Search & destroy: is it worth the effort?

[Boadicea]

I was wondering, since my hair is at TBL now, if it's still worth the effort to do S & D's monthly for more growth or will it just mess up my hemline?

What is your experience? Did you get more (healthy) growth with a trim once/twice a year or with regular S & D and microtrimming?

[Simsy]

Bearing in mind that my S&D tends to be fairly sporadic; and my trims even less regular; it shouldn't ruin your hemline if you don't go crazy with it; and it may help with gaining extra length since you aren't trimming growth off the length as a whole.

That being said; it really depends on your hair, your personal tolerance for non-perfect ends and how scissor-happy you get. I'm lazy so my trimming and s&d has never really affected my hemline. I also am blessed with a texture that can hide everything up to a 12 inch trim without troubling me, so YMMV.

[lapushka]

When my hair was damaged, S&D helped. But I'd say that if it's more than half of your hair that is damaged, to please just go ahead and trim, because it will thin out your hemline *considerably*. My hair was permed and I grew it out from shoulder to hip, then we did a massive S&D (well my mom did one on me) and I had white dots quite high up the strands in more than half my hair, so much so that my hair was considerably thinned out and had to be cut back to BSL to be its normal thickness.

I don't have damage now, so I don't bother with S&D. I think it's useless. Yes, I'll snip the odd split or so when I *happen* to come across one (I never do), but other than that... no way. It's just not necessary for me.

[Of the Fae]

I have been S&Ding so much lately that it did mess up my hemline, it looks way uneven. I agree with lapushka on this one!

[missrandie]

For me, it is more than worth it. If its only split ends, then you don't have to take much of anything off of an end.

If its white dots, then go sparingly.

[yamsha23]

umm... it's better to keep S&D only for unbearable mischievously ugly split ends :puke:. Don't get obssessed with every white dot like me and ruin your hemline.

[Chromis]

I find it worthwhile, but it probably depends where your splits are. Most of mine are not at the very ends, so just trimming would not catch them!

[Of the Fae]

umm... it's better to keep S&D only for unbearable mischievously ugly split ends :puke:. Don't get obssessed with every white dot like me and ruin your hemline.

I guess that's what I have been doing :P

[Nique1202]

Firstly, it might be good to re-examine your routine to see if there are any sources of damage you can eliminate/fix, and see if there are products that you can use to help prevent split ends from happening in the first place. Sometimes a little extra protein or a light coating of 'cones through the ends can make a huge difference.

Then I'd stick to S&D and trim 1/2 to 1 inch off the bottom when you really get uncomfortable with how it looks. If you end up at a point where you're not gaining length or you're trimming more than you're growing to keep your hemline thick, then you're still getting a lot of damage from somewhere and it's time to go back to the re-evaluate the routine step, or time to consider whether you value length or a full hemline more.

I've been trimming only to get rid of layers, but changing my routine has meant that I get so few split ends that I wouldn't notice any significant thinning of my hemline for years if I didn't trim at all. I see 2-3 on an average week, sometimes I don't see any for a few weeks and then I'll find 5-10 at once. A little protein in my shampoo and regular use of silicones on the ends to prevent friction was all it took for me.

[trolleypup]

I find it worthwhile, but it probably depends where your splits are. Most of mine are not at the very ends, so just trimming would not catch them!
Exactly, most of my splits are in the last foot of length. Since I prefer fairytale ends, S&D works for me. If I wanted a blunt hemline, well, it would a lot shorter and I could maintain that hemline by trimming 1/2" per month. As it is, when I S&D I rarely take more than 1/2" of any individual hair (splits, white dots, etc.), so if I thin out my fairytales a little, they'll just grow back to the near steady state in a month. I guess, if you are S&Ding much more than your growth, on a good portion of your hair, you can certainly soften a hemline, but as Lapushka says, the hair may be damaged enough to need more than S&D.

[samanthaa]

It's not worth it for me. I'm trying to keep my hemline blunt and my hair is already so thin that any S&D would ruin it.

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I used to S&D a lot after I had gotten highlights in my hair, and I did manage to grow it out from a mid back to a TBL, anyway even if my hair maybe looked pretty healthy, I still had a lot of split ends, and I kept finding more as time went by. The S&D did definitely think out my hemline, and since I'd prefer to have a thicker hemline, I will not be continuing with it ( only IF I would get one here and there once in a while).


