People generally fall into two camps: those who love a haircut, and those who avoid them at all costs. If you belong in the latter group, you may just be interested in a DIY trimming technique called micro-dusting.
“Micro-dusting is a trimming technique for curly hair that targets dead and split ends,” explains Alex Brownsell, co-founder and creative director at Bleach London. “If you’re trying to grow your hair or find you quickly get knots and splits from styling, I’d recommend dusting every four to six weeks to stay on top of your hair health and promote growth.”
Mastering a technique like this also allows you to avoid that (shorter-than-you’d-like) cut your hairdresser insists upon following a long break between salon visits, to eliminate all of your dead ends. “If you want to avoid asking for an inch and your stylist taking a mile, micro-dust regularly at home,” says Brownsell.
For curly girls—types 3 and 4—Brownsell says the technique uses a “horizontal trimming motion” (called club cutting), on individual curl strands to eliminate dead ends. For those with straight hair, she touts the “secret trim technique” as a must-learn skill. “It uses a small vertical snipping motion into the ends of the hair to avoid a blunt or choppy finish, and a twisting technique to reveal splits further up the layers,” Brownsell explains.
So how, exactly, does one micro-dust? At Bleach they teach the technique in the salon to clients keen to keep their length, and Brownsell explains there are three steps to getting it right:
