Is a trim considered the same thing as a haircut?

So let’s say that your ends are split and you know that you need a trim. You show up to the hair salon with your hair either still wet from showering or with it in a messy bun on day 4 of not washing it. And maybe you haven’t had a haircut in 6 months because you’re trying to grow it out. You just want the bare minimum cut off, or a “trim”, so it should cost less than a full haircut right? In this post I’ll explain everything your hairstylist wants you to know about haircuts and trims.

Is trimming hair really necessary?

Before we dive any deeper, let’s talk about trimming your hair in general. Trimming your hair removes breakage and splits from the ends of your hair, which stops the damage from traveling up into the mid section of each hair strand.

If you don’t trim your hair regularly, chances are your hair is in pretty bad shape. You’ll have breakage throughout all of your hair which makes it frizzy and unmanageable.

Trimming your hair regularly is vital to growing and maintaining healthy hair. My recommendation is that you should never go more than 12 weeks without getting your hair trimmed or cut.

Since everyone is different and we all have different types and conditions of hair, there is no exact number of weeks to follow for getting trims. But you can check out my post here to determine how long you should go between haircuts based on your hair type. Chances are you are not trimming it frequently enough.

Unfortunately if you aren’t trimming your hair frequently enough, you can’t just get a trim and you likely need a more significant haircut. This is because if the hair is split up the hair strand, more hair needs to come off to remove the breakage. Otherwise it’s going to keep breaking and getting worse.

Is a trim the same as a haircut?

I think I speak for all hairstylists on earth when I say that yes, a trim is still a haircut. (SPOILER ALERT, I do offer trims for less, just keep reading.) Let me break this down and explain why. If you are having your hair cut whether it be 1/8” or 6 inches, it is still being cut. We still have to cut every single piece of hair. Now keep in mind that this is NOT referring to a bang trim or neck clean-up.

The majority of the time that clients come in for a haircut; we are only doing trims and maintenance cuts. If you think about it, chances are you do not change your haircut style every time you get your hair cut. Not many people do. This does not change the fact that we are still cutting every piece of hair on your head the same way we did when we first gave you that haircut.

This also doesn’t change the experience needed to give you that trim. It’s all still the same. But below I’m going to break it down even further.

Why does a trim cost the same as a haircut?

The most time consuming step in 90% of haircuts is the blow-dry. Keep in mind that a haircut is NOT finished if you are allowed to walk out of the salon with wet hair. This goes for trims as well.

Hair does not lay the same way wet as it does dry, so if your stylist allows you to leave with wet hair, I highly suggest looking for another stylist. No offense to them at all, but haircuts should always be finished with the final touches on DRY hair.

Now with all of that being said, there is a way to get your trims for a lesser price from certain stylists, but I know that many do not offer this service. Read below to find out how I do it.

How to get a trim for a lower price

I offer my regular clients trims, or as I like to call them “pretend haircuts” for a lower price. But in order to get this service, my clients must meet the following criteria.

1. Your last haircut was no longer than 6 weeks ago.
2. Your hair is CLEAN, STRAIGHT, and DRY upon arriving to the salon. No wet hair, messy buns, or oily hair allowed.
3. Your hair does not have significant breakage or straggly ends.
4. You want no more than 1/2 an inch off.
5. This is not your first haircut with me.

These haircuts are maintenance haircuts only for those looking to keep their hair healthy and are already coming in on a regular basis.

I cut the hair while it is straight and dry to ensure that I’m only taking off the bare minimum to keep those ends healthy. This also saves me lots of time from having to blow-dry and style the hair, which is why I do it for a lesser price.

If your stylist doesn’t offer this service, suggest it to them. I have found it was a great way to allow my clients to maintain their haircuts regularly for a lesser price. By not offering this type of service I had found that clients were putting off their haircuts for too long, and their ends were suffering from it.

Conclusion

Trimming your hair regularly is one of, if not the most important aspect of having long, healthy, and gorgeous hair.

Trims typically don’t cost less than a haircut because we still need to shampoo, cut every piece of hair, blow dry, and texturize it. The same amount of skill and time is needed.

I offer my clients a lower price for trims under 5 circumstances:

1. It hasn’t been longer than 6 weeks since their last trim/cut
2. They arrive with clean, straight, and dry hair
3. The hair does not have significant breakage
4. 1/2″ or less is to be taken off
5. It’s not their first haircut with me

Talk to your stylist about getting a “pretend haircut” in-between your regular cuts to save yourself a little time and money.

If you have any further questions for me on this topic, leave them for me in the comment section. And be sure to subscribe below to make everyday a good hair day!

Last updated 04/15/2024