Share your wisdom - Non-trimming, SD and Split Ends

[Misha]

Hello,

I am looking to know what is your experience with using the Search and Destroy method for growing long healthy hair.

I haven't trimmed since early November, and of course on schedule, I have splits. Now, that is OK, as I just snip them off. BUT - I keep finding more. Most of my ends are in good condition, but I just keep finding a bunch more splits.

Now, my hair is rather fine and light-weight, so I'm guessing more prone to splits than a heavier hair type. I do oil and wear protective updos daily, wash a couple of times a week, and take care of it well.

I'm concered that I have to SD all the time to keep splits away, so my questions are:

How often do you Search and Destroy?

Is it realistic to just expect split ends and leave them alone?

Will that ruin the ends of your hair?

If you SD regularly and long term (for years, while growing the length) will the ends become very fairy-tailed?

Any other wisdom is appreciated.

:flower:

[spidermom]

I'm still working this out for myself. It's hard for me to leave my hair alone because I've found split ends as much as an inch or more deep. I've found split ends on my split ends, and these bad ends tangle horribly. In the fall of 2007 I had so many split ends that I had my hair trimmed back as much as 4-6 inches over the following 6+ months. In July 2008 my split end problem was under much better control, so I decided to grow for one year without trimming, but I still S&D. There have been a couple of times when I've been forced to sit still because of a sprained ankle or knee, and I've spent hours going through my hair snipping out the damage. Most of the time, though, I spend about 10 minutes 3 or 4 times a week under a strong lamp in a dark room, snipping out the most obvious damage. I'd rather have shorter hair than snarly hair with Velcro ends, so I'm sure that if I ever have more damage than I feel I can deal with one by one, I'll cut back several inches to get rid of most of them. I like my long hair but I'm not sentimental about it. I don't mind cutting a few inches off.

[Misha]

spidermom,

Thanks for your answer. Our hairtype is almost identical, and I've always admired your hair.


It's hard for me to leave my hair alone because I've found split ends as much as an inch or more deep. I've found split ends on my split ends, and these bad ends tangle horribly.

That describes some of the splits I've found lately, and some are just on the ends. My plan is to grow it out this year without trimming, and see how it goes. At this point, I bet by the end of the year I'll have to trim back a few inches, but I'll never know until I try.

[Misha]

Anyone else?

How did your hemline look after long-term (6months - a year or 2) of Search and Destroying? And how often did you do it?

TIA

:)

[Jeep Girl]

I S&D every couple of weeks or so. I go through phases, S&D for days like mad, then nothing. Was forced into an S&D frenzy in December after an unfriendly encounter with a candle. (SHEWWWW! burning hair is stink-y). I find that after a year or two, I develop a fairy-tail hemline. I need to S&D to get rid of splits and fairy knots that make my ends tangle.

[twilight]

the one time i tried to S&D i ended up with insanely uneven hair... i was just snipping every split i found, one hair at a time, and i needed a "cleanup trim" when i was done anyway. my mom was kind enough to help out, lol!

since then i've been wary... i think i'm a little too enthusiastic about it.

[frizzinator]

I have fine and lightweight hair. I S&D about once a month now, although I used to do it once a week. I've been doing it for about 35 years. Most of that period of time I was a frequent trimmer but maybe 2 or 3 times I did not trim my hair for a whole year. I rarely find splits at the ends. The splits are always on hairs that are a lot shorter than my longest hairs. I don't want to leave the splits alone because I think they will continue to split more and I think S&D is a split hair's best chance to grow long.

I used to break hairs from wind damage, getting it caught on the hinges of glasses, combing and brushing, plus my hair tangles very easily, so it will break if I accidentally get a finger stuck in a tangle. I think shedding hair plus my previously mentioned reasons for breakage explain why my length is half the circumference as my ponytail measured near the scalp. I haven't had layers for at least 20 years.

I've learned that wearing my hair up every day prevents a lot of breakage, and being ultra slow and careful when combing and brushing makes a big difference.

[Speedbump]

1) There are two likely explanations for you finding lots more splits right after doing S&D. The first one is that your hair is really damaged on the ends and that it's going to split no matter what. The other likely explanation is that your scissors are dull and that they are actually damaging the end of the hair even as it's cut off, thus creating a proto-split right then and there that won't take long to become a full-blown split end.

2) I have found that the less overall damage I have, the less I have to S&D, but that I'll never stop having to S&D because of my hair type. I'm right on the edge of fine hair, with some almost-coarse hairs on the nape of my neck, and it's curly, so it breaks rather easily even when it's healthy. That all being said, my S&D needs have dropped dramatically in the last year as the last of the worst of the damage has been trimmed off.

3) Yes, the longer you don't trim and just S&D, the more fairy-tale your ends will get. But it's not just the S&D that does that -- in fact the S&D probably is only a fraction of the effect. The majority of the effect is simply your natural growth pattern. No two hairs grow the same rate at the same time. Eventually, you are going to get fairy-tale ends if you just "let it go" and don't even it up. I'm finally down to a "U" shape with mine, although it's a lot deeper "U" than I would like. That was achieved after my natural growth pattern of a "V" came out during a year when I barely trimmed at all.

If you are dealing with a LOT of damage on your ends, it would probably give you better results to continue overall trimming until the worst of it is cut out. You can choose to do a large trim or a series of small ones, but just S&Ding will probably drive you nuts if you have tons and tons of splits. (Ask me how I know... ;) )

If you don't have a lot of damage, then it would be a worthwhile experiment to try just S&Ding for a period of time.

No matter what you decide to do, you need good quality hair scissors that are not used to cut anything else and that you get sharpened or replaced whenever they start to get dull. Dull scissors create damage, and you don't want that.

HTH!

Speedy

[Carolyn]

I have periods where I'll S & D almost daily, then I'll get lax and not do it for a month or so. That brings on a S & D marathon. It's a neverending cycle. I'm not a fan of fairy tale ends, so I trim the hemline when I think it needs it. I am OK with giving up length to get a blunt hemline. I don't have a schedule for either S & D or hemline trims. I just do them when I think I need to. I think it's something each of us has to figure out as our hair grows.

[Misha]

I just wanted to thank all of you for your answers :flowers:, and I am encouraged to continue SD with no trims and see how it goes.