S&D questions

[HotRag]

Hi.
When I do S&D I find abay hairs that are tapered at the end and not splitted.
Is it better to snip the taper, or are they stronger if they keep their taper? (I have read both during the years...)

Another question:
I can se a lot of hairs that has sections that reflect light differently.
But if I pull'em, they sometimes break (it was a split) but most often this is due to difference in texture.
Same with "the white dot". Most often it is a dust thing and not breakage (I brush before but do not get rid of these dust things).
How do you do? Just cut what you can clearly see is a split, or do you seriously seek for and cut what I described above?

I S&D 1/4 of all my hair every month, and that will take more than 8 hours. Then I seek for weaknesses and have to "investigate" all white dots.

[Meli]

I have found two kinds of tapered ends during my S&D missions. One is the new, uncut and healthy end of a new hair growing in - this kind I don't cut. My uncut hairs are way less prone to splits than the hairs that have been cut, but this does not necessary mean that they are stronger. Uncut ends might be stronger, but it could also be because they are younger and not so weathered yet.

The other kind of tapered end is where the end is tapered from weathering, because the cuticle is more or less gone. It's like a "one-prong-split" if I'm making any sense. This kind I usually snip away - if I find them, that is. I identify them by bending them - a healthy hair does not bend in the same way as a damaged hair, even if the damage is only a tapered end. It can be hard to tell which one is which kind, though. I think it's better to leave them if you can't tell, and cut only the hairs that are obviously split or broken. Bending can also be used to see the difference between dust and white dots - if it's a dot, the hair will bend in an angle at the dot.

I have done several of these investigating, time-consuming S&D missions just as you describe, but I think it is easy to get too obsessed with it. It's not really necessary to get every single white dot away - we are our own worst critics and chances are that you are the only one who notices any split that might be in there somewhere. I have found that spending only a few minutes daily on S&D-ing my braid tassels is enough to keep my hair smooth and tangle-free, and then I can do more careful S&D when I'm bored or just feel like doing it. And if I think I'm obsessing too much, I put my hair up in a bun and forget about it for a while. How much I would like to have split-free hair, I just have to accept that my hair never will be 100% split-free, no matter how much time I spend on S&D.

If you have many splits, you might want to check the catnip thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476).

[HotRag]

Thank you for answering.

I'm not sure that I know difference between new hair and tapered by wear.
I can see that someones must be splits that "lost one of the 'prongs'". They has different colour and feels weak.

I don't know if I have many splits or normal, but I will check out about catnip anyway. Thank you for the link to the catnip-thread. I have never read about catnip-use.

[ktani]

Hi.
When I do S&D I find abay hairs that are tapered at the end and not splitted.
Is it better to snip the taper, or are they stronger if they keep their taper? (I have read both during the years...)

Another question:
I can se a lot of hairs that has sections that reflect light differently.
But if I pull'em, they sometimes break (it was a split) but most often this is due to difference in texture.
Same with "the white dot". Most often it is a dust thing and not breakage (I brush before but do not get rid of these dust things).
How do you do? Just cut what you can clearly see is a split, or do you seriously seek for and cut what I described above?

I S&D 1/4 of all my hair every month, and that will take more than 8 hours. Then I seek for weaknesses and have to "investigate" all white dots.

I do not get splits but I still do get white dots and some breakage, though not very much.

I do not trim tapered ends. That is regular hair growth and as long as the ends are ok, I leave them alone.

I trim a white dot just above where it is. I trim breakage, just above wehe the part has broken.

As for the dust? I get that too. Just touch the spot between your fingers. If it is dust, it will disappear.

[HotRag]

I do not get splits but I still do get white dots and some breakage, though not very much.

I do not trim tapered ends. That is regular hair growth and as long as the ends are ok, I leave them alone.

I trim a white dot just above where it is. I trim breakage, just above wehe the part has broken.

As for the dust? I get that too. Just touch the spot between your fingers. If it is dust, it will disappear.
Thank you. I just posted in the catnip thread as well.

The dust problem is that it takes very much of the time to investigate white dots :o
I think that if I could directly know what is breakage/real dots and what is dust/"difference in texture", S&D would take less than half the time compared to now.

