Question about S&D (and other)

[DarkCurls]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to the site, and like a lot of newbies (and probably the older ones too) am still impressed every day by the huge amount of information I've found. I've read a bunch of articles which raised a few questions. I kind of want to try everything out... but I won't. :p My poor hair. I've already determined a "routine" I want to follow, but have two questions for "additional" stuff.

- I found a small pot of 100% shea butter at my beauty store which I usually go to for make-up and perfume and am debating whether to go back and by it... it's 50% off but still expensive for the teeny-tiny size. I was wondering how much you used, how often, and how you used it? to sort of see how long it could last me. And what results you got.

- S&D : this was my main question. I'm kind of puzzled over the method. I hate going for trims because I always get the kind of stylist who doesn't know how to cut curly hair (thankfully my curls just end up springing back the same way no matter how they're cut) and who cuts off an inch when you asked for half an inch. I don't want to trim my own hair because I dislike cutting my hair in general, I just get that counter-productive feel. I do have some split ends, though (like everyone). So I'm very interested in S&D and have ordered a pair of hair scissors which I will receive Wedneday. I don't think I'll have trouble with unevenness because my hair springs up anyway and is already layered. However, I did have a question...
How is S&D at all efficient? :confused: The way I see it, there is no way to get all... or even half... or even a quarter of those split ends snipped away, even if you spent your lifetime on it. I mean, there's a lot of hairs on my head.
Not that trims are very efficient, either, since split ends aren't always on the lower parts of the hair and all... But I was wondering, anyway, if anyone could explain.
Also, do you people out there who S&D still trim? My goal is to preferably avoid the stylist's for a very long time. Is it possible to S&D without trimming, without getting too-damaged hair? Personally my hair is damaged before and after a haircut; I get the feeling trims don't do much for me, but I was wondering whether S&D helped.

I guess that was three or four questions. :D Thanks.

(I think I saw a recent S&D thread, but couldn't find it again. Maybe it was just my imagination?)

[Mayflower]

Even if you only get 30% of your splits, it's still efficient in my opinion because those are 30% less split ends. Honestly, my first few S&D-sessions took me hours because there were so many after years and years of hair abuse. Now, I can look at my hair for an hour and still don't find more than maybe 7 or 8 splits, depending on how long ago my last session was.
For me, less splits means less tangles, and less tangles means less splits (because I don't have to work out knots every two seconds). Plus I just dislike the look of split ends, I always notice them on other people. My hair breaks off less when I S&D regularly too, it looks healthier and a bit thicker at the ends even.

So, the first few times you will spend a lot of time on it, but I find it rather relaxing anyway:p. If you do it consistently, you will see improvement and you'll be able to stretch your sessions further and further.

I don't feel the need to get trims if I don't have split ends, but I do trim a lot to get rid of layers and achieve a thicker hemline. But I could go months and months without trims if I S&D and take care of my hair. Just make sure your hair gets a lot of moisture to prevent those splits, and be gentle when you comb or brush your hair.
HTH :).

[spidermom]

I can't say as I believe that S&D is very productive because every time I look, I find plenty of splits. However, when I see one, and I tend to look when I'm in a strong light and have time on my hands, I want to get rid of it. So I do S&D, especially when my hair is in 2 braids so that I can easily snip the splits that pop out of my braid, but it really seems pretty hopeless. I also do regular small trims so that my ends stay shaped, but most of my splits are not on the longest ends. Hopefully over time I'll get rid of a number of them that way.

I bought a shower filter to get the chloride, etc, out of the water, and I hope that I can reduce the numbers of splits that way.

[DarkCurls]

I'm impressed by your results, Mayflower (I mean... wow), so thanks for the motivation. I think, though, that until I try it I'll have the same "hopeless" outlook as spidermom.

[longhairedlady]

I S&D every few months or so. Like Mayflower said in the beginning it took alot longer, but now I have to really look for splits, but they're there unfortunately!

I dont use shea butter, but i imagine that it probably doesnt take much so it should last you quite a while.

[DarkCurls]

All right then, thank you (all three of you) for the answers. :p I guess I'll just go with it and see. Apparently it works for some people, so it can't hurt to try. :)

[heidi w.]

Shea butter works well for a lot of people. There are some recipes on another board of this website that once you make enough posts you will be given access to. One must post 100 posts, minimum, to finally gain access to a number of LHC's other boards, such as the meeting threads for finding about meets in your area and to post about meets that have occurred, or meets you've been to.

I'm thinking of Fox' Shea Butter deep conditioner recipe. I'm also thinking of Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment, known as SMT. If I recall, that had Shea Butter in it as well. Some use it for oiling.....but not a lot. I've never tried it.

