Hello,
I really could use some honest advice from the experts at growing long hair.

My hair looks stringy on the ends to me. Do you think it needs to be trimmed?
I wasn't planning on trimming my hair yet but I really hate the way my hair looks when it's stringy. I keep getting the urge to cut it. I do have layers that I will eventually cut out but I had originally hoped I could get down to a much longer length before I would have to cut them out. I've told myself that before I put scissors to my hair again I will make myself post and get others thoughts on whether a trim really is necessary. Besides the stringy look, my hair is in good condition with no noticeable splits. I think that's one of the reasons it pains me to think about trimming it already. I also have not had long hair since I was a kid so I've never had to go through these growing pains before, so I don't really know when it's time to trim and when I just have to stick through the not so pretty phases. All honest advice/opinions welcome.
And if you think my hair really should be trimmed, please don't be afraid to say so!
Here's a picture of my hair... http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/cherbearz6/3_27_07.jpg

If it were my hair I wouldn't :)

Beautiful color and curls, btw!

Bonnie

Stringy? No way. It is absolutely beautiful - shiny and curly. If it was my hair, I'd let it grow! And this is my unadulterated, honest opinion! :lol:

WOW! I would not think it should be trimmed. Your curls look great!

I'm not sure what you mean by stringy. Do you mean you think that it's starting to taper like with "fairytale ends"?

Probably the longer it gets, the more your curls will stretch out from the weight, so maybe it doesn't look as 'full' as it used to for that reason, but not necessarily because there's damage.

From what is in the picture, I don't think it looks stringy by my definition. :)

I'm also not sure what "stringy" means. Hair is just a bunch of strings, after all.

From the photo, it doesn't seem like you have anything to worry about. You also said that you have no splits, so why trim? You would only be wasting perfectly good ends.

I don't see where it's stringy at all. You have thick hair down to the ends. Maybe I'm missing something. I wouldn't cut but if you hate it that much, trim it.

I don't think your hair is "stringy" as much as it is "piecey." Mine looks piecey when it has enough moisture, so this is probably a good sign. :) I wouldn't trim either. ;)

Your hair looks fabulous! A lot of us get stringy ends, which to me means it separates into strands and looks piecey or ropey. Mine does this when air-dried and between combings and/or brushings. I think anybody with curls is going to get this effect. I see no reason to trim, which I only do for uneven ends or damage.

I don't think it looks stringy, if you cut when you don't have splits to remove it just wastes new length imho. It looks in great condition.

Waves - my hair looks the same on the ends, I think it is a curly layer thing. I don't think that your hair looks "stringy" but then I am biased because mine looks similar. :whistle: If you are thinking about cutting it based on purely aesthetic reasons, in my opinion there is no need. However, it is your hair and you have to decide what will make you happy.;)

I don't see stringy in your pics. If you gave your hair any encouragement you might have ringlets like the victorian ladies had! :) My mom would have killed for me to have hair that would do those!

You could investigate various updo styles that might show off this feature.

With hair like that I can imagine the shape and curl of it changing daily. Mine is similar and is never the same from day to day. I am stringy hair paranoid, I hate it when mine looks raggedy on the ends. I want the curls to continue down the the very tips.

If it looks stringy to you all the time then I can see giving it a little dusting to shape up the curly ends. If you have no split ends and it's overall healthy, then I wouldn't worry about the trim unless your hair continues to appear stringy to you on a daily basis.

Holy crap, I'd better not show you a pic of MY hair, if that gorgeous hair of yours is what you'd call "stringy". You'd be horrified. My opinion is that your hair is lovely and you should just let it alone and let it grow. I'd kill to have hair like yours.

Welcome to the length where you hair starts to spiral down, rather than out :). There is nothing stringy about your picture. Honestly! I have stringy ends, but you certainly do not.

I think it's natural for curly hair to look a little uneven on the ends, even when it's cut absolutely straight.

And if your hair is layered, it may look even more uneven -- but that's the beauty of curly hair. It's neither orderly nor predictable!

I think your hair looks wonderful, and would hate to see you lose the length.

I really don't see any *stringyness* in your ends at all.. It looks lovely to me..

