Split Ends Galore?

[MeganAimee]

Are some hair types just prone to split ends? I feel like I'm doing so much to prevent damage. I wash my hair once a week with sulfate free shampoo, and I use a wooden brush and comb. I never use hot tools, I blow dry on cool occasionally. I oil my ends after showering, then a drop on the ends at night. I sleep with a satin pillowcase, and use claw clips. I trim 1" off every 6 months. My split ends aren't even on my ends anyway, they're mostly up through my hair, even though I do s&d all the time ... I have lightly wavy hair 2a (2b when its shorter) and its nearly waist length. Feeling so stressed out about the hundreds of split ends I always seem to have! I'm all ears if you have any advice! :o

[KokoroDragon]

My hair has tons of baby splits, but I haven't trimmed since December 2019. I gave up on s&d after a while because it didn't seem to make much difference. Even though I haven't done anything to get rid of them (apart from just careful handling, silk sleep cap, etc.) they don't seem to have gotten any worse over the last couple years. I will say keeping my hair bunned makes them less noticeable, compared to when I have my hair in braids.

[MeganAimee]

I might have to start keeping my hair up most of the time. Ive been sleeping with it open, and open at work. I started braiding it at night though. S&D is really tedious lol

[Glitch]

Are your S&D scissors extra sharp? Sometimes over the years, blades can really dull out! Other than that, I found that when I blow dried my hair on cool but on a medium or high air speed, the water evaporated so quickly from my strands that it left them a bit stiff and eventually they'd split. So, I'd try out blow drying on a low air speed :)

Anyway, what an amazing haircare routine. Best of luck to you!!

[alewyn]

I might have to start keeping my hair up most of the time. Ive been sleeping with it open, and open at work. I started braiding it at night though. S&D is really tedious lol

Keeping my hair all the way up (in buns, not braids) has been the only thing I've noticed make a significant difference in the amount of splits I get. Maybe try committing to wearing it up most of the time for a few weeks and see if your rate of splits improves?

[SeppV]

I always wear my hair in a braid of some sort. Either just a normal English braid or milk maid braids (I am really bad at fancy hair styles...) and that has been a game changer for me. My hair has grown so much + I see a lot less split ends. The English braids won't really protect the ends of the hair from friction as much as an updo, but it keeps the hair from tangling. The milk maid braids protect my ends too. Anyways, my point is, I would find some protective hairstyle that suits your taste to wear during daytime as well. I personally don't go for the regular updo as I get a headache from it. But as alewyn says; they may be more protective than braids. Although I would say that braids put less strain on the hair/scalp, or have a just not tried the right kind of updos yet...?

I too get splits all over, which really isn't that strange, since hair can snap of anywhere (not just in the very ends), although the ends of the hair are naturally more fragile and prone to damage.

I think you can expect to see a lot of improvement if you just stop wearing your hair loose too much during the day. It's very important to minimize mechanical damage. And yes, some hair is more prone to splits.

[Finda]

My hair has tons of baby splits, but I haven't trimmed since December 2019. I gave up on s&d after a while because it didn't seem to make much difference. Even though I haven't done anything to get rid of them (apart from just careful handling, silk sleep cap, etc.) they don't seem to have gotten any worse over the last couple years. I will say keeping my hair bunned makes them less noticeable, compared to when I have my hair in braids.

Same with me, I have lots of splits I've been ignoring for years and they haven't gotten worse with careful handling and protective updos.

[clairenewcastle]

Unless the scissors you s&d with are very sharp you are likely to damage your hair.

Back in my twenties I used to s&d with any pair of scissors that I could find. Most were blunt and with hindsight just caused more splits to form. My hair thinned out considerably due to all the broken ends travelling up my hair. Eventually I got out of the habit of snipping my hair but I had to get most of my hair cut off in a salon in order for it to be healthy again.

[Lanina]

I absolutely think some hairtypes and thicknesses are more prone to splits, mine sure seems to be. I found when I did s&d my hair looked a lot thinner at the ends, trimming just the ends seems fine. Brushing and combing can be rough too, even when they're made out of wood, maybe try finger combing or detangling only in the shower with conditioner.