ETA: It just came to my mind that these posts may no longer be on the current LHC? Maybe someone who has some kind of access to an older post may still have these recipes. There's was a crash of LHC a few years back, and older info like this may have been lost in that crash. END ETA

S&D stands for Search and Destroy and is a term on LHC only. The real term that applies is either microtrimming or dusting according to Mr. George Michael, where this method comes from. He discusses it in his hair care book which is now somewhat difficult to find and acquire.

Basically it means you trim off splits and other forms of damage, such as white dots, one at a time. The way it's done is that one takes a strip of hair that is somewhat smaller than the totality of your hair, twists it, and can upstroke along the twist and little hairs will stick out. The hairs that show a split or some kind of damage can then be trimmed off with a simple pair of decent scissors, that is used ONLY for cutting hair. Don't use really big scissors, such as one might use for cutting fabric or cutting paper. You need a smaller pair of scissors. Easier to control. Do this against a background color opposite one's hair color so you can see the hair fairly well, and also in great light such as the sun or a halogen light. Don't go crazy trimming stuff off; affirm that a given hair is damaged before cutting. Cut a bit above the damage where the hair is not compromised nor too close to this breakage point. I have found if I do this too much, I can somewhat thin my ends or hair length even. Just take it easy. This is a tool for managing hair, not for entirely fixing hair. The key is good light and work against a background that helps you see your hair better/best.

S&D allows one to get damage out of the length of one's hair so you don't have to cut it all off to remove damage. And yes, I still trim my hair even though I might S&D. I was surprised when I visited the Madora salon for a hair trim. They hardly removed any splits at all, perhaps about 2... and then carried on with the trim of the hemline. Me and my friend we were both quite surprised, but I must admit that the salon doesn't have the best light, unless they've got a secret S&D room that I don't know about. LOL (I don't think they have one. They showed me all around. They were very nice and spent a lot of time with me.) They really liked my friend who had studied the GM long hair care system and knew it somewhat. He now no longer works on people's hair, which is an unfortunate loss. But all his clients have moved on. He still trims my hair though. Thankfully. He's quite trustworthy.

I can assure you that you're correct that you will never get them all, but it's better to get some than none at all.

heidi w.

[Madora]

I S and D every other day..perhaps 10 minutes at most.

While this activity might seem like pitting David against Goliath, I believe that getting rid of damage, no matter how little, is a plus.

Of course trimming the ends is a much more efficient method..but still, every bit of damage you remove, by whatever method, is worth it.

I used to trim every 3 to 4 months, but now am going to try just every 6 months.

Split ends are usually due to dryness, so keeping your hair moisturized is a good idea.

You might want to check out Ktani's catnip article re: split ends:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=118

[heidi w.]

I advocate Madora's recommendation to keep hair well conditioned, to help to also prevent further damage.

heidi w.

[jacqueline101]

I did s&d when my hair had dry ends that were breaking off I did that to keep the damage at bay. I'd say each hair type has its own s&d time as to how often.

[elthia]

I find that the more I S&D, and the more I moisturize the fewer split ends I have. So the first S&D sessions were massive and time consuming, but now I can just spend a few minutes twice a week.

[juliaxena]

The last 4 inches of my hair is damaged and the hairs that are meant to split will split, unless I just cut those 4 inches off. I was doing a lot of S&D and all I did was thinned my ends, not reducing the overall number of splits. I just found splits moving higher up the more I S&D. So I cut off almost 2 inches and stopped S&D. I still have splits but at least they are staying further down, my ends are not thinning even more than from breakage alone and I am way less frustrated. I will cut 2 more inches off in 3 months and this is what I will be doing till I get all the damage off. I don't see damage travelling up anymore now (still do the thorough inspections) and my scissors are quality. I may be the onlynone but S&D is not a blessing for me. Perhaps when I grow my damage out but not now.

[DarkCurls]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. :)
Thanks for the catnip recommendation, I would never have thought of that. :confused: I have cats at home, and they play with my hair already. Wonder how they'd feel about catnip.

Ouch julieaxena, I feel for you. I think that would have driven me mad. Thankfully my hair, though it has a lot of split ends, is not damaged to that point.

[juliaxena]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. :)
Thanks for the catnip recommendation, I would never have thought of that. :confused: I have cats at home, and they play with my hair already. Wonder how they'd feel about catnip.

Ouch julieaxena, I feel for you. I think that would have driven me mad. Thankfully my hair, though it has a lot of split ends, is not damaged to that point.

Yeah, I guess when the hair is too far gone, S&D is not the way to go. I should have known it would happen, with my hair being fine and bleeching it. I had no splits at all at shoulder so I thought it will be OK. Not so much LOL. I think if your hair is mostly healthy, you will benefit from S&D though.