S&D mission types of hair damage

[Cherriezzzzz]

I've completed my first search and destroy mission on my hair ends after no trimming for almost a year. I've only found a handful of split hairs, but lots more single strand knots. I've also found bent hair ends. The last thing I've found was knotches along my hair strands. I'm assuming from old heat damage. Curiosity has me wanting to know what other LHC members experience in their own hair. I have virgin hair, but used to blow dry and occasionally flat iron. But I found the single strand knots after oiling my hair and running my fingers through my ends to find tangles. I just find them odd. I don't normally hear of these knots, but rather splits.

What do you guys find in your search and destroy missions!?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I just find an occasional L-shape or small split, maybe a couple a year, or so.

[Dendra]

In my one and only S&D to date, I found many white dots in my dye damaged hair, some normal splits, a few right angles and one or two single stand knots. There was also one or two feathers or double Ys.

I'm sure this is from years of hendigo, mechanical damage and one disastrous straightening session at the hairdressers. Saying this, the chunks of my hair that are only hennaed and not hendigoed are absolutely fine, so maybe the splits on the hendigoed parts are mainly down to the herb's drying effect.

[ExpectoPatronum]

My hair is damaged from coloring so S&D missions reveal a lot of fun things! The most astounding is the variety of splits. You have your normal variety, but I also find some "feathered" one, some with large splits and some with small.

[unheardletters]

My hair is extremely prone to splits and white dots. I find hundreds every time I S&D and I do a mission often. I always find it odd, because I never ever use heat and I have virgin hair. I even replaced my scissors to make sure they are not the cause. Most of the splits are in the layers and new growth. I don't find them much in the full length, so trimming won't help.

[draysmir]

I find white dots mostly, and some small splits but that's about it. I have a considerable amount of white dots on my front layers from not trimming them regularly. I have virgin hair, but it is prone to damage since it is fine, so if I leave trimming for too long I will get white dots and split ends. The length of my hair that gets trimmed has some small splits, but barely any white dots compared to the front pieces.

I S+D my front layers a few times to get rid of all the damage, but it made those sections start to fairytale faster so I stopped doing that.

[spidermom]

Oh my goodness! When I had long hair, I could find splits in every clump I cared to examine. Sometimes the split ends at the ends of my split ends were split! There were feather splits, too. It was a mess. I also saw white dots and areas where the hair was obviously frayed - kind of like a skinned knee. There were knots and bends and really thin, kinky areas that reminded me of what happens when you run the edge of scissors down a ribbon to tightly curl it. I'm talking very well cared for hair, too. I trimmed it often enough that by my calculation all my hair was eventually LHC hair - the very highest standards of hair care that I was able to do: no high heat, no bleaching, no chemical coloring, oiling, washing every 3-4 days, air drying, conditioning, sun protection. My hair didn't care. It acted like I bleached it and flat ironed it and who knows what all. That's a big part of the reason that I have much shorter hair now. I gave up.

[lapushka]

I never find a darn thing. I wish. I sometimes think my hair can take quite a lot, or it's the way I moisturize after washing (LOC/LCO method, see signature). I sometimes have multistrand knots, but that's just a tangle gone bad IMO.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Single strand knots, I get the white dots and bent ends, and when it comes to splits I fine the Y Kind and I find the feathered kind where a split has split, so there's like 3 splits on one strand lol

I always seem to find them when I don't have shears on me though.. when I'm out and about with people. So I never get to trim them out 😒

[wo]

I have virgin hair that hasn't been trimmed in two years, and monthly I find about 5 splits, 2 or 3 single strand knots, and 5-10 white dots right near the ends, like the last 1/4-1/2 inch. I'm obsessive and section it off and spend about two hours doing it monthly.

[leayellena]

I find white dots mostly, and some small splits but that's about it. I have a considerable amount of white dots on my front layers from not trimming them regularly. I have virgin hair, but it is prone to damage since it is fine, so if I leave trimming for too long I will get white dots and split ends. The length of my hair that gets trimmed has some small splits, but barely any white dots compared to the front pieces.

