How Often Should I Cut My Hair?

There isn't a one size fits all answer to this, but asking yourself these three questions can help you create you own custom haircut regimen.

1.Are you growing out your hair?

No? Skip ahead to section #2!Yes? First you must take into consideration the length that you are hoping to achieve. On average, hair grows about one half inch per month, about 6 inches in one year. A common mistake made by people attempting to grow out their hair is never cutting it, which results in dry, brittle, and split ends. Having damaged hair and spilt ends along with skipping trims will cause the hair to split further up the shaft, weakening and eventually causing the split to break, leaving a small split. These splits exacerbate the process of breakage. Altogether this gives the appearance of the hair "never growing".When growing out your hair HBK recommends a minimum of a quarter inch every eight to sixteen weeks. The healthier your hair, the closer to sixteen weeks you can push it. If you're prone to brittle ends or you're hair is sensitive to excess heat, resulting in split ends, you may want to try for eight to ten weeks, protecting your ends from further damage by preventing breakages before it happens and allowing for actual growth.

2. Are you maintaining the length of your hair?

Maintaining your hair means to trim your hair the exact amount that it grew since your last trim, keeping it a consistent length. The amount of times between cuts will vary based on your length and can range from three to ten weeks.

3. Is your hair short or long?

If your hair is short, like a pixie or bob, and grows faster than average, you may find yourself needing to come in more frequently. Most people will begin to notice their growth around week four or five but some of my clients notice it sooner, men's haircuts in particular, and come in in as often as every three weeks to keep the hair cropped short and fresh. For short hairstyles I recommend between four to eight weeks. Medium to long hair styles, I recommend four to ten weeks.When helping clients find the right time duration between haircuts I take into consideration the health of their hair and if it damages quickly or is prone to split ends. My formula is as follows:

• Pixie cuts, men's cuts: 3 - 4 weeks

• Chin to shoulder length: 4 - 6 weeks (waiting longer can cause your hair to hit that "awkward" stage where it tends to flip out)

• Shoulder-length to bra strap 4 - 8 weeks (most common schedule among client's falls into this category of about once every month)

• Anything mid-back or longer 8 - 10 weeks as long as the health of the ends permit it.

Have you ever wondered how often you should visit your stylist? Don't be afraid to ask for their professional recommendation! Your hair is our business!♥ HBK