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View Full Version : Split Ends - 100s of hair falls off daily, so why the panic?



HeartcoreLegend
January 22nd, 2012, 03:05 PM
Ok, so I've been reading up on the dreaded split end crisis and everyone recommends either doing "Search & Destroy" or trimming them off before they get up the shaft and that hair breaks off.

So I thought about this for a moment...

Don't we shed 100s of hairs on a daily basis anyway?
How likely is it that 1 of them will be a split end?
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone? LOL

I'm just trying to understand if this is just psychological ploy to make salons money.

Granted, in the event that the hair looks REALLY bad, then I guess a trim is necessary. But it may not be so much due to split ends, as it is to hair being dry or frizzy.

Split ends exist and can't be avoided. But everything you read seems to contradict things that have been established to be known as good tips. (Brush your hair, but don't over-brush it, etc.)

And I don't see how getting trims to get rid of split ends will ever allow you to grow it longer. You'll just be in the same position and it will be a never-ending cycle.

I think I will only get trims if the hemline looks obviously uneven.

Or I could just keep wearing it up where it's not noticable. LOL

Well, I guess I'm done.

What are your thoughts?

ElusiveMuse
January 22nd, 2012, 03:20 PM
Splits cause my hair to break off and generally look bad so, yeah, I try to trim them. I have way more than 100 splits at any given time so a normal shed isn't going to take care of it for me. My hair seems to be really brittle and most of the length has heat damage from when I used to straighten it every day.

HintOfMint
January 22nd, 2012, 03:26 PM
People actually have around 90,000 to 140,000 hairs on their head, and the average individual hair grows from 2 to 7 years. We only loose 100 to 150 hairs per day. Keeping in mind regular trims/hairstyles that keep a fairly uniform and artificial length amongst the old and new hairs alike, most of the splits are more likely to be on the hairs that have far more time (as in years) to grow, not the hairs that will probably shed out this day.

If split ends don't bother you, by all means keep them. For many if not most, split ends lead to breakage at the ends and so your hair never really gets longer. If your hair has a tougher constitution and the splits just travel up without breaking off, then great, but it's still a bit unsightly in my opinion. You may not care.

Hope this is helpful! And yes, if you're growing out your hair, you don't need to cut nearly as often as salons say you should. I cut about twice a year, but I've seen LHC heads cut their hair much more rarely and have lovely hair.

Amber_Maiden
January 22nd, 2012, 03:31 PM
People usually S&D because even though you loose 100 hairs a day, your scalp has so much more! Also splits can travel up the hair shaft, and potentially damage other hair if it rubs against it.

S&Ding and trims are not a ploy made up by salons. Rather it's the opposite, as you don't need to get a trip if you S&D... I doubt most salons even know what S&D means.

spidermom
January 22nd, 2012, 03:31 PM
I'm trying to relax my bad attitude toward split ends. I've been varying around the same length for the past three years because of them. I keep thinking "one more big trim, then my hair will be in such good condition that it won't split like that anymore." What a crock!

terylenerose
January 22nd, 2012, 03:36 PM
Not sure how much I can contribute, but here are a few ideas. :)
My first thought was that you shouldn't be losing hundreds of hairs every day in any case. 100 hairs is the average, but it's better to lose less than that. Decreasing shedding is always a good thing. If you lose less than 100 hairs a day, that reduces the chance that any will be split. I also don't seem to lose many of my split hairs, but that could be just my imagination or a coincidence.
About the damage thing, sometimes a split will travel up the hair shaft if it isn't cut off. However, that is most likely a symptom of damage that needs to be corrected and can not necessarily be fixed by S&D. I see cutting off splits as being a little like taking pills to mask a symptom of a disease. It can help make hair more manageable and avoid further damage, but you will just get more splits if you are still damaging your hair (or if the hair is dry and fragile naturally).
All that said, if the splits aren't traveling up the shaft or causing problems, then there isn't anything wrong with leaving them on indefinitely.
Hope that helps. :)

jacqueline101
January 22nd, 2012, 03:47 PM
My s and d took place when I'd comb my hair and they would shed. I did a s and d and clarified my hair. Then I oiled my ends extra with cocoa nut oil. It got rid of them and it wasn't my whole head that did it just my short layers. I guess our hair is meant to shed but not a ton of hair but not pure split ends.

