1. To remove damaged ends or split ends.

2. For giving hair shape if it has grown uneven. (See link near bottom)

3. To change the style of the hair because you desire a shorter length or shorter pieces such as bangs or layers.

Hair is an important part of your appearance. Long hair is a stunning look on some women who take great pains to grow their hair to a certain length. Long hair should be brushed no more than twice a day with a high quality vent brush. Leave in oils such as jojoba make a nice hair conditioner the night before you wash. Using a high quality soft boar bristle brush to distribute the oil. Braid your hair and leave in for at least an hour or overnight if you are going to wash your hair the next day. Rosemary, lavender, cedar wood oil and Juniper berry are excellent for your hair and scalp. Just add a couple drops each to a 2oz bottle of jojoba oil. A hair cut is different from a trim in that considerably less is cut when you are trimming the hair as opposed to when you are giving a hair cut.

Sometimes, long hair gets damaged by environmental conditions, or specific styling requirements. The best way to tell if this is a problem for you is to look at your hair. Trim the top and the side sections of the hair by combing them straight down on the sides. Work on the left side first, then the right side. Comb the hair through one final time after you've completed it to check for evenness in the hair. Use a large wide spaced toothcomb to distribute the product. Keep the blow dryer on a cooler setting and use your fingers to comb the hair as you dry. For special nights out when you are going to use a curling iron or flat iron make sure you get a good distribution of the heat safe product on your hair. If you hair is on the oily side use the type of product that is thicker and looks like a lotion.

Brush out the hair to remove any tangles and section the hair in to workable divisions. Use clips to hold the hair you aren't working with out of your way. Wear a hat, cap or scarf if you can to protect hair from over-exposure to the sun, salt or chlorinated water, wind and air pollution. Hair grows at a rate that is in accordance with your body's chemistry, balance and well being. It is a misnomer that after a certain point hair growth slows.

Specific Reasons to Trim Long Hair

Sometimes, long hair gets damaged by environmental conditions, or specific styling requirements. The results can be severe in the long term. The best way to tell if this is a problem for you is to look at your hair when it's down and examine the density of the hair both at the scalp area and the ends. Does your hair seem to "thin out" the longer it gets? Do you have a lot of split ends? Does it get frizzy and frayed looking at the ends?

A friend of mine is a man who has been wearing his hair long for nearly ten years now. He's a builder. For him, his long hair in a pony tail is a matter of personality. The trouble is, wearing it in an hair band every a day and in wind and dust has caused his hair to break off at about half its desired length. His hair becomes very sparse at the ends and not at all what he wants it to be. It took a lot of convincing, but finally, I made him agree to let a hairdresser near him on trimming away the damaged ends. The first cut was the hardest for him. We had to lose about 100mm from the overall length. However, in the last year, with a careful a regular trim from his hairdresser(and teaching him how to care for his hair properly) he now has hair a little longer than when we began, and it is shiny, smooth and healthy-looking.