I S+D my front layers a few times to get rid of all the damage, but it made those sections start to fairytale faster so I stopped doing that.

Exactly like me!

[lisamt]

I used to find a ton of white dots when I use to color and use heat on my hair regularly, but since quitting that and trimming them off I hardly ever get them. I usually find a few splits, 1-2 single strand knots and the occasional crazy split where the split ends are split themselves

[Jas]

I've been trying to stop S&D, realised my sides were a good bit shorter than the back. It's so irritating when I see a random split though, get the impulse to S&D! When I do look I tend to find quite a lot but I think it's because my hair is dyed. I'm trying to grow it out.. It'll be the first time I've actually had my natural colour since I was around 14 so interested to see how it'll look on me..

[Cherriezzzzz]

I just find an occasional L-shape or small split, maybe a couple a year, or so.

Ooh ok L shape is what I meant by bent ends haha I wonder if they're not as damaged, like they'll be splitting soon?

[Cherriezzzzz]

I never find a darn thing. I wish. I sometimes think my hair can take quite a lot, or it's the way I moisturize after washing (LOC/LCO method, see signature). I sometimes have multistrand knots, but that's just a tangle gone bad IMO.

Cementing my jealousy of your hair ;)

[Cherriezzzzz]

I just find an occasional L-shape or small split, maybe a couple a year, or so.

You guys must have really figured out your hair... incredible no damage hair that's so beautifully long. Though looking at your avatar and Sig pics, I would've already guessed your mane has no flaws haha

[Cherriezzzzz]

Oh my goodness! When I had long hair, I could find splits in every clump I cared to examine. Sometimes the split ends at the ends of my split ends were split! There were feather splits, too. It was a mess. I also saw white dots and areas where the hair was obviously frayed - kind of like a skinned knee. There were knots and bends and really thin, kinky areas that reminded me of what happens when you run the edge of scissors down a ribbon to tightly curl it. I'm talking very well cared for hair, too. I trimmed it often enough that by my calculation all my hair was eventually LHC hair - the very highest standards of hair care that I was able to do: no high heat, no bleaching, no chemical coloring, oiling, washing every 3-4 days, air drying, conditioning, sun protection. My hair didn't care. It acted like I bleached it and flat ironed it and who knows what all. That's a big part of the reason that I have much shorter hair now. I gave up.

I need to figure out the multi quote feature...

Anyhow LOL

I wonder if it is hormonal because my bestie has experienced thus, but she has an autoimmune disorder that messes with her hair... But my mom doesn't and she got thus post menopausal... not prying!!! Just mentioning LOL

[Cherriezzzzz]

I have virgin hair that hasn't been trimmed in two years, and monthly I find about 5 splits, 2 or 3 single strand knots, and 5-10 white dots right near the ends, like the last 1/4-1/2 inch. I'm obsessive and section it off and spend about two hours doing it monthly.

:bowtome:

I love it! That's awesome LOL

[Corvana]

I've completed my first search and destroy mission on my hair ends after no trimming for almost a year. I've only found a handful of split hairs, but lots more single strand knots. I've also found bent hair ends. The last thing I've found was knotches along my hair strands. I'm assuming from old heat damage. Curiosity has me wanting to know what other LHC members experience in their own hair. I have virgin hair, but used to blow dry and occasionally flat iron. But I found the single strand knots after oiling my hair and running my fingers through my ends to find tangles. I just find them odd. I don't normally hear of these knots, but rather splits.

What do you guys find in your search and destroy missions!?

Haven't done one yet! My hair is too short for me to be able to see all of it. I've heard of single strand knots, but usually referred to as "fairy knots" so for awhile I didn't know they were the same :laugh:

But I expect by the time I can actually S&D, there were definitely be splits to contend with. I think I need new shears, though, because my last trim felt a bit more rough than usual, and I'm clumsy and have likely dropped them a ton causing some damage.

