Split ends - cut off

[IQfisk]

Hi there!
I'm new here and I have a question.

I suffer from split ends and extremly dry hair and now my mum insists that I have to cut if off så the hair feels and looks more fresh (now it feels, and looks, like a birds nest almost). Even though I don't want to cut it off, I know deep inside it's necessary and that my hair is going to feel much more better after that.

4-6 inches has to go, and it feels like I never gonna reach my goal. How can I stop the ends from splitting and moisturise my hair better? :confused: I think I'm pretty nice to my hair, I don't wash it much (and almost never with shampoo) and I never use blowdryers, hairspray and so on.

Just a notice: I can't buy any "only in England/America" products because I live in Sweden. Loréal, Matrix, Schwarzkopf and brands like that exists. I apologize if my english isn't so well. :shrug:

[IQfisk]

Oh, and one more question. How can I found out wich hair type I got?

[Shorty89]

If you post a picture of your hair air dried - without combing it or anything, we can tell you your hairtype :-). If you don't already, try S&D. To do this you can sit in front of a window or where you can see your split ends and snip them off. Also, try a SMT. Snowy's Moisture Treatment (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=14635)

What is your current hair routine?

[Rebel_Dream]

http://homepage.mac.com/annsofie.henriksson/hairtyping/PhotoAlbum20.html

This Site has Photos of types of hair.

Nice to meet you.

[RancheroTheBee]

As for your hair type, post a picture of your hair without any styling, product or touching. Then, we can determine it for you. Also, in the VIT (very important threads) page (top of the page), there's a site that gives you an idea of different hair types.

Do you put your hair up very often? A lot of people find that their hair splits less when they leave it up, saving it from mechanical damage. You can also try oiling your hair, or using a catnip rinse.

Your English is great, by the way. :)

[spidermom]

Try coating your length with conditioner, then washing only your scalp, rinse (the suds running through your length will clean it), condition again. I do this with diluted shampoo, and my ends (most of them) are still soft and in good condition.

[jojo]

I use tigi manic moisture and I swear my splits are less. I also wash with soapnuts so it might be that! either way id reccomend both!

[myotislucifugus]

Your English is wonderful, don't worry about that. Oil might be the solution, if your hair is really dry it might benefit from a deep oil treatment. Try only a small trim first, and see if that makes a difference. Good luck!

[Pierre]

Also, if you sleep with your hair loose, that can cause damage. I put my hair in a Buff. They're made in Catalonia, so you should have no problem getting one.

[Peter]

I agree with what everyone else has said, especially oiling the ends. That has helped me reduce tangles more than anything else. Also, do you ever wear a backpack? If you put it on over your hair, then pull your hair out so it's above the backpack, that can cause splits and breakage.

[manderly]

Maybe you can do a S&D (search and destroy) and get most of the splits, saving you a haircut and tangly ends.

[Fethenwen]

There is so much you can do :)
Cutting off split ends is a good start, don't worry your hair will grow out again. Especially after joining LHC! I would suggest conditioner only method, that's something that could be done with products you may find in your local supermarket. A cheap conditioner without cones will be sufficient. I suggest you read the CO only thread. There is many other techniques of hair care that will prevent split ends. I for instance find the water only method to work fairly well at the moment.

[Gypsygirl]

Have you tried hot oil treatments?

I agree with Ranchero, your English is great! :blossom:

[wissles]

Hi (I'm also from Sweden so I'm sorry too if my english is bad. Your english sounds great though. ;))

I've never had split ends before, I started getting them last summer, 2008 when I
1.) bleeched, dyed, highlighted my hair a lot
2.) started using a lot of heat styling. (blow dryer, flat iron and so on)
3.) didn't know much about products so I didn't use a good schampoo, no conditioner, no heavy creams, no nothing. And since my hair was really damaged and dry, that wasn't really the best option.
4.) I brushed my hair A LOT, wet and dry. It felt so silky and soft and looked shiny when I did, but it caused a lot of damage and my ends just fell off like crazy!
5.) Used hair spray (not that often though but I still did), unfriendly hair accessories like hair bands with metal connectors, I sometimes backcommed my hair..
6.) One day I got so sick of my frizzy, dry, damaged hair so I took a pair of (blunt) kitchen scissors and cut some of it off. BAD idea, bad, bad, bad! Using blunt scissors could actually cause the shaft to split more.
7.) Washed my hair too often.

So I did pretty much e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g you could possibly do to cause split ends. :rolleyes:

Did you do something like this to your hair? dye, bleech, heat styling, whatever..?
Here are some tips for you!
1. Are your hair damaged from chemicals, like bleech or dye? Then you should probably use some kind of protein treatment, preferably redken extreme, to build it up again and make it strong. But also, you have to moisturize it everytime you do it, otherwise the hair might get very dry and break because of that. I use a protein conditioner (sometimes a protein schampoo), and then a heavy moisturizer, and after that a protein leave-in treatment, Redken anti-snap, you apply it in the ends and don't rinse out to stop them from breaking and splitting!
You could to oil treatments too, they're great, but not for me. I have such a hard time to get all of the oil out, so I don't do it.