Wow...I really love your curls. It looks so thick too! Here is another vote for no trimming.

It looks piece-y but not stringy. I do have stringy hair (fairly straight, separates, etc.) and I've found that it doesn't look at all less stringy when I cut it. You can see that from my siggy pic. I cut off almost eight inches in January and was left with still-stringy hair...that's now shorter. :silly: So I would recommend that if you want long hair, count on its texture and waves to be about the same as it is now (possibly slightly looser when it gets really long and the weight pulls the curls down) and decide if that's what you want. You can have short waves or long waves.

Personally I love wavy hair. It's all a matter of what you want in length.

They don't look stringy at all to me, just like normal curls. I always understood that those who had the stringy problem are usually straighter haired types, because I always thought stringy hair is hair that wants to curl but isn't there.

Your hair looks fine to me, but you might be a little happier with it if you do a microtrim. Like just the most tiny invisible amount.

i'm with everyone else. it doesn't look stringy at ALL! looks shiny and beautiful! :)

In total, complete, BRUTAL honesty:

No. Your ends are not stringy, at least not in the picture you have here. They look fine. Seriously.

I vote "no trim". I think your hair is beautiful. :flowers:



Leni

I think your hair looks absolutely lovely and not one bit "stringy". I'd let it grow! :)

This is Honest. It does not look stringy. It's curly and it separates. Mine is wavy and separates like GlennaGirl said. The only length it really doesn't do that at is when it's a chin-length bob. A nice style but not what I want now.

My adice is not to cut. :flower:

No trim needed IMHO.
Your hair looks great. Love the curls...

Wow, thank you so much for all the feedback and advice. Somehow I was expecting brutal honesty to sound much different. :wink: I think I can hold off trimming for now then. :grin: I'm hoping those were your honest opinoins.

Xanthippe: I'm not sure what you mean by stringy. Do you mean you think that it's starting to taper like with "fairytale ends"?No, I really should have been more specific of what I meant by stringy. Fairytale ends can look lovely imo, but I know that I don't have any of those. My definition of stringy is when I have thinner waves or curls that just sort of hang apart from the rest of my hair and they don't want to clump with the rest of my hair.

MountainGypsy: Yes,I completely agree with you that the problem has a lot to do with curly layers.

embee: If you gave your hair any encouragement you might have ringlets like the victorian ladies had! My mom would have killed for me to have hair that would do those!

You could investigate various updo styles that might show off this feature.Ohhh the victorian ladies..what a unique compliment! Thanks, I'll have to investigate those types of updos. I love everything Victorian!

jessie58: You described the problem exactly. My curls definitely do change from day to day. I'm just afraid of the problem looking even worse in the future since the bottom layer seems to grow faster than the the top layer of my hair. I'll just take it one day at a time though and see what happens.
I think I am "stringy paranoid" but my husband is typically the first one to mention it when it gets to this length which only makes me even more paranoid about it. Then again he's biased because he prefers hair short and orderly. Haha, and since hair like ours has a mind of it's own, that isn't ever going to happen. :silly:

ringuhair: You do not have stringy ends woman! If my curls grow out as lovely
as yours, I would be one ecstatic person! Welcome to the length where you hair starts to spiral down, rather than out . :misskim: Well said! Thanks for the laugh.

GlennaGirl: I don't think your hair looks stringy in your signature either. It looks "piecey" to me, which is a good thing. Your hair looks very shiny.

velvetcat: Thanks for the advice. I just have to figure out how to microtrim my own hair. I have this phobia of making my hair look even worse by not trimming it evenly and then I'll have to have more trimmed off professionally to even it out. And anytime I've gone to get my hair cut professionally they always cut off way too much.

