Will trimming help my hair grow?
We've all been told..."trimming will actually make your hair grow faster!" But, will it really? Or, is it just a ploy by your stylist to keep you in their chair every 6-8 weeks? Here's the scoop...
Hair grows about 1/2" every month, depending on age, health, nutrition, medication, etc. Biotin and other supplements can help with hair growth and speed it up a bit but the average amount is about 6"/year. The ends of our hair are dry, porous, and the most fragile part of the hair strand. Most of us see our breakage and split ends in this area of the strand. The problem with not trimming these frayed ends is that they will continue to split up the hair strand and cause more breakage. Trimming the ends regularly will leave a blunt end on the hair strand and will prevent the frayed ends from splitting up the strand or breaking off completely.
This is a magnified split end and a magnified broken end. They sort of look like a broken, split tree branch. Take that split stick and apply any tension to it (like we would with brushes, styling, even the motion of other hair strands around it)...it continues to split, right? The same thing happens to your hair strands and leaves you with unhealthy and unmanageable locks.
This is a strand of hair that has been recently cut. It comes to a uniform end, and there are no splits to contend with. Friction, tension, etc will not cause this strand to break off or split as easily as an already compromised strand.
When we neglect to trim our hair and eventually get split ends, our hair requires a haircut that removes more length in the end because the split ends continue to split up the hair strand. Also, your hair will look better while you continue to grow it!
Have a beautiful weekend!
-Sally
