For those who 'search & destroy'

[blvnkness]

I'd grown up seeing my mother spending hours upon hours trimming the individual splits in her hair, nearly every weekend. I didn't know until recently that this method of trimming had a name.

I'm curious, how long and how often do you personally spend doing this, if you practice the S&D method? I've clocked in at about 3 hours now (with music and podcasts to keep me from going mad) and I'm quite sure I've gotten the majority of them.

[lapushka]

I have no damage in my hair (been all virgin hair for a number of years now), so I don't do it.

There was a time when it was needed and half of my head was riddled in white dots, but... not anymore.

So I "glance" at my ends and call it a day. No more "hours"; if you snip too many out, it really messes with your hemline, that is why if 1/4 to 1/2 of your head is filled with splits, you might be best slowly microtrimming the damage off and not wasting time on S&D.

[TreesOfEternity]

If I’ve neglected it for too long... it can take up to 2 hours but my hair is not that thick. Once it’s done the next time it won’t take that long.

[JennGalt]

I generally only do small sections at a time. So I might have a few (or more) sessions throughout S&D week, but that’s necessary to cover all sections. I can’t be bothered to do more than about 10 mins at a time, and individual strands can easily hide in curly, tangle prone, unruly hair; thus chasing them down can be too time consuming and make me go cross eyed too easily for a full head session. .

[ArabellaRose]

I do it once a month followed by a microtrim to keep things more even. It usually takes me about half an hour, if that, but I don't do a thorough job of it. I'm growing out years of fairly intense heat damage (no dye damage though) so it'll be a while before I'll hopefully not have to bother.

[Corvana]

I just take like 10-15 minutes maybe 2 times a week. If I don't get them all then, oh well! I don't want to fuss too much or I'll obsess, so I limit myself quite a lot. And in doing so, I tend to forget to S&D for a few weeks. Hasn't hurt anything yet, and I doubt it really ever will tbh. My hair is all virgin, and as long as I'm otherwise rather gentle with it, I'm not too worried about it.

[neko_kawaii]

I've done "full head" sessions of S&D and was sore from sitting so long! It takes hours to do. I prefer to do shorter sessions, often at the end of the day with a fuzzy braid. I look down the length of the braid at the little ends of hairs that are sticking out and trim any that are split. The majority of my splits are in the last foot, so that is the area I go over in detail when I'm in the mood.





I have no damage in my hair (been all virgin hair for a number of years now), so I don't do it.

There was a time when it was needed and half of my head was riddled in white dots, but... not anymore.

So I "glance" at my ends and call it a day. No more "hours"; if you snip too many out, it really messes with your hemline, that is why if 1/4 to 1/2 of your head is filled with splits, you might be best slowly microtrimming the damage off and not wasting time on S&D.


Even with well cared for virgin hair that never sees heat tools, I still have splits and white dots sprinkled throughout my length. White dots and fairy knots (a knot in a single strand) will break at that point eventually and become a split, splits grab other hairs or hold lint and contribute to tangling. It is worth removing splits, dots, and fairy knots to prevent them from causing additional damage. Trimming the ends does nothing to address these issues in the length.

I'd have to trim to my shoulders to remove all the splits! Not going to happen, as SL is too short to easily bun.

I've long been curious how S&D is seen to mess with the hemline. If the only thing being cut is a single hair right above a split, how has the hemline changed?

[CampFireTiger]

95% of my split ends right now are in my face framing layers, so once or twice a month I'll take 20 minutes or so to go through just that area. it's a bit shorter than everything else because of this but I've found it gets even shorter if I don't do it...

[MusicalSpoons]

The potential is there for me to spend hours every week if I committed to thoroughly S&Ding. I really don't, though! I think the longest I ever managed was an hour and a half (I'm not sure I even made it through half of my hair, and my hair is not thick!) when I was still experimenting with LHC recommendations. Nowadays it's just a few minutes, whenever, maybe 10 at most if I'm feeling particularly able to concentrate/focus. My hair *is* all virgin but I have a lot of splits, relatively - I do my best to prevent them but I can't afford to obsess :)

[littlestarface]

I do it like say when i'm rebraiding my hair, I spend a good 2 hours or so but I take breaks in between as well cuz my eyes start going crosseyed. I have virgin,unprocessed hair that's never seen heat tools,blow fryer even on cold,dyes,perms, nothing and I still get splits,fairy knots,Y,L, hairs and I have never messed up my hemline doing S&D. How could someone? when the splits are all over the place and not in one spot.

