With hair dusting, what you would be losing is about a quarter of an inch of your tresses; there is also another form of dusting called "surface dusting" where no amount of length is lost. L'Oréal professional artist Jill Engelsen told Hair that "surface dusting is when you blow dry the hair straight and rest the hair flat on the open palm of your hand and cut parallel on the surface to remove any small hairs that stick out and are damaged." This method of taking care of frayed ends pays attention to more than just the tips.

"Think of it in terms of removing fuzz from clothes," L.A.-based hairstylist Sal Salcedo told Refinery29. While the technique has been used for a long time, the time-consuming nature of this method makes it a rare offering in salons.

Trimming, on the other hand, results in you losing about 2 inches of your locks, according to Greatist. With trimming, what you're doing is maintaining the shape of your hairstyle, per Prose. Just like with dusting, the purpose of trimming is to get rid of split ends and maintain overall hair health, as noted by We Heart This.