Madora
January 22nd, 2012, 04:04 PM
Getting rid of split ends keeps my hair looking healthy and enables it to grow to greater lengths. Personally, I can't see the benefit of trying to grow your hair long, if you don't address the damage at regular intervals.

Chromis
January 22nd, 2012, 04:10 PM
If I had hundreds of hairs falling out daily, I think that would be a much higher priority than my splits! Once I learned how to take better care of my hair, I no longer shed so much. Most of my old "shedding" was really breakage.

darklyndsea
January 22nd, 2012, 04:13 PM
I think that S&Ding is worth it only if your hair starts to look bad enough that you can't stand it, or if your splits are prone to traveling. Personally, I don't: even after years of no trims, I've never noticed a major difference in the overall condition or appearance of my hair, and my splits don't tend to travel. Plus I can tell that the dash of OCDishness I have would combine badly with searching through my hair for splits

clichepithet
January 22nd, 2012, 04:15 PM
Ok, so I've been reading up on the dreaded split end crisis and everyone recommends either doing "Search & Destroy" or trimming them off before they get up the shaft and that hair breaks off.

[...]

I'm just trying to understand if this is just psychological ploy to make salons money.

[snip]


The only money anyone has made from my S&Ds (and/or trims) in the last 2 years would have been W*Mart for $10. Seeing as I do all the above myself, my scissors were $10.

Now if someone would just pay me when I S&D'd, it would be a valid argument, but then I wouldn't be complaining about the ploy, so it just cancels itself out. :cheese:

adiapalic
January 22nd, 2012, 04:26 PM
Not everyone loses that many hairs a day. When you start shedding classic length hairs, it becomes very noticeable how many you lose... and I'm definitely nowhere even near 100 daily. ETA: I'd say at most, normally, I lose no more than 5-10. That's in showers and on the comb, because it stays up most of the time. /ETA

I don't think I even lost 100+ hairs a day when I had a massive shed last year! Boy the hair though... it was pretty scary. I'm glad it came to an end.

If I do micro-trims and s&d (by myself, not by a hairdresser) my hair snags a whole lot less during detangling and combing, therefore preventing extra breakage and damage. Just my experience. :)

blondie9912
January 22nd, 2012, 05:21 PM
I'm trying to relax my bad attitude toward split ends. I've been varying around the same length for the past three years because of them. I keep thinking "one more big trim, then my hair will be in such good condition that it won't split like that anymore." What a crock!

It depends. About a year and a half ago, pre-LHC, I cut my MBL hair to APL, and I had the bluntest, healthiest hemline you'd ever see. It's been about a year since that cut, and despite repeated bleaching, colouring, and heat styling, I haven't had a single split in my hair. Not one. Granted, I have had 2 trims but those were to keep my hem even, not to get rid of splits.

At MBL, I felt like I literally had splits EVERYWHERE, no matter how much I S&Ded (surprisingly, I did that before I found LHC). It's hard to know whether one big trim will fix your splits once and for all or whether your hair is just prone to them.

jeanniet
January 22nd, 2012, 05:48 PM
I S & D and do periodic dustings because my hair tangles more when I don't keep up with the splits. I've grown from chin length to almost hip in about 2 1/2 years, so clearly it hasn't inhibited growth much. If your hair breaks off because it's split or weakened, it may be growing but you won't be gaining a lot of length. But I think that most of us who S & D also do it just because it makes the condition of our hair feel better overall.

