Skip to content
LJ HairLab

free calculator

Haircut Grow-Out Calculator

See how long it takes to grow out bangs, a pixie, a bob or a big chop, with a date for every stage on the way.

What are you growing out?
in

Rule of thumb: 0.5″.

in

A dusting is about a quarter inch.

How to use the Haircut Grow-Out Calculator

  1. Pick the cut you are growing out

    Choose brow-length bangs, a pixie, an ear-length or chin-length bob, a big chop or a shaved head.

  2. Choose where you want it to reach

    Pick a goal from bangs at the cheekbone to bra-strap length, and set the date of the cut or leave today.

  3. Enter growth and trims

    Keep the default half inch a month or type your own rate, then say how often you trim and how much comes off each time.

  4. Press “Show my grow-out timeline”

    You get the months needed, the target date and every stage on the way, with the awkward ones marked and a styling tip for each.

  5. Save the dates

    Add the stages to your calendar or copy the link to keep the timeline.

How to use the Haircut Grow-Out Calculator (59 s)

How long to grow out bangs or a short cut: how it is worked out

Growing out a haircut is a distance problem. The calculator takes the length of the shortest hair in your cut, the length that hair has to be to reach your goal, and divides the gap by how much you gain each month after trims. 

net growth per month = growth per month − trim amount × (4.35 ÷ weeks between trims)
months needed        = (goal length − starting length) ÷ net growth per month
target date          = date of the cut + months needed

Two ways of measuring

Hair at your crown has further to travel than hair at your front hairline. For all-over goals such as chin, shoulder, armpit and bra-strap length the calculator uses the same crown-to-ends lengths as the hair length chart (for a height of 5 ft 4 in). For bangs it measures from the front hairline instead, which as a rule of thumb is about 2 inches shorter to the same point: roughly 3 inches to the brow, 5 to the cheekbone and 7 to the chin. Faces and cuts differ, so expect to be a month either side.

Growth rate and trims

The default is half an inch (1.27 cm) a month, the usual rule of thumb. Rates vary from person to person, and one study measured a slower average in a sample of Afro-textured hair, so enter your own figure if you know it. Trims are spread evenly over time: a quarter inch every 12 weeks removes about 0.09 inches a month, which stretches a pixie-to-chin grow-out from about 1 year 2 months to about 1 year 5 months. If trims remove as much as grows, the calculator tells you so instead of giving a date.

The stages

Each stage in the timeline starts when the hair reaches a set length, so its date comes from the same formula. Stages marked “awkward” are the in-between lengths that are hardest to style, with one tip each. They pass: at half an inch a month no stage lasts more than a few months.

What it cannot tell you

It assumes steady growth and no breakage. Lengths are stretched, so curls and coils will sit shorter than the stage name suggests until shrinkage is taken into account. It also cannot know how your stylist cut the shape. For a plan to a long-term length goal with retention included, use the hair growth calculator.

Grow-out time chart (months at half an inch a month)

Growing out Bangs to the cheekboneBangs to the chinChin lengthShoulder lengthArmpit lengthBra-strap length
Brow-length bangs 4 mo8 mo8 mo14 mo20 mo26 mo
Pixie cut (about 2 in) 6 mo10 mo14 mo20 mo26 mo32 mo
Ear-length bob 4 mo8 mo8 mo14 mo20 mo26 mo
Chin-length bob already therealready therealready there6 mo12 mo18 mo
Big chop (about 1 in) 8 mo12 mo16 mo22 mo28 mo34 mo
Shaved head 10 mo14 mo18 mo24 mo30 mo36 mo

Months with no trims and no breakage at 0.5 in a month. Bangs and bangs goals are measured from the front hairline.

The awkward stages and how to get through them

Length Stage Styling tip
3 in From the front hairline Brow length: right in your eyes Sweep the fringe to one side and hold it with a small clip, or twist it back and pin it.
4 in From the front hairline Nose length: too long for bangs, too short to tuck Part it in the middle and wear it as curtain bangs, or reach for a headband.
6 in From the front hairline Lip length: keeps slipping from behind the ear Flat twist or braid the front along the hairline so it stays put.
3 in From the crown Shaggy pixie: the sides puff out over the ears Have only the sides and nape tidied. Leave the top alone so it can catch up.
4 in From the crown Mullet stage: the back outgrows the top Keep the nape trimmed short until the top and sides reach it. Headbands and flat twists hide the rest.
7 in From the crown Between a bob and a lob: the ends flip out at the jaw Twist-outs, half-up styles and clips work better than trying to wear it sleek.
10.5 in From the crown Brushing the shoulders: the ends flip and rub on collars Wear the ends tucked in a low bun or twists so they do not rub and split.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to grow out bangs?
At the usual half inch a month, brow-length bangs take about 4 months to reach the cheekbone, where they work as curtain bangs, and about 8 months to reach the chin, where they blend into the rest of your hair. Slower growth or trims add time.

How long does it take to grow out a pixie cut?
From a two-inch pixie to a chin-length bob is about seven inches of growth at the crown, which is about 1 year 2 months at half an inch a month with no trims. Tidying the nape along the way does not slow the top down.

How long after a big chop until my hair reaches my shoulders?
Shoulder length is about 12 inches from the crown on stretched hair, so from a one-inch big chop it takes about 1 year 10 months at half an inch a month if you keep every inch. Breakage and trims make it longer, and shrinkage means coily hair will look shorter than it measures.

What is the most awkward stage of growing out hair?
For bangs it is nose length: too long to wear as a fringe and too short to tuck behind the ear. For short cuts it is the three to four inch stage, when the sides puff out and the back outgrows the top. At half an inch a month each of these stages lasts about two to four months.

Should I trim my hair while growing it out?
Trim only what is damaged, and shape the nape or sides of a short cut so the outline stays neat. Every trim is subtracted from your growth, so the calculator shows how much time your trim routine adds. The trim schedule calculator helps you pick an interval.

Can I make my hair grow out faster?
Not by much. Growth rate is set mostly by genetics and health, and no product reliably speeds it up. What you can control is how much length you keep: gentle detangling, less heat and protected ends.

Why does my hair look shorter than the timeline says?
The lengths here are stretched lengths. Wavy, curly and coily hair shrinks as it dries, sometimes by more than half, so it reaches a point on the body later in everyday wear than it does when you pull a strand straight.

Sources

Last data update:

  1. Loussouarn G. African hair growth parameters. Br J Dermatol. 2001;145(2):294-297. Afro-textured hair grew about 256 µm/day in the study sample — slower than Asian and Caucasian samples.

How we research and update pages: editorial policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Related tools

Calculator

Hair Growth Calculator

See when you will reach shoulder, bra-strap or waist length based on growth rate, retention and trims.

Try it free
Chart

Interactive Hair Length Chart

Enter your height and see where every length level — from chin to tailbone — falls on your body.

Try it free
Calculator

Trim Schedule Calculator

Find your ideal trim interval and see how trims affect yearly length gain.

Try it free

Related guides

Hair Growth and Length Retention Guide Growth rates, retention and length goals you can plan.

Part of our hair growth guide · All free hair tools