[Corvana]

I need to figure out the multi quote feature...

Just click the quote+ button next to the quote button on every post you want to quote in yours! It'll save them even when you go to the next page.

Although I've found it will occasionally bug up and add in a quote from someone I'd multi-quoted the last time I was in the thread.

[enting]

Oh boy, I find all sorts of things in my hair :eyebrows: :run:

I have splits and partial splits all the way up my length. In order to find them I have to grasp a lock, run one hand down it a few inches while holding onto it higher up with the other hand, and then gently bring the two hands together. This makes the lock bow out, allowing me to see the splits. If I just smooth my hair straight down, the split bit tends to hide back in the hair it came from. Partial splits are where the hair sort of parts then comes back together, like an O shape when I bend the hair. If I do not trim these out they make my hair grabbier and much more difficult to detangle.

I get SSKs also. I try to trim these out because left to themselves they make detangling harder as well as damaging the neighboring hairs which then gives me more midshaft splits and partial splits which then make my hair grabby.... (are we sensing a theme yet?)

I also find bends, but those are usually the result of drying in a snarl I think.

I get feather splits, and sometimes my splits have splits.

In general, if an area of my hair feels rough, it means I need to S&D there.

Two years ago I decided to stop ponytailing my hair with elastics/scrunchies/etc, except for when I'm trimming my hair. I just recently bought a pack of silicone ties for braid ends, breaking that streak. I have also switched over to a protein shampoo. I'm not sure which of those things is to credit, but I *think* I'm not getting very many new splits. It would be exciting to have hair that didn't act like a twin to Spidermom's - I totally laughed at that description because of identifying with it. I last used heat on my hair 6 years ago, and I have never ever bleached or dyed it.

I still get the kinky ribbon-pulled damage from not being gentle enough in getting snarls apart. I think white dots are the least prevalent in my hair, probably because my splits tend not to start at the tips, but they are still there.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Ooh ok L shape is what I meant by bent ends haha I wonder if they're not as damaged, like they'll be splitting soon?

From what i know, the L shape (the bent ends that usually have a white dot) are breakage, and usually break off on their own at the bend. its a point in which i believe the cuticle exploded. it is damage and will split off soon so its best to trim a bit above the bend.
seems that this kind of damage is usually heat related, however, i get these and i have not touched heat in 3years or more.

[Nique1202]

I find a little of everything. The occasional bent hair, white dots, single strand knots, single and sometimes even feathered splits. Usually the sum total of trimmed ends when I S&D comes to maybe 15 a month. My hair hasn't been box-dyed, heat-treated, or roughly brushed.

[lapushka]

Cementing my jealousy of your hair ;)

Hey those multistrand knots are nothing to snicker at. ;) :p

[lapushka]

From what i know, the L shape (the bent ends that usually have a white dot) are breakage, and usually break off on their own at the bend. its a point in which i believe the cuticle exploded. it is damage and will split off soon so its best to trim a bit above the bend.
seems that this kind of damage is usually heat related, however, i get these and i have not touched heat in 3years or more.

I used to have them from being bent in all different ways in a bun; washing usually took care of that. It doesn't always mean it's breakage or damage.

[enting]

I have friends whose hair seems incapable of damage. They're like "I think I may have had a split end? Once? What do they look like again?" and I just look at them agape. These friends are also annoyed that their hair grows so fast and is so heavy. Maybe they just have really solid hairs!

[meteor]

I don't find any split ends or white dots at all. :shrug: I do get knots sometimes though, but that's usually prevented by more frequent and thorough combing.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of S&D - I think if there are lots and lots of splits, a micro-trim might be preferable just to prevent messing up the hemline with aggressive S&D. And if there aren't (m)any splits, why obsess? ;) I also think that if split ends keep reappearing despite using sharp scissors, then it's probably the handling and the routine that really need some tweaking and/or past damage catching up.

[spidermom]

I need to figure out the multi quote feature...