einna
January 22nd, 2012, 05:50 PM
Trimming to keep the ends in good shape can actually help you grow hair to longer lenghts, because it will reduce breakage and further damage due to tangles, friction, dryness and so on.. Off course, you would have to take off less than you grow for this to work over time. Some people also start off growing by chopping of a lot of damaged hair, to get a fresh start.
When I trim, I like to think about that I am cutting of pre-LHC hair and also getting rid of my dyed ends. This is part of my (long) journey to long, healthy, beautiful tresses. :)

ETA: I also self trim, and do so only when I feel my ends need it. I dont have many splits at this point, but my ends get dry, porous and a little rough in time.

spidermom
January 22nd, 2012, 05:58 PM
It depends. About a year and a half ago, pre-LHC, I cut my MBL hair to APL, and I had the bluntest, healthiest hemline you'd ever see. It's been about a year since that cut, and despite repeated bleaching, colouring, and heat styling, I haven't had a single split in my hair. Not one. Granted, I have had 2 trims but those were to keep my hem even, not to get rid of splits.

At MBL, I felt like I literally had splits EVERYWHERE, no matter how much I S&Ded (surprisingly, I did that before I found LHC). It's hard to know whether one big trim will fix your splits once and for all or whether your hair is just prone to them.

OMG! I'm really happy for you, but stories like this make me CRAZY! I trim and trim and trim, I don't bleach or heat style or brush wet hair - nothing that can be said to cause splits - but every time I look at my hair with a bright light I can find split ends, even if I just had 7 inches cut off.

Mommyof4
January 22nd, 2012, 06:01 PM
Split ends affect my hair a great deal... It is usually ALL OVER, not just a few hairs or 100 hairs.. it's more like 75% of my hair.. When I micro trim and protect my hair from damage, my hair looks healthy, curls prettier, and I can actually comb it..

sun-kissed
January 22nd, 2012, 06:20 PM
I went for two years without cutting my hair once, and in that time my hair got to the point where it no longer would get any longer, at all. I ended up with a horridly uneven hemline from breakage, and had splits on nearly every hair. The splits looked fluffy, messy, awful, and combing was very hard due to the velcro-effect.

So for me, at least, split ends are a serious issue and micro-trims with self-S&Ding are musts. Unless I went bald, daily shedding wouldn't help with keeping them at bay.

Chromis
January 22nd, 2012, 06:49 PM
OMG! I'm really happy for you, but stories like this make me CRAZY! I trim and trim and trim, I don't bleach or heat style or brush wet hair - nothing that can be said to cause splits - but every time I look at my hair with a bright light I can find split ends, even if I just had 7 inches cut off.

Mine is the exact same way. I can't say I will ever have split-free hair. Doesn't even matter how long the strands are I find them all through my hair. Not just on my head either! I've found split ends in my arm hairs before and they aren't even very long!

I trim for hemline reasons, but other than that I S&D. I don't know if it really does much good to be honest, but it feels so satisfying. I would imagine it is much like popping zits is for some people. It would feel even better not to have them, but my hair is just not on the same page. I envy people who don't get them!

Nymphea
January 22nd, 2012, 07:05 PM
Count me in the club of splitters! I mean, I cannot remember the time when I didn't have splits in my hair, no matter how I care and how I try to protect and condition my hair. It's so frustrating! Just like spidermom, I've been between BSL and waist for years just because of splits, or because my intolerance of my own splits. I don't have too many splits; in fact, people say that they don't notice them, but they are, as far as I can see, less or more, mostly everywhere! And I don't know what to do.

Currently I'm trying to catch up a good balance between letting my hair grow and trimming off to rid of splits. I do S&D, but they are still there. I'm on my way to hip now and sometimes I just want to trim a couple of inches off just because splits bother me so much, but I'll let my hair grow to a firmly hip, and then I'll try to do some small trim.

I think the proper balance between trimming and non-trimming would be the best. And yes - I suppose some people just have hair prone to splitting... So I try to accept it.

Piyo
January 22nd, 2012, 07:08 PM
My ends split pretty badly because I use to heat style and dye my hair. I find S&Ding to be calming. I leave a pair of hair scissors on the end table next to the couch, so whenever I'm sitting around I just go at 'em!

