What happens if you do not cut off split ends?

[violetka]

Hi I wanted to ask you how dangerous is it to not cut off your split ends until you reach goal and then start to trim regularly? Can you just "seal" them with oils and such in the mean time so the splits do not "migrate"? My biggest problem is that my hair splits alot and I just keep SnD-ing but there are more and more split ends. My hair has always been like that - very splitty. I just started two weeks ago to be more careful with my hair, but I guess it does take alot of time for some progress to be observed. I have layers and some of the layers arre too short and I cannot see them and I am nervous about going to the hairdresser because 1. they always cut too much, 2. My hairr is uneven and I will still have split ends even after the cut. 3. They thin my hair and then it splits even more! I guess thick hair is not very fashionable and mine does look better thinned but it is very damaging.
So, any suggestions are welcome :)

[Beldaran]

3. They thin my hair and then it splits even more! I guess thick hair is not very fashionable and mine does look better thinned but it is very damaging.I have no advice about splits, but your comment here makes me wonder. It seems you're not asking for your hair to be thinned, and you admit it "looks better" but you also say that "[you] guess thick hair isn't fashionable". According to who? Check out some of the thicker haired people around here, it's quite fashionable, in fact, most people here strive to have thicker hair.

I say your first step is to either stop going to the salon, or start telling them exactly what you want them to do.

As far as progress with taking better care of your hair versus splits, I've been here for a few years and I still have splits, but it's because not all of the damaged hair has grown out yet. Once it does, the splits will lessen. So keep in mind that when taking better care of your hair it will be the roots that will show that improvement, as damaged hair stays damaged no matter what. It may take a while depending on your length to see the fruits of your labors, so stay strong and keep it up!

[RancheroTheBee]

If your hair dresser is thinning your hair despite requests on the contrary, as well as cutting off too much hair, perhaps it's time to find a new hair dresser. There are plenty of stylists out there who are very keen to listen to you and help you with your hair goals.

In the meantime, try a search & destroy (going through your hair and cutting out individual splits) rather than resigning yourself to a life of split ends.

It's true that some people are just more prone to splits, and simply have to deal with them in their own way, but there are other precautions you can also take. And yes, it does take a long time to see the benefits of handling your hair correctly. Try the articles section; I believe Teacherbear wrote an article on handling hair. Nightshade also wrote one about damaged hair, and they are both extremely helpful articles.

Good luck. :)

[violetka]

do you trim the ends though? It is true that I did not specifically ask for not thinning, but I do get pushed into it :D I am afraid to go now after many years of bad experience and I feel like I have no control over what the turn out will be. I have cried after a hair dresser. So i decided to be self sufficient, but am not sure how to be about the short-but-split layer of hair that I cannot trim myself.

[Nera]

I agree with Beldaran... Thick hair is beautiful, and it's a sign of healthy, natural hair!

The most dangerous thing about split ends, is that a split can move higher towards your roots, and eventually split your entire hair (that doesn't happen a lot though).
Dry, damaged hair splits a lot earlier, so the best way to prevent split ends is to cut off all your damaged hair. Not too many people choose for that, neither do I, just because I prefer long hair over 100% healthy hair.

So it's up to you weather you leave the split ends there until you reach your goal (but remember, you will have to chop them off some day anyway), or weather you trim them so you will reach your goal length with all healthy hair.

[eadwine]

If you do not cut the split ends you end up with what I had a long time ago: in the long run split ends up to the roots at times, and hair that looks like crap ;)

I had to grow out all that damaged hair, took me a BIG chop up to my shoulders and regular 6 week trims after that.

[Heidi_234]

My ends are all in splits and I didn't visit the hairstylist for, what, a year? more?
Except your hair finally growing, nothing horrible is going to happen. :p Trust me, from personal experience, if length is important to you, don't worry about not going to the hairdresser. Yes, of course, split ends tend to tangle more and might damage healthy hair, but you'll lose much less length this way then by going to the hairstylist - not to mention what you said about the hairstylist never getting all the split ends trimmed.
I hardly see anything fashionable about thin ends, and if you're unhappy about your experience at the hair salon, you don't have to. If the ends really get you, and S&Ding doesn't help, then do a microtrim/dusting.
btw, what kind of scissors do you use for S&D? If you're using scissors that are not intended for hair, or that are not sharp enough you might causing more splits.

