Having strong hair doesn’t guarantee protection against daily damage. One of the most frequent issues is known as “split ends“. These occur at the ends of your hair, where the oldest and most fragile strands reside. Split ends develop gradually, causing frizz, dryness, and damage that gradually disrupt your peace. When you’ve postponed your haircut for too long, your hair starts tangling easily, appearing drier than the rest, and feeling crunchy. Split ends are a common hair concern, but there are ways to keep your hair healthy and prevent their occurrence.
What is split ends hair?
Split ends are a common hair condition characterized by the splitting or fraying of the hair shaft, most commonly seen in people with long hair. In this case, tips of hair splits into two or more parts. Actually, what scientifically happen is that the cortex of the hair is exposed when the outermost layer of the hair shaft is impaired. This damage can happen to any hair type and can lead to hair breakage, dry hair ends, dead ends, and of course, split ends. Although splitting most typically occur at the end of the strand, it can occasionally occur further up the hair. As a result of the damage, the hair become coarse, frizzy, dull and even worse, split ends can sometimes extend up your hair shaft and cause hairs to break off.
What are the causes of split ends hair?
Split ends can commonly indicate that your hair has been subjected to excessive treatments, lacks proper hydration, and has suffered damage, leading to an untidy and unhealthy appearance. It’s important to know the causes of your split ends hair in order to stop repeating the wrong habits. There are some common factors that usually cause split ends for everyone at some point:
Physical damage is the primarily cause of split ends. This includes: drying with coarse towels, rough brushing, overbrushing or brushing your hair after a shower while it’s still wet. backcombing, styling with heat like using dryers, curling irons or straighteners, rubbing shampoo throughout your hair during the washing process, not using conditioner, securing your hair in a tight ponytail, bun, braids, or other updos and wearing hair extensions and weaves.
Chemical damage is another negative factor. Perming, chemical relaxing, colour treatments, bleach, chemical substances in swimming pool, applying long-lasting hair styling products and wrong hair care products for your specific hair type can all contribute to hair damage
In addition, exposure to environmental stressors, such as pollution, direct sunlight, cold air (due to its dryness), and salt water, is a factor when it comes to split ends. It is important to note that, the health of our hair is also influenced by the way we nourish our bodies. Consuming an unbalanced diet can increase its vulnerability to damage.
It is worth mentioning that genetics also can have an influential effect on the health of our hair. Genetically some people have weaker hair than others and so are more prone to split ends.
How to get rid of split ends hair?
Dealing with split ends can be frustrating and they often seem like an unsolvable problem once they appear. The truth is, there’s no way to fully repair hair once it’s been broken. The only reliable way to get rid of them is to cut them off. Products like leave-ins, conditioners and different kind of hair masks are designed to temporarily improve the appearance and texture of your hair by sealing the outer layer of strands, making them smoother and less frayed. However, it’s important to remember that the only permanent solution for split ends is to trim them off. If you’re experiencing issues like tangled hair, changes in your curl pattern, or split ends that are moving up your hair shaft, it’s definitely time for a trim.
A fresh approach that can tackle split ends is called “Velaterapia” or candle cutting. This unique method involves twisting a section of your hair and gently burning it halfway through using a lit candle. The theory is that by eliminating split ends through burning, you can create a barrier that shields the ends from splitting again. Nevertheless, some hair care experts express concerns that this technique could potentially cause more split ends and harm the hair follicles.
If you don’t want to cut your hair, we suggest you another split ends-remover technique. Hair dusting has become popular in the last few years. This method involves a skilled stylist patiently running their scissors and comb through your hair, expertly removing those pesky split ends while maintaining the overall length of your hair. As experts say, the best place to start treating split ends is to avoid them in the first place!
How to prevent split ends?
As previously mentioned, if you’re dealing with hair breakage or split ends, the best solution is to trim your hair. That’s why it’s important to focus on prevention in order to maintain healthy and split end-free hair. While it may not be possible to completely avoid split ends, there are ways to minimize their occurrence. After your next haircut, why not give these tips a go? They can help you avoid frayed hair and keep split ends at bay. Give them a try and see the difference!
Take extra care when brushing your hair
Bear in mind that brushing your hair immediately after a shower can easily damage your hair and make it more prone to splitting. However, rubbing your hair vigorously with a towel to dry it, is not recommended as well. Apart from causing hair breakage, it can damage hair cuticles.
Additionally, excessive brushing can result in hair breakage and split ends. So, it’s best to avoid over-brushing and be gentle when brushing or combing to maintain its health and prevent damage.
Here are some recommendations that can prevent your hair from splitting:
- It can be quite a challenge to comb or brush tangled hair, whether it’s wet or dry. To make things easier, make sure to detangle your hair before drying, brushing, or styling. Using a wide-toothed brush is the best choice for this task.
- Be kind to your hair. To prevent any damage, start brushing your hair from the tips and gradually work your way up, gently untangling any knots. Instead of forcefully pulling the brush from the roots to the ends, if you encounter resistance, pause and move the brush lower down the strand. If you have stubborn tangles at the ends, try cupping your hand around the hair just above the problem area. This technique will help you avoid putting excessive pressure on the roots.
