I got the splits and the breaks...

[Cocoa_Crema]

I caught a glimpse of my hair in the sun today and I noticed that I have split ends and also ends that have these little breaking points off them (they easily snap off).

I have hair of varying lengths so I'm thinking that I should just go in and get a simple one length trim. Does this sound like a good idea? I don't think even coconut or a healing balm can save those broken shafts now. :(

[christine1989]

You're right- broken/split end can never be repaired even by the best of products :(. You should evaluate how many damaged ends you have because if there aren't too many then S&D might be an option. If they are all over then a trim may be in order though.

[Madora]

From your description, it sounds like a good trim would be your best option.

The longer those split/damaged ends remain, the more damaged they become.

S and D is fine..but with widespread damage, a good trim is your best bet.

[zirena]

If there's not a whole lot of them you might not need to get much off, S&D might work for you. I'd say go and get a good trim and then continue to microtrim and S&D if there's a lot of damage though.
Damaged hair sucks, I know :( Good luck! :)

[Mesmerise]

I concur with the others. If there's a manageable number then S&D is very effective...but if there's too many, or if a large percentage of your hairs are split and/or breaking, then a trim is usually the best way of getting rid of them.

Again, there is NO way of healing a split end. Once it's split, that's it, it needs to be cut.

[Sabriel]

Like the above poster said, you can't "save" split ends, even with coconut oil - coconut oil is fantastic for *preventing* split ends, not fixing them sounds like you need a trim =/

[jojo]

The only way to "fix" a split is to trim, else you will not gain length as it will just break off on the ends. I had this problem in april and so trimmed an inch off, my hairs grown quicker and gained length since doing it.

Once you have the bad ends off, start using a teeny bit of oil on the very ends daily and keep your ends hidden in a bun; to prevent this happening again. Though if your hairs anything like mine it will, I also plan to do 3 monthly dustings.

[Sundial]

When you say "one length trim", how short are you planning to go?

As previous posters mentioned, there isn't a way to repair split ends but will you be alright with a drastic chop? A lot of us are growing out previous damage and are doing regular microtrims to get them out, and this is less drastic if you can handle taking off ends slowly over a longer period of time.

However, if you wish to go for a chop to get your hair all one length, the good thing is that it will be easier for you to manage it in the future since subsequent trims will get at most of the hair lengths. I'm sure this beats S&D-ing layered hair if you don't have the patience or time for S&D

[CrystalStar]

If you do get a trim above the the breaks in your hair, you should be able to manage any future spltis a lot better with micro-trims! Like many have said, trimming the individual splits may work, but it does take a lot of time, and if you have many splits it may not be the best option!

[celebriangel]

I really would recommend an all-one-length trim, if you can bear it. A single, strong, healthy hemline is so very much easier to take care of than layers with damage, which are hell (and mine weren't really that damaged).

Can you bear the length loss? If it is too drastic, then you could maintain at your current length (cut off all your growth each month) until you are rid of your layers and damage. This can sometimes be more encouraging because you have not lost any length and can see a continuous improvement in your hair quality.

[Anje]

Depending on the number of splits and how they're scattered in your hair, you might be able to get away with S&D. To some extent, those of us with longer and split-prone hair need to just live with a few splits and snip them out individually. (My personal goal is to keep the split percentage well under 10%.) For me at least, the hairs at the ends aren't the ones with splits; it's the hairs that are trying to grow from scalp to butt without ever being trimmed that are likely to develop splits. The only options for those besides prevention are to S&D them or to have shorter hair.

[Cocoa_Crema]

I'm going to bear with it and do it for the greater good of my hair and get 2 inches cut to even things out completely. The break off pieces are almost an inch long.


Thanks all! :blossom:

[LiisaKatriina]

My hair has SOOO many split ends and a ton of breakage!! I haaate it! I have cut sooo many inches off my hair to get them to go away and they always come back! I have recently become OBSESSED with my hair and want it perfect. I am too scared to get trims now though because every stylist I have gone to gets scissor happy and I end up with way shorter hair. I hardly ever straight iron my hair, I never blow dry, I hardly ever use product and I have dyed my hair 2 times in about 4 years. I think it's from brushing it, and my hair elastics. What is a good way to prevent breakage and split ends aside from trims? And what is S&D? I am new to this. I used to have the worst hair ever, I was a bleach queen. My hair was so many different colours and I never cared for it. Now I want it to be long and healthy.

[tigr]

what is S&D? I am new to this
Hi LiisaKatriina. Welcome!

Here's a list of LHC Terms and Abbreviations: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=1 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=10).

While you're there, check out some of the other articles. There are lots of great ones.

