What to do with split ends?

[sinnamongirl474]

I have a bunch of split ends. My ends are thinned(on purpose for extensions) on the last couple inches and if I cut enough to get all my splits, I'll lose those couple inches. I wear my extensions for volume only, just did a take down and am hennaing my roots before I put them back in. Can I just trim a little each month to remove the splits? How seriously can splits impact the over all health of your hair?

Why do we get them? I always seem to have tons, is it because I never trim my hair?

[spidermom]

I think it's partly a hair type thing. I get trims because I like a nice, defined hem, and it does help to control the splits. I've cut as much as 4 inches at a time to get rid of the maximum number of splits that I can. Sometimes I get under a bright light and look at the ends, snipping off single splits. I don't do it too often, though; it hurts my eyes. I don't know if this would even be possible on hair your length. Splits do gradually travel up the hair shaft. I've found splits as deep as 3-4 inches.

[Rhiannon7]

Welcome to the community! Well i'm no expert but split ends happen for many different reasons. no trimming, extensions, heat styling, chemical damage, lack of moisture and protein, so many reasons you'd need to explain your routine before we can find the reason. it could be as simple as the extensions are damaging your hair to something as difficult as heat damage or some other type of damage.


Here people do many things to deal with split ends, some sacrifice the damaged inches before the splits grow bigger, others are patient and try to give moisture and protection instead of cutting the damaged ends off. splits cannot be fixed unless you cut. split ends can go up the hair shaft and then you'd have to cut more hair to fix the damage.


I recommend take extensions off, no heat, chemicals or anything that can damage the hair. wear hair up as much time as posible, (braids, buns, etc.) treat hair like antique lace, ultra carefully. wait a couple of weeks and see if that helps, if it does not then, you'll have to cut the damage before it grows bigger. if you want to keep the damaged inches until they grow some, just be ultra careful with them, pamper the hair extremely.


HTH.


Happy growing.

[alwayssmiling]

Well, I certainly believe that you could snip a little away each month. I have done this for six months, not only are my splits and breakage finally slowing down, but I have managed a few inches of growth as well. Unfortunately you will have to work out what is causing the damage in the first place, otherwise it will be an never ending battle with the splits. Good luck.

[AgnesONutter]

If you never, ever trim your hair then that might very well be the reason combined with wearing it loose etc. I have hair that is rather prone to splitting. It needs to be trimmed once to twice a year to look its absolute best. I can feel a trim is needed when my ends start to tangle more than usually when I comb. In a year, I usually end up taking off in total an inch or two.

[sinnamongirl474]

That does help. I haven't trimmed in probably 2 or 3 months, well, not a serious trim, just here and there to even up my length w/ my extensions. My hair is always either in a pony or down. I rarely use my blow dryer, never use leave ins or serums. Just shampoo & conditioner & my brush to detangle out of the shower and maybe once when dry. I bet it's because my hair is down all the time.

Sitting under a bright light is a great idea! I think I'll do that and really inspect the damage. Maybe I can get away with just cutting an inch or so off. Luckly my hair does grow pretty fast, especially in the summer...

[BelleBot]

It's probably also worth getting into the habit of S&D - Search & Destroy. It's where you cut off individual split ends as you find them instead of trimming lots of hairs at once. It's time consuming and can strain your eyes, but it's great if you want to keep on top of splits without loosing length or altering your current style too much.