Part of the cuts and styling guides. Start with The haircut guide: layers, fringes, length and how often to trim, or see cuts and styling in the salon.
The intervals
| Length or style | Trim every | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pixie and short crops | 4 to 5 weeks | The shape is the cut, and it drops fast |
| Bob at the jaw | 5 to 6 weeks | A sharp line needs resetting as it grows |
| Fringe (curtain, full, side) | 4 to 6 weeks | In your eyes at week 5 |
| Lob and shoulder length | 6 to 8 weeks | Layers and the line soften together |
| Long layers | 8 to 10 weeks | Movement lasts; ends need attention |
| Long hair, growing it | 10 to 12 weeks | Ends only, to stop splits travelling |
Hair grows about 1 to 1.5 centimetres a month, which is why the intervals get longer as the hair does: the same growth is a bigger proportion of a pixie than of waist-length hair.
Growing your hair
The instinct is to skip the trim. The reason to keep it is that a split end keeps splitting up the strand, and once it's travelled, the trim that fixes it costs 3 or 4 centimetres instead of 1. A dusting every 10 to 12 weeks, taking off less than a centimetre, keeps the ends sealed and the length growing. Ask for "a dust" or "the ends only", and say you're growing it; your stylist will keep the shape and remove the minimum.
Coloured hair
Lightened ends are the most fragile part of coloured hair, and the easiest to keep healthy: choose a cut and blow-dry finishing package ($125 or $175) with your foils or balayage, and the ends are dusted at every colour visit. Coloured hair on a 6 to 10 week colour rhythm rarely needs a separate cut appointment at all.
Fine, thick and curly
Fine hair holds a blunt line for longer than a layered one, so a bob or lob on fine hair can stretch to 8 weeks. Thick hair grows heavy at the ends and benefits from the shorter end of each interval so the layers keep doing their job. Curly hair is cut less often, every 10 to 12 weeks, because the curl hides the growth and the shape holds; the trim is about the ends and the weight, cut to the curl pattern.
Kids and men
Men's cuts are booked every 4 to 6 weeks, because a short back and sides shows its growth quickly; late nights on Tuesday and Thursday suit after work. Kids' cuts every 6 to 8 weeks for short styles and 10 to 12 for long, and the same stylist each visit helps them settle. Both are on the cuts and styling page.
Signs you're due
The shape has dropped and the style takes longer to do. The ends tangle or feel rough between the fingers. The fringe is in your eyes. Layers have grown into a single length. A blow wave that used to last 3 days lasts 1. Any of those is the cue, whatever the calendar says.
Pairing cuts with colour
The simplest rhythm is 1 appointment for both: a colour visit with a cut and blow-dry package every 6 to 10 weeks, and a fringe trim in between if you have one. The haircut guide covers choosing the cut, and the full price list has every package.