I am not a stylist, so I consulted with my good friend Sharon, a licensed stylist who knows curls and coils, to discuss trimming and hair cuts. What follows is quick guide in two parts. It combines Sharon's advice, my own experience and research, links to other posts, and resources. Today we'll talk about trimming and cutting. Tomorrow we'll discuss finding a curl-friendly stylist.
Trimming Hair
Hair may need an occasional trim to look in it's best. This makes sense because the hair on the ends is the oldest hair and it's been exposed to the elements and manipulated the longest. I can always tell that my girls' hair needs a trim when the ends become dry and brittle and no amount of moisturizing products help. The appearance and feel of the damaged ends is quite different from the rest of the hair. Split ends should be visible too, and those need to be cut off as well.
I trim at home because I rarely need to take off more than a half an inch. I like to section the hair into very small boxes, and do two strand twists. The twists should not be rope twists or sister twists, where the individual subsections are twisted first and then twisted together. My stylist friend Sharon assures me that would lead to nothing good. Instead, I just go with regular two strand twists. I secure the ends just above the amount that I need to trim and then, holding dedicated hair-cutting shears parallel to the area to be worked on, trim the hair carefully. Sharon says, "The better the shears the better the cut. They shouldn't push the hair but rather slice through it like butter."Another method, suggested by Sharon, is to leave dry hair loose and just do a very light general trimming all over. I haven't tried that method yet because I'm afraid I'll miss some hair, but I may try it next time. Remember to go slowly and hold the scissors parallel to the area you are working on, taking just the very damaged ends off.
How much to trim depends on how much damaged hair you can see or feel. If the amount that needs to come off is more than an inch, it's probably time to see a stylist. I have no set schedule for trimming hair. I just give it a trim whenever I feel like it needs it, although when Little R was toddler-sized, I trimmed to get rid of her baby mullet.
Further reading:
Here is a great post on hair trimming from The Natural Haven
Cutting Hair
My stylist friend Sharon explained that a hair cut is for styling, everything else is trimming. I didn't know that before. That said, if quite a bit needs to be taken off, do consult a professional stylist who will hopefully now exactly how much to take off and how to shape the hair to best advantage. Tomorrow, find out how to find that curl-friendly stylist.
Many thanks to Sharon, a wonderful stylist who gave me the first curl-friendly trim of my entire life, for generously sharing her knowledge and experience.
17 comments:
This is a great post.
I personally don't find trimming/cutting necessary unless you see damage. (such as split ends) This is definitely a common question though, I just got done posting what I just said in a forum, lol.
Thanks for the post! I never would have thought of the twist technique on my own. Do you do it wet or dry?
Okay, here's for a really silly question---how do I see damage? Yeah, I just reread your post, and I'm still not sure what I'm looking for, since there isn't anything screaming out at me as damage, yet.....
Background: My daughter's hair is growing in thicker and more full than it was when she first came home(less than a year ago), so she has some inches of new growth, and the last couple of inches are a bit thinner and different in texture. I can really tell the difference in my son, whose hair is growing in so nicely now after getting a shave this fall---his hair looks twice as thick and healthy.
Combined with different textures of hair around her head (she goes maybe from 3b/c to 4a), I can't really tell whether or where her ends are damaged, or just a little thinner than the rest of the hair.
Should I pull out the microscope? (i'm sure dh would love that)
Desta, I twist damp and trim slightly damp. I can feel damage way better than I can see it. It truly feels brittle and odd to touch. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't trim. Little B rarely needs a trim, but Little R needs them every few months.
I have the book "Thank God I'm Natural" by Chris-Tia Donaldson and in the back it has a list of salons by state that specialize in natural hairstyles and cuts, which could be a good resource for people if they find that they do need some professional help. I'm sure it's not an exhaustive list, but it's a good start.
Oh, thanks Jamey! I haven't had a chance to read that yet. I'll add that to tomorrow's post on finding a salon, in case people bypass the comments here.
I've been wondering this exact thing...even more so after GETTING OUR REFERRAL OF TWINS YESTERDAY :). Thank you so much for the guidance!!! Now if I can just get brave enough to do it.
HOORAY KAT!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!
What about a child who has tighter curls on one part of her head than another? My daughter rarely wears her hair loose, but do parents with children who do get their hair cut to accomodate different rates of shrinkage?
Shonda, that's a good question. If we are talking very light trim, I would guess that the twisting method would still work, because the length taken off would be so slight and it would be all over, so the hair wouldn't look any different than normal.
If you are talking about a cut that evens out hair that looks uneven because the different textures shrink differently, that would probably be way more challenging. I would guess you'd need a stylist with lots of curl/coil/natural hair experience. I've never come across any discussion of that before, but it sure is intriguing. I'll be seeing Sharon in a few days and I'll see if I can get her thoughts.
I am SO glad you posted this because I was thinking about this very thing tonight as I worked on my daughters hair. The ends about 1/4 - 1/2 inch) are so rough to the touch and unmanageable, and the rest of her hair is smooth. She has very tight curls and coils and the ends always seem frizzy and unmanageable lately. It has been about nine months since she got her first haircut so maybe I need to think about a slight trim.
Thanks for the definitions of a cuts and trims. No wonder so many folks leave the salon upset. Many are asking for trims, receiving them and then calling them cuts. Cutting curly hair presents a host of challenges, and I may try the twist method on my own hair.
As to the questions on different hair type/shrinkage, I would think cutting it while dry as free hair would be your best bet. I have lopsided curls on the sides of my face. If I leave my hair curly, the sides look even. But if I straighten it, my sides are uneven. It's the curl pattern. Cutting it when curly and ried should help with differing hair types.
Okay, now I've got a question. (Or two) My new girlie has really uneven hair. Like 3 inches around the top and size but only an inch or so in the back. The hair she has is so very dry. I've been pumping shea butter into it every day and Taliah Wajiid's spray. But I think it's just dry and damaged. Her puffs don't really curl up nice; they just look frizzy on the ends. Same with her free hair; it just looks frizzy and like a brillo pad. She has zero curl definition in free hair. (Pardon the bad analogy but it's just so coarse and it's so dry that it really just reminds me of that.) That's why I'm thinking we're dealing with some damage. Obviously her hair isn't long enought to cut while in twists. So I'm guessing maybe I should trim it while dry and free. Should I try to even it out or just try to trim a bit off and hope to get rid of the damage? I hate to get rid of her length but if it's just dried out and yucky it might be better to get rid of it. Maybe? And I hate to trim it if I really don't have to because, well, I'd rather my three year old be kept in the dark for as long as possible about scissors and hair.
LOL about the "baby mullet"...our Little M had a major 'fro-hawk when we brought her home. As the sides started to grow in, we did a little trim to get the top and sides to match. She also has that mix of hair types that some have mentioned, with especially coarse hair on the back of her head. I think some of that is "baby" hair that just gets damaged and dried out when she sleeps -- much like when babies with fine, straight hair lose their hair on the backs of their heads. She also has a slightly bald spot on one side of her head, which I also think lines up with her preference to sleep on that side.
Kayder1996, Congratulations on your new little one! I completely understand not wanting a three year old to associate scissors and hair. She's so newly home, maybe you can just wait a bit and see what new growth looks like before making a determination on what/how much to trim.
thanks for the posting i was not sure if young children such as 3-5 yers old needed trims , i was just wondering that b/c i wanted/want to triom my oldest daughter hair that is curly here ends feel very bad but i do not see split ends, and i also use the twist method on myself so i will do the same to her
I am late chiming in on this but thanks for the shout out! I also have to speak to Kayder 1996 - It is very normal for African hair to become very dry and to lack curl definition. Not all African hair can clump up, for example, mine never does.
It is possible that her hair is damaged from rough combing, towel drying etc but I think you should definitely change the routine you are using for her because adding moisture to African hair is pretty easy. You need to try a water based moisturiser - the spray you are currently using clearly doesn't work. You can try and mix your own (like glycerin/water mixes) or try a different brand. Also perhaps her hair doesn't care for shea butter, have you tried other oils like coconut or castor oil?
I think the most obvious sign of serious damage is split ends. If you can't see any, then you need to focus on getting the right products and methods for her hair. This is the hardest part of the job but once it is done the hair care becomes really simple.
Jc-She just came home from Haiti so my routinue isn't the problem. (At least not yet!) That's also why I'm thinking what I'm see is extreme dryness or damage. (And we're in a dry winter state so the climate change is probably not helping.) So to answer the have I tried different oils, not yet but I may if I don't like what I see.
Taliaah Wajiid is more like a water based moisurizer which I use for detangling. I use it straight up and dilluted with water. And as I said I'm using a shea butter cream which may or may not work; we'll just have to see.
But with her hair (and my son's which is essentially the same texture) I just have never been sure of if I'm expecting too much regarding free hair/curl definition. It's definitely crossed my mind. Perhaps I am. But her puffs seem to stick straight out when banded; they just don't curl up at all. Maybe it's the length of her hair too because the ones on the top do seem to lay a little better and she has more hair on top.
Her hair has been in 8 puffs for the 3-4 days but I just put it in a small veil style with free hair in the back and the free hair looks much better than it did the first couple of days home so maybe it's getting better. I'm really not seeing split ends so maybe it isn't damaged. Thanks for your input.
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