How Often Should You Cut Your Hair?

When it comes to hair maintenance, there are a lot of things to consider to preserve hair's health. Using the right hair products for your hair type and balancing how often you use heat styling tools is one thing, but cutting your hair stylishly (and enough) is something else entirely. Aside from switching up your beauty look with a new haircut, it’s important to keep up with regular trips to the salon for your hair's health and overall hair growth. But how often should you cut your hair? 

Hair trimming frequency will depend on your hair texture (curly, wavy, straight, coily, etc.), hair length (short, medium, long) and overall damage status. The truth is everyone’s hair is different, so you might not need to get a trim as often as somebody else. When in doubt, always speak with a professional and schedule your haircut in a salon rather than trying to do it yourself at home. To figure out when and how often you should cut your hair, read along to discover when it’s your hair’s time and the products you can use to style it afterward and potentially prolong a trim.

How Often Should You Cut Your Hair?

The short answer: It depends on your current hair condition and length. While there is no set rule as to how often you should cut your hair, there is a generic time frame that hairstylists and salon professionals recommend. General guidelines for cutting hair suggest that you should get a cut every six to eight weeks, however, this timeframe isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. Consider the following questions when figuring out how often you should cut your hair.

Is Your Hair Damaged?

Damaged hair needs to be cut more frequently and should be trimmed every six weeks. If you use heat styling tools daily, live in an area with poor air quality or constantly bleach or perm your hair, there’s a good chance your hair is damaged. All of these things and more everyday hair habits can cause damage to your hair, confirms the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). 

One thing that may change how often you cut your hair, specific to damaged strands, is texture. Curly, kinky and coily hair is prone to dryness which leads to damage if not treated properly, however many with this hair type might not want to get constant haircuts. Find a balance that works for you and consider getting a haircut every twelve weeks or quarterly while utilizing nourishing hair care products. 

If a monthly haircut isn’t in your budget or you’re looking to keep your hair long, amp up your at-home hair care routine with products that target damaged strands. Try the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Bond Repair Shampoo with Citric Acid, the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Bond Repair Conditioner with Citric Acid and the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Bond Strengthening Pre-Shampoo Treatment for a complete routine that strengthens and repairs the bonds in your hair, reducing the need for constant salon trips. The citric acid formulation penetrates inside the hair to influence the bonding and repair of weak hair strands. 

How Fast Does Your Hair Grow?

Hair growth can determine how often you should cut your hair, especially if you’re trying to keep a certain hairstyle. Or maybe you want to know how quickly your hair can grow back before you get a pixie cut or shave your head completely. According to the AAD, hair grows at a cadence of six inches each year — about half an inch each month — but this can differ depending on your hair and scalp's health. Keep in mind that things like genetics, age, hormones and stress can all affect your hair growth. 

You might have heard that trimming your hair helps it grow, but that’s not necessarily true. According to the Cleveland Clinic, regular trims can help prevent hair breakage that can keep your strands brittle and short. Even if you want to grow your hair out you should still cut your hair, just go a bit longer between trims. Head to the salon every eight to twelve weeks, or two to three months to maintain growth and eliminate split ends before they start. While cutting your hair doesn’t make your hair grow any quicker, it does eliminate damage to your hair, which in turn can allow hair to grow longer. 

Do You Want to Maintain Your Hairstyle? 

Certain hairstyles, specifically short hair, require a bit more upkeep than others. If you have bangs, a pixie cut, a blunt bob or any short hairstyle you’ll want to get frequent haircuts in order to maintain your look. Remember, your hair grows about half an inch each month so those who want to maintain their current length-specific hairstyle should get a haircut every three to four weeks. 

This is also true if you enjoy having a specific shape to your mane, like layers! Haircuts with layers (short or long) can grow at different rates messing with your hairstyle. For a temporary fix, if you’re between appointments or don’t have time for a trim use the L’Oréal Paris Studio Line Overworked Hair Putty to shape short hair into the desired look.

If your hairstyle of choice is long, flowy hair you should consider getting a trim every three to six months, depending on hair growth rate and hair damage level. And for those who love a good lob (long bob), wolf cut or any other medium hair length, getting a trim every six to eight weeks will be sufficient to keep your shape. 

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. Split ends are a big enemy of hair and can cause damage if not cut before they occur. 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 that can help reduce split ends and allow you to go a bit longer between cuts. Pick up an affordable and simple three-step hair care process that starts at the root with the right hair cleanser and conditioner. 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 repair hair with a blend of castor oil, vitamin B3 and vitamin B5 to reduce breakage and tackle damage. Complete the routine with the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths No Haircut Cream Leave In Conditioner that helps seal split ends and prevents heat damage from styling thanks to its 450-degree heat protection. 

Next: How to Fix and Prevent Split Ends

Photographer: Chaunte Vaughn; Art Director: Hannah Packer; Associate Creative Producer: Becca Solovay; Digital Tech: Katy Andrascik; Photo Assistant: Sam Kang; Makeup Artist: Jonet Williamson; Hair Stylist: Akihisa Yamaguchi ; Wardrobe Stylist: Melina Kemph; Wardrobe Assistant: Kayla Martinez; Model: Adrianne Kiara