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Does trimming your hair regularly make it grow faster? addresses the "trimming the hair makes it grow faster" myth, noting that the hair outside of your scalp is dead, and has no awareness of what is happening at its ends. When I've pointed that out to those who keep insisting that I need to have my hair trimmed if I want it long, their next argument is almost inevitably that trimming off the split ends will increase hair durability because, if not addressed, the split will travel up the hair, and damage the non-split parts. That feels a bit more rational, much like how fixing the frayed end of a string might help prevent the fray from continuing to unravel the string, but since it's coming from the same people who were claiming that the hair "knows" about the split end, and will refuse to grow (and also have a significant financial interest in suggesting frequent haircuts), I'm skeptical.

Claims

Mentions of splits spreading from this page on when to trim split ends:

"When they split they continue to unravel up the hair shaft, and it will split much more rapidly if you don’t cut those ends off," celebrity hairstylist and the star of L.A. Hair Kim Kimble tells SELF.

"You want to cut it before it splits. Once it splits, it rides up the hair shaft," says Pullan. "And you end up with two fine wispy pieces that eventually break off."

Also

Keep in mind that split ends can progress and split up the hair shaft. So you’ll have to trim or cut off damaged hair to prevent further damage.

And

Keep in mind that split ends can progress and split up the hair shaft. So you’ll have to trim or cut off damaged hair to prevent further damage.

Sean Duggan
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  • Your claim seems to be based on your personal experience. Can you show a notable claim that says your hair will be more durable if you cut it regularly? – Weather Vane Sep 20 '23 at 19:37
  • @WeatherVane: Do the various salon/beauty pages recounting it count? – Sean Duggan Sep 20 '23 at 19:37
  • Uh, which ones? You've linked to a SE Skeptics page about it growing faster when cut, not about split ends travelling up the hair. – Weather Vane Sep 20 '23 at 19:38
  • I hadn't added any quotes yet, but wanted to be sure if that would be counted as notable. – Sean Duggan Sep 20 '23 at 19:42
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    As a woman with very long hair, I hear this claim like once every few months from various people. (I ignore them because my hair is fine as it is.) You can find this advice in pretty much any beauty blog too, such as Tangle Teezer for an example I quickly found via searching. – Laurel Sep 20 '23 at 19:44
  • From the added quotes, does that mean that when the split ends supposedly break off, the hair will end up shorter than if it was cut? – Weather Vane Sep 20 '23 at 20:25
  • @WeatherVane: My read of it is that they're saying that if you don't trim the split end, more of the hair will be damaged (and more likely to break off on its own. – Sean Duggan Sep 20 '23 at 21:03
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    I regularly am given, and ignore, this advice. However, it's not that the split will progress. It has to do with preventing fly aways (shorter hairs which stand up). I'm told the split ends are more likely to cause tangles. Those tangles make combing out your hair more difficult and results in more broken hair which then has to regrow resulting in flyaways. :shrug: – Schwern Sep 22 '23 at 02:37

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