[heidi w.]

If it tapers and is clearly a pretty healthy strand, do not snip it off! Leave it be. New growth hairs tend to taper at the end.

DUSTING TO MANAGE
In S&Ding (dusting I prefer to name it) I aim to 'manage' any damage, not make my hair completely free of damage. I just don't have that kind of time. SO I live with some damage, even in the hemline. Most damage tends to be concentrated in perhaps the last 1-3 inches (depending on length it could be a little more) of hair. I do have trims at times, but otherwise occasionally dust to keep up with things through the length.

HAIR COLOR
It is normal for hair to have various hues. Brunettes or black haired folks can have very light colors and significantly darker colors, or reds in their hair. It's known as low lights and high lights. Normal hair possesses these variations even if overall we think a person's hair is one overall color. Those who color without consideration of this fact of hair tend to come out with a fake looking hair color because these differing hues absorb and reflect light differently.

WHITE DOTS
White dots: the hair will bend at a 90 degree angle where there's a white dot. This is one test to differentiate from, say, lint. Snip above this white dot where the hair strand appears stronger. Sometimes immediately above a given point of any type of damage the hair isn't that strong, so you may need to make your cut slightly higher then.

White dots tend to increase in volume closer to the hemline zone. When there's enough of them the hair in this zonage will feel rough, and will likely also tangle more. When this occurs, a small trim of perhaps 1/8-1/2 inch might be a suitable undertaking.

White dots often though are white and definitely in that section of the hair strand where the white dot is it's a different color (white!), and yes, the point at where a white dot exists, that specific point breaks easily with little tension. This point of a hair strand has no elasticity (no ability to stretch without breaking as healthy hair otherwise possesses). I do not recommend cutting AT the white dot, nor of course, pulling the hair off at a white dot and leaving the end in such a state. (This is a common habit I notice teen girls like to undertake!)

A white dot, in my opinion, is a spot where the cuticle is completely broken down, virtually missing and exposes the cortex and makes for a very weak point in the hair. Thus pulling it off leaves the end of the strand frayed, as you are pulling more, if you will for ease of explanation, at the center of the dot circumference rather than at the preferred edge (imagine a circle and then a spot inside the circle v. at an edge of the circle -- circles don't really have an edge per se...but you get where I'm going). Again, in pulling off or trimming middle of the dot -- this means you leave the strand frayed at the end. This should be avoided, so trim above the white dot where the hair strand seems healthy and strong.

TYPES OF DAMAGE IN HAIR & SOME DESCRIPTION AND TESTING METHODS
There are all manner of damage in hairs. Splits that have yet to actually split ... I call them donut holes. Both ends are still attached to the main hair, but if you squeeze the zonage together from either end, you will visualize a donut hole! This type of damage is more glossy in look but likely doesn't feel rough as a white dot does. Splits where there are 2 along a given strand somewhat far away from each other: I call these upstairs/downstairs. The Lilliputian Broom, where the split is split multiple times over looking like a miniature broom. And the white dot, of course--th test being the bend and not able to draw down the white dot (if it were actually lint then you can draw it out of the hair!). Then there's a looped hair into a knot of some sort that can't come out. And there's sometimes a point along a hair strand that's oddly squiggly, unlike the shape of the rest of the hair, even if curly hair: this is where a hair has been overly stressed. Sometimes this can be smoothed out by getting wet and that would mean it just somehow got bent. And then there's bent hair that got that way somehow -- sometimes sitting or leaning against it while drying -- whatever the reason -- and can be wetted/oiled and straightened out in accordance with your hair type. IF it refuses to straighten out, then it may be a point of damage.

Most points of damage have a glossy or shiny aspect to them, or the white dot the white color -- and some of them feel rough whereas others do not. The problem with points of damage is they can rub against other healthy hairs and cause additional rough spots or cause healthy strands to get coiled up somehow. This is label a Hot Zone. You may well find clusters of damage associated very close to each other: this tends to occur in the older hemline zone than anywhere else. Too much damage tends to feel rough and the tangles will increase.

eta: HOW TO SEARCH FOR DAMAGE
Work in strong light such as sunlight or halogen light. Place hair against a backdrop of opposing color to your hair. Reds and Brunettes can work against white. Blondes against black.

