The Do’s And Don’ts On Trimming Your Natural Hair

“How often do you trim your natural hair?”, is one of the questions other naturals often ask me BUT rarely want to hear the answer to. Truth be told, what I’m about to tell you isn’t anything you probably haven’t already heard.

Before we dive into this discussion, let me invite you to take a seat so that we can have a true conversation about trimming your natural hair. Brace yourself!

You may or may not want to hear what I have to say. I’m hoping that you do though because we’re natural hair besties and I won’t steer you wrong. Besides, you are reading this post so I’m assuming you are here for it.

Let me break down 3 things that I do when it comes to trimming my natural hair.

Are you ready?

Let’s jump right into it.

TRIM YOUR NATURAL HAIR EVERY 3 MONTHS

There are several things that I play with, however, the ends of my hair is not one of them. I get my hair trimmed like clockwork, every 3 months to be exact.

If you don’t believe me then just ask my hairstylist.

I like to consider it hair maintenance.

Our ends are the most fragile parts of our hair because they have been around the longest. Since they are the oldest part of our hair strands, we must attend to them with lots of TLC.

With that being said, our ends can be the most dangerous if they are not cared for properly.

Sneaky ends!

Trimming your ends helps prevent split ends and single strand knots.

Trust me I know. I used to get single strand knots like it was nobody’s business. Those knots would attach themselves to other strands of my hair and create tangles. OUCH!

Single strand knots eventually come out, bringing your other hair along for the ride. By trimming your ends you can prevent those knots and the loss of other hair strands. Not trimming your natural hair isn’t worth losing it. The more you delay this snipping process, the more harm than good you are doing.

We are trying to grow hair in this season, remember.

Spotting Shabby Split Ends

So…

How do you know if you have split ends or single strand knots? Great question!

It’s not hard to spot split ends and single strand knots. You can see them from a mile away. Seriously.

No, I am just kidding. However, they are not hard to find. A quick hair examination will help you determine if you need to get a trim.

If the ends of your hair look thinned out, rough, or feel dry like the Sahara desert…

Cut it!

Do you see little micro-sized balls on your hair strands?

CUT IT!

If you said yes to any of the above scenarios, then chances are you simply need a trim. I am sorry boo but it is what it is. No, I’m not a professional but it may be time that you went to see one.

All of these may be telltale signs. Take you some deep breaths girl.

Woo sah if you need to and then make that appointment to get your hair cut.

Which leads me to my next point…

GET YOUR NATURAL HAIR CUT BY A PROFESSIONAL

LEAVE THE SHEERS TO THE PROFESSIONAL.

I (clap) DO (clap) NOT (clap) BELIEVE (clap) IN (clap) CUTTING (clap) YOUR (clap) OWN (clap) HAIR!

PERIOD.

You can say what you want about going to a beautician, but when it comes to trimming your natural hair, I would strongly advise leaving it to the professionals. Be prepared for the amount of hair that they will cut off. If you get your hair trimmed on a regular basis, then it should not be that much. But if you don’t then brace yourself. There may be months of damaged hair that may need to be cut off, so let your stylist snip snip snip.

Now, I know, there is a reader out there that may be saying, “I can dust and trim my own hair!”

I’m not knocking anyone who takes the sheers into their own hands, but as for me and my house, we will do no such thing.

I’ve chopped my hair one too many times on this natural hair journey.

I mean like Edward Scissorhands chopped, without the beautiful results. Y’all, I cut my hair so bad, that when I went to get it fixed, the beautician asked me who did this to you.

“I will never cut my own hair again.”

I was so ashamed. I just shrugged my shoulders as if I did not know. Although on the inside, I knew it was me all along.

The truth of the matter is that if you want an accurate cut, then you want a professional to do it. Trust and believe that your hairstylist knows what they are doing. At least let’s hope so for your sake. Beauticians are trained to see what we can not see. Keep dusting and cutting it yourself if you want to. However, I hope you can feel my side eye through the monitor of your computer screen.

Do your homework? Search for natural hairstylists in your area who are master cutters. If you see someone with a bomb cut, ask them who did their hair.

We have Instagram at our fingertips. Literally. Finding someone who is capable of trimming your hair to your liking shouldn’t be hard to do. If it is, I’ll help you find someone myself. For a small fee of course. HA!

SHOULD I TRIM MY NATURAL HAIR WHEN IT'S WET OR DRY

There is a huge debate about if you should trim your hair while it is wet versus trimming it while it is dry. People will argue you up and down honey about this, but I’m not here for any of that.

I’m just going to tell you what I do.

Is that alright?

I personally trim my hair while it’s dry and blown out. I like wearing my hair straight so I need my hair to be even all over. By cutting my hair dry, I can see that it is layered and the same length all over. When my curls pop back, because they will, they are the same length.

By cutting my hair dry, I can define the shape of my hair and not worry about if it is longer or shorter on one side. I have peace of mind about the way my hair is cut at the end of the day when it is cut while dry.

Now, I know you’re probably wondering, “Well what about if you cut it while it is wet?”

As I said, I don’t know. I can only tell you what I do.

IF you cut your hair while it is wet, please comment down below and share your thoughts. You know I like talking curly and I am always interested in your views.

At the end of the day, trimming on wet or dry hair is a matter of preference.