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View Full Version : 4 inches of split ends and damage



Sarah4983
July 3rd, 2009, 05:38 PM
The bottom 3 or 4 inches of my hair are so loaded with split ends that I don't know if it's even worth keeping it anymore. I stopped coloring my hair, using cones, S&Ding (in case my scissors were causing more splits) about a month ago, and began using suave naturals and coconut oil almost daily to care for my hair, and since then I've seen more split ends than ever before.

To cut? or not to cut? Should I try S&Ding again?

I'm assuming the cones were hiding my damage.... maybe I should go back to them? I'm really at a loss. :confused:

Thank you in advance.

ericthegreat
July 3rd, 2009, 05:49 PM
To cut or not to cut is up to you Sarah. No one here has the right to tell you what you should or shouldn't do with your hair. Give yourself some time say a week at least without doing anything to your hair, and then decide if you really feel like you have to trim those ends off.
As for me personally, I keep my split ends. I haven't trimmed since Feb 02 of this year and have no upcoming plans to trim again. No, I haven't damaged my hair with color or any other chemicals, but still I am a non-trimmer. I plan of going for terminal. I simply keep my ends regularly oiled with coconut, avocado or olive oils.

amaiaisabella
July 3rd, 2009, 06:07 PM
Very much up to you :) I am also in South Florida, so I know the toll the heat can take on our hair! My hair does much better now that it has more moisture in it, and I have grown out/cut off all the damage. You can start by trimming off half an inch or an inch, see if that feels better, and go from there. Keeping your hair more frequently in updos can also help protect the damaged ends until your hair grows out enough for you to decide to trim them. Either way, there's plenty of methods to try here until you find one that works for you :)

darkwaves
July 3rd, 2009, 06:08 PM
If you'd be happy with hair four inches shorter for a while, it might be worth a cut.

As eric says, though, that's a personal choice.

My hair is also damaged on the ends, and I've opted for cones, gentle handling, lots of updos, and time. Eventually, it will all be long enough I won't mind a chop -- or, my mini-trims will take care of the damage -- or, the damaged hairs will shed. Time will take care of this. That's my theory, anyway!

kam984420
July 3rd, 2009, 07:05 PM
One possibility would be to cut 1 inch EVERY OTHER month and just maintain till the damage is gone then go back to letting it grow out.:)

Quixii
July 3rd, 2009, 07:26 PM
I would say go back to S&Ding, but make sure you get special hair scissors.
After trying that for a while, if you don't see any improvement, start thinking about a cut again. I know one member here is fond of the "two week rule." If you still think cutting off all the damage and having only healthy hair left behind will be better than having a partially damaged length, then go for it. It'll grow back. :)

teela1978
July 5th, 2009, 09:21 PM
It sounds to me like your current routine might not be the best one for your hair. Suave conditioner is great for CO. Suave shampoo is great for people in hard-water areas with greasy scalps (myself included). While they can be used together successfully by some people, I tend to think that for most people they're not the best combo ever.

Have you tried CO? When I was growing out dye it was fantastic (as my hair grew out it stopped working so well). It helped me get fantastic waves and really allowed me to baby my dye-damaged hair.

If that's not an option, maybe a thicker cone-free conditioner? Suave shampoo can be pretty harsh, a thicker conditioner might help a lot to keep new splits at bay. Garnier has cone-free conditoners (body boost, sometimes the sleek and shine but they seem to flip flop on that formula a lot), as does loreal vive (light pink bottle, blue square on it) so they can be found at a 'normal' store :)

And then there's going back to cones. Personally I use cones, but moderately. I have a cone-free and a coney conditioner that I switch between every other wash or so (no real hard and fast rule there...). You don't need to be full cones, but it might help to cover up some damage as stuff grows out.

Neen
July 5th, 2009, 11:20 PM
I vaguely remember a thread about members who were growing out coloured hair and whether they had to treat the coloured hair differently to the rest of it. A number of members responded that they continued to use cones on the coloured hair but not on the rest of it.

Personally, I did the same thing you did - gave up cones, etc. all at once, and like you, noticed my hair looking worse for it. Now, a year on, it is in much better condition, but still not good enough to keep, so it is being trimmed away about 1/2 an inch every two months. This way I don't lose length and can keep it in protective updos that also help hide the damage.

You might find this article helpful, I know I did:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

Elettaria
July 6th, 2009, 05:05 AM
If you cut off 4", will it still be long enough to put up easily? If not, and if you wear your hair up of course, I'd postpone the issue until the worst of the summer is over. I've chopped 15" off my hair over the last few months, the most recent trim being 4". I did it due to being too ill to handle hair that long right now, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how thick my hair is when you cut past the taper and am enjoying my shorter hair more than I expected. The one thing that's annoying me is that it doesn't stay put in buns as well. Anyway, I'd chop off a bit at a time (if you can find a reasonably cheap hairdresser) until you feel that the ends are healthy. 3-4" of splits is definitely the time to take the scissors to it, but you may find that cutting off 2" is enough to keep it pretty happy for the next half-year or so.

hennared
July 6th, 2009, 07:48 AM
I sat on this very same issue for *months*. My hair was the length in my avatar, up until about a week ago. I chopped off something between 3-4 inches. I did it due to the frustration of never being able to comb the bottom few inches of my hair, and trying every treatment I could think of to get them tangle free and less straw like to no avail.

I like the cut at first - I did it myself. I was glad to be rid of the damage. I hated it the next several days (in mourning!) Now, I'd say, well, it does look fuller at the bottom and I do like that. Also, I feel I don't _have_ to put it up to protect it so much, as it is not long enough to as readily get tagnled into things and in my way. But it does frustrate me that I can no longer put it up when I want to in the styles I'd gotten used to. My hair sticks are useless, now!

I guess overall, I am now o.k. with the cut, since it is more manageable. But I took months to make the decision, and a week to not totally regret having made the decision. In retrospect, I wish I'd taken the cut more slowly, and cut half as much at one time and then thought about it again to see if I really needed to take off more.