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frodolaughs
January 22nd, 2010, 06:14 PM
I've had some tedious waiting around to do in the last couple days, and have logged a lot of time doing s&d missions. In about 2 hours I cut out 600 splits. Does that seem like a huge amount? A trim wouldn't do much good because they don't just happen in the longest hairs--a 6-inch strand is just as likely to have a split as a strand down below my waist. I'm pretty careful with my hair--it's always either braided or bunned during the day and braided at night, and I only use elastics on the braid ends. I don't own a blow-dryer. I handle my hair minimally and I usually wash it weekly with a gentle shampoo and cone-free conditioner. I'm not sure what's going on, and I'm not even sure if my split ends are out of the ordinary. I don't usually have so much time to look at them. Thoughts?

spidermom
January 22nd, 2010, 06:49 PM
That sounds like a lot, which sounds perfectly normal. I get a lot of splits ends, too. I'm going to get about 4 inches cut off my length tomorrow because of them. That won't get all of them, but it will get most, plus my ends will be nice and smooth again instead of like Velcro.

ArienEllariel
January 22nd, 2010, 06:59 PM
I get them quite a lot and mine aren't usually at my hemline either. Usually they're scattered throughout my hair at points where a hair has broken off then split. Tis quite annoying to spend hours doing S & D but not so bad if you're watching a movie and cutting splits at the same time. :)

Bellalalala
January 22nd, 2010, 09:27 PM
Yep.

S&D is an ongoing, never ending process.

I have very fine hair, so S&D is necessary all-the-time. If I leave it for a week, a whole new crop of them pops up.
It sure beats losing length to regular trims though.

xoxophelia
January 22nd, 2010, 11:09 PM
I can't say for sure why it is happening, because my hair is not very split prone. But let's see...

-Is your air really dry in your house?
-When you put your hair up, is it completely dry or are you pulling a little too hard on the hair?
-How do you sleep on your hair or brush it?

To me, 600 splits sounds like way too many. Are you looking at white little spots on the ends under a bright light and counting those? At the wrong angle, at least with my hair .. it looks like a white tip because the blunt end reflects the light, but if I cut it, with hair cutting scissors, it looks the exact same after.

If they aren't mostly around the ends though, then you must be doing the right thing by S&Ding...

starlights
January 23rd, 2010, 08:53 PM
i think the amount of splits you have found is normal...

i always tie my hair up in a braid... and today i did a 1 and a half hour s&d mission... i must have had hundreds too... but i wasnt counting, LOL

annuscka
January 24th, 2010, 01:36 PM
Oh, you're patient to have counted! I spent all day (seriously, probably five hours) S&D-ing today and would probably have racked up at least as many. I have fairly fine hair too and boy, does it split. Like you I don't do anything extremely offensive to it so I really get annoyed sometimes... good to know I'm not the only one!

xoxophelia
January 24th, 2010, 03:03 PM
frodo- your hair is so pretty though, I would never be able to tell you had split ends! (mine looks like I do =_=')

elina333
January 24th, 2010, 03:57 PM
I get them all the time too... Hate it but oh well :)

lilish
January 24th, 2010, 06:49 PM
Good to know I'm not the only one. I have noticed however that I have been getting more lately. So I switched back to coney conditioner and seeing if that works. I have oiled my hair and only touched it twice a day, so I shouldn't be getting more than I had before right?

xoxophelia
January 24th, 2010, 07:11 PM
Might be old damage finally showing up. So if you keep up what you are doing, eventually they will start going away?

frodolaughs
January 25th, 2010, 12:12 PM
Thanks for the comments. My hair is extremely fine, so I know it's naturally split-prone. Because I don't use a hair dryer I do damp-bun and damp-braid my hair after a wash--I don't usually have time to wait for it to dry. I try to avoid damage by not putting it up too tightly and using wrapped rather than twisted bun styles. I haven't been regular with S&D for awhile, so I may have accumulated splits over quite a period of time--I'll see whether the number goes down if I do this regularly for a while. I am finding that my hair is combing out more easily since doing these major S&D sessions, but I did find another 300 today (but it took an hour and a half instead of one hour, so maybe that's progress--either that or my eyes are wearing out!)

I'm not sure, but I think dry air may be a contributor. I first started noticing more splits after a hot, dry period at the end of the summer, and I know that indoor winter air is very dry.

xoxophelia
January 25th, 2010, 12:28 PM
When you put your hair up, do you rub a little oil into the length? That might help it from getting too dry during the winter months. Also makes the braids a bit neater.