Take up a section or strip of hair, curve it over your hand or coil it in length, then gently upstroke, brushing the hair so that ends stick out. Examine.

Be sure to tilt the portion of hair about in the light because different angles reveal different possibilities.

CARE & FEEDING OF SCISSORS
Use good sharp scissors that are used only for this purpose -- hair. No use on paper, cloth, art projects.....thread, nails.... Do not get wet.
Ensure the action is VERY smooth, no hiccups in a cut or opening in prep to cut. If there's a hiccup you can oil with a carrier oil the screw and work the scissors repetitively to work in the oil. Open the scissor legs wide and place a drop of oil as best you can between the blades where the screw is. After working, swipe with a cloth the excess oil off. Do NOT use motor oil, or WD-40! (You don't want this in your hair.)
Avoid mucking around with the screw as this can easily unbalance scissors and throw off action. Take scissors to a knife sharpener or to a professional for sharpening the blade when needed. (You won't need to very often.)
I purchase 5-1/2 inch barber scissors at Sally's -- with the curly-que on the one handle.
If they ever get wet -- it happens -- wipe dry ASAP. Very dry.

HOW TO HOLD SCISSORS FOR BALANCE
The best way to achieve maximum balance and strength for hair trimming is the thumb in the handle without the curly-que, the the ring finger in the handle with the curly-que, and the pinky rests on the curly-que. It takes a little getting used to but you will likely experience more strength and better aim in cutting. This way I find it easier to cut quite cleanly, that is straight down across a strand, ensuring that my wrist is straight and not leaned, thus creating an angled cut. Remember a strand is a circle, not a flat edge, so you need to cut straight down AND straight across.

I think this should cover most of your concerns about damage and S&D.
heidi w.

[HotRag]

Thank you Heidi w.

Your first point is a good point.
I think I must think about not getting obsessed. ^_^
I had longer hair in the 90's and then got obsessed by S&D.

Some of my hairs grows irregular. They are flat and the flatness shift direction (hard to explain). They are not damaged or stressed. They are often coarse and has this irregular texture from scalp. These hairs seems to be the strongest on my head (I have studied them carefully many times). Often amongst the longest.
Problem is that where they shift direction of flatness, they gloss in a way that look very much alike damage.
Together with investigating white dots, investigating these hairs take a lot of time.

So - your first point about managing will help me. :-) I have to think about that more.

[nisolu]

Heidi W. - What a wealth of information. Thank You! I can't wait to go get my new shears from Sally's :)

[anna1850]

Someone posted this split end chart a while ago which is quite interesting :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/Seasilver2k/SplitEndChart.gif

[nisolu]

So, do you just cut above each of those areas?

[maliha]

I try doing S & D but get obssessed wid it and end up in losing lot of hair ,,,,well i hope one day there will be cure for this thing,,i have lot many split ends :( but dont want to go on cutting regime now :(

[heidi w.]

So, do you just cut above each of those areas?

You cut above the point of damage WHERE THE HAIR SEEMS STRONG.

When you have more experience with S&D/dusting, you will see that not infrequently immediately above the point of damage the hair isn't that strong. You may have to go up a bit more in that instance.

This is in my directions above.
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I try doing S & D but get obssessed wid it and end up in losing lot of hair ,,,,well i hope one day there will be cure for this thing,,i have lot many split ends :( but dont want to go on cutting regime now :(

Just do a little and be satisfied that you 'manage' it!
heidi w.

[sky]

:lol:

Anna, those images of hair ends look a lot like the extinct language formerly used by Celts, called "Ogam".

sky

[sky]

My hair is so fine, I cannot imagine being able to see one hair!

And I don't think it's long enough now....I'll have to wait about six more inches before I can get the ends around to my eyes.

sky

[ilovelonghair]

I have a lot of bend ends, do you have to cut them off or can they be saved? They happen due to updo's, no matter how careful I am, it just happens.