Now my hair is completely damage free, after I cut off all of the damage, and I have decided to microtrim whenever necessary :)

[Annalouise]

I don't have split ends so I don't need to do S&D. I would figure out why you have splits first. But I'm a person who goes to the cause instead of masking symptoms.:D (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure).

[Shorty89]

It's definitly worth it for me. I find that a good S&D session will help my hair, especially my ends be tangle-free and smoother.

[Moonfall]

umm... it's better to keep S&D only for unbearable mischievously ugly split ends :puke:. Don't get obssessed with every white dot like me and ruin your hemline.

I've been doing the exact same thing and I think my hemline looks horrible now! I wonder how long it'll take to become fuller again...

[yamsha23]

I guess that's what I have been doing :P


I've been doing the exact same thing and I think my hemline looks horrible now! I wonder how long it'll take to become fuller again...

I've gotten so obsessed with S&D a couple of months ago that I did it daily for maybe half an hour then at night I dreamed of it! :alcoholic: lol, love this alcoholic smiley.
I think it has become a way for me to distress from work more than anything else. so I said Stop!
Just S&D a few ugly hairs if you see them but don't make it a routine, that's my advice :o

[spidermom]

For me, it was pointless. I did everything I was willing to do to prevent split ends from forming, but they kept forming. I could S&D until my eyes crossed and I couldn't focus anymore. The very next day I could do the same thing. There was no getting ahead of the split ends, there were always more. That's a big part of why I have hair only a little bit longer than collarbone at the moment, with plans to go even shorter.

[yamsha23]

In the split ends world, you are lucky if you're blond :) Boadicea, If your hair is healthy, I think that S&D is not very necessary.

[Moonfall]

I've gotten so obsessed with S&D a couple of months ago that I did it daily for maybe half an hour then at night I dreamed of it! :alcoholic: lol, love this alcoholic smiley.
I think it has become a way for me to distress from work more than anything else. so I said Stop!
Just S&D a few ugly hairs if you see them but don't make it a routine, that's my advice :o

Hahaha, it is an addiction indeed! And a way to distress. And a never-ending battle. :( I'm going to ask my partner to hide my scissors, I think that's the only way I can break my habit of S&Ding.


For me, it was pointless. I did everything I was willing to do to prevent split ends from forming, but they kept forming. I could S&D until my eyes crossed and I couldn't focus anymore. The very next day I could do the same thing. There was no getting ahead of the split ends, there were always more. That's a big part of why I have hair only a little bit longer than collarbone at the moment, with plans to go even shorter.

It's the same for me, a never-ending battle. I get really envious when I read about members not being able to find any splits! I think I would have to cut back to your length in order to achieve split-free hair, too. But even if I did that and grew it again, there would still be splits, I'm sure.

[Of the Fae]

Hahaha, it is an addiction indeed! And a way to distress. And a never-ending battle. :( I'm going to ask my partner to hide my scissors, I think that's the only way I can break my habit of S&Ding.



It's the same for me, a never-ending battle. I get really envious when I read about members not being able to find any splits! I think I would have to cut back to your length in order to achieve split-free hair, too. But even if I did that and grew it again, there would still be splits, I'm sure.

Oh thank god I am not the only one... this is so familiar to me :P Also what Spidermom is saying about the neverending battle.. but I still really want to grow to at least CL if possible, OP's question is an important one for me as well.
Are there people out there who just let the splits be? Just by minimizing damage?

[Rowdy]

Oh thank god I am not the only one... this is so familiar to me :P Also what Spidermom is saying about the neverending battle.. but I still really want to grow to at least CL if possible, OP's question is an important one for me as well.
Are there people out there who just let the splits be? Just by minimizing damage?

I mostly let mine be. I only do S&D in between trims if they start causing too many tangles or if I see a huge feathered one. But those are pretty rare.

[spidermom]

When I thought classic length was "all that" and I was desperate to get there, I didn't trim or do much S&D (because I couldn't stand to see all the splits) for a little over a year. My hair still got to classic length, but the last 7 inches were completely trashed and stuck together like Velcro.