Anyhow LOL

I wonder if it is hormonal because my bestie has experienced thus, but she has an autoimmune disorder that messes with her hair... But my mom doesn't and she got thus post menopausal... not prying!!! Just mentioning LOL

OMG; you might be on to something here. I'm post menopausal AND I have an autoimmune disorder (ulcerative colitis).

[Ondine11]

Autoimmune disorder & post-menopausal here, too! When menopause hit, it messed with my hair badly; it's now almost entirely recovered, but, I'm paranoid about a relapse.

I S&D-ed for the first time two days ago. It wasn't so bad: a few splits, the odd L bent end, & a few white dots. What, exactly, ARE those white dots?

[lucid]

From what i know, the L shape (the bent ends that usually have a white dot) are breakage, and usually break off on their own at the bend. its a point in which i believe the cuticle exploded. it is damage and will split off soon so its best to trim a bit above the bend.
seems that this kind of damage is usually heat related, however, i get these and i have not touched heat in 3years or more.

I have started to get these lately and I have never used heat. They are only forming in the bleached parts of my hair, and luckily only at the very ends, so in my case they are from chemical damage. It's a bit over one year since I highlighted my virgin hair, and it took almost a year before I started seeing any damage from the bleach. I regret highlighting it... Oh well...

I think I have found all types of split ends and hair damage in the bleached parts of my hair (ends only). Even seen some Christmas tree types of hair splits... :( I have yet to see a split end or white dot in my virgin hair, so that gives me hope for my future hair at least :p


What kind of scissors are you guys using for S&D?

[Synester]

from tips of my hair till about 2 inches is where it "breaks" when i tug on a white dot here or there and pop them off. my hair breaks and breaks. I hate it. I trim every month to 3 months about a inch, grow it out and chop it again. hopefully growing out my healthier hair. Im kinda a S&D addict. i look for weak points in my hair and just snip or pull them off. just wish my hair would stop breaking.

[leayellena]

from tips of my hair till about 2 inches is where it "breaks" when i tug on a white dot here or there and pop them off. my hair breaks and breaks. I hate it. I trim every month to 3 months about a inch, grow it out and chop it again. hopefully growing out my healthier hair. Im kinda a S&D addict. i look for weak points in my hair and just snip or pull them off. just wish my hair would stop breaking.

forget the 3 months trim, your hair doesn´t grow 5 cm (1 inch) in a month! try few mm every month instead. it works for me. I am getting rid of layers later it seems, but definetly getting rid of taper and breakage!

[leayellena]

Autoimmune disorder & post-menopausal here, too! When menopause hit, it messed with my hair badly; it's now almost entirely recovered, but, I'm paranoid about a relapse.

I S&D-ed for the first time two days ago. It wasn't so bad: a few splits, the odd L bent end, & a few white dots.

What, exactly, ARE those white dots?
a future split. cut it before it splits later ;)

[Andthetalltrees]

Mine are almost all tinsy little splits on the very tip, If you don't look you wont even see them. I think I got a feather split once by it rubbing against something. I don't understand what white dots are because my hair reflects light odd sometimes and makes it seem like a white dot unless I look at it at a different angle, So meh I don't even worry. Same with L or bent ends, my ends just look weird sometimes but they're not always damaged(Not to mention the super coarse and kinky strands mixed in).

[Kae612]

I definitely have a lot of the single strand knots, some small and longer splits, some bent ends, some ends where one of the split has disappeared so the hair suddenly gets skinnier at the end (not a taper). I don't know if tapers are damage, if so I have even more than I thought....

[Temme]

I just looked at my ends quickly and found one hair with a white dot. My hair looked healthy otherwise, which I'm glad about because my ends feel pretty dry and velcro-like.

[pili]

From what i know, the L shape (the bent ends that usually have a white dot) are breakage, and usually break off on their own at the bend. its a point in which i believe the cuticle exploded. it is damage and will split off soon so its best to trim a bit above the bend.
seems that this kind of damage is usually heat related, however, i get these and i have not touched heat in 3years or more.


