How often should you cut your hair? From bangs to curls to straight tresses

No matter how many hairdressers you've consulted, the question of how often should you cut your hair inevitably rears its ugly head anytime you take a good, hard look at your frazzled ends.

Even if you only ever get a trim, you can only hold it off for so long until your split ends can't be fixed with a hair mask, and your layers are so ratty that you need to suck it up and book an appointment knowing full well that your hairdresser is going to scold you.

Many of us will wait until we visit our parents in the holidays to go to the totally-affordable-compared-to-the-city hairdresser we grew up with.

While others have dabbled with YouTube tutorials to learn how to do it themselves. And then there are those who actually listen to their hairdressers and go every 6 to 8 weeks.

how often should you cut your hair How often you should cut your hair depends on its texture (Credit: Pexels)

How often should you cut your hair?

But is that just something they tell you to make sure they get regular business every two months?

Well, it turns out that how often you get a haircut totally depends on your hair texture, as well as what style you're hoping to maintain.

Here's how often you need to get a chop, according to your hair type.

1. Virgin hair

If you're in your twenties, have never coloured your hair and don't use hot tools – your hair is naturally going to be in pretty good condition. You shouldn't see visible signs of damage until after about three months, which is when it might be good to book an appointment for a cut.

2. Fine hair

Thin hair has a tendency to look limp and a bit ratty without regular trims to keep things in shape. You don't want to cut off much each time, but you should go back every four to six weeks to tidy up the ends and bring back the illusion of more volume.

Curly hair (Credit: Pexels) You can get away with not visiting the salon quite as much if your hair is curly (Credit: Pexels)

3. Curly hair

You can go two or three months before going back to the salon. Even just a small trim can really decrease the volume of curly hair, plus your hair is probably in pretty good condition if you keep it hydrated.

If your curls are looking too stretched out and straggly on the ends, it's probably worth going for a cut. Tight, coarse curls require even fewer cuts – quarterly or even biannual visits to the hairdresser might be enough.

4. Long hair with long layers

This kind of style is pretty low-maintenance. You'll probably only need to go back every six to eight weeks to tidy the ends and reshape the hair that frames the face. If you don't have layers and like just letting it grow long without any particular style, you could stretch this to 12 weeks, just as long as you're looking after it properly.

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5. Heavily cut with lots of layers

Layers look great on people with thicker hair – giving a tousled, perfectly imperfect look that is effortlessly sexy.

But if you let them grow too long, those layers will become choppy and awkwardly wonky. Get them fixed by your hairdresser every six weeks and you'll be right.

6. Short hair

How often should you cut your hair? Well if it's short, you will need to go back every four weeks if you've got a pixie cut.

Something a bit longer like a lob or a bob won't need such regular maintenance because they generally don't have layers, but still go back every six weeks if you want to keep the look.

Aim for a trim every four weeks if you have short hair (Credit: Pexels)

7. Damaged hair

Excessive heat styling or heavy colouring will leave your hair pretty damaged. Monthly chops will keep things neat, though, and after a while, you'll grow out healthier roots to replace your dead locks anyway.

8. Bangs

Depending on whether you like orderly, straight-cut bangs or something of more a wispy nature, you'll want to go every second week or so to make sure you can still see.

Well, is it time to book an appointment?