With regular sniping I do feel it makes a difference, I don't want to let them get out of control and have to do a whole trim. Since I am growing out layers though I get them all up and down my hair. Such a pain.

AnimaSola3o4
January 22nd, 2012, 07:24 PM
I've resolved myself to only checking for split ends when my hair is in braids. I check the tassels (way more feasible than unbraided ends), and I check the hairs that escape the braid along the whole length. I think theoretically those hairs are the most likely to be split anyway.

That's my only S&D strategy. And even that just started recently. So I am of the belief that S&D'ing is not necessarily required. I guess it depends on if they are readily visible or not. I don't know how anyone else can see my split ends if it takes me a magnifying glass and a white computer screen to see them! ;)

Yame
January 22nd, 2012, 07:25 PM
I'm trying to relax my bad attitude toward split ends. I've been varying around the same length for the past three years because of them. I keep thinking "one more big trim, then my hair will be in such good condition that it won't split like that anymore." What a crock!

I'm on the same boat. Actually it's not so much the split ends that bother me, but just generally having scraggly ends and an uneven hemline that always drive me to trim on a too-regular basis.

So two or three months ago when I posted my last new thread here on LHC, I was complaining about my lack of growth. My hair was growing unevenly and if I kept trimming it to even it out, it would never get past a certain spot. And I couldn't help but keep trimming it, because I was taking a picture of my progress every month, so I was really obsessing over how my ends looked.

I decided to just leave it, now. I had to stop taking progress pictures so that they wouldn't bother me so much. I feel like my ends are not in good condition, but at least my hair is getting past the point that it was before and closer to my next landmark. I know this just from feeling it against my body, but I am not measuring or taking photos.

I am going to grow it past this next landmark (BCL), and once it's about an inch past, I'll get an inch trim. Hopefully that will even out the ends and make my hair look a bit nicer, so it'll be decent-looking at BCL. Then, I will grow it a few inches past tailbone and get a big trim so that it looks nice at tailbone. Tailbone is my goal, so at that point I can keep it there for a while and get regular trims. I am hoping that way, my hemline will be nice and thick at my goal length.

Mory
January 22nd, 2012, 07:27 PM
I tend to ignore my split ends and boy do I have alot of them! That is my fault in letting a friend bleach and dye my hair skittles colors. lol. If I were to try the S&D method right not I'm afraid I would end up bald. >.>

cheetahfast
January 22nd, 2012, 07:37 PM
I don't think 100s of hairs fall off daily...at least not from my head!

When I was trying to collect hairs for a test strand it took a while to get enough.

Split ends can diminish the health and ability to grow long hair.
When I get them I'll trim it a little, my hair frizzes when the ends are bad.

Carissamarie08
January 22nd, 2012, 08:23 PM
I don't care about splits...no matter what anyone does you cant avoid them..

Shahada
January 23rd, 2012, 12:06 AM
I am just hitting waist length and I will tell you that the more you attend to your splits, the longer your hair will get. Sound contradictory, but if your hair splits, most likely, one day it will BREAK. And breakage is something you aren't always aware of. 1/4 inch here, 1/2 inch there falls off. My commitment was to search and destroy using a special method (I need to youtube) that gets every split without taking off length. I do a normal shaping trim every 3-6 months and do my search and destroys every month or so.

Now, when my hair was shoulder, apl and even bsl, I had tons of split happening. Once I made my commitments, the splits are less and less. I rarely find splits and when I do, there aren't TONS like it used to be.

CashmereHair
January 23rd, 2012, 01:37 AM
Yeah Man traps around 100 hairs a day but not just from the head but out of all body hairs as well.
Think that if you lost 100 hairs on your head every day and we have "only" 90.000 hairs, so we will renew our mane every 3 years .. so would terminal length be: 3x12cm = 36cm / 15inches

auburntressed
January 23rd, 2012, 02:06 AM
I feel like Spidermom! Doesn't matter how much I get trimmed off, every time I hold my hair up to bright light, I find splits.