I used to have them from being bent in all different ways in a bun; washing usually took care of that. It doesn't always mean it's breakage or damage.


I have started to get these lately and I have never used heat. They are only forming in the bleached parts of my hair, and luckily only at the very ends, so in my case they are from chemical damage. It's a bit over one year since I highlighted my virgin hair, and it took almost a year before I started seeing any damage from the bleach. I regret highlighting it... Oh well...

I think I have found all types of split ends and hair damage in the bleached parts of my hair (ends only). Even seen some Christmas tree types of hair splits... :( I have yet to see a split end or white dot in my virgin hair, so that gives me hope for my future hair at least :p


What kind of scissors are you guys using for S&D?

I don't see any white dots, but I get SSKs and bent ends. I haven't used heat in fifteen years though. I have used bleach and have a few patches left on some ends. However, I have noticed that the bent ends are not there if I check my ends after air drying. They only seem to show up after I have gone a few days without washing, and I've been wearing my hair bunned.

[Deborah]

I used to get the occasional split end, but since I stopped using a hairdryer at all (many years ago now) I cannot find even one. I guess heat and even just the blowing of a hairdryer is bad for hair.

[browneyedsusan]

I get a few little splits on the ends, white dots, and single strand knots. Just a few. Not enough to slow my overall growth very much. I also wear my hair down sometimes, and manipulate the snot out of it by wearing it in a variety of styles. The hairpins and little elastics aren't the greatest for it, but my original growth goal was having a variety of hairstyles. Still is. If I get a little damage from enjoying my hair, so be it. :)

[cathair]

But I found the single strand knots after oiling my hair and running my fingers through my ends to find tangles. I just find them odd. I don't normally hear of these knots, but rather splits.

What do you guys find in your search and destroy missions!?

On occasion I've seen a single strand knot form. For me it happens when there have been a few knots in a tangle, but the other hairs have escaped and the remaining loop has tightened on itself. I can't completely avoid them, but paying attention to how tangles come apart I think has saved me from a few.

I get a bit of everything really. It used to be riddled with white dots, or breaks about an inch away from the end of the strand which were about to turn into white dots. Single knots, a few feathery ones. I still get a bit of everything, but not quite as much as a few years ago, so I hope things are improving :)



Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of S&D - I think if there are lots and lots of splits, a micro-trim might be preferable just to prevent messing up the hemline with aggressive S&D. And if there aren't (m)any splits, why obsess? ;) I also think that if split ends keep reappearing despite using sharp scissors, then it's probably the handling and the routine that really need some tweaking and/or past damage catching up.

The trouble with replacing S&D with a microtrim is when I have splits, they are rarely all at the tips of my hair. Some will be a few inches up or even half way up my length. So a microtrim wouldn't touch the bulk of them. They also have a propensity to tangle healthy hairs and damage them in the process. So when they reach critical mass, I feel it's preventative to remove them, to stop them damaging the high up healthy hair.

Wasn't there some thinking at once point that L shaped bends might be a sign of over moisturising? Or am I getting that mixed up with something else.

[Andthetalltrees]

On occasion I've seen a single strand knot form. For me it happens when there have been a few knots in a tangle, but the other hairs have escaped and the remaining loop has tightened on itself. I can't completely avoid them, but paying attention to how tangles come apart I think has saved me from a few.

I get a bit of everything really. It used to be riddled with white dots, or breaks about an inch away from the end of the strand which were about to turn into white dots. Single knots, a few feathery ones. I still get a bit of everything, but not quite as much as a few years ago, so I hope things are improving :)



The trouble with replacing S&D with a microtrim is when I have splits, they are rarely all at the tips of my hair. Some will be a few inches up or even half way up my length. So a microtrim wouldn't touch the bulk of them. They also have a propensity to tangle healthy hairs and damage them in the process. So when they reach critical mass, I feel it's preventative to remove them, to stop them damaging the high up healthy hair.