[spidermom]

In the split ends world, you are lucky if you're blond :).

Say what? Where split ends are concerned, I feel the exact opposite of lucky.

[sumidha]

I'm at classic, and don't bother S&Ding for split ends. I'd rather maintain and take care of them with gradual trims than lose my mind fighting a never ending battle against ever multiplying split ends. But I also find S&D to be frustrating and not soothing, so some of it is probably a personality thing. :)

I also don't find that my splits cause tangles, or velco hair, they're just ugly to look at, so maybe some of it is a coarse hair thing as well?

[Greenfire]

I just finished searching this term yesterday and read this entire thread, it's got some really great opinions in it too!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=112710
There's a few other threads on it too that I read, cause I too was wondering if it's something I can or should give up! (I'm scissor obsessed.) I spent the whole weekend doing S&D for several hours each day. yes, several, like maybe 5 or 6 hours. I can say that the last two days I probably only found a tassel every 20 minutes. The first day, I found a few every minute, and white dots on the ends. I am cutting a little further up the shaft than where the tassel shows, or above the white dots, but I have a TON of hair.

I can't do this all that often, because I can't SEE the darn things when my contacts are in, and I only remove them once a month. I had them out all weekend so went to town. My hair FEELS different though, so smooth and soft, and that comment about blondes having it easier is because you're not supposed to be able to see the splits so well, but you CAN still see them, and definitely feel them! It's more noticeable with dark blonde than with light for certain but it still doesn't look nice. The only place I can't do is the back of my head above ponytail length. If there was a wraparound mirror that let me see the back of my head under magnification, I'd have it.

But yes, it does thin your ends, but I look at it like this: If your ends are thin because of S&D then you aren't being nice enough to your hair. So every time I do an S&D, it gives me motivation to not grab the hairdryer when my hair's a little damp still. To not pull out a curling iron because I don't have time for pincurls. To braid my hair before bed, to comb it slowly, to put it up more often. So you win because your hair feels better without the ragged ends, it looks better because you don't have these dry white bits sticking out part way up, the hair tangles less and there's less friction on the hairs nearby because the ends are smooth not ragged, and you're nicer to your hair, so while it may look thinner on the ends, in the long run, it's giving you hair that will be stronger and grow longer.

If I didn't S&D at all, and I wanted to ignore the rough ends, my hair would still end up thin from breakage cause I'd treat it a lot worse and it would treat itself a lot worse!

[trolleypup]

I can't do this all that often, because I can't SEE the darn things when my contacts are in, and I only remove them once a month. I had them out all weekend so went to town. My hair FEELS different though, so smooth and soft, and that comment about blondes having it easier is because you're not supposed to be able to see the splits so well, but you CAN still see them, and definitely feel them! It's more noticeable with dark blonde than with light for certain but it still doesn't look nice. The only place I can't do is the back of my head above ponytail length. If there was a wraparound mirror that let me see the back of my head under magnification, I'd have it.

But yes, it does thin your ends, but I look at it like this: If your ends are thin because of S&D then you aren't being nice enough to your hair. So every time I do an S&D, it gives me motivation to not grab the hairdryer when my hair's a little damp still. To not pull out a curling iron because I don't have time for pincurls. To braid my hair before bed, to comb it slowly, to put it up more often. So you win because your hair feels better without the ragged ends, it looks better because you don't have these dry white bits sticking out part way up, the hair tangles less and there's less friction on the hairs nearby because the ends are smooth not ragged, and you're nicer to your hair, so while it may look thinner on the ends, in the long run, it's giving you hair that will be stronger and grow longer.

If I didn't S&D at all, and I wanted to ignore the rough ends, my hair would still end up thin from breakage cause I'd treat it a lot worse and it would treat itself a lot worse!
You can get cheap reading glasses to allow for closer focus with your contacts in.

I mostly S&D when the ends get extra tangly.

