Split end help?

[Helena91]

Nomatter how hard I try to avoid them, I seem to get far too many splitends!
Thisis a brief history of my hair...
Ihave always had quite long hair, since I was about 4 or 5, thispicture was taken about 11 years ago when I was17:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNzBB_-S05HXqvR3Qi4pN1nd9GT4zKl2Opd8ZNI (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNzBB_-S05HXqvR3Qi4pN1nd9GT4zKl2Opd8ZNI)
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNzBB_-S05HXqvR3Qi4pN1nd9GT4zKl2Opd8ZNI
Shortlyafter this I heard my aunt telling my mum that me and my sister weretoo old for long hair and since at this point I was 18 and stillgetting IDd for 12+ movies I guess it got to me and I went to thehairdresser. I told her to take off any hair which was in badcondition. Her reply was "Are you sure? I would have to take offmost of your hair in that case..." I was surprised and told herI'd always had long hair to which she replied that maybe this was mybody's way of telling me I wasn't as young as I used to be. With thatI had it cut shorter than I had planned. After a couple of yearsthough I regretted it and tried to grow it again, but by now I wasdyeing it dark and it was in worse condition than ever! This is myhair in2014
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMJBFrDqvKc2szzadQwYK6CcV9y8jIq1VIxMUAx (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMJBFrDqvKc2szzadQwYK6CcV9y8jIq1VIxMUAx)
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMJBFrDqvKc2szzadQwYK6CcV9y8jIq1VIxMUAx

Anyway,since August 2017 I have used nothing but henna to colour my hair andit finally seems to be growing better, but I can't seem to get rid ofmy split ends. I have even found some hairs that have split intoabout 10 different pieces! Here is a recent picture, I am also tryingto grow out mylayers:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO5tbEtu2VkYdh3eC8ep1OmThomWFx228rd9sQ_ (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO5tbEtu2VkYdh3eC8ep1OmThomWFx228rd9sQ_)
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO5tbEtu2VkYdh3eC8ep1OmThomWFx228rd9sQ_

SometimesI painstakingly go through my hair strand by strand and snip thesplit ends off but it doesn't seem to help. I use coconut oil aboutonce a week, and argan oil most days which makes it shiney but stillI'm getting the split ends. Is there anything I can do or has my hairreached it limits now that I am older? :( Anyhelp would be appreciated!

[Helena91]

No matter how hard I try to avoid them, I seem to get far too many splitends!

This is a brief history of my hair...
I have always had quite long hair, since I was about 4 or 5, this picture was taken about 11 years ago when I was 17:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNzBB_-S05HXqvR3Qi4pN1nd9GT4zKl2Opd8ZNI (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNzBB_-S05HXqvR3Qi4pN1nd9GT4zKl2Opd8ZNI)
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNzBB_-S05HXqvR3Qi4pN1nd9GT4zKl2Opd8ZNI
Shortly after this I heard my aunt telling my mum that me and my sister were too old for long hair and since at this point I was 18 and still getting IDd for 12+ movies I guess it got to me and I went to the hairdresser. I told her to take off any hair which was in bad condition. Her reply was "Are you sure? I would have to take off most of your hair in that case..." I was surprised and told her I'd always had long hair to which she replied that maybe this was my body's way of telling me I wasn't as young as I used to be. With that I had it cut shorter than I had planned. After a couple of years though I regretted it and tried to grow it again, but by now I was dyeing it dark and it was in worse condition than ever! This is my hair in 2014
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMJBFrDqvKc2szzadQwYK6CcV9y8jIq1VIxMUAx (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMJBFrDqvKc2szzadQwYK6CcV9y8jIq1VIxMUAx)
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMJBFrDqvKc2szzadQwYK6CcV9y8jIq1VIxMUAx

Anyway,since August 2017 I have used nothing but henna to colour my hair and it finally seems to be growing better, but I can't seem to get rid of my split ends. I have even found some hairs that have split into about 10 different pieces! Here is a recent picture, I am also trying to grow out my layers:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO5tbEtu2VkYdh3eC8ep1OmThomWFx228rd9sQ_ (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO5tbEtu2VkYdh3eC8ep1OmThomWFx228rd9sQ_)
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO5tbEtu2VkYdh3eC8ep1OmThomWFx228rd9sQ_

Sometimes I painstakingly go through my hair strand by strand and snip thesplit ends off but it doesn't seem to help. I use coconut oil about once a week, and argan oil most days which makes it shiney but still I'm getting the split ends. Is there anything I can do or has my hair reached it limits now that I am older? :( Any help would be appreciated!