[sunnydays]

I feel your pain, i had one strand today that when i looked at it it was split into like four strands and i could see the middle very core strand of my hair, its not all like that thankfully!!! Maybe I should have a trim booked soon

[growingpains]

My hair has SOOO many split ends and a ton of breakage!! I haaate it! I have cut sooo many inches off my hair to get them to go away and they always come back! I have recently become OBSESSED with my hair and want it perfect. I am too scared to get trims now though because every stylist I have gone to gets scissor happy and I end up with way shorter hair. I hardly ever straight iron my hair, I never blow dry, I hardly ever use product and I have dyed my hair 2 times in about 4 years. I think it's from brushing it, and my hair elastics. What is a good way to prevent breakage and split ends aside from trims? And what is S&D? I am new to this. I used to have the worst hair ever, I was a bleach queen. My hair was so many different colours and I never cared for it. Now I want it to be long and healthy.

Do buns without elastics and if you need the elastic use a scrunchie, or a very thin cut off piece of a nylon (looks like a thick elastic but no damage!).

s&D, search and destroy=snipping only the splits off. Good for some but it also can create an uneven 'hemline' (hem=ends of hair).

[Panth]

My hair has SOOO many split ends and a ton of breakage!! I haaate it! I have cut sooo many inches off my hair to get them to go away and they always come back! I have recently become OBSESSED with my hair and want it perfect. I am too scared to get trims now though because every stylist I have gone to gets scissor happy and I end up with way shorter hair. I hardly ever straight iron my hair, I never blow dry, I hardly ever use product and I have dyed my hair 2 times in about 4 years. I think it's from brushing it, and my hair elastics. What is a good way to prevent breakage and split ends aside from trims? And what is S&D? I am new to this. I used to have the worst hair ever, I was a bleach queen. My hair was so many different colours and I never cared for it. Now I want it to be long and healthy.

Check out the articles. There's a couple there that cover tips for newbies. There's also instructions for how to type your hair and what to do to ensure you get a proper result (i.e. particular way to wash it before hand). Once you know your hair type you can look for "hair twins" who have the same type as you for inspiration for a routine. We'll also be much more able to help if we know if you have coarse/fine, thin/thick, straight/wavey/whurly/curly hair.

[LiisaKatriina]

Thanks! Haha I will be sure to educate myself. My hair is fine and wavy. Used to be really curly but I chopped my hair off by myself when I was very young. :s

[LaurelSpring]

I have been in denial about my splits too long and let it get away from me. :(

Today I bit the bullet and trimmed off at least an inch. Even though my hair is (was) TB I can really really feel that inch gone. Isnt that crazy? :rolleyes:

The other thing I have started doing is some serious S&D. I just watched a video put out by a member on another thread about trimming splits. I kind of knew about the method but the way she did it made alot more sense and I think will help me alot. I wish I knew the video to link but she twisted small sections and then trimmed the ends that stuck out. I knew about doing this but I thought I had to study each section and only find the splits to cut. When I realized it was easier to just trim straight along the section it was so much quicker and didnt make me cross eyed! After I did this my velcro feeling ends were so much smoother! I still cut off the inch but now I am going to stay on top of it with this method and hope it grows back quickly.

[boudica]

My hair is very fine as well, and everything changed when I stopped using hair elastics and instead put it up every day with these U-Pins: http://www.etsy.com/listing/70472447/quattro-hair-accessories-anodized-u-pins . I use two at a time instead of three. You can also look for Amish pins on Ebay.

It's also curly, but I thought it was straight or slightly wavy. I had also been told by my Mum and hairdressers that those little hairs that pop up all over when it's humid were damage, when they're in fact new growth and perfectly healthy.

They are a sign that your hair is curlier than how you're currently treating it. It may be that the curl that you had when you were younger is still there waiting to come out. Once I started treating my hair differently, everything changed.

When I joined LHC, I decided against getting a trim and one day sat down with a pair of new hairs scissors right in the parking lot of the chemist shop where I bought them - it was perfectly sunny and there was a picnic table, and did my first S&D - Search and Destroy - for two hours. Since then I've only S&D'ed once every two months for about half an hour, and only found about half a dozen splits/breaks each time. I'm glad I invested the time into the first S&D and didn't chop. It was really worth it.

Also, I purchased a Tangle Teezer brush thing. My hair is so fine and easily broken that I still need to be careful with it because it tears my hair. Boar bristle brush is better for super-fine hair.

No matter what they tell you, cutting it doesn't make it grow faster.

[Arya]

Get a one length trim if you don't like your layers, but if you like em, just get all your layers trimmed. One length isn't healthier than layers. I actually think one layer might be less healthy, because the canopy tends to take the most damage, so you end up chopping perfectly healthy length underneath to maintain the shape.