Wasn't there some thinking at once point that L shaped bends might be a sign of over moisturising? Or am I getting that mixed up with something else.

Yeah all my splits are on shorter hairs too, I don't think I've never seen one on the very tips! My guess is that they're broken hairs that split from trama

[Kitteny]

I did my first s & d trim a couple of days ago. I found soooo many, mostly white dots and large Y splits. Even on my shorter hairs, white dots were very present. I had to stop because I was making myself crazy.
But I did notice that the lengths in the back really didn't have too many. The front, thinner portion of my hair was definitely most damaged. I've never had a single strand knot that I know of. All I know is, I definitely need to stop putting my hair through so much trauma.

[Cherriezzzzz]

From what i know, the L shape (the bent ends that usually have a white dot) are breakage, and usually break off on their own at the bend. its a point in which i believe the cuticle exploded. it is damage and will split off soon so its best to trim a bit above the bend.
seems that this kind of damage is usually heat related, however, i get these and i have not touched heat in 3years or more.

I've never seen a white dot in my hair... I've seen hundreds on clients in the hair shops, but I'm not sure what causes them.

[Cherriezzzzz]

OMG; you might be on to something here. I'm post menopausal AND I have an autoimmune disorder (ulcerative colitis).

That's the one: she too has ulcerative colitis :(

[Ondine11]

How far above an L bend, white dot or split should one snip?

[Garnetgem]

I have virgin hair that has never had a any chemicals or dyes plus i have not used heat on it (hair dryer) for 21 years,i have been in the no trim challenge and to be honest don't find many splits,i get the odd bent one but not seen white dots..one time i found a split that was like a feather shaped gasp gasp!

i maybe check for splits around once a month and maybe fine about 5 in total...quite a short S&D session really.

[truepeacenik]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=8616&attachmentid=28194

[Garnetgem]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=8616&attachmentid=28194

Not seen a split like that before..

[Cherriezzzzz]

Awesome... it's refusing to break off! :)

[draysmir]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=8616&attachmentid=28194

Oh wow! :p

[MusicalSpoons]

I have virgin hair, the only ever heat it's had is from the UK summer sun (what little of it we see), and I'm always finding pretty much everything mentioned in this thread! From the shorter wispy bits around my hairline that escape all styles, and grown-out ill-advised 'shaping' attempts, to all through my length *sigh* I haven't been very vigilant about actually chopping them off, and it's usually when I'm without my hair scissors so I often just pull it off (carefully!) :couch: :run: I've actually started to think that I should do proper S&D missions - although I used to really struggle with OCD and trichotillomania, and a session of searching for and pulling off split ends was one manifestation of both, so I'm still somewhat reluctant in case a proper S&D mission triggers anything :rolleyes: [I guess though that cutting might not come with the tension-relief mechanism that pulling used to, so it might be safe. If that makes any sense.] My actual ends are a bit thin, but not damaged - only occasional kinks from being bunned, rectified by oiling or washing.

Also, seeing that some of you with beautiful, pampered hair also encounter lots of the same types of damage is strangely reassuring, in a 'phew, I'm not alone' kind of way. :flower:

To those of you who extremely rarely find anything, :thud:! That's pretty awesome.

[savannahfaery]

I've been doing S&D for a couple of weeks, maybe twice a week. I use good scissors with a sharp blade, but every time I check, there seems to be way more splits than the time before. :confused: I get about ten of each split type! :(

[chomsky]

My hair very rarely splits, but the single strand knots, wow. I'm hoping that keeping my hair braided and not wearing it in a bun (with a hair tie) or loose too often will help. I do need to buy scissors though and get rid of the remaining knots.

[Dark40]

I don't ever find anything either. I am so glad of that. I guess it's because of the way I keep my hair moisturized too! I only have to do S&D's every 3 or 4 months to thicken up my hemline.

[chiapommama]

I have single strand knots sometimes, white dots, few splits. I just s&d them out. I try to keep my hair moisturized as best I can and I still get them. Today I even had three white dots in a row on some of my ends.