed back to health. Some people may stretch their trims to every 4 to 6 months but only do this if your hair is healthy and you’re not experiencing excessive shedding or breakage.
Whatever you decide, REMEMBER not to skip your trim! Although trimming your hair doesn’t actually result in hair growth. We’ll cover the full list of the benefits of trimming natural hair as you continue reading. In the meantime, it’s important to understand that trimming helps you retain length and reduces breakage. With time, your hair will become healthier, leading to less hair being taken off at the ends.
How to Know if your Type 4A, 4B or 4C Needs a Trim ASAP?
Curly, Coily and Kinky hair is prone to breakage due to the tight curl pattern. If you’re a beginner at getting trims or don’t know when is the right time to get a snip. Here are some signs that will help you figure out if your hair is in dire need of trim;
Your ends are becoming extremely dry and rough
Some people are prone to dry hair but if your hair is continuously dry after moisturising then it could be a sign your hair is not retaining moisture due to the amount of split ends and knots. If this is the case, pay close attention to the ends of your hair and inspect it to see if the split ends have travelled upwards to the rest of your hair shaft
Detangling becomes difficult and your hair snags easily
This is a quick tell-tell sign especially if you’ve found your detangling process to be smooth in the prior weeks. It’s likely your hair is snagging due to single strand knots making detangling frustrating. As a result, you might end up pulling on your hair due to lack of patience leading to breakage.
Loss of volume and/or shape
If you notice that your hair is lacking definition or volume, that’s a sign that your coil or curl structure is suffering. Getting a trim can revive your curls and bring them back to life.
The best way to stay on top of your trims is by setting up a calendar alert, whether you decide to opt for 8, 12 or 16 week trims. Book them in and set reminders so you don’t forget. Although snipping that regularly may feel like you’re stopping your hair’s growth progress. In the long run, you’ll see the benefits. You can always do a length check each time you get a trim and document your progress through pictures to monitor your length retention.
10 Benefits of Trimming Natural Hair
We’ve covered quite a fair bit regarding the importance of getting regular trims and why you need to incorporate them into your hair regimen. Now let’s get into the benefits for your natural hair.
1. Prevents/ Gets rid of split ends
As we mentioned earlier, split ends can be seen as the enemy of progress during your hair growth journey. They are caused by natural wear and tear, excessive dryness, heat damage and chemicals. They’re found on the oldest part of your hair so it’s only natural for them to appear. Unfortunately, you can’t stop them from reappearing but you can minimise how often they appear. The only way to eliminate them completely is through trims or opt for a clean cut depending on how bad they are.
2. Prevents single strand knots
Single strand knots can cause frustration for Naturalista’s! They’re usually caused by the strand of your hair twisting and tangling around each other. If you’ve ever stroked your fingers through your hair and run into what feels like a tied knot then you’ve definitely encountered a single strand knot. The reason why they’re even more annoying is because they get caught on other hair strands leading to excessive tangling. When you pull on them or try to unravel them – it can weaken your hair strands causing breakage. Keeping your hair in a stretched state can minimise them from re-appearing but that isn’t practical all the time especially when you want to wear your hair in its natural state.
3. Makes detangling easier
Detangling as we know takes a lot of patience and is one of the most delicate steps in our natural hair care routine. Detangling with split ends and knots make the process a lot harder and you’ll end up tugging, pulling and ripping on your hair when these knots appear regardless of how careful you are. Making your hair strands weaker and leading to excessive shedding and/or breakage whilst using your detangling tools. Trimming your hair supports you to detangle with ease but also makes the process quicker.
4. Prevents thin ends and makes hair appear thicker
If the ends of your hair appear thinner than usual then this is a big sign you’re in need of a trim. Trimming those ends improves your hair health and also improves thickness all around. It’s important to note; that thin ends can be influenced through genetics, lifestyle or how we manipulate our hair but getting rid of them will encourage healthier and more voluminous looking hair. Your hair will look thick and healthier from root to tip.