[lapushka]

Even with well cared for virgin hair that never sees heat tools, I still have splits and white dots sprinkled throughout my length. White dots and fairy knots (a knot in a single strand) will break at that point eventually and become a split, splits grab other hairs or hold lint and contribute to tangling. It is worth removing splits, dots, and fairy knots to prevent them from causing additional damage. Trimming the ends does nothing to address these issues in the length.

I'd have to trim to my shoulders to remove all the splits! Not going to happen, as SL is too short to easily bun.

I've long been curious how S&D is seen to mess with the hemline. If the only thing being cut is a single hair right above a split, how has the hemline changed?

Hmm... :hmm: Maybe my quick "glance" is not good enough. But I look down at the last 4-8 inches every week and never see a thing. Even though my new Babyliss blow dryer is even a tad "hotter" than my last Braun one. Maybe I should look at it more closely now that I'm taking on knee length. :)

[gossamer]

I have no damage in my hair (been all virgin hair for a number of years now), so I don't do it.

There was a time when it was needed and half of my head was riddled in white dots, but... not anymore.

So I "glance" at my ends and call it a day. No more "hours"; if you snip too many out, it really messes with your hemline, that is why if 1/4 to 1/2 of your head is filled with splits, you might be best slowly microtrimming the damage off and not wasting time on S&D.

I have never dyed my hair and I haven't used heat in at least 10 years (and before that, I maybe used a blow dryer once a year or so...), but I still have splits. Mechanical damage is inevitable, but it's great that you don't have any problems at all.

When I remember to S&D, I just do it pretty casually. I don't try to do all my hair systematically but just snip off the ends that I notice for as long as I feel like working on it. When I'm tired and really can't focus on anything else, i can easily spend 15-20 minutes hunting and snipping off splits.

[sophia_]

I only do it if I have no other preoccupations, only once every few days, and never for more than half an hour, or I get a headache since my fine hair is almost impossible to see.

[lapushka]

I have never dyed my hair and I haven't used heat in at least 10 years (and before that, I maybe used a blow dryer once a year or so...), but I still have splits. Mechanical damage is inevitable, but it's great that you don't have any problems at all.

When I remember to S&D, I just do it pretty casually. I don't try to do all my hair systematically but just snip off the ends that I notice for as long as I feel like working on it. When I'm tired and really can't focus on anything else, i can easily spend 15-20 minutes hunting and snipping off splits.

I always have to ask my mom, because with my disability, it's kind of straining on the limbs (4 limbs affected, legs more than arms), but S&D can really do a number on me. Which is why I'm relieved it's this way. :)

[MusicalSpoons]

Forgot to say in ym previous post, I don't have only splits but also white dots, fairly knots, feather splits, etc. I have used a hairdryer on cool twice in the past 3 months, no heat and no chemical processes, aside from maybe 2 or 3 ill-advised uses of baking soda a couple of years ago, before I knew any better :rolleyes: :doh: BUT I don't think that's really causing the ongoing wear and tear.

[Natalia_A00]

I'm really impatient for this so I usually last 20 minutes or so doing it, it actually makes me nervous lol! It's hard to find split ends in my thick hair. A lot of them are "hidden", but I know they're there (I "conveniently" notice them at class or when I don't have access to my scissors)
I do it whenever I find a split end and I have my scissors near me. Really really often. Sometimes I get paranoid and I think my hair is a little bit uneven because I overdo it, but I think this is what helped me to get long, healthy looking hair.

[Natalia_A00]

Forgot to say in ym previous post, I don't have only splits but also white dots, fairly knots, feather splits, etc. I have used a hairdryer on cool twice in the past 3 months, no heat and no chemical processes, aside from maybe 2 or 3 ill-advised uses of baking soda a couple of years ago, before I knew any better :rolleyes: :doh: BUT I don't think that's really causing the ongoing wear and tear.

Same! I have every kind of breakage possible and I don't use heat, chemicals, the blowdryer... I think it's just because my hair is prone to split ends. Also I think it's because I brush my hair or comb it once in a while. Finger combing takes a long time, I hate it:rolleyes:

[neko_kawaii]

Finger combing takes a long time, I hate it:rolleyes:
Exactly.
There are trade offs to everything. I'd much rather live with my plants and occasionally forget to duck and get my hair snagged and hear a couple snaps than live with zero damage. I'm not willing to live my life with the goal of no splits. Some mechanical damage is going to happen and I accept that.

