Split ends!!!!!

[MissJade]

Hi everyone! New member here!

Im trying to grow my hair to the middle of my back...Im not that far from there!! The problem is, my hair dries out so easily. I live in Australia and I think the harsh weather conditions along with the chemicals in my local water supply are drying out my hair too fast. So basically when I make a bit of hair growing process I have to chop it off because my hair is full of split ends! :mad:

Does anyone have any tips to combat this problem?! Sorry if there is already a thread on this...I had a quick search but couldnt see any.

Thanks!!

[bex487]

A lot of women here use coconut/jojoba oil on their ends to keep them moisturized. Invest in any kind of a leave-in conditioner for your ends, and your hair will be in better condition.

Other quick tips: never brush hair when wet, detangle with a wide-tooth comb GENTLY, and try to cut back on using heat tools if you do (hairdryers, straighteners, etc).

[brok3nwings]

Maybe you should get a filter for your bathroom?? That way you could at least prevent yourself from having harsh water on your hair...if you cant make a rinse with clear water after every wash or an ACV rinse. You could also try a leave in conditioner as well as coconut oil, jojoba oil (and some other), aloe vera gel, tea rinses to moisturize your ends and protect them from the hard whether. You can also make some clarifying, some people can advice you about this. That way you take away all the stuff that is holding into your hair preventing you from getting moisture.
Ah, and you should investigate about cones/ no cones because the use of a lot of cones can cause dryness. Good luck! (im also a beginner but these are some of the things i´ve learned from here..)

[LilyMunster]

cover your hair when out in the elements. if not able to buy a water filter, a jug of distilled water from the food market to use as your final rinse. as well as using the distilled plus a teaspoon of your favorite conditioner added to it, atiny splash of oil in there too. mist and bun and cover. that will go a looong way in getting those ends in shape.:cool:

[Arctic]

Welcome! Make sure your scissors are sharp so they won't make your problem worse! ;)

Leave-in conditioners, virgin coconut oil and EVOO on damp hair work for me, as well as CWC washing method. Many members use distilled or bottled water as a last rinse, apparently it helps. Good luck!

ETA: Damp bunning is great too for moisture and cooling effect :)

[manderly]

How about telling us your current routine? I can't imagine how I can help you if I don't know what you do to your hair on a regular basis.

[Darkhorse1]

From what I've seen, Australia is very bright, with little shade. I would reccomend a leave in conditioner as well as a wash out one --I work outdoors, and I'm just in Ontario, Canada! I also wear my hair tied up/covered. And I wear a wide hat when I teach/coach at shows.

If you work on a beach/in salt water, drench your hair in fresh water/bottled water. It will prevent the salt to dry it and then use a deep moisturizing conditioner once a week. When I was swimming a lot, I did this weekly and my hair was silky.

[enitsirk]

There's also good old S&Ding. Obviously you don't want to have to do this constanting- it's very time consuming. But, every once in a while sit down in the sun and just snip off the splits with good hair scissors.

Treat the root of the problem first though, and others have brought up ways to deal with that!

[Stagecoach]

Can I strongly suggest you giving Catnip tea soaks a try? Those combined with S & D's are the only thing i've found to help my split ends. And I spent two years trying EVOO, Coconut, Jojoba, Sweet Almund and Grapeseed... none of them worked at all.

Here's a thread on catnip tea soaks. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476)

[physicschick]

I'd suggest a deep treatment, such as SMT (Snowy's Moisture Treatment, on the Recipes board), for the dryness. Also, if you can use a gentler shampoo, that'll help.

However, some people just have more split ends than others do. I used to trim aggressively hoping the splits would go away, but they always came back. Eventually I decided to just grow my hair to the length I wanted, not worrying about the splits. Mine is probably going to be split no matter what length it is.

[MissJade]

Thankyou everyone for your great advice! Unfortunately I dont understand some of the terminology used (cones, s & d). I'm sure I will figure it out as I have more of look around the forum.

Yesterday I bought Inecto leave in conditioner (the coconut oil one) from work. My hair is feeling quite soft at the moment!! Good sign :) I will be sure to give some of the other things a try too!

Thanks again!

[tiny_teesha]

cones(silicones) is something in hair products. Basically one word ends in cone but begins with an M- that isn't a silicon, then there is a few that don't end in cone, but conol and something else- and they are cones. There is a list somewhere.
And S&D is code for "Seek and destroy" which is where you hunt your hair for splits and only cut of the individual split with a sharp hair scissors :)
HTH
Olive Oil is good for moisture, and same with aloe vera and honey/glycerine.

[bunnii]

I dampen my hair before bed and use a bit of olive oil or coconut oil and braid, also a bit of oil before I go out, before and after washing (I love oils :D ) also in the summer I CO (conditioner only, no shampoo, I find it too drying at the best of times) I use no cones conditioner. and a good ol' bit of S&D to catch any splits. OH!! and a deep conditioning at least once a week is great, and a complete must for me. My hair gets very dry on the ends in the sunny land of England, nope hold on, it's raining :lol:

[janaana]

Does your leave-in have UV protection too? When my hair first got long enough that the length was not shaded by a sunhat, I found the sun exposed parts got very light and brittle compared to the rest of my hair after a couple of visits to sunny countries. Now, if ever I go anywhere sunny, I usually use a leave-in with good UV protection from a suncare range rather than a haircare range and I've found my hair is much less damaged following my holidays.