Thank you for all the helpful responses and all the compliments too. I've read many of your journals and coming from women who have such enviable hair, your compliments, feedback and advice mean a great deal to me. :flowers:

I think your hair looks AWESOME!
jes

I think your hair looks AWESOME!
jes

I do too, it's fantastic! I like ropey hair. :love:

I do too, it's fantastic! I like ropey hair. :love:

I love ropey hair too. Oh my gawd, the torture I put my poor straight hair through in the 80s to try to get it. :silly: Yeeeeeowch. "Spiral" perms never came out spiral on me. I just loved/still love that Renaissance look. So if it's any consolation...probably 80% of the population would love to have your hair, wavestogro!

jessie58: You described the problem exactly. My curls definitely do change from day to day. I'm just afraid of the problem looking even worse in the future since the bottom layer seems to grow faster than the the top layer of my hair. I'll just take it one day at a time though and see what happens.
I think I am "stringy paranoid" but my husband is typically the first one to mention it when it gets to this length which only makes me even more paranoid about it. Then again he's biased because he prefers hair short and orderly. Haha, and since hair like ours has a mind of it's own, that isn't ever going to happen. :silly:



Well I'm glad to meet someone who understands how I feel about my ends. I have the same thing, the bottom layer grows faster than the top and just pokes out from under and won't join up with the top ones (they're antisocial) I just happen not to like that look on myself. Why oh why don't we have those perfect curls that curl right down to the end. :boohoo:

I dusted my hair 6 times in the last year. I was happy every time I did it. However I just had an inch cut off about a week ago and was not happy, so if you ever decide to cut, try dusting first. Oh yes and tell your husband, you have perfectly awesome hair. :cloud9:

Without reading anyone else's opinion so I'm not being influenced in any way- I think your hair looks fine the way it is, and does not need trimming. This comes from someone with a strong bias towards blunt ends too. :wink: If it looks fine to me, I'm sure it would look fine to anyone on the street too.

Your hair is perfectly beautiful as it is. And that's my brutally honest opinion. LOL. I can't wait to see it at great lengths, it's going to be stunning!

You know I was wondering the same thing about my hair... The bottom layer, just lays there and looks thin and stringy.

I asked my sister what she thought and she did not think it looked bad, but it bothers me because it did not always look that way... (see pics) I even quit CWC's because I thought maybe they were getting too much moisture and not being cleaned effectively. I have not noticed much change from that. I have not had a trim since October and I am with you, I really did not want to get a trim yet. But I am not sure if that will even help.

Maybe it is just a growing out stage.. but let me know if you find anything helps...

not stringy:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s248/KARYEWOODALL/HAIR2.jpg

stringy:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s248/KARYEWOODALL/HAIR3.jpg

I don't think you need a trim at all!
I prefer natural looking ends though. =o)

Your hair is beautiful! I don't think it looks like it needs a trim at all! I agree with what everyone else has said--you have that fab "piecey" look going on!

The pic in your siggie of the shorter hair looks just like my DD's hair. I hope her's looks as nice as yours when it gets longer!

You know I was wondering the same thing about my hair... The bottom layer, just lays there and looks thin and stringy.

I asked my sister what she thought and she did not think it looked bad, but it bothers me because it did not always look that way... (see pics) I even quit CWC's because I thought maybe they were getting too much moisture and not being cleaned effectively. I have not noticed much change from that. I have not had a trim since October and I am with you, I really did not want to get a trim yet. But I am not sure if that will even help.

Maybe it is just a growing out stage.. but let me know if you find anything helps...

not stringy:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s248/KARYEWOODALL/HAIR2.jpg

stringy:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s248/KARYEWOODALL/HAIR3.jpg


OMG!!! THAT IS GORGEOUS!!! Are you kidding me? Seriously. That's the "in" style (even though apparently that wasn't your intention!). Sorry to hijack, but...that is just NOT what I would call stringy hair. Maybe this is all just a case of people not seeing themselves as others see them?

OTOH it could be my bias toward wavy/curly hair. I am always envious of the wavies. :lol:

Maybe my vision is worse than I thought, or your picture is air-brushed, or something, but your hair is gorgeous! And I find myself asking: "What is she talking about, 'stringy ends?' "!

Honestly, your hair is beautiful, healthy, thick and wonderful from the roots to the lush tips. If I woke up tomorrow morning and my hair looked like this, I'd be thanking the powers that be for the miracle!!!

And that is my honest opinion!