I have at this point figured out the reason for this - most of my splits are not on the bottom edge of my hair, but higher up along the length. So I spend a good deal of time on S&D. I have enough of a taper that it can become daunting, so I TRY to not squint too hard as I'm searching for split shoulder length hairs. I try to search only the hairs from APL down, for the sake of my eyes.

When my hair is in double braids, I'll do a quick once-over along the lengths of them to check for splits. I'll usually find three or four on each braid. Then I'll check through the tassels, and usually find about the same amount. This takes only about ten minutes at most, and I wear my hair this way a few times a week.

But when I sit down to seriously S&D (once or twice a month), I can easily spend hours searching through my hair, and STILL have splits left. It is so frustrating and dejecting.

In the past, when I have mentioned my frustration with split ends, I have had friends gloat to me that THEY never get split ends, because their hair is healthy. And tell me that my hair must be incredibly unhealthy, or else I wouldn't get them. This is told to me by people whose hair is half my length and typically looks dull, dry, and is often chemically processed. I don't get how they can look at my hair and think it is unhealthy, given the comparison. But they do, solely on my word that my ends get splits in them! It is like the shine and length completely escape their notice.

MonaLisa
January 23rd, 2012, 02:14 AM
I guess some people have super healthy and resiliant hair and can get away without splits...
Mine is fine and wavy and often worn down..so I do get them..
A lot? They are not obvious and hair doesn't look damaged..but when I search them, I find more than I'd like..and not just in ends...but everywhere. Guess I would have to make my BCL hair shoulder length in order to remove all, or S&D like a maniac...

I simply choose not to. It isn't perfect, and I don't know if it ever can be.
I trim once in 3 months and S&D once a month or so. Sounds reasonable.

Nannanej
January 23rd, 2012, 02:24 AM
I don't care about splits...no matter what anyone does you cant avoid them..

I don't think it's a matter of avoiding them completely as much as just keeping them at a level where they don't hinder growth and/or look terrible. I couldn't get past bsl until I started s&d-ing.

furnival
January 23rd, 2012, 03:07 AM
Don't we shed 100s of hairs on a daily basis anyway?
How likely is it that 1 of them will be a split end?
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone? LOL


Hmmm... If we have about one hundred thousand hairs, and we lose one hundred daily, the chance of one of them being a split end is one in a thousand...
So no, not very likely.
:p

Carissamarie08
January 23rd, 2012, 03:10 AM
I just did my first S&D session and it was so long and tedious...I don't think I can do that again

Of the Fae
January 23rd, 2012, 05:09 AM
Well, how would you even know that the hair which has a split at that given time will not grow/be on your head for a few years? Splits can occur in shorter hairs or hairs that have broken off due to snagging/pulling/ There is no way to possibly find out how old those hairs are :S
The splits on the ends of the hair- I recommend S&D if they are few and a trim if all the ends appear split. Keep the hair healthy, is more important than length to me!

akurah
January 23rd, 2012, 07:04 AM
Splits cause tangles, hence the fuss.

HeartcoreLegend
January 23rd, 2012, 06:37 PM
Splits cause tangles, hence the fuss.

I don't think you can avoid tangles though. Anytime you braid, bun, do an updo, etc. you are putting it at risk. I think it's only in the movies where girls will unravel their hair and it's like a pantene commercial. LOL

I've tried more complicated updos, just cause I was tired of a bun, but it was a huge mistake cause each time, the hair twirls around and gets tangled with other hairs around the scunci band thingy.

Madora
January 23rd, 2012, 06:43 PM
I don't think you can avoid tangles though. Anytime you braid, bun, do an updo, etc. you are putting it at risk. I think it's only in the movies where girls will unravel their hair and it's like a pantene commercial. LOL

I've tried more complicated updos, just cause I was tired of a bun, but it was a huge mistake cause each time, the hair twirls around and gets tangled with other hairs around the scunci band thingy.