- Try to brush your hair only once a day and practice to be gentle during brushing process.
- Do not hurry to brush your wet hair. The best approach is to use low heat setting hair dryer from the distance or blot it gently with a towel to avoid any damages and then kindly brush your hair.
Do not let your hair to be dry
Hair damage and split ends often occur due to dryness. This can be caused by various factors such as excessive heat, chemicals, aging, or over-washing. When your hair lacks moisture, it loses its luster, becomes brittle, and turns frizzy. To prevent split ends, it’s crucial to keep your hair hydrated, especially the ends. Moisturizing your hair is the key to achieving a healthy and shiny appearance. Hair masks are an excellent choice for providing the necessary hydration as they effectively eliminate frizz and dryness, leaving your hair soft and silky. While hair conditioners are also a good solution, hair masks offer longer-lasting benefits and are enriched with more nourishing ingredients.
Protect your hair while you sleep
Yes, even at night you are able to protect your hair from breakage. Sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase enable your hair to smoothly slide across the pillow. Silk is much kinder to your hair compared to fabrics such as cotton or linen. Silk pillowcase reduces friction and minimizes the risk of hair damage and split ends. If you have long or curly hair, another helpful tip is to pineapple your hair or you can wrap your hair in a silk scarf before bed for added protection.
Turn down the heat
Heated appliances such as straighteners, hair dryers, and curlers are the enemy of your hair moisture. These tools make the hair dry and gradually cause more split ends. Hare are some tips to show you how to use heat to make less damages:
- Keep the heated setting at low
- Use heat protection
- Make your usage as minimum as possible
- If possible, let the hair air dry after washing
Try hot oil therapy
The last solution for getting rid of dryness, frizz and split ends are natural remedies. You can either seek the help of an oil therapist or you can learn how to do it at home yourself. It’s a simple skill to pick up and it’s also a more affordable option. Normally, oils are sufficient to keep your hair strands moisturized. Different hair types require different approaches when applying oil. For some, it’s best to start from the roots and work your way to the tips, while others may benefit from focusing solely on the shafts. But if you have oily hair, it’s better to skip applying oil directly to your scalp to avoid potential hair loss.
If you want to do hot oil therapy yourself, follow these steps:
- 1. Start with cleaning your hair in order to let it better absorb the oil and get nourished perfectly.
- After cleansing, warm a few drops of oil only for some seconds.
- In the next step, softly brush your hair.
- Apply the oil throughout your hair and brush it from root to the tip of the hair.
- Cover your head with a shower cap or a piece of cloth and allow the oil to do its work.
- Finally, thoroughly rinse out the oil from your hair and proceed your hair care routine.
Regularly treating your hair with oil is a must to say goodbye to split ends and boost the luster and resilience of your locks. Among the well-known oils for this purpose are olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil, argan oil, and tea oil.
FAQs
In this part, let’s take a look at a few commonly asked questions by the users:
Why do my split ends come back so quickly?
If you find yourself dealing with split ends all the time, the secret is to get regular trims. Skipping out on cutting the tip of your hair regularly will give the environmental factors the opportunity to damage your hair.
Can split ends cause hair loss?
Split ends left untreated can have serious consequences for your hair. The damage will gradually extend from the tips to the roots, potentially causing hair loss in the long run.
Does split ends hair grow?
Split ends may not prevent your hair from growing, as it naturally grows from the root. However, they can lead to more damage and give your hair a thinner and shorter appearance as time goes on.
Wrapping up
Split ends are a prevalent problem especially for those with long hair. The only solution to eliminate them is by cutting off the affected hair. Nevertheless, there are numerous preventive measures to avoid split ends. It is essential to bear in mind that hair is delicate and susceptible to both physical and chemical damage. Therefore, it is imperative to diligently care for your hair. Avoid from repeating harmful habits that negatively impact your hair and instead, adopt gentle hair care practices. Additionally, regular hair trims should not be overlooked.
Split ends hair is vaery bad.
tnx alot for good post
Full of practical tips…tnx a lot
Can you actually repair split ends? there’s no way to repair split ends.
What causes split ends on the hair? Exposure to extreme weather conditions, and hair care techniques such as blow drying, straightening, and curling.
Do split ends mean your hair is unhealthy? Excessive split ends are usually a symptom of more extensive damage to your strands.
Is it OK to pull split ends? When you pick at split ends, you damage the hair shaft further.
How do I stop getting split ends? 1.Be Gentle. 2.Keep Hydrated. 3.Use a Microfibre Hair Towel. 4.Turn Down the Heat. 5.Strengthen With a Restorative Routine.
How do you fix split hair?
After your next trim, try these fixes that can help disguise frayed hair and prevent split ends before they start: 1.Don’t brush wet hair. 2.Be gentle on your strands. 3.Turn down the heat. 4.Back off hair dyes. 5.Sleep on silk. 6.Deep condition often.
How do split ends look?
1. Frayed or ragged ends 2. Tangles.
What do healthy hair ends look like? blunt or angled end.