The hair’s life is composed of three phases:

The anagen phase:

This is the active growth period of the hair.

It lasts 2 or 3 years.

The catagen phase:

Transition period during which the hair is idle and the follicle regresses.

It lasts approximately three weeks.

The telogen phase:

The follicle "rests" during three months.

The hair comes off and falls out.

Pictures’ source: www.rogainecanada.com

On average, it is normal to loose from 50 to 100 hairs per day.

If hair loss is greater, this might come from a disturbed cycle and it might be necessary for you to go see a doctor.

The hair’s length also depends on the pillar cycle and the thickness depends on the size of the dermic bud.

Scientifically, there is no link between the ends’ cutting and a better growth of hair.

However, many people, among who we are, have noticed that their hair was growing better during the weeks following the cutting.

To cut, there is no need to go see the ugly hairdresser who is going to cut 10 centimeters instead of the 1 or 2 you’ve asked for. (Isa’s note: I never wore short hair. Nevertheless, if my hair comes down to only my lower back level, it is because my brother, who is a hairdresser, was cutting my hair’s ends once a year. It is only when I stopped asking for his services that I discovered my hair’s great growth potential.)

There is a method to cut your hair’s ends all by yourself :) .

You’re going to say: “Oh my! Cutting our hair ourselves? These girls must be crazy!”

Don’t worry! Even if you’re not very skilled with your hands (No’s note: like me!), you can do it!!

Method for a straight cut

Method for a U-shaped cut (to come)

Method for a V-shaped cut

If, like Isa, you don’t have an adventurous soul and you are too afraid to wreck your cut, ask someone you trust to do it. First, you will have to warn this person that you will gut him (or her) if he (or she) cuts more than the centimeter you’ve asked for. (Isa’s note: check with a tape-measure right after the cutting).

Cutting frequency :

Concerning the cutting’s day, we often hear people say that certain moon phases could favor the hair’s growth.

So, even if you are very rational and do not believe in the moon’s influence on your hair, we advise you to cut your hair on the favorable days.

If there was no effect, you wouldn’t have lost anything and if there was an effect, you would have everything to gain.

Anyway, since you’re cutting your hair yourself now, there is no need to worry about the days when your hair-dresser is opened.

In order to choose our cutting days, we follow the “Morrocco calendar”.

The first table of this site (with a green background) gives us the best dates for a beneficial cutting.

The second one indicates the favorable dates for the effect desired. The red colored dates are even more propitious. The framed dates are the optimum dates that we find on the first table.

Here is the 2009 calendar:

Pictures' source: http://www.morroccomethod.com

Now that you have done your first trim on a propitious day according to the lunar calendar, you’re certainly wondering when you will have to do it again.

This remains your choice.

Just keep in mind that by cutting one centimeter each time, you’re not sacrificing more than one month of growth. So, by cutting every month, your hair will not shorten.

Then, you can cut your ends very regularly, especially if you want to get rid off a layering effect or an old chemical coloring.

The growth will be slower but it will allow you to avoid cutting too much at once.

For a general rule, cut your ends only if they are split, or if they seem to taper and have less volume.

A concrete example, we cut our hair approximately four times a year.