Successful braiding or bunning is largely dependant upon how you manage the strands. The strands need to be kept as separate as possible each time you do a crossover in braiding. Also, learning how to section your hair when doing updos can help greatly when styling. It goes w/o saying that your hair should be thoroughly detangled before you attempt the hairstyle.

julya
January 23rd, 2012, 06:56 PM
I do sometimes check my shed hairs to see if they have a split end or not, and usually it's not. And I have tons of split ends.

long&blonde
January 23rd, 2012, 07:28 PM
Totally agree with you. Split ends don't bother me in the least. Nor my hemline. Lust for length. Tangles can make me a bit nuts.

akurah
January 24th, 2012, 08:40 AM
I don't think you can avoid tangles though. Anytime you braid, bun, do an updo, etc. you are putting it at risk. I think it's only in the movies where girls will unravel their hair and it's like a pantene commercial. LOL

I've tried more complicated updos, just cause I was tired of a bun, but it was a huge mistake cause each time, the hair twirls around and gets tangled with other hairs around the scunci band thingy.

The only tangles I've ever had that were so bad I've had to physically cut them out were the product of split ends. The other tangles can usually be worked with.

torrilin
January 24th, 2012, 09:15 AM
I don't think you can avoid tangles though. Anytime you braid, bun, do an updo, etc. you are putting it at risk. I think it's only in the movies where girls will unravel their hair and it's like a pantene commercial. LOL

I've tried more complicated updos, just cause I was tired of a bun, but it was a huge mistake cause each time, the hair twirls around and gets tangled with other hairs around the scunci band thingy.

This doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I've got my hair in twin braids right now, because I burned my hand and I really shouldn't be using it much for a few days. A friend did them for me, and they should last 3-4 days. She did the braids the same way I would, so she started on detangled hair, and she did plain English braids. So the hairs that are attached to my head are immobile at the roots and the tips... no chance for them to cause tangles. Hairs that I shed while the braids are in will be trapped at the tips, but not at the root. So they can cause some tangling, but not a whole lot, and it'll be pretty close to my head.

When I take the braids out, it won't look like a Pantene commercial, but it won't be badly tangled at all (which is the whole point of doing the braids). I'll undo the braids the reverse of how they were put in, so my hair will stay sectioned. Then I'll use my fingers to comb out the shed hairs and get rid of the tangles they caused. I'll start at the tips and work my way up to the roots.

My hair is pretty slippery, like most fine and straight hair. If it's not sectioned carefully so the sections stay separate, it forms an unholy knotted mess... but you'd notice that long before you got to the end of a braid. If you mess up like that, you can't do more than a couple twists before it's impossible to braid further.

Yes, it's best to limit how much you handle your hair... but there's plenty of styles where a small amount of handling up front lets you go days without having to detangle more than once.

Kumiko033
January 24th, 2012, 09:25 AM
I've never S&D'd I simply don't get it for some reason.
I have never, EVER had a split end. Not even when I was younger and had classic length.
I do have extremely coarse hair - which is not a blessing! it's so hard to make it feel soft but maybe this is one of those lucky things?

Or does coarse hair look different when damaged?

blondie9912
January 24th, 2012, 09:37 AM
OMG! I'm really happy for you, but stories like this make me CRAZY! I trim and trim and trim, I don't bleach or heat style or brush wet hair - nothing that can be said to cause splits - but every time I look at my hair with a bright light I can find split ends, even if I just had 7 inches cut off.

Aw man. Who knows, maybe I'm not all that lucky :p I remember jojo saying that she went 2 years without splits when growing out a pixie, but once her hair reached waist she found she had to trim much more often. This will probably happen to me, too. The only reason I don't have that many splits is probably because I'm still around APL.

kitschy
January 24th, 2012, 09:52 AM
I too am convinced it is a salon ploy. My grandmother never knew about regular trims nor split ends. In fact my great-grandmother used to singe the end of her hair to seal in her life-force (or so she believed).