[Helena91]

Sorry I seem to have posted this thread twice, I was only trying to edit it since the first one came out with all the words joined together! I never can get the hang of forums :(

[Dark40]

Have you tried doing deep treatments, hot oil treatments, or hair masks? I'm doing them all, and they have saved my hair a whole bunch. Before I joined LHC I was chopping off a lot of bad hair. Because, I would bleach a lot on top of having relaxed hair. I had found that it was always splitting but since I've been a member here at LHC I haven't had no split ends!!! I only have to do microtrims twice a year. Which is every 6 months.

BTW, I couldn't see your photos. Can you please post them again but in a link? Thanks!

[Henrietta]

I can't see your pics but I've read the post.
Do you use silicones? Both in conditioners/deep treatments (i.e., rinse-out products) and silicone serums (leave-in products)? Maybe your hair just needs this protection. In my case, without silicones I wouldn't be able to grow my hair to my dream length. After years with no silicones at all I switched back to them and the difference was huge.

It is also possible that you are getting split ends (even on the longest strands that have just been cut) because your hair is weaker after lack of proper care. In that case, it will take a while to get rid of the weakest centimetres. When it comes to split ends that are higher up and never get trimmed together with the very ends... you can continue S&D sessions like you do, but try to partially let them be. The vast majority of people have some splits along the entire length. That's just normal. So if it's not like you have a ton of them and every second hair is split, you can relax about it a bit :)

[lapushka]

What is your routine like? Do you heat style your hair?

[MusicalSpoons]

What is your routine like? Do you heat style your hair?

I was about to ask a bunch of questions but this covers it! There are several fundamental things that could be causing it (what the hairdresser said is of course just nonsense though! We have members in their 60s and 70s with beautiful long hair in wonderful condition, so no your body is not too old to grow nice hair :shake:)
Things that are helpful to tell us about your routine include:

How you wash it, and how often
How you dry it
How and when you detangle it
How you style it
How you wear it in the daytime
How you wear it at night
Also, do you use sharp, hair-only scissors for chopping off the splits?

I don't have the dexterity to copy and paste those links in my browser right now so can you please tell us how long your hair is (where it falls in terms of body markers)?

Welcome to the forum, by the way! :flower:

[RottenMango]

Split ends happen when the hair becomes dry and brittle. It seems your hair needs more moisture especially at the ends. Perhaps applying a leave in conditioner and some kind of oil to the ends daily in addition to tucking the ends away may help preserve them. You can do a bun or braid and heavily oil the ends so they stay moist.

[Dark40]

I couldn't see your hair, I'm sorry.

[Helena91]

Thanks for the responses. I'm sorry my pics didn't work, i thought I had followed the instructions but I guess I did something wrong :(
Here are pic URLs (in the same order they were in my post) from my Google photos, hopefully that works better!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gxpNyMSfNmGVA1AS8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iPEyw7R5YPD9PqQMA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GunXnCvhFcoTcCdt8

If not I will describe...In the first pic from when I was 17 my hair is about 90cm, to my lower back. In the current picture it is 64cm, to my waist.

To answer the questions:
I wash my hair about 3 times a week, it gets greasy at the roots and dry at the ends >:(
I detangle it with a wide comb when it is wet and let it dry naturally, when it is dry I comb it with a finer tooth comb.
I don't style it at all but sometimes I dry it with a hair dryer on low heat.
I usually wear it down or in a ponytail during the day and at night I either have it down on in a messy bun.
The scissors I am using are just some I found in my first aid kit... I have thought about buying hairdressing scissors, would that make a difference?

[hayheadsbird]

If it's down and loose so much of the time, then its exposed to far more wear and tear than if it's up in a more protective style. Switching up how you wear it will help protect the ends from the backs of chairs, seatbelts, clothes, wind etc.