[dvep]

Sometimes I'll S&D in the front if I see some horrifying splits, but I've learned the hard way that it just makes growing out my layers a pain in the long run since I try to leave the front untrimmed as I even out the back. I could keep clipping those bastards but if I did my hemline would never get even and it's futile anyway since I have splits everywhere. My aim is to even my hemline, microtrim, and maintain at my goal length. It tests my patience but I know it will be worthwhile when all of my hair is full and healthy. Personally, I would just microtrim is splits were an issue. It'd be more effective and at the end of the day, if you're like me, you'll be the only one who notices the trim if you know how to do it just enough. ;P

[Dark40]

For me, I'd say S&D is worth the effort. If it's split ends. I only do S&D twice a year. I don't even trim at all. Because, to me trimming doesn't help me gain length at all, and I really don't need to. Because, I don't ever have split ends, and I'm right now at BSL.

[rina06]

I maintain with S&D between trims.
Since my next trim is (hopefully) the end of June and I'm growing out chemically processed and dyed hair I'm S&Ding often.
Yet to notice any major changes to my hemline because I'm taking off the smallest amount of hair and my next chop may be several inches to go back to virgin hair hair so it is worth it to me.

[Llama]

I'm all for S&D.
I don't think it's a good idea to just leave splits and white dots in your hair. Splits travel up the hair and white dots break off to a frayed end. Neither of those things are conducive to growing out long, healthy hair.
If you have so many splits that it is actually thinning your hemline when you S&D then you should probably just do a full trim.

[Boadicea]

Thanks for all of your usefull tips and advise!!
The splits I am getting now are probably because I changed my routine to completely natural, using only oils instead of alternating it with some sort of cone product. I guess my long fine hair needs the extra protection only silicones can offer. My scalp and hair are better now I'm using only natural ways to wash my hair, like shampoo bar and kesham, but my ends are getting a bit stiff and rough with this method. Even though I'm using leave-in conditioner and natural oils.

And I must confess that I recently started brushing my hair again :brickwall oops, well, won't do that again...

My hair still has layers along the ends (2 to 3 inches) which I want to grow out. So I guess I better s & d those layers once in a while when needed, and keep microtrimming the ends once in 2 months to even out the hemline.

[Annalouise]

Boadicea ~ When did you change your routine?

[Of the Fae]

Boadicea, I just saw that you are also from the Netherlands! Awesome :D
I recognize what you are saying about no cones making your ends dry, I have the same with my fine hair! I've started detangling with a Neemwood comb that they sell at quite a few places in our country, and it has really lessened the breakage!
Also, I started using Wella conditioner again, and the hair seems softer and less tangle prone overall. If your hair is like mine, that condish may help you as well! It's a big white bottle with a red cap or a pump.

[Greenfire]

You can get cheap reading glasses to allow for closer focus with your contacts in.

I mostly S&D when the ends get extra tangly.

Thankyou! I'll have to try that!

[Boadicea]

Boadicea ~ When did you change your routine?
From just a month ago I stopped using silicones in my routine and started brushing now and then (not on daily basis). With just protein and oils my hair feels soft, but more prone to tangles and I've noticed more white dots and split ends.

It is silly, but I should have known it wouldn't work out on my hair, since I've tried this also a couple of years ago. That resulted in immediate split ends as well. Well, I tried it because I love the thought of all natural hair care. But I guess it's just not for me.


Boadicea, I just saw that you are also from the Netherlands! Awesome :D
I recognize what you are saying about no cones making your ends dry, I have the same with my fine hair! I've started detangling with a Neemwood comb that they sell at quite a few places in our country, and it has really lessened the breakage!
Also, I started using Wella conditioner again, and the hair seems softer and less tangle prone overall. If your hair is like mine, that condish may help you as well! It's a big white bottle with a red cap or a pump.

Thank you, Of the Fea! Nice to see someone from home here!
Which conditioner do you mean: the Repair one?
I Especially like the Herbal Essence conditioner with argan or Hello Hydration. They don't cost too much, have some silicone, but not too heavy. I used it for pre- shampoo conditioner when I washed my hair with (a SLES-free) shampoo (Desert Essence coconut).

I am experimenting with shampoo bar and kesham, but I don't know if I can use these and still use some silicone products. I guess I just have to try, since going all natural ends up in knots and split ends for my hairtype.

[lunalocks]

Yes it is worth it. I also use catnip tea soaks after washing and baby oil on damp ends and nightly on dry ends to prevent splits. Also wear it up as much as possible to prevent damage.