How Long Can You Go Between Haircuts?

That all depends on you.
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Who doesn’t love a good haircut? Fresh, clean, and ready to face the world, a new chop’s got a kind of empowering quality—it’s as if anything you do in the next 24 to 48 hours will be made infinitely more awesome by the precision of your mane. If we had it our way, a trained professional would tend to our scalps on the daily, snipping here and schmutzing there to ensure that each strand lands exactly at its optimal length and positioning.

Unfortunately, though, most aren’t lucky enough to employ a stylist. Adding insult to injury, actually getting a proper haircut can be quite the chore; you either have to find an open appointment that meshes with your hectic schedule (probably a week or two out, if you’re headed somewhere popular) or take the time out of your already busy day to brave the walk-in line. So it makes sense that you might want to extend the time between cuts as long as possible.

But exactly how long is that? Well, it depends:

Turns out the predominant factor determining the greatest time between snips is the overall length of the haircut you’re looking to maintain. Why, you ask? In one word: proportions.

You see, hair grows at an average rate of about 0.5 inch per month (this can be a little more or less, depending on your hair type and what season it is). That might not seem like much, but imagine you’ve recently decided to sport a buzz cut and shorn the hair on your skull down to a half of an inch. In a month, your hair is going to be twice as long as it was initially; the chances of your style looking anything like it did right when you got it cut are essentially nil. So you’re going to want to get it touched up before that.

On the other hand, longer ’dos have the luxury of a buffer when it comes to regular maintenance. Think about it: Could you easily spot the difference between a 9- and a 9.5-inch cut? We didn’t think so. And yet, even with this visual cushion, long-haired dudes shouldn’t go too long between cuts. That’s because if you wait upwards of eight weeks or so, you’re going to have to start worrying about things like breakage and split ends. And who’s got time for that type of concern?

Also, leaving your mane unattended for that long—allowing fades to grow out and edges to run free—immensely increases your risk of looking less dandy and more wildman. So instead, maybe just heed your barber’s advice and book your next appointment while you’re already in shop.

You’ll thank yourself later.