2. Don't use heat at all. Not even once a week, some people think it's okay to do it a few times a week or so, but if you're hair is already dry and damaged, it's not necessary to speed up the breakage and splitting even more.

3. Wear your hair up! But not in a tight ponytail, keep it as loose as possible, in a bun or a loose ponytail. And use friendly hair bands. Like scrunchies or so. Or the fabric covered small hair bands. No metal stuff!

4. Don't brush it. Not wet, not dry. Use a wide toothed comb carefully.

5. Get regular trims. First, you might have to get a cut, depending on how far up your split ends are. Cut/trim as much as needed to get rid of the split ends, then you can start taking care of the hair and get regular trims to trim of the damage, step by step. You don't have to get rid of everything at once.

6. Start taking some kind of nutritional supplement, like silica. They might make your hair grow faster, but they will make your hair healthier and stronger. I also give myself a scalp massage everyday for at least ten minutes. I usually do it once in the morning for ten minutes, and once in the evening for ten minutes. But it happens that I just do it once a day too.

And about the products from England/America, you could order online! It's actually much cheaper to buy them from England or America than it is to buy them in Sweden. :)

[IQfisk]

Jojo, I'm gonna look up that product! :)

Peter, no backpacks isn't really something I wear.

[IQfisk]

Wissles, thanks! :D

[Akiko]

Hello, IQfisk. Welcome to LHC. There are lots of great advice offered already. I don't have much to add except one thing...

Razor. When I had my hair layered with a razor, I got lots of split ends. A pair of very sharp scissors is the best. I hope you find what works best for you pretty quickly.

[Anje]

Hi. Don't worry about your English -- you're quite easy to understand!

People are generally giving great suggestions -- oil and SMTs are definitely good ways to keep your hair moisturized.

Information on how you currently wash and wear your hair daily could help with recommendations, I think. If you could tell us what products you're using, perhaps the ingredients in your current conditioner, describe how you wash it (different people actually do quite different things), and about how you do your hair for the day, we might be able to target suggestions for you.

[Aditi]

Your English is wonderful, don't worry about that. Oil might be the solution, if your hair is really dry it might benefit from a deep oil treatment. Try only a small trim first, and see if that makes a difference. Good luck!
I totally agree with you. Coconut oil is considered to be the best for dry hairs. And yes welcome to LHC.

[Chamy]

Hej och välkommen till TLHC, gött med ännu en svenne ;).
Have you tried s&d or is there too many splits? Oil treatments?
Clearify, stop with cones start with CO wash?
Just a few suggestions, as there is so much that you can do, but it can/will take time.

[wissles]

Well, this isn't my thread. But I just thought I could sneak this question in.

How often do you do S&D? Do you think it's better to do it like once a week, or every 8 weeks or so? Because it is SO annoying to sit and look through my hair every week, but I have less split ends to cut. But if I do it every 8 weeks, I'll probably have a lot more splits to trim.

[Maelyssa]

A few years ago my hair was like yours & I knew that I needed some kind of trim to the hemline if my hair was ever going to improve but I was afraid of loosing too much length. The woman who cut my hair suggested I have 6-8 inches cut but I insisted on only getting 3 inches cut that day. Well let me tell you that those 3 inches were a HUGE improvement & since then my hair has improved greatly. Those last few inches became healthier through suggestions followed here on LHC & I haven't had more than a microtrim that I've done myself on rare occassion.
So why don't you agree to get it cut then go to a salon & speak w/the person cutting your hair & tell them that you'll get maybe 2-3 inches cut now & then you'll come back in a few weeks & have more done. That way if they know you're coming back they won't be too tempted to cut off more than you want.
Also I would try oiling. Maybe if you warm up the oil & soak it on your hair for at least 15 minutes or so it will help.
I agree that doing the s&d will also help.
And also what type of products are you currently using?
I say maybe it's time to change things up & find something that works better for you.
If you're not using cones maybe your hair just really needs them.
Or if you are using cones try going cone free.
Also I would start by doing a clarifying...maybe too much protein in your products has caused that crunch.

Good luck on your journey to healthy, soft long hair.

P.S. If you can manage to find or order online Herbal Essences by Clairol try their 'Long Term Relationship' conditioner & see if it makes your hair any softer.
I worked wonders for me in the past. I also like to take a little squeeze of it after I towel dry my hair & apply it as a leave in. It definitely has increased softness.

[MoonCreature]

Välkommen och hoppas du trivs här!

Cutting is sometimes the best solution, so that you can start fresh and baby your hair. You can always trim small amounts at a time, or try S&D where you just only cut the spit.

I would try CO if I were you. I myself use coop X-tra conditioner as a "cleaning" conditioner, and then a heavier one for the ends. One that I really love is Oliv naturell hårinpackning, that they sell at Kicks. It may be a good idea to clarify your hair first with for example coop X-tra shampoo, to get out residues of cones and other gunk (cones make my hair feel like straw and tangle really easy, but this is completely individual!).

Also try to avoid keeping the hair in the same updo all the time, use hairties without the metal-bit, try to avoid any hair-accessories that snag your hair and so on. Baby your hair! Avoid rubbing it against anything, for example agains the car-seat or in the bus.

