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When Should I Get a Haircut?!
Knowing why and when you should get a haircut is a complicated and sometimes confusing subject.
I am hoping that this post will help you gain some enlightenment as to why you might want to get a haircut and why we as stylists recommend them to you as frequently as we do.
I am Anthony aka @Thedukeofhairs on Instagram, the owner/master stylist of TouchUps Salon in Chandler AZ, your guide to all things hair, and I have been a stylist for 15 years from California to Arizona. I am in love with client education and I want to see all of you learning to enjoy the hair that you have!
Let’s go along and learn some more about haircuts and why they are so wonderful for your hair.
Why Haircuts are Important
So, your stylist says to you, “Hey you! Let’s get that hair trimmed up!”
You look at them with fear and trepidation, “Why?” You ask, “I got it cut 2 months ago, and I’m trying to grow it out.”
Let me tell you, when I was a younger stylist this would have persuaded me to let that conversation go.
Another appointment would go by, then another, and soon enough it would be 6 months before a haircut would happen. However, as my expertise and knowledge grew, I now am a firm believer in the value of regular trims.
Haircuts are so very important for many reasons such as: Shape enhancement, texture enhancement, damage control or reduction, damage prevention, length maintenance and length adjustments, ease of styling, listening to your expert and more.
Why You May Want a Haircut
Getting a haircut can seem like a chore. It can seem like an unwanted expense. It can seem like you are going backward from your desired length.
However, this is one of those beauty maintenance chores that you do NOT want to skip all the time.
Proper haircare is really not hard, but it is hard to be consistent. This is why we as professional stylists often suggest to you a specific time frame to book that next appointment.
Any stylist worth their salt is not going to put down a blanket 6 weeks for all clients. That is foolish and incorrect.
They should offer you not only a time table but also a reasoning for this which is what I want to bring to light now.
Don’t want to read this whole article? Anthony sums it up right here for you!
Restoring Shape/Texture
Your shape is one of the most heavily weighted factors in deciding when you should get a haircut.
If you have a super edgy or complicated shape (think bobs). You NEED to get a haircut every 6 weeks at most. The main reason being is your hair, once it gets out of shape, is not cute. It’s not stylish, and it may not even do what you need it to do to style it. It can be that sensitive!
Certain textures are just as sensitive to cutting.
A fine haired girl may want to consider getting her hair cut regularly because it takes only a few weeks for your hair to get too heavy to style effectively.
It also does not take very long for a fine haired girl to have her ends feel crummy. This can lead to more frequent trims, but the result is more beautiful, healthy hair.
Super curly textures on the opposite side of the spectrum. It can take soooooo long for their hair to even gain the appearance of length so the prescription for this texture would be along the lines of 10-12 weeks for great maintenance.
Damage Control
Damage control is another important reason that your hairstylist might recommend frequent haircuts.
Some of you, (you know who you are), have damaged hair. I won’t even begin to predict how you came about this damage, because it doesn’t make a difference at this point.
The thing that is important is that it’s there and you need to get rid of it as soon as possible because it’s making your normally amazing hair look terrible.
Depending on your level of comfort with your stylist you may tell them to get super aggressive with that haircut so that you can get as much of the nasty off as quickly as possible.
If you are not so sure, or are seeing a new stylist, you can go for the more frequent smaller trims to clean up the gross bits over time.
At TouchUps we defer to the client’s wishes after we have given our expert opinion.
I have worked on several women who have had a heck of a time getting rid of those last sad, stringy ends because it was their security blanket. That is totally cool.
At the end of the day you should listen to your hairstylist but no be overly pressured to do anything with your hair that you are not okay doing. This is a team game!
Preventative Maintenance
Preventative haircutting is my most preferred reasoning for haircuts outside of shape maintenance.
Shape is all about style, while preventative is all about getting hair beautiful and healthy.
There is no worse thing to me then a client who has a great color the day they leave the salon goes home and washes it and has a completely trashed head of hair a couple weeks later.
I have been doing hair for 15 years and have trashed a head or two with color, so I KNOW what I’m talking about.
Thankfully experience is an excellent teacher and I have learned to educate our clients more and respect their hair more as well.
A consistent trim to clean up porous or split ends makes your hair look WAAAAY more expensive then if you get just a $$$ color job and don’t have tidy ends.
That’s not my opinion, it’s a fact!
A truly beautiful head of hair is clean, shiny, shapely and has a natural bounce to it.