People can be really gullible.

spidermom
January 24th, 2012, 10:48 AM
This doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I've got my hair in twin braids right now, because I burned my hand and I really shouldn't be using it much for a few days. A friend did them for me, and they should last 3-4 days. She did the braids the same way I would, so she started on detangled hair, and she did plain English braids. So the hairs that are attached to my head are immobile at the roots and the tips... no chance for them to cause tangles. Hairs that I shed while the braids are in will be trapped at the tips, but not at the root. So they can cause some tangling, but not a whole lot, and it'll be pretty close to my head..

Make sense or not, my hairs tangle like crazy in braids. It's the shorter hairs that work their way out of the braid. Within an hour of braiding, my braids are already starting to look fluffy, and the longer I leave it braided, the more hairs work their way free. If I leave them hang, they swing around, and the free hairs knot up with each other. It's a nightmare!

MissHair
January 24th, 2012, 11:31 AM
Ive noticed an amazing change from S&D. It's stopped me from going to the salon to have a trim many times! It immediately feels softer and easier to comb through. But yes, sometimes I do freak out too much about split ends, but like anything else with hair it becomes obsessive for me.

sun-kissed
January 24th, 2012, 11:46 AM
Make sense or not, my hairs tangle like crazy in braids. It's the shorter hairs that work their way out of the braid. Within an hour of braiding, my braids are already starting to look fluffy, and the longer I leave it braided, the more hairs work their way free. If I leave them hang, they swing around, and the free hairs knot up with each other. It's a nightmare!

I agree, braiding my hair is pretty much the worse thing I can do to it. Even if it's perfectly detangled and straight before braiding, the braid quickly becomes frizzy and unkempt looking, and I have to take it down while trying not to break any of the tangled hairs. Perhaps it has to do with my hair, but braiding is not a very healthy option for me and I believe it often does more harm than good.

TiffanieJean
January 24th, 2012, 11:58 AM
If you use heat to style your hair, trim's are a very necessary part of keeping your hair healthy. I do a dusting every 3 months or so (less than 1/4 an inch), and go to get my hair cut about 1 time a year.


I S&D every once in a while, but I didn't know that it was actually a recommended practice lol.


Split ends really are horrible... The real damage happens as they travel up your hair shaft, as others have said.


One way to prevent the splits is to deep condition your hair regularly. There are many ways to do this. If you want something easy you can get Aussie's 3 Min Miracle. Use it once a week or more.

haibane
January 24th, 2012, 04:17 PM
I am just hitting waist length and I will tell you that the more you attend to your splits, the longer your hair will get. Sound contradictory, but if your hair splits, most likely, one day it will BREAK. And breakage is something you aren't always aware of. 1/4 inch here, 1/2 inch there falls off.

This was (well is) true for me. I think pre-lhc my split related breakage got so bad I hit false terminal because my hair never seemed to get longer. My hair doesn't break clean off, but it splits and then one half of the split breaks off, and then the other. So with enough splits my hair broke off as fast as it could grow.

With better LHC care my hair doesn't barely split anymore, and it's getting longer again. And whenever I see splits it's a good warning I need to step it up with the hair care.

QMacrocarpa
January 24th, 2012, 04:57 PM
I hate to think of all the hours being spent searching for splits. If S&D is truly required to grow my (split-prone) hair to waist-length, then I won't get there. It would be a deal-breaker for me.

Trims are another thing, and I self-trim as needed, when I notice the ends getting velcro-like and short bits of broken hair when I detangle. Nothing like an "every 4-6 weeks" schedule though, where it's hard to see how any length can be gained. Just once or twice a year (at this point).