[confettiwizard]

I just created my own thread saying the exact same thing! I feel like I do so much and yet my hair has been splitting like never before. I think since it started getting longer I've ran into a new set of issues I wasn't fully aware of - a lot of people replied in my thread mentioning that sleeping in braids isn't as protective as I thought, now that I have new length. I basically end up sleeping on it and bending it causing layers of my hair to split and break despite my other efforts. Also, do you trim your own hair? I've also found that cutting my own hair with dull scissors has contributed to some damage.

[Of the Fae]

I seem to have the same problem, every time I get past BSL my hair starts splitting like mad all throughout my length. Not just the ends, sadly, so a trim would not solve it. I sleep in braids so probably that's the problem, and maybe too agressive shampoo or rhassoul usage.
What style is good for nights apart from braids? I've tried a top knot but it always pulls my scalp in an uncomfortable way.

[spidermom]

Me too! Splitting is my hair's favorite activity. I've tried a number of strategies to deal with it, all the usual stuff - wearing hair up, oiling, deep conditioning, avoiding heat, etc. I have decided to go back to blunt, even ends and more frequent trims as well as continuing the usual strategies.

[tsuki]

I seem to have the same problem, every time I get past BSL my hair starts splitting like mad all throughout my length. Not just the ends, sadly, so a trim would not solve it. I sleep in braids so probably that's the problem, and maybe too agressive shampoo or rhassoul usage.
What style is good for nights apart from braids? I've tried a top knot but it always pulls my scalp in an uncomfortable way.

Well, this isn't exactly a hair style, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case you were interested! A great way to protect hair at night is using a silk night cap since silk is so gentle on hair. My hair has been so much easier to manage since I invested in one (I have a brown one and I look like Grumpy from Snow White, it has become the highlight of my evening).

They can be a bit pricey though, and not all are made equal. Depending on how they're made, some caps can tangle hairs at the nape of the neck so it would require a bit of research to find the perfect one for you :)

[Of the Fae]

Thanks for the tip! That's a good one!
I do have nape tangles like nobody's business, most of my breakage is all the way through the length of the nape. I'll look into it and invest in a proper one✨

[SandyBottom]

I use a satin sleep cap at night (and other times too). It makes it possible to have my hair, which is almost KL, loose inside and virtually no knots in the morning. My hair is up for most of the day so it's nice to let it out of a bun at night and know that it's still protected. The one I have isn't fancy, just a cheap one from the pharmacy.

[mochichichi]

I also use a satin bonnet--more affordable than silk, and like Sandy said, it's nice to be able to have my hair "down" without accumulating damage or having it tangled in my limbs, blankets, and partner.

[Ada-banana]

I have lots of broken ends. I do have a moisture-protein problem that's hard to balance. Keeping my hair up helps a bit, but not a lot.
Satin sleep cap helps, but still I have lots of new broken ends. I try to accept them and still look for better ways to look after my hair.

[Dark40]

Are some hair types just prone to split ends? I feel like I'm doing so much to prevent damage. I wash my hair once a week with sulfate free shampoo, and I use a wooden brush and comb. I never use hot tools, I blow dry on cool occasionally. I oil my ends after showering, then a drop on the ends at night. I sleep with a satin pillowcase, and use claw clips. I trim 1" off every 6 months. My split ends aren't even on my ends anyway, they're mostly up through my hair, even though I do s&d all the time ... I have lightly wavy hair 2a (2b when its shorter) and its nearly waist length. Feeling so stressed out about the hundreds of split ends I always seem to have! I'm all ears if you have any advice! :o

I think you're doing the right thing in getting rid of those splits. I've tried trimming my hair every 2-3 months, and they didn't make a bit of difference at all in making it grow faster and stronger. So, what I do is I hair products to prevent damage, and keep my hair well-moisturized, for at night I either put my hair in 2 dutch braids or a bun for sleeping. I could never sleep with my hair loose, and I never have any issues with split ends. I only have to dust once or twice a year, and the dusting I obly take off the tips of my ends by just evening them up a bit.

[Joliebaby]

My individual hairs are pretty thick and I guess that could be one reason I don't normally get many splits. But I did just notice a lot of them on the sides, where I had worn small braids tied with silicone bands.. I really like how they look but quit wearing them, and will now just tuck braids in buns or leave them to unravel on their own if my hair is down.