For me, acceptable precautions are very sharp hair only scissors, occasional short s&d sessions, avoiding straw hats, and comb carefully but not obsessively. As it happens, I prefer wearing it up, tend to wear hats providing sun and wind protection, and like glasses with solid plastic frames.

Everyone has to decide for themselves how to balance what their hair can stand with what they are willing to change in their lives to prevent or mitigate damage.

[milosmomma]

I am getting more splits and breakage the longer my hair gets. I had a long(for me) session today for about an hour until it was getting hard for me to find more splits to snip. I would guess I spend maybe 20-30 minutes twice a month on average trimming splits. I have to agree that s&d itself hasn't messed with my hemline, none of my splits are hardly ever on the very longest hairs. Theyre on the shorter face framers, nape layer and canopy layer. None of which reach my longest lengths. There are some along the hem but it's a minority. I am debating a trim but when I actually look at my ends it seems like I would be cutting away perfectly good hair :lol:

[Ligeia Noire]

virgin hair here but very prone to splits, i do once in a blue moon, I do not get too overworked about them, hair still grows...

[LadyCelestina]

I always have to ask my mom, because with my disability, it's kind of straining on the limbs (4 limbs affected, legs more than arms), but S&D can really do a number on me. Which is why I'm relieved it's this way. :)


If remember your routine correctly, I can absolutely believe that you have little to no splitting. ;)

[MadelineMomo]

Even with well cared for virgin hair that never sees heat tools, I still have splits and white dots sprinkled throughout my length. White dots and fairy knots (a knot in a single strand) will break at that point eventually and become a split, splits grab other hairs or hold lint and contribute to tangling.

Same. I have few tree/feather splits, but lots of fairy knots and white dots, and some Ys.

I'm new to S&D (my scissors were a Christmas present this December) and I'm still trying to figure out how much I need to keep my hair in good condition without trimming.

Right now I carry my scissors everywhere with me in my bag. I always seem to find a split end when I glance at my ends when I'm in the middle of something. So I'll snip that one and then carry on. (The other day I was staring at my lap in despair because of a work-related thing, and so I did some S&D while I was at it.) Maybe once a week I'll spend 10 minutes in the bright light of the mirror after I brush out my hair, hunting for splits. I've also found that they're easiest to find in sunlight, so as summer comes it I might make that a sitting-outside-in-the-morning thing.

If I look through the layer of hair that's directly against the nape of my neck, I can virtually always find splits. In other parts of my hair they're less prevalent.

[Sora Rose]

I used to have splits all over my head. Practically every hair was split - though not necessarily from mechanical damage so much as dry hair (haven't used a hairdryer in years, never dyed/bleached or used heat tools). I S&D in the morning and cut out five on one side and five on the other. No more. Now, like two years later, it's actually really hard for me to find them and I often end up cutting only two or three. Takes me less than five minutes.

[Begemot]

I'm pretty sure I have spent a whole day sitting in front of my laptop, doing S&D while browsing. Many times. I get addicted and sometimes do it at least a little every day. Now I have decided to take a two week-month break so I can get over obsessing.

[Panthera]

I usually s&d once every 2-3 months. I should do it more often but I'm just lazy. It takes about 3 hours, I section my hair and go through the same section over and over again until I can't find splits or knots anymore or when I feel it's good enough.

[Luna Starsetta]

Let's just say I get nervous with the shears in my hand. So after doing about half my head snipping off splits really fine ends and weird not normal lookung parts. I tend to stop in fear that I will change my hemline. I do it slow and steady. So I spend about 1 hour at a time. Also as for how often its more or less when I think I need to... I really try not to worry about it but it seems I do it at infrequent times my last one I think was in January right when the no trimming challenge started figured I would start off with thoroughly S&D-ed hair. That session was about 2 hours.... If I find that I glace down in the car and find a bunch of splits I'll end up doing a smaller 30 min session to do a sweep though just on the ends

Edit: and since my hair is curly I go though curl by curl. Then after I wet down my hair and refresh it for the day

[Hairkay]

I do a little bit at a time (up to 15 minutes) usually when I am restyling my hair into plaits once a week. I check each plait end and cut if necessary. S & D suits me because before I used a pair of scissors on my hair I had the habit of picking/snapping/pulling out hair ends or even nibbling the hair.

[lapushka]

If remember your routine correctly, I can absolutely believe that you have little to no splitting. ;)

Yes my routine is quite moisturizing. LOL! Quite! :lol: I do believe the more moisture (if hair needs it), the better.