This is in stark contrast to those who skip haircut after haircut in order to add an inch or two of gross length to their hair.
The weird thing about consistent trims is that hair will seem to grow faster because the scraggly ends tend to break off while the healthy ends shield each other from excessive damage.
Think about it this way. If you take a single piece of spaghetti that is dry and try to snap it, it’s so easy!
Now, think about trying to snap that whole pound at once! It’s much harder!
Hair is like this because when you have a handful of ends that you keep styling and fussing with, they take a lot of damage.
However, if most of your hair is on the ends the styling tools have a much harder time putting an excessive amount of heat on single strands.
TLDR: Get a regular haircut so your hair doesn’t break off and make you sad.
The Perfect Length
Length is a simple concept when it comes to haircutting. All things being equal shorter styles must be cut more regularly then longer styles. Period.
If you have a cute pixie you know exactly what I’m saying. You probably feel like you have an animal on your head at about 5 weeks haha!
Long girls this is not your excuse to not come and get your haircut for a year.
Unless you are Amish and wear it under a bonnie cap every day your hair is getting beat up by this cruel cruel world.
Don’t deny it the feeling of an amazing haircut every 8-12 weeks.
BONUS! You will get a great shampoo and amazing blowout every time. For sure if you come see us at TouchUps Salon in Chandler AZ (shameless plug).
Ease of Styling
Ease of styling is a under appreciated reason to get a regular haircut.
Some styles literally fall flat within a single day of missing the haircut rotation.
I have many clients in my clientele that tell me that their hair just stopped doing anything a few days before they came in.
This tells me as their stylist that we are right about perfect on schedule and cut length.
Now if they come in and have been struggling with it for weeks I must either cut it shorter, adjust the shape or schedule them a lot sooner.
It is not uncommon for a stylist to have a pretty dang good idea of how long your hair will be amazing for SO LISTENNN please!
What Does Your Stylist Say?
Speaking of what your stylist says you should really get off the internet and let your expert tell you what’s what.
If they are leaving you wanting more after several appointments maybe it is time for that change or a second opinion.
Listen closely friends, if several stylists at decent or more price points cannot deliver what you want.
You may be the problem.
I know that sucks to hear but some people’s hair just will not do the things they want it to without ridiculous levels of fussing.
We are skilled.
Trust us.
I have 30,000 hours behind the chair vs. an Instagram pic or a quick Pinterest article.
If you don’t think I know what I’m talking about that is totally your call.
I however do not want to see that client in my chair. This is what we call in the industry a “closet stylist” and none of us can make them happy.
I much prefer someone who has ideas, preferably realistic, and then allows us to work together to create a magical head of hair for them.
I will repeat this again because I feel like it is important to be clear.
If a stylist does not listen to you, pressures you to do things you don’t want, does not give off a professional vibe, looks like crap or any other intangible that give you a bad feeling.
Get the heck out of there!
I will be the first to say that our industry has its own set of problems with bad artists and it is not being nice to let one murder your head.
Get recommendations, go on Yelp and Google and Facebook, look at their work on Instagram and then have fun!
I hope I was able to shed some light on this confusing and personal subject for all of you.
Still Not Convinced?
Still don’t think that you need a haircut? I get it! After all, you know your hair best!
However, your hair still needs help. I have some amazing product recommendations that I personally use on clients here at TouchUps ALL THE TIME to help with hair breakage and split ends!
If you’re looking to protect and instantly smooth your hair, then go no further than the Keratin Complex Intense Rx Repair Therapy! This amazing Keratin DIY treatment will leave your hair looking and feeling like you have the time to make it to the salon daily!
If you have read any of our other blogs (which I highly recommend you do), you will already know that we’re a HUGE fan of Davines products. For split ends and damaged hair though, I couldn’t recommend anything more highly than Davines’ Oi Oil. This stuff is a miracle worker. There is a reason it’s one of our most popular products. Oi Oil enhances hair strength, creates shine, and smooths your hair perfectly! I love this stuff!
Come Visit Us!
I again am Anthony the owner/master stylist here at TouchUps Salon in Chandler Arizona.
If you would love to come visit us at our salon we would love to have you.
I have personally trained my hairstylists to consult with purpose so we can truly understand you needs and the possibilities with your hair.
We love being creative with an eye for you and your hair’s true potential. So, if you are in the area please come see us!
Anthony Colello – Master Stylist, TouchUps Salon @dukeofhairs
Check out our other social media as well
www.facebook.com/touchupschandler
www.instagram.com/touchupssalon