For scissors, you really want a dedicated pair of hair scissors, that are only used for hair. That will help give a clean cut that won't go and split further.

[MusicalSpoons]

To answer the questions:
I wash my hair about 3 times a week, it gets greasy at the roots and dry at the ends >:(
I detangle it with a wide comb when it is wet and let it dry naturally, when it is dry I comb it with a finer tooth comb.
I don't style it at all but sometimes I dry it with a hair dryer on low heat.
I usually wear it down or in a ponytail during the day and at night I either have it down on in a messy bun.
The scissors I am using are just some I found in my first aid kit... I have thought about buying hairdressing scissors, would that make a difference?

Do you use conditioner? If your hair feels dry at the ends you probably need more conditioner; if you do already (it looks like you do - nice and shiny!) you can look into double-conditioning, CWC or WCC; the rinse-out oil method (ROO) helps many of us keep our ends feeling happy between washes :)
Do your combs have seams? They can damage hair, not necessarily visibly at once but over time it can damage the cuticle and make the hair more prone to breaking and feeling rough.
Hairdryer on low heat is fine :thumbsup:
Yeah, wearing it down (ponytail basically counts as down, at your length) will be the worst culprit. Messy buns aren't great either but it depends how you secure it - hair elastics are *evil* (trust me, I know). Have a read around here for some protective style inspiration :)
Hayheadsbird explained the scissors perfectly (and the wearing it down, but I had a little to add there).

[Corvana]

Thanks for the responses. I'm sorry my pics didn't work, i thought I had followed the instructions but I guess I did something wrong :(
Here are pic URLs (in the same order they were in my post) from my Google photos, hopefully that works better!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gxpNyMSfNmGVA1AS8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iPEyw7R5YPD9PqQMA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GunXnCvhFcoTcCdt8

If not I will describe...In the first pic from when I was 17 my hair is about 90cm, to my lower back. In the current picture it is 64cm, to my waist.

To answer the questions:
I wash my hair about 3 times a week, it gets greasy at the roots and dry at the ends >:(
I detangle it with a wide comb when it is wet and let it dry naturally, when it is dry I comb it with a finer tooth comb.
I don't style it at all but sometimes I dry it with a hair dryer on low heat.
I usually wear it down or in a ponytail during the day and at night I either have it down on in a messy bun.
The scissors I am using are just some I found in my first aid kit... I have thought about buying hairdressing scissors, would that make a difference?

Wearing your hair down so much is likely the source of most of your split ends. The hair is rubbing all over the place on everything all the time, and that wears away the cuticle and causes it to split or even break off entirely.

And if you use elastics for your messy bun, that likely causes splits and breakage as well from rubbing on the ends of your hair.

Add to that likely not sharp enough scissors, and that's probably 99% of your split ends issue solved! Look into actual hair shears, and then use them for hair only. If you're cutting your hair with scissors that aren't razor sharp, you're more likely to damage the end of the hair so it's more prone to splitting. Then look into more protective ways to wear your hair so that it's not getting damaged from rubbing on everything, there's lots of inspiration and tutorials on the forums!

[Helena91]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! A few things to try out now, much appreciated :) It's nice to know there are more things than just heat and dyes that cause split ends, I had no idea.

[milosmomma]

Your hair looks beautiful! Split ends are normal and you will probably always have at least some. However I agree with everyone else to look into some protective styles, maybe treat yourself to a hair fork or stick and some hair scissors and you shall be golden :)

[Servana]

Just wanted to reply to say your hair looks absolutely beautiful in all of these pictures! It looks thick and healthy to me. It is normal to get some split ends, especially when you have long hair. Not all the members agree with this but at least in my experience regular trims help. At least every 6 months. Leave-in conditioners and oils are also great for your wash days.

Your hair sounds like mine. I wash 3-4 times a week as well and my hair gets super greasy at the roots and dry at the ends. When I have second day hair it looks awful and is so tangly and hard to deal with. I used to wash it every day and I had much less split ends and issues with tangling and dryness. I can't be bothered to wash every day anymore but that might be something you should consider if you have really oily roots.