When I wore my hair down all the time and stopped cutting it in high school, it definitely reached a point of breaking off as fast as it grew (and was wretched to detangle). That was around BSL.

jeanniet
January 24th, 2012, 06:05 PM
I don't think you can avoid tangles though. Anytime you braid, bun, do an updo, etc. you are putting it at risk. I think it's only in the movies where girls will unravel their hair and it's like a pantene commercial. LOL

I've tried more complicated updos, just cause I was tired of a bun, but it was a huge mistake cause each time, the hair twirls around and gets tangled with other hairs around the scunci band thingy.
Updos are much less tangling for me. It's one reason I wear them so much, because otherwise I'd have to detangle numerous times a day. It really just depends.

torrilin
January 24th, 2012, 09:15 PM
Make sense or not, my hairs tangle like crazy in braids. It's the shorter hairs that work their way out of the braid. Within an hour of braiding, my braids are already starting to look fluffy, and the longer I leave it braided, the more hairs work their way free. If I leave them hang, they swing around, and the free hairs knot up with each other. It's a nightmare!

Huh. I do get some tangling in braids, but nothing even REMOTELY like wearing it loose. But if I wear my hair down, it'll attack my face, and start forming multiple matted proto dreads over the course of one day. If I go two days without thoroughly combing out my hair, there's full on felt in there. If I'm willing to blow an 8 hour day on it, I can detangle it. Three? Not possible. I'll be cutting out tangles, because it's no longer possible to detangle.

I will start having problems with the braids I have in now, but it'd take more than 4 days for it to get close to as unpleasant as one day of wearing my hair loose.

When I'm ready to take them out tho, I'll do it like a regular detangling session, so in the shower with lots of conditioner and finger combing to start.

The halo hairs and natural layers *look* hideous through all this. My braids are already kinda caterpillary. It'll get worse looking. But the alternative is wanting to shave my head, or spending a bunch of time using my burnt hand to try and take care of my hair.

And a single braid isn't as durable. My hair will cheerfully form dreads in a single braid... which is why I've got twin braids in. I can easily imagine needing to go for more braids if my hair were thicker.

Sushi144
January 25th, 2012, 04:23 PM
Simply : I used to have split ends on like half of my hair. It looked ugly and ratty. I began S&D, and it looks much better. End of story.

spidermom
January 25th, 2012, 04:31 PM
I don't know which is worse for me, torrilin - braids or loose. They are pretty close to equally bad. The braided bun is a really nice, safe option, though. They stay better than unbraided buns, too.

I was combing out my hair last night and came across a split open about 5-6 inches, and even the split ends on the ends of the split ends were split. I think that's about the worst I've found.

melusine963
April 22nd, 2012, 04:16 AM
Simply : I used to have split ends on like half of my hair. It looked ugly and ratty. I began S&D, and it looks much better. End of story.
This, in a nutshell. S&Ding is a pain, but I only have to do it thoroughly a few times a year. The rest of the time, a quick check while I'm brushing or when my hair is braided is enough to stem the damage tide.

Scarlett brooke
April 22nd, 2012, 04:33 AM
I like having long hair but I do colour bleach and use heat on it. So lots of splits for me! I carry scissors round with me so I can s and d when I'm bored! My sister has beautiful thick curly waist length hair and hers has bleach high lights through it! She rarely gets splits and she always wears I loose and tumbling! Mine tangles like mad if I don't snip the split Velcro ends!

tori93
April 22nd, 2012, 04:39 AM
even if my hair looked okay with split ends, i would still trim them. Just because the thought of having split ends means that the hair is damaged in my opinion. I would be worried that they might get worse or travel up the hair.

juliaxena
April 22nd, 2012, 05:13 AM
I don't have the luck to lose my splits through shedding. In fact I don't think it would be luck at all. Damaged hair breaks off and prevents gaining lenght this way. I need trims. In fact I had one last week when I would really need a major chop. I am sooooo not happy about the state of my hair right now.

afu
April 22nd, 2012, 06:24 AM
I don't tend to get many actual split ends, but what i do get is white spot damage. The spots are rarely higher than 1cm from the end (usually lower). i know that the white spot will cause the hair to break and then the damaged end may itself form a split. For me its a personal thing, i hate the look of splits/white spots as it makes me think my hair is really damaged. So i do s&d. I also like the look of fairytale hemlines so it works better for me to s&d than to trim/microtrim