5. Supports heat damage recovery
Heat can cause our natural curl or coil pattern to change when misused, ultimately leading to damage. Unfortunately, once your hair stands are damaged it’s not reversible. The only way to get rid of the damage is by getting a cut or trimming small amounts of your hair until all the damage is gone. It’s important to note that heat isn’t bad for your hair, just remember to use a good a protectant and opt for low heat settings if you can. If you use heat regularly then it’s even more important to get your regular trims to get rid of frazzled ends that can be caused from heat.
6. Helps with length retention
Although trimming doesn’t actually grow your hair, it helps retain length. Some people can get baffled with how this works – it’s pretty simple tbh. All you’re doing is getting rid of parts of your hair that would cause more damage to the full length of your hair. You’re reducing breakage and split ends from travelling up into the hair shafts which ultimately end up stunting your growth. On average your hair grows half an inch a month or up to 6 inches per year. You usually trim your hair every 3 months and typically get rid of quarter of an inch to an inch. Let’s say you’re cutting off an inch per trim, you’re still left with 3 inches at the end of that year. Some people’s hair grows at a different rate but hopefully this gives you an idea of how trimming and length retention work hand in hand.
7. Promotes Healthy Hair
Healthy hair is a key end goal in any natural hair care journey. There’s no point having long gorgeous locks that look frazzled, dry and riddled with loads of knots. Holding on to damaged ends has no benefit in your hair care routine as you’ll be left with excessive breakage. Trimming your hair regularly is a must for healthy hair and will keep it in the best possible condition.
8. Gets Rid of Swollen Ends
Have you ever experienced the ends of your hair looking puffier compared to the hair closer to your roots? Well, that’s a sign of damage and can affect your coil or curl definition. You can use treatments such as detoxifying, clarifying and treatment masks to minimise the swelling. But it’s best to trim them as they appear instead of holding on to them.
9. Makes styling easier
You’ll experience less knots and tangling when trying to style your hair. Plus, your hairstyles will come out looking a lot better. The worst thing is spending so much time on styling and it ends up being lacklustre and not how you envisioned purely because your damaged ends are affecting the end result of the style.
10. Reduces Frizz
This is one of our favourite benefits of trimming. Frizzing can be part and parcel of dealing with curly and coily hair. There are many ways to combat it like using the right products and sleeping with satin scarfs. Trimming is another method which can be used to keep your frizz under control, making your hair appear sleeker and smoother.
FAQ’s re: Trimming your Natural Hair
1: How often should you trim your natural hair for growth?
If you’re concerned about retaining length and think regular trims will affect your progress then we recommend getting a trim every 3 months. However, you need to ensure your hair care routine is top notch to keep it healthy. You might consider the dusting technique when you see split ends and knots appearing to minimise the amount that needs to be cut off when it’s finally time to get your trim.
2: Is it better to trim natural hair on wet or dry hair?
Most stylists recommend trimming on dry stretched hair because this is the actual full length of your hair in comparison to its shrunken state. Your hair is typically weaker when wet and can lead to frayed ends if not done properly. So stick to dry hair to play it safe – it’s also easier to see the damage and amount you need to snip off when your hair is dry.
3: What happens if you don’t trim your natural hair?
Don’t skip out on trimming even though it may feel like a painful exercise. We can’t stress enough that by not trimming your hair, you’re risking your natural hairs health and the opportunity for it to grow. Plus you’ll end up with excessive shedding, split ends, knots and breakage which lead to you getting a cut instead of just snipping up to an inch.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the benefits of trimming your natural hair are endless. Trimming your hair regularly and maintaining healthy luscious locks go hand in hand. Although, it feels like you’re not making progress due to the amount of times you need to get a trim that’s just in the mind. Trimming your hair actually adds many benefits to your hair’s progress. We suggest documenting your progress if you’re concerned, through length checks and progress pics. This will help you make adjustments to your routine as needed. The key is to get rid of split ends and any damage as soon as possible so it doesn’t travel into the rest of your hair shafts.
How often do you get trims? AND What benefits have you seen from incorporating this into your hair regimen?
