How much should a man trim his hair?

If you’re reading this, then you think about your body hair. And chances are you even like your body hair—to a degree. You just wish there wasn’t so much of it. Or that your chest hair didn’t connect to your beard. Or that your thigh hair wasn’t so bushy that it makes wearing a swimsuit questionable. You’re not the kind of guy who’s going to wax it, but you want to take things down a notch. And that’s where the trouble begins. How short should you go?

Table of Contents Show

Find Your Ideal Length
Test on the Margin
Tailor to the Body Part
Take More than One Pass
Soothe the Itch
How often should a man trim his hair?
How much hair should you cut off for a trim men?
How much hair should be cut off in a trim?

It’s just like buzzing your head: once you’ve started there’s no turning back. And while “chest hair” is a thing many people like, “chest stubble” is not. So before you run a weedwhacker through your precious garden, let’s plan how we’re going to do this.

Find Your Ideal Length

First things first: we’ve found that women like body hair. The key is to keep it “in check.”

So let’s unpack that. “In check” means that your chest isn’t sprouting over your collar. But it also means that when you take off your shirt, you should look like you were conceivably born with this amount of chest hair. Avoid the “plucked chicken” effect.

Start with your chest, use a clipper, and choose the right guard. (Check out our favorite tools here.)

Test on the Margin

Don’t—we repeat: don’t—start by running the buzzer right down the middle of your chest. You might regret it as soon as you see the landing strip between your pecs.

Instead, start on the margin, like around your collarbone where you might want the hair to fade out anyway.

Another good chest tip: the more ripped your pectorals, the more hair you can afford to lose. If you have a flabby chest, shearing is going to make it more obvious, not less.

Tailor to the Body Part

Not all your body hair is the same length or same texture. Once you have your ideal chest setting, you shouldn’t just buzz your whole body with that same clipper guard.

Your armpit hair should be longer than your chest hair. Your belly hair should be shorter. Keep it in proportion by going up or down a buzzer guard for each area.

And unless you’re a competitive swimmer or a Yeti, don’t bother trimming your arms or legs. Take care of any noticeable groin fur that protrudes from your swimsuit and move on.

Take More than One Pass

Once you’ve committed to an area, and selected the right clipper guard, take multiple passes in different directions. Up. Down. Side-to-side. Even the best clippers available to you at home aren’t usually barbershop quality, and they can miss things.

This is especially important in the groin area, where there are many different angles and surfaces. You don’t want to spend a lot of time on the most visible areas and then have your summer crush discover a stray patch of long curls on your grundle.

Soothe the Itch

The shorter you go, the more likely you are to face a couple days of itching. (An itchy chest is worse when you wear a shirt, so if you’re headed to the beach anyway, great.)

If you have a moisturizing aftershave you like, apply some to the areas you’ve just groomed. For instance, this one from Kiehl’s uses menthol oils to soothe the skin (Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion, $18, kiehls.com).

Final word: sunscreen. Especially if you were rocking some Steve Carrell-level mohair until now, your flesh is about to meet sunshine for the first time. What’s worse than a plucked chicken? A scalded chicken. Don’t get burned.

If you’re trying to perfect your hairstyle, you probably already know the importance of using the right products and keeping up with a regular routine. But you might not realize how important it is to get your hair trimmed or cut regularly. How often you visit the barber has a lot to do with how well you maintain a great hairstyle.

So, how often should you trim your hair? The answer, as you’ll see, depends on a lot of factors.

Why’s It Important for Most Men to Get Regular Haircuts or Trims?

Before we answer that question, let’s explore the different reasons why regular cuts and trims are so important.

Reason #1: Split Ends

Split ends are one of those pesky problems that are inevitable if you don’t cut your hair regularly. Your hair is sensitive, and it’s exposed to a whole lot of factors throughout the day that cause damage. Heat, dry air, the ingredients in your shampoo and even pollution take their tolls on your delicate hair shafts, and eventually, the cuticles that coat those shafts split at the ends.

Split ends cause hair to look messy and frizzy, which means that staying on top of those ends is crucial. And that’s why getting your ends trimmed regularly is so important.

Reason #2: Neatness

Hair that’s trimmed regularly looks neat and tidy rather than unkempt and messy. Many men go far too long between trims, and the result is hair that has an awkward, unflattering shape. No matter how many styling products you use, if your hair is overgrown, it’s just not going to flatter you.

Reason #3: Beating the Heat

Many men trim their hair regularly is because they’re trying to beat the heat. As you probably know, the more hair you have on your scalp, the warmer it feels, and during the summer months, many men like to keep things short so that they can feel nice and cool.

Timing is Everything

Keeping up with your hair-cutting routine is key and here’s why:

If You’re Trying to Maintain Your Length

Whether it’s short or long, it’s recommended that you go for a trim once or twice a month, depending on how quickly your hair grows. Hair grows about one half of an inch per month, so getting that monthly or bi-monthly trim will ensure that your length is maintained.

If You’re Trying to Grow it Out

You can get away with trimming or cutting it once every three months. We understand that if you’re trying to grow it out, trimming seems like it’s going to prevent your hair from achieving the length that you’re going for. However, those trims are preventing the ends from becoming split, which will make your hair look unhealthy once it’s reached its desired length.

Don Juan Pomade Products that Could Enhance and Protect Your Freshly Cut Hair

Getting your hair trimmed regularly is extremely important, but so is the manner in which you treat your hair between your barbershop appointments. As soon as your hair has been trimmed, it’s important that you use the right products to keep that hair healthy so that the ends don’t become split and damaged before the next appointment.

We strongly recommend using one of our signature pomades between trimming sessions. Our pomades are formulated to smooth and nourish your hair so that the chances of developing split ends are far less likely. Whether you’re wearing your hair cropped or you’re rocking some impressive length, a pomade can take your haircare game to a whole new level.

Don Juan Pomade offers a selection of pomades for every hair type out there. Whether your hair is pin-straight and fine or coarse and curly, we have a pomade that will make those locks healthier than ever before.

Style and Preference

As you can see, how often you should trim or cut your hair depends on the style that you’re trying to achieve. Whether you’re trying to grow your hair out or you’re trying to keep it short, regular cuts or trims are necessary. Just make sure that you use the right products between cuts to get the most out of your hairstyle.

How often should a man trim his hair?

Typically, men should get a haircut every two to three weeks, but if you're doing a tight fade (or something similar that needs extra detail) every two weeks should more than do the trick. Definitely no less than once a month as your hair is gonna' get pretty crazy and out of shape if you wait that long.

How much hair should you cut off for a trim men?

Generally, when you ask for a trim haircut, a professional will understand that you want less than two inches cut from the ends of your hair and don't want any change in the current overall style or shape of your hair. Sometimes that's exactly what you want, but sometimes it's far from it.

How much hair should be cut off in a trim?

The amount of hair cut off during a trim varies, depending on your preferences and how severe your damage is. On average, trims remove from a quarter of an inch to an inch from the ends of your hair. If you have severe damage, you may end up having to get two or more inches removed.