I think your hair looks great. Nice and shiny - not "stringy" at all

Well I'm glad to meet someone who understands how I feel about my ends. I have the same thing, the bottom layer grows faster than the top and just pokes out from under and won't join up with the top ones (they're antisocial) I just happen not to like that look on myself. Why oh why don't we have those perfect curls that curl right down to the end. :boohoo:

I dusted my hair 6 times in the last year. I was happy every time I did it. However I just had an inch cut off about a week ago and was not happy, so if you ever decide to cut, try dusting first. Oh yes and tell your husband, you have perfectly awesome hair. :cloud9:

If you think about it, it stands to reason the top layer would appear to be growing more slowly than is the bottom layer.

The top is the part of your hair that gets messed with the most - more combing/brushing, the natural elements strike the top layer of hair, even styling gives more attention to the top layer.

With all this going on, it's no wonder the top seems to be "behind" in the growth department - but, in reality, you're more than likely breaking it off or in other ways hindering its growth!

Try to protect your top layer as much as possible and see if it doesn't help it along. Just a thought....

Peggy you should see when I lift my canopy, massive ringlets under there. Then when the canopy comes down, draggy, wavy, dull. I wish it didn't have to look as if it takes such a beating all the time. You're right that taking care of the top layer should help. It's the how I don't know about though, lol. I wonder how those people like Speedy and Twirly Tresses and Darkwaves manage to keep their curls right down to the bottom?

I'm in awe of your curls/ringlets and the beautiful color of your hair. Perhaps a dusting but IMO it needs nothing more than that.

Honestly-I love it! Your hair actually looks a lot like my son's hair - he's 15 and talks a mile a minute. Sometimes I don't listen a bit to him I just admire his gorgeous hair.

Karye and Amoretti, your hair looks like I hope mine will soon or eventually. Lovely, piecy, ALIVE hair!

to the OP, it's already been said but I agree - your hair is gorgeous, looks thick and in no way 'stringy' - just healthy curls. If you saw my hair, you'd know 'stringy...' :P

Katze

my hair is in good condition with no noticeable splits.
I haven't read the rest of the posts in the thread, but it seems to me you have answered your own question :)

Your hair is in good (I might say great!) condition; let it grow, let it grow!

I don't think your hair is "stringy" as much as it is "piecey." Mine looks piecey when it has enough moisture, so this is probably a good sign. :) I wouldn't trim either. ;)
Yep, I think it's piecy, and beautiful :) Gosh, if you saw miy frizzy curls. LOL Layers make you think that because the lower you go the less layers and you then think it's thinner. If there are no splits and you want to wait longer for a trim, I say wait. :)

Wow...I really love your curls. It looks so thick too! Here is another vote for no trimming.
Yes very thick, right o the ends! Mine are not, and coloring damage means <I>need a trim LOL

Peggy you should see when I lift my canopy, massive ringlets under there. Then when the canopy comes down, draggy, wavy, dull. I wish it didn't have to look as if it takes such a beating all the time. You're right that taking care of the top layer should help. It's the how I don't know about though, lol. I wonder how those people like Speedy and Twirly Tresses and Darkwaves manage to keep their curls right down to the bottom?
Oooooh that's part of my problem. The under layers are nice and healthy and my front / top layers are drier and wavier , not as curly. :( I'm actually confused about my hair type because of it. I need to post a picture and get people's opinion. LOL Ever since joining I've been more gentle with my hair and am trying to improve my hair and scalp's condition. I'm trying to learn the how, too.

Oooooh that's part of my problem. The under layers are nice and healthy and my front / top layers are drier and wavier , not as curly. :( I'm actually confused about my hair type because of it. I need to post a picture and get people's opinion. LOL Ever since joining I've been more gentle with my hair and am trying to improve my hair and scalp's condition. I'm trying to learn the how, too.

Praia, there is one thing that did help me a bit and that was oiling my scalp at night and also a tiny bit of oil on my canopy seems to help me sometimes. When I wash with water only the sebum makes the top layer of my hair so healthy looking and helps keep the halo down too.

Thanks again for all the opinions everyone!

GlennaGirl: You know I’ve heard that before but then again the majority of the people who actually have my hair type put their hair through torture to try to get their hair to look as straight and silky as yours. :flower:

Jessie58: It is nice to be meet someone whose hair is similar to mine. Do you think we could be hair siblings? Thanks for sharing your experiences with dusting/cutting. About my husband.. the man deserves some credit.. if it wasn’t for him I would still be abusing my hair with chemical straighteners, flat irons, highlights and color. He had to beg me to set my curls free. I’m so glad I did now. I’ve come to love wurly hair. You have perfectly awesome hair yourself! I should probably admit that I stalk both yours and darkwaves’ photo albums compulsively. I’ve also wondered how curlies such as the ones you named get their hair to curl down to the very bottom. I think their hair just has a stronger curl pattern.

Karye: In all honesty, I think your hair looks even more gorgeous in your second picture! I can’t believe you think that looks bad. Imho that red color looks drop dead gorgeous on you and your hair just flows so naturally and beautifully in the second picture.

Peggy E: I can assure you that the picture is not airbrushed. I do think that something about pictures makes my hair look different somehow. I think that the picture I posted captures the stringiness problem accurately but it seems to decrease frizz and volume (which I’m certainly not complaining about.)
You gave some really good advice about trying to prevent breakage in the canopy. However, the reason my hair appears stringy to me is because my hair is naturally less wavy on the underneath layer of my hair while the top layer will spiral at any length I’ve had my hair cut at so far. When my hair is wet or brushed out there is only really about an inch difference between my shortest layer and the ends of my hair. So while I do have a layer that still needs to be cut off, it’s mainly the difference in shrinkage from my canopy that makes the underneath layer look “stringy.” It’s like Jessie58 described, they just don’t want to play with the rest of my curls. The underneath layer is extremely healthy, shiny and silky...yet it just doesn’t hold a curl the way the rest of my hair does, probably because it’s so extremely fine. So I end up constantly having to cut the straighter pieces shorter and shorter so that they blend in with the rest of my hair. It was the reason I've kept cutting my hair since I've started taking better care of my hair.
I really would love to have long hair though! If anyone has any ideas on how to deal with this problem without constantly having to cut off the underneath layer, I would be most appreciative. Here's a picture of how my hair looked a year ago right before I cut it to chin length once again..just so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/cherbearz6/PIC_0075a.jpg See how the underneath layer just hangs while the rest of my hair spirals? And I had actually cut the underneath layer shorter than my curls, yet they still looked layered.

Jason: I really appreciate your honesty, thanks. Thanks for your nice compliments too. Your hair is growing out so beautiful and healthy!

Praia98: In my experience I’ve found that dry, wavy frizz, is really a curl in disguise it just needs lots of moisture and pampering. I would suggest starting off by reading the Curly Girl book by Lorraine Massey. I don’t follow everything in that book precisely but I think it’s a great place to start. Good luck!

Thank you for all the sweet and thoughtful comments. The more I’m around here, the more I love this place. You all have really brightened my night. :inlove:

I'm glad your husband is a hair man, wavestogrow. I think your name should be curlstogrow instead. That picture you just posted is my dream hair. Oh my gosh. :bowtome:

I would recommend the Curly Girl book too.

Awww thanks Jessie58. That's an example of what some strong hold gel can do. ;)

...I really would love to have long hair though! If anyone has any ideas on how to deal with this problem without constantly having to cut off the underneath layer, I would be most appreciative. Here's a picture of how my hair looked a year ago right before I cut it to chin length once again..just so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/cherbearz6/PIC_0075a.jpg See how the underneath layer just hangs while the rest of my hair spirals? And I had actually cut the underneath layer shorter than my curls, yet they still looked layered.

Girl, you must be crazy, your hair looks fantastic!

It looks just great and why would you want to cut it?

