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how often do you need a haircut

How Often Do You Need a Haircut?

There’s nothing like a fresh-from-the-salon haircut, whether you’ve just gotten a trim, decided to switch up your style and haircut length, or gone for a big chop. You can leave the salon feeling brand new.
11 Jun 2021
Haircuts are essential for healthy curls and hair growth, so even if you aren’t making a dramatic change, you should still make it a point to get regular trims. Trimming split and dead ends prevents them from damaging the rest of your healthy hair. And you’d be surprised how easy it is to get split ends, no matter how well you’re caring for your hair. A regular haircut will help keep your curls in top shape.

It’s nice to change up your style every once in a while, but how often should you get a haircut? If you’re newly natural or just trying to retain length, you might consider skipping the curly girl haircut in favor of nourishing your hair. However, a regular haircut is key for your hair’s health and a key part of natural hair care. With that said, “regular” might not be as often as you’d think, and it’s not one-size-fits-all either. Read on and we’ll break down how often you should book your salon visits.

How Long Should You Wait Between Haircuts?

For healthy hair, sans split ends and breakage, you can wait a few extra weeks or months in between trims and consult with your hairstylist to see if a trim or a cut is really needed. The general recommendation is every three to four months, which shapes up to about four trims a year.

How Often Should You Cut Natural Hair?

So, how often should you get a regular haircut if you have natural hair? Those with curls know that sometimes the general guidelines don’t apply, kind of like conditioner bottles that recommend a dime-sized amount. However, for trims, you can also follow the three- to four-month guideline, especially if you’ve noticed breakage, damage, or split ends. Often, you’ll be able to tell when your hair’s in desperate need of a trim, because it’s dry, thin, dull, or maybe just not growing. If any of that is true for your strands, it’s time to book that curly girl haircut.

How Often Should You Cut Your Hair If You Want It To Grow?

We all want to know how to grow natural hair. While there are a lot of things that can affect hair growth, there’s only so much hair and scalp care you can do if you’re not cutting off damage and split ends. Left unaddressed, split ends can continue moving up the hair shaft, damaging the whole strand. That translates into damaged curls and no growth. Keeping up with regular trims (cutting less than an inch of hair) closer to the every three-month range will help prevent you from having to chop off more hair in the long run—and also promote hair growth.

What Is The Best Length To Cut Your Hair?

For healthy hair and growth, the recommended trim is about half an inch. If you’re cutting off damaged hair, you can work with your hairstylist to find the best length or opt to go for a big chop. So, what haircut length is right for you? In general, you should be cutting off as much of the damage as possible to start fresh.

In the end, the best haircut length is the one that works for you and your hair texture. If you’re considering cutting off a significant amount of hair or letting your hair grow, go for it. We know you’ve probably been saving different hairstyles to your Pinterest boards and group chat. While you might be considering haircuts for your face shape, if you have curly or coily hair, it might be more important to consider how each curly haircut will work for your texture and lifestyle. Consider how you’d be styling it every day; will the cut require regular heat styling that could cause damage?

To ensure the best haircut for curly hair, opt for a stylist that regularly works with coils. Often, stylists will cut coily hair in a dry, natural state to avoid shrinkage, which helps you see how your hair will look every day.

How To Care For Your Curls Between Haircuts

In between haircuts, we still want that healthy fresh-from-the-salon look. If your goal is growing hair, add hydrating products and treatments to your routine. Cleanse your scalp without stripping it with Wash Day Delight Water-to-Foam Shampoo. The sulfate-free shampoo gently cleanses and helps ease the detangling process, so you spend less time manipulating your hair. A hair conditioner that keeps your hair moisturized is also important.

Regular hair treatments and hair oils can also be helpful. To help prevent breakage, split ends, and a dry scalp, protect hair from the root to the ends with Goddess Strength 7 Oil Blend Scalp and Hair Oil. To conceal split ends until it’s time for your next cut, grab Monoi Repairing Split End Sealer. The lotion binds split ends for healthier-looking hair, so you can wait a little longer between haircuts. If you’re long overdue for a haircut and dealing with awkward length (we’ve all had to grow out impulse bangs), consider protective styles to keep your hair healthy in the meantime.

How Long Does Hair Grow In Between Haircuts?

It may not seem like it, especially if you’re not getting the growth you want, but your hair can grow fairly fast—about ¼ to ½-inch per month, which can add up to about six inches a year. However, lots of things factor into the amount of hair growth you have. If you have breakage, damage, or scalp issues, you may not be seeing the growth you want. Heat styling, tight ponytails, hair dye, and bleach are just a few things that can cause breakage and split ends that might slow or stop hair growth. Health can also factor into how fast or long your hair grows; for example, vitamin deficiency can affect hair growth.

Now that you know when to get your next haircut (or trim), here are 12 Low-Maintenance Hairstyles For Curly Hair.

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