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Thread: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

  1. #1
    Member OleanderTime's Avatar
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    Red face I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    I always thought I was this lucky gal who didn't really get split ends. However, the more I think about it and the more I learn on TLHC about people with years of super healthy hair regimes who still get splits, I'm starting to think I just don't know what to look for.

    My hair has always hovered around chin to shoulder length. It's a little below shoulder now, so it's always been (and still is) difficult for me to go through my hair and really look. Mostly, I look at the hair right in front, but I can barely go through the back at all. If I do see anything resembling a split, it's only an occasional "white ball" or "taper" split. Is there a hierarchy of splits? Are some not as bad as others?

    Are any of you blessed enough to just not really get splits in the first place? Is this even possible?

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    Member hmmm's Avatar
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    I don't think I have ever got a split either. My hair has always been around the same length as yours, from chin to shoulder, never longer than that. I think it's very difficult to get split ends at this length, unless you use heat regularly on your hair (which I never do).
    I've read on this forum that most people get split ends only after a certain length, for some people it's BSL and for others longer.
    I'm actually looking forward to growing my hair so I can see what split ends look like. I get really curious at times, and find myself staring at longer-haired people's ends to find one or two. Never works .. but I did see dots in one person's hair and they made me go 'eww'.

  3. #3

    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    Getting splits is not merely an issue of length. It's about treatment of hair.

    To quickly answer the question of if there's a hierarchy of splits, as in, some not so bad compared to others -- answer is no. Any damage is still damage no matter how one frames it. Fundamentally, there's no way to fix damage once it's there.

    If one is trimming or styling into a cut hairstyle fairly regularly (or keeping the hair length at a certain length and not allowing a longer length), then one might not experience a lot of damage.

    Anything of length close to the head, it's very hard to look at our own hair, and most salon stylists aren't reliable in seeing damage. There's a tendency in the profession that the sight of one point of damage is somehow something that needs to be dealt with for all the hair's length.

    Damage can occur at ANY length. SO it's not about length. It's about hair care mostly. IF one is perming and coloring of any sort, or heat styling (flat ironing, curling iron -- where the heat is applied with the hair being pressed--even high heat blow drying), you can count on damage. White dots are burst cuticles, where the hair is damaged down to the cortex (this hair bends at 90 degrees, and healthy hair curves, not angles). Some splits, before splitting simple are attached to the main hair on either end, but if you press with fingertips and squeeze the zonage together, you'll see a hole, like a donut hole....that's a split yet to actually split off.

    Many people who have been at shorter lengths the majority of their life, when they become considerably longer are surprised at the damage points they'll see eventually. Typically though, in a fairly healthy head of hair of some acquired length, the idea is to manage and maintain, not perfection. This means that oldest hair is wherever the hemline is, and perhaps about that last inch is likely where the largest volume of damage will be seen. The longer one becomes, this hemline zonage of increased damage might be more like 2-3 inches or so.

    However, damage can occur anywhere.

    The other thing for seeing damage reliably is about available light. Most lights that light up a house or room in a house is insufficient. One needs sunlight or something pretty close to that, such as halogen light. PLUS one frequently needs to be looking at the hair against a backdrop that is opposite one's hair color. For example, a blonde can look against a black backdrop; a redhead against black, or blue.....a brunette or dark-haired, against a white or light backdrop -- otherwise it can be difficult to see.

    Further, one can look in a zonage of hair and see nothing, yet slightly turn that bit of hair and suddenly one sees stuff. And hairs need to be separated, so lightly rubbing the ends to separate hairs is helpful as well.

    But no, damage is damage. It's all the same. The only difference might be your interpretation, your view of damage that allows for a 'hierarchy'. Everyone has a different view on these things. I know of some longhairs who don't care overly about white dots, for example (the burst cuticle). I myself live with a certain amount of allowable splits. If I didn't, I'd have a bit shorter hair. I trim around 2-3 year. For many it's a balancing act of length and tolerance of some damage. My damage is very definitely in the very bottom of the hemline, yet it's not every single hair either.

    heidi w.

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    Silverado EdG's Avatar
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    I don't get split ends, even at my length.

    I think genetics is a factor (in addition to hair care).
    Ed
    If there's something strange with your long hair / Who you gonna call? / L-H-C! (sung to the tune of Ghostbusters)

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    A redhead brunette Heidi_234's Avatar
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    It's very possible that your hair is still too short to split. If you treat it nicely, and don't give it a reason to split, it's still 'young' enough to remain splitless. Hair that is ear length give or take few inches, is only one year old. Hair that's BSL and longer is already few years old, and all that time can definitely take its toll and make it more prone to splits.

    Despite that, even long hair can go a while without splits. My hair was mid-back-ish after the last ever trim I did at the hairdresser's, and it remained completely split-free for 3 months.

    Soft hair that is nice to sit on - now I'm bragging!

  6. #6

    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    Genetics is a factor insofar as it goes to the type of hair one has. Those with a thicker hair strand, genetically, likely won't have as many splits. Some hair can take more pain. Certainly a hair type like mine, very fine, has a lot lower tolerance.

    Some hair types don't tangle, and EdG would be (ETA: I should say is likely to be such a candidate--I do know of people who have low tangles, compared to me, for example) one of those types. Mine on the other hand, the smallest of whiffles of air, or movement of the head -- tangle.

    heidi w.
    Last edited by heidi w.; December 21st, 2009 at 11:27 AM.

    By Lady Godiva
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    Silverado EdG's Avatar
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    Quote Originally Posted by heidi w. View Post
    Genetics is a factor insofar as it goes to the type of hair one has. Those with a thicker hair strand, genetically, likely won't have as many splits. Some hair can take more pain. Certainly a hair type like mine, very fine, has a lot lower tolerance.

    Some hair types don't tangle, and EdG would be one of those types. Mine on the other hand, the smallest of whiffles of air, or movement of the head -- tangle.

    heidi w.
    Yes, I have coarse hair which isn't susceptible to splits. I can't remember the last time I found a split strand. I seem to have hair made of steel.

    Unfortunately, I do get tangles (but perhaps not as many as fine-haired people).
    Ed
    If there's something strange with your long hair / Who you gonna call? / L-H-C! (sung to the tune of Ghostbusters)

  8. #8
    Onward and Upward GoddesJourney's Avatar
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    Your hair is listed as F/M, which could be part of it. When you say that your hair has "hovered" at a certain length, do you mean that it never really grows past that? I have some F/M hairs around my ears and they typicaly don't split either, they just break off because they're too fine to bother splitting. I get little white balls on the hair shaft and then they just fall off at that point, so later the white ball is at the end. It doesn't look like a split because the damaged part already fell off. Also, your hair is not long enough to have a whole lot of damage unless you're really mistreating it.

    Also, if you use cones, especially on finer hair, it hides them. That's not to say you just don't get split ends. Some people don't even at longer lengths for a variety of reasons.
    Last edited by GoddesJourney; December 21st, 2009 at 11:33 AM. Reason: Forgot to add something...

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    Member getoffmyskittle's Avatar
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    No, you'd know a split if you saw one. They look exactly like what they sound like.

  10. #10
    Don't Stall On Me Now!
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    Default Re: I don't think I get splits... or do I just not know what to look for?!

    My hair doesn't split either. I hope it never does!

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