Even though all my hair grows at the same pace, it seems like the canopy grows much slower because it's curlier then the bottom layer of my hair. Try to imagine what 26 inches of straight hair would look like topped with 26 inches of curly hair..and that's pretty much what my hair will look like in 6 more months. It's really a unique look that I'm not so fond of myself. I mean I like both straight and curly hair, just not on one head of hair. :silly:

So here's the backround info of things I've tried in the past to deal with the problem:
-I've cut my hair myself to try to maintain the look of all one length hair when it was dry. I found that to not only be high maintainence but it only made my hair look even more uneven since my hair curls differently every day. Plus, my hair never seemed to get longer at that pace.
-I've gone throught phases where I would straighten my hair so my hair would look good down. But that just led to damage, which didn't help my goal of long hair.
-Then I went through a period in which my hair was back all the time since it always looked uneven to me and my husband really missed seeing my curls. I'm fine with wearing my hair back, but I like the thought of being able to wear my hair down occassionally and actually feel good about the way it looks down.
-So finally, I gave up and ended up cutting my hair since it seemed like the easy (and only)solution at the time. I liked my hair cut a lot the first week that I had it but ever since then I've regretted the loss of that hair. I just didn't feel like myself with short hair.
Now, I still haven't figured out a plan as to what I'm going to do with my hair this time around to prevent the same thing from happening all over again. So alas, I came to ask the advice of the wise long hairs. :flowers:
I appreciate all the compliments about my curls but if I were to lift up that layer of curls you would be amazed that underneath it the hair just doesn't curl, yet it's perfectly healthy hair. I attribute this hair problem to the fact that my mom has stick straight fine hair, while my dad has extremely curly hair and sometimes my canopy can look just like my dad's hair while the underneath layer is just like my mom's(only darker and with the occassional spiral). Everyday when I look in the mirror I see my hair seperating more and more into both straight and curly hair and it makes me feel like doing this:brickwall.
This has been bugging me for a while now and it's the only reason that I am constantly wondering if it's possible for me to have long hair like so many of you have. What would you guys do if you had my hair? I'm not just referring to whether I should trim it now, but I mean more as a long term plan. I know most of you have already said you wouldn't cut my hair..but what would you do? I know it's a broad question, I just really have no clue.

...Everyday when I look in the mirror I see my hair seperating more and more into both straight and curly hair and it makes me feel like doing this:brickwall.
This has been bugging me for a while now and it's the only reason that I am constantly wondering if it's possible for me to have long hair like so many of you have. What would you guys do if you had my hair? I'm not just referring to whether I should trim it now, but I mean more as a long term plan. I know most of you have already said you wouldn't cut my hair..but what would you do? I know it's a broad question, I just really have no clue.

My problem was kind of opposite of yours, my canopy was frizzy, dry, light and puffy, while underneath I had nice heavy, shiny curls. Once I got my canopy rehydrated, it integrated with the underneath and now all of it curls.

But your hair sounds and looks very healthy. If it were me, I guess I would try keeping the underneath trimmed just a little bit shorter than the canopy. But honestly, I don't see the problem in the second picture (is that waist length? Just gorgeous!)

Dulci, now I am so curious to know your hair care routine. Can you post a link to a particular post? If you didn't know by now, I'll just repeat that I think your hair is to die for.

Dulci, now I am so curious to know your hair care routine. Can you post a link to a particular post? If you didn't know by now, I'll just repeat that I think your hair is to die for.

Why thank you Tessa! :flowers:

My routine in a nutshell: When the Curly Girl book first came out, I CO washed and used leave-in every day for several months. My canopy finally hydrated and lost that frizzy, dead red zombie hair look and started curling with the rest. I experimented with Curly Girl styling techniques for a little while, but then gave up. Now I CWC and use leave-in about once a week and just put it in a braid, I just can't wear it down and open at all for any length of time. My favorite products are Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo; WREB conditioner; Beauty Without Cruelty leave-in. About 3-4 times a year I will do a Ouidad Deep treatment with a heatcap. That's it!

:inlove: :flowers: Why thank you Dulci.:cloud9:

Honest? I'm HONEST when I say it looks great! :)

Dulci: Thank you so much for your reply! I've been admiring your curls for some time as well. Thanks for sharing your routine. I also like the BWC leave-in. You have the most amazing curls right down to the very ends of your hair! Oh what I would give for your length and curls. You've been very helpful!!

Thanks Lize.

Okay, I've made up my mind and I'm going to start dusting the underneath layer myself when needed. Thanks for all the replies!:grouphug: