How Often Should You Cut Your Hair?

When it comes to hair maintenance, there are a lot of things to consider: Your hair care routine, heat-free hairstyling options, and how often you need to cut your hair being some of the most important among them. Aside from switching up your beauty look with a new haircut, it’s important to keep up with regular trips to the salon. But how often should you cut your hair? Well, there are a few factors to consider, including if you’re currently sporting a short pixie haircut or if it’s your mission to grow out your hair. Instead of continuing to ponder “how often should I get a haircut,” allow us to share the facts! Read on to learn how often to cut hair, based on your mane.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CUT YOUR HAIR?

In order to answer how often you really need a haircut, there are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself. While the general guidelines for cutting hair suggest that you should get a cut every six to eight weeks, this timeframe isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. First, you have to look at how fast your hair grows. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), hair grows about six inches each year, so about half an inch each month. Next, there are three questions you should consider as your answers should influence the frequency of your salon visits.

Question #1. Do you want to maintain your haircut? Certain haircuts, in particular short haircuts, require a bit more upkeep than others. If you have a pixie or blunt bob, you’ll want to get frequent haircuts in order to maintain your look. This is also true if you enjoy having a specific shape to your mane, like layers! Since your hair grows about half an inch each month, those who want to maintain their current ‘do should get a haircut every three weeks or so.

Question #2. Are you trying to grow your hair? We’re sure you’ve heard that trimming your hair helps it grow, but is that true? Not exactly, but according to the Cleveland Clinic, regular trims can help to prevent breakage, which may be keeping your strands looking shorter and less healthy than you’d like.

So, how often should you cut your hair if you want it to grow? Since you aren’t trying to maintain your current cut, you can go a bit longer between trims. Head to the salon every eight to twelve weeks, or two to three months.

Question #3. Are you a male or female? Did you know that your gender plays a role in how often you should get your hair cut? Aside from the fact that generally, men like to maintain a shorter look, male hair grows faster than female hair, per the AAD. This means men will typically need to book their barber appointments closer together. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T CUT YOUR HAIR?

All this talk about how often you should get a haircut probably has you wondering what happens if you don’t cut it. While neglecting to cut your hair isn’t a crime, you can end up doing your strands more harm than good. According to the Cleveland Clinic, split ends run up the hair fiber like a rip in your stockings, meaning if you don’t trim away normal wear and tear from your strands, the breakage can travel all the way up to your roots, which will result in needing a shorter cut than you would have if you made the chop earlier.

That said, there are a few hair treatments out there than can help reduce split ends and allow you to go a bit longer between cuts. Our recommendation? The L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths No Haircut Cream Leave In Conditioner. This leave-in treatment helps seal split ends and prevents heat damage from styling thanks to 450-degree heat protection. No more unwanted haircuts! To use, apply onto damp hair and leave in after using the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Restoring Shampoo for Long, Damaged Hair and L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Conditioner for Long, Damaged Hair.

Next up: While we have you thinking of split ends, know this: There’s more than one way to manage them! Here’s your complete guide to How to Get Rid of Split Ends.