Updated: March 10, 2021
If you’re looking for tips on how to trim your natural hair at home whether it is dry or wet, then you’ve come to the right article. You’ve probably learned by now that trimming your hair is important for a healthy hair growth regimen.
What you probably never knew is that there is a right way and a wrong way to trim your natural hair. There are also a million myths about trimming natural hair that we should have hopefully debunked by the end of this article.
The first of these being “the more often you trim your hair the faster it will grow.” Delete this. Forget it. Throw it away.
In this article, we’re going to go into detail about how to trim 4C natural hair properly for hair growth (by yourself at home!) and debunk these myths quickly.
Why Should I Trim My 4C Natural Hair?
The primary reason to trim natural hair is to get rid of split ends. We explain why split ends are so horrible for your natural hair in this post.
They can cause even more breakage when you try to comb through your hair or detangle. This is because your comb can get caught in the rough ends, causing friction and breakage.
Another reason to trim your hair is to ensure your ends don’t thin out. When your ends are level, at least in a section, they tend to support and reinforce one another.
However, when some strands are shorter than the other and they are often bundled together, the longer strands are left exposed. As a result, they get weaker and weaker over time.
Disclaimer
The reasons above are why we say that trimming natural hair encourages hair growth (really just length retention). So as you can see the ends of your hair which get trimmed off have nothing to do with the roots where your hair grows from. As a result, trimming your hair CANNOT make your hair grow faster.
Read Also: 17 Iconic Protective Styles for Natural Hair in 2021!
How to tell your Natural Hair needs a Trim
- You have split ends
- Your ends are rough and difficult to comb through
- You’re dealing with excess breakage
- Your ends are rough to the touch and/or excessively dry
Guidelines for Trimming 4C Natural Hair
We’re going to talk about how to trim your own natural hair by yourself at home. As to the question as to whether or not you should trim your 4C hair while it’s wet or dry, there is no steadfast rule. The best way to decide this is to:
- Pick a method you’re more comfortable with.
- Think about whether “even hair” is something you need.
- Whether you tend to wear your hair straight vs. curly.
Thus we’re going to give guidelines on how to trim your natural hair either way – wet or dry – and why you may opt for one method over another.
Things to Remember when Trimming Natural Hair At Home
- Always use extra sharp salon shears: anything else will cause even more damage and breakage. You can grab these high-quality hair shears.
- Don’t trim too often: if you need to trim your hair very often because your ends are getting damaged often, then take a look at what might be causing this problem in your regimen.
- Do trim when necessary: if you do need to trim your ends, don’t wait too long. Just do it! You have less to gain from delaying a necessary trim, than just doing it right away.
- Keep up your natural hair care routine so you can keep your ends in tip-top shape after a trim!
How to Trim Natural Hair Dry
To trim natural hair dry, start on freshly washed and deep conditioned natural hair.
Method 1 – with Heat
- Apply a leave-in product and a heat-protectant to your natural hair.
- Blow-dry your hair in small sections using the tension method. In other words, pull your hair until it’s taught at the roots while blowdrying so that it dries in this stretched state.
- Once you’ve finished blow-drying, comb through your hair in sections.
- Then, trim off the ends of your hair in a straight line in each section.
- Make sure to trim off all the ends that have single strand knots and cause friction with the comb.
- Do this throughout the hair, until you’ve been through all the sections.
- Done!
Method 2 – without Heat
- Gently detangle your hair in sections then install small twists all over your head
- Trim the ends of these twists where they start to look weak or transparent.
There is no way to guarantee that your hair will be completely level if you cut it by yourself. But this is only a concern if you wear your hair flat-ironed or straight.
If you usually wear your hair in its curly state, then the evenness of your hair doesn’t make it any less healthy.
How to Trim Natural Hair Wet
In order to trim natural hair wet, start on freshly washed deep conditioned natural hair.
Keep your hair in twists after this, and trim the weak ends off before your hair is completely dry. The same way it was done in method 2, without heat.
Should I Trim My Hair Wet or Dry?
In summary, we recommend trimming your hair while dry in order to more clearly see how damaged your ends are. Unless your ends are extremely heat-damaged for example, it would be difficult to see while it’s wet.
Though again, this is simply a recommendation! Like we ALWAYS say, there are no rules when it comes to natural hair. Do what works for YOU.
It is also completely up to you whether or not you want to use heat. I personally like to use a blow dryer (method 1) for one of my trims during the year, but you absolutely don’t have to.
I trim my hair at home a few times a year (using method 2) whenever I notice my ends getting thin, weak, or excessively tangled.
How Often Should I trim 4C Natural Hair?
Once a week, once a month, once a year?
This truly depends on your hair care regimen, the products you use, and how you handle your natural hair routine. You’re the only one who can tell whether your hair needs to be trimmed or not!
Trim your hair when you start to notice signs of split ends, excessive breakage, or damage.
Read Next: How to Win the Battle against Split Ends for GOOD!