Oiling the ends help me a lot. I usually just put a small amount of oil (jojoba, extra virgin olive oil, shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil.. whatever I feel like/have handy) in my hand, rub my hands together and start applying the oil to my hair from the ends up. I do this on wet hair, right after I've washed it. A really small amount goes a long way!

PM me if you have something to ask, even though I don't live in Sweden we have quite the same products :) (and I speak swedish if you aren't comfortable speaking english, even if I think you don't have the slightest problem with it!)

[Shanarana]

http://homepage.mac.com/annsofie.henriksson/hairtyping/PhotoAlbum20.html

This Site has Photos of types of hair.

Nice to meet you.

Ok, after seeing that I had to change my hair type. :)

[snowbear]

Ok, after seeing that I had to change my hair type. :)
I did, too! :lol:

[NativeSparrow]

I get split ends so badly!! I have been trying to be sweet to my hair, but, environmental facrtors make it hard. Lots of summer fun damage from living at the beach (sun, sand, chlorine/salt water, wind, & so on). I'm not even sure I would get less splits if I sat at home & & didnt have any outside fun (not that I could stay inside anyway!). I try to protect my hair with oils & leave ins & put it up in a bun with hair safe ponytail holder when Im going to the beach or pool. In particular I do a mixture with honey, shae moisture conditioner, vitamin E oil & olive or grapeseed oil (whichever I have on hand). I leave it in my beach bag so i can reapply when I need to.

All of that being said I still get splits in the winter too. I condition like crazy, oil, honey mixture, CO wash. I use good products (cone free, only shampoo my hair every 4 days or so w/ sulfate free shampoo). My ends are still dry though, pretty much my ends are troublesome past my shoulder blades. I S&D but when I do it just seems like every single hair is split!!! I have good sharp shears (actually had them sharpened recently). Maybe I should S&D more often but I just feel like it isnt helping b/c I have splits again right away. Is it possible that I am being too conservative with my S&D? I try to take as little off as I can. Could this be why my splits arent going away? Also, I have been stretching my trims, but even when I got my hair cut every 6 to 8 weeks I still had splits. I dont have any crazy chemical caused damage. In fact I grew out a really bad bleach job, but cut the last of the bleached part off like 2 yrs ago. I have done semi-permanent dyeswhile growing out bleach, & only 1 since I cut the bleached part out. It just seems like whatever I do I have a gazillion splits.

[NativeSparrow]

I get split ends so badly!! I have been trying to be sweet to my hair, but, environmental facrtors make it hard. Lots of summer fun damage from living at the beach (sun, sand, chlorine/salt water, wind, & so on). I'm not even sure I would get less splits if I sat at home & & didnt have any outside fun (not that I could stay inside anyway!). I try to protect my hair with oils & leave ins & put it up in a bun with hair safe ponytail holder when Im going to the beach or pool. In particular I do a mixture with honey, shae moisture conditioner, vitamin E oil & olive or grapeseed oil (whichever I have on hand). I leave it in my beach bag so i can reapply when I need to.

All of that being said I still get splits in the winter too. I condition like crazy, oil, honey mixture, CO wash. I use good products (cone free, only shampoo my hair every 4 days or so w/ sulfate free shampoo). My ends are still dry though, pretty much my ends are troublesome past my shoulder blades. Also, I have been stretching my trims, but even when I got my hair cut every 6 to 8 weeks I still had splits. I dont have any crazy chemical caused damage. In fact I grew out a really bad bleach job, but cut the last of the bleached part off like 2 yrs ago. I have done semi-permanent dyeswhile growing out bleach, & only 1 since I cut the bleached part out. It just seems like whatever I do I have a gazillion splits.

I do S&D but when I do it just seems like so much hair is split!!! I have good sharp shears (actually had them sharpened recently). Maybe I should S&D more often but I just feel like it isnt helping b/c I have splits again right away. Is it possible that I am being too conservative with my S&D? I try to take as little off as I can. Could this be why my splits arent going away? Any advice on S&D would be great :)

[schatten]

NativeSparrow, maybe you can avoid or reduce the summer fun damage by oiling your hair and put it up/in a braid before you go to the beach.

[NativeSparrow]

I usually do put the honey, oil & conditioner mixture on it ^& put it up before getting out in the sun / beach / pool / boat. But Im thinking that since Ihave splits year-round my hair may just be prone to splits? Or maybe this is just still old damage growing out. But I feel like S&D should help more. I'll start to S&D but the splits are still pretty prevelant & my hair breaks easily. When I S&D & still find splits all over I get discouraged & give it up. its easpecially bothersome bc Im trying to grow out layers & my layers got really bad & my hairdresser convinced me to let her "trim them up" ... yeah I ended up with more & worse layers than before. So now Im wanting to start S&D on a more regular basis but I'm afraid I'm not doing it right. Im wondering if I'm being too cautious & not getting enough hair on the damaged ends? At the same time I don't want to go too far in the other direction & end up getting Split Happy!!

Also, I think I am going to try coconut oil & a catnip rinse.

[Shibe]

Wow this is a 5 year old thread :confused: