Signs That Your Wavy Hair Needs A Haircut
You can see or feel split ends.
Your hair has started tangling more than usual, especially at the ends, or in single-strand knots aka fairy knots.
Your hair feels heavy, and may give you headaches if you wear it up.
Your hair has gotten straighter or isn’t curling up as well as it used to.
The ends of your hair look stringy or have become uneven.
Your waves aren’t clumping as well as they used to or look “stringy”
It’s been more than 6 months since your last trim.
The shape that your haircut had when first cut is no longer the shape it has. For many with wavy hair they’ll get a “triangle” shape or their hair cut will become “bottom heavy” as it grows out.
Does Hair Grow Faster After It’s Cut?
This is an old wives’ tale, unfortunately! Hair growth is all about your scalp health, what you do (or don’t do) with the lengths of your hair doesn’t impact how quickly your hair grows.
How Often Do You Need A Haircut If You Get A Devacut?
Both deva-certified stylists that I saw suggested getting a dry curl cut every 3-4 months, while with ‘regular’ haircuts a cut is typically recommended every 6 weeks. Dry curl cuts are supposed to grow out better so you can go longer between cuts.
I last had my hair cut in October, and it was a devacut. It’s late March now. I’ve just noticed that I really badly need a haircut in the last month or so. Meaning, I think I could go about 4 months between devacuts.
What Is A Hair Dusting?
Hair dusting is when you get a really minimal trim to just get the very ends of your hair off. This can get rid of split ends while maintaining maximum length.
What Type Of Haircut Should You Get For Wavy Hair?
It’s really a personal preference. People with wavy hair can have good luck with traditional wet cuts, cutting their own hair, or getting a devacut or other dry curl cut. It really is up to you! I tried deva cuts because I had a lot of bad experiences with wet cuts, but I think that was largely a result of not understanding my own hair type well enough at the time.
I believe wet cuts can be a good, affordable option for wavy hair as long as you know what to ask for and what to avoid. I also think dry curl cuts such as devacuts can work great! And I’ve had success with cutting my own hair, too.
I have a youtube video where I shared some advice for getting a good devacut OR a good wet cut for wavy hair.
How Can I Tell If My Wavy Hair Needs A Trim, Versus Just Needing More Moisture or Protein?
Figuring out your ideal moisture-protein balance is one of the hardest parts of embracing naturally wavy hair in my opinion. It took me a while to get a feel for when my hair needed protein. My hair rarely ever needs extra moisture, but of course that isn’t true for everyone.
Some of the signs of needing moisture could overlap with needing a hair cut, such as rough feeling hair that is rougher at the ends. Some signs of needing protein could also overlap with signs of needing a haircut, such as your hair falling straighter than it usually does.
If you aren’t sure if you need a haircut or not, my advice would be to try moisture or protein (whichever you suspect you may need) first. It’s an easier thing to try first, and the results aren’t as set in stone as a haircut is!
What Are Some Common Mistakes People Make When Cutting Wavy Hair?
Not accommodating for shrinkage especially when cutting hair wet. If you cut wavy hair when it’s wet and cut it to shoulder length, it’ll be above the shoulders once it dries. In most cases, wavy hair shrinks 1-2 inches as it dries but this can vary by length.
Even in dry cuts, it’s possible to fail to accomodate for shrinkage. Most people with wavy hair have looser waves towards their roots, and their hair gets more tightly curly towards the end. So during a haircut, it’s common to cut off the ‘curliest’ parts. Sometimes when wavy hair is dry-cut, it’ll look like “alt he curls will cut off” leaving almost straight-looking hair…but only until it’s washed again! Once it’s washed, the waves will come back and the hair will be shorter in appearance than it was when it was first cut.
It’s important to be especially careful when cutting short layers or bangs. Sometimes wavy hair will have extra shrinkage when cut short because the hair will become so lightweight that it can really spring up.
Going to a curly/coily specialist rather than someone familiar with wavy hair. This is more of a ‘maybe’. Some stylists may have more experience with type 3 or type 4 hair, but still will do a great job of cutting wavy hair. My first devacut experience was with someone who had a lot more experience with cutting curlier hair than what I have, and it wasn’t the best experience as a result of that.
Not following tutorials closely when doing it yourself. I had someone comment on my recent youtube video sharing that they had noticed in cases where people try DIY haircuts and get bad results, they either used really bad scissors rather than true hair stylist scissors, or they started “winging it” part way through. If you’re following a DIY haircut tutorial, it’s probably best to stick with the tutorial!
Using thinning sheers. Some with “big” wavy hair sometimes think that using thinning sheers will help reduce the “bulk” of their hair. This can make wavy hair more poofy and less defined. If you want to reduce the weight of your hair, getting layers or an undercut may work better.
Should you point cut wavy hair?
I’ve seen some say that point cutting should be avoided on wavy or curly hair while others say that it’s fine, so I’m really not sure? For what it’s worth, I’ve had point cutting on mine and didn’t feel like it was problematic in any way.