[s-a-m-a-r-k-a-n]

When you S&D, first of all make sure that you don't use ANY scissors, but the best and sharpest ones you can get, preferably professional ones. This is extremely important as blunt scissors just crush your hairs and actually make things worse, not better.

[Sheltie_Momma]

My hair splits less when it is freshly trimmed - but it does no good to take big trims because the damage is up the entire length from the flat iron and blow dryer. I joined LHC in April, I have about 6 inches of shiny perfect hair and about 21 inches of sort of sad hair - I recognize I will continue to have bad splits for a long time but that in time, as in like 5 years, I will have an entire head of shiny healthy hair now that I know what to do.

[Fillette]

I am no expert so the following is my personal opinion....
Even if you did S&D religiously, you would still have split ends. So I say, cut off the ones you can see and don't worry about the rest. Your hair will grow, split ends or not. As it gets longer you will be able to S&D the short layers with more ease and everything will be just fine.
Keep treating your hair extra nice, use oils on the ends, don't go to the hair dresser if you don't feel comfortable going, S&D what you can, stay positive and I am sure things will go well. :flower: :)

[ZenBird07]

This is something I've been reading into a little bit and I have to say that I am completely friggin confused... That said, decide for yourself this way perhaps; go ahead and look at the pics of people with untrimmed hair and compare to those that do. It's not hard to find, you can tell who's been dusting and whose been lettin it go.
Now, whose hair do you want? Do you want long healthy hair or just length? Even if you do a big trim when you reach goal YOU'RE the one who has to deal with it until then. YOU will know and feel your splits.
I say trim what you can see with the very sharp scissors as prescribed previously by samarkan. Trimmed hair grows to. It typically grows with less damage. Good Luck...

[Kirin]

My advice is, to basically ignore the splits, especially if you always encounter them. You can spend an eternity trying to chase them down, and since you state you always have splits, trims and S&D are not really doing much.

This is just my personal theory, but the worst that will happen is that one hair will be damaged with a split traveling up, splits don't "migrate" to other hairs. You will never ever gain any length constantly chasing down splits with trims, only drive yourself batty.

I would for now, put the scissors down and just let it go. I know many who use this philosophy and it works well, and they cut the splits off after they achieved their goal lengths, with much better results than constant trimming.

[violetka]

Thank all of you very much for your input and optimistic thoughts :) I will just SnD until full BSL and then and only then trim, because otherwise the process will be too long. I do use sharp scissors which are supposedly professional... but i gues my hair is just drier and I just stopped breaking my hair an wild brushing two weeks ago an using very agressive shampoo. So I think that it will be awhile till my hair repairs and I want it longer before that.

[kdaniels8811]

I believe you said it has been two weeks since you started caring for your hair? It takes months for the changes to show up. I do not cut off my splits, I would not have any hair if I did! I went to the salon for years to get my thin ends trimmed and never grew past arm pit length. Then found LHC. No more trims, coconut oil twice a week, henna - I have to cover the grey!, and no more shampoo, herbs only have caused my hair to grow.

Another thing to try is catnip tea soaks. There are great articles about it, basically it is pet store catnip, a teaspoon in a mug for 8 hours or so, strain it, and pour it over your hair. I pour some into a baggie and put my hair in a ponytail and let it soak for a half hour, then wash my scalp only with herbs. I do not wash the length. The tea is the best thing, hands down, for preventing splits on my fine, thin hair. I do not use conditioner, just the catnip tea and oil. And I started last thanksgiving so I have some time in this process.

Good luck! Treat your hair gently and you will see result. And, in my opinion, not cutting is fine. My hair was really damaged from chemical coloring and blowfrying and is doing fine now. Check out the "no trimming" thread. Oh, and those thin ends? They are called fairytale ends! I used to hate them, now I love them, knowing what they are!

[Sarahmoon]

I had split ends when I first came to LHC and I didn't have a trim ever since, and yes I still have split ends, but they don't move up, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Yes, my ends look a bit dry and split but it never affected the healthy part of my hair.

If you want to let it grow more first, just make sure to protect your ends as well as you can.