How much split ends is too much?

[CurlyCurves]

:(

Just done a quick S&D and found quite a lot of splits near the back/middle of my hair.

It wasn't like nearly every strand was split, but there were some pretty bad ones.

I get really stressed out about these things. My hair is, what I class as, healthy, but I am panicking about these splits. And I refuse to do a trim as;

A) I don't want to lose my hard earned length - duh.

B) My hair is literally, strand by strand, different lengths. The splits I see are not all at the same level, so trimming wouldn't get rid of hardly any of them as it is.

So ... in your humble opinion, how much splits constitutes unhealthy hair? How much is okay to leave behind, if at all?

[IvanaGil]

I have a lot of splits too mainly because my hair is so fine a susceptible to breakage. I'd suggest to keep S&Ding because even when I get a trim, barely any of them are gone and it's not worth the length you'll lose.

[CurlyCurves]

I have a lot of splits too mainly because my hair is so fine a susceptible to breakage. I'd suggest to keep S&Ding because even when I get a trim, barely any of them are gone and it's not worth the length you'll lose.

Yeah, I will. It's upsetting to see, though. Makes me feel like chopping my hair off and starting again :(

[lapushka]

Chopping it off is not necessary, IMO. Just keep up with the S&D missions and it'll be okay. Surely all of it isn't split... right?

[Dovetail]

I do S&D quite often, I have pretty fine hair, and a lot of things make it split. I think sneezing makes it split! I usually do the twist and snip sort of method, but sometims I'll braid it and snip off the splits that way. If you are noticing a lot of them though it could have something to do with your routine?

If your growing out damage that could be one cause, your pillow case, how you sit against chairs (do they rub the back of your head?) how you sit when you drive, all kinds of things like that. I've noticed that my hair gets really scuffed up when I sleep, since I don't have a special pillow case or anything.

Hopefully someone more experienced has some ideas on how to help you!

[Seeshami]

Pretty sure every single stand of my hair above my bottom hemline is split, crimped or white dotted. I halfheartedly pretend to s&d once in a blue moon and I only seek scissors when I find a horrible one. Long hair will split, it's old on the ends. The only thing to do is grow and then blunt your hem line eventually and keep treating your hair well. But no matter what hair is going to split.

[juliaxena]

If your hair is virgin and you take good care of it and still get splits, cutting it won't help. In such case I think you just need to learn to accept them.

[lunalocks]

Since I have been oiling (1 to 2 drops calendula or baby oil) on lower 2/3 of length at night and bunning (in a seashell bun for great waves!) for sleep, my end hairs are stronger and I have fewer splits. The splits I do have are on the shorter hairs and where damage (from a number of things) occurred. I just do intensive s and d missions every few weeks. There are fewer and fewer as time goes on. Good luck.

[Meganbnsn]

What is S&D?

[Iolanthe13]

It might be worth trying catnip tea rinses. They've kept splits at bay in my damaged hair, over time - I went back to regular conditioner last week because I was travelling, and the splits have started to crop up again, though.

[RileyJane]

I used to have the same problem. Even say, 10 split ends makes u frustrated! What really helped me was: deep conditioning the ends. Plus argon oil the ends after u deep condition, and try wearing your hair up ( using clips that arnt damaging or scrunchies ) more often and you'll notice how your hair all of a sudden doesn't split, or as often.

[catamonica]

I just s&d. Whenever I see split ends, I just cut. I have short pieces throughout my hair to.

[Zesty]

IMO if your hair overall looks and feels healthy, seeing quite a few splits when you S&D shouldn't be cause for alarm. Especially as someone with fairly thick hair, I know I see a lot even when my hair in general is quite healthy and pretty. Just S&D and try to meditate or something and not worry about it, and know that I totally get your anxiety, because I feel that way every once in a while too. :flower:

[spidermom]

The thing about split ends is that they often start at the bottom of your longest hairs, then split and break off, split and break off until the split that you see looks like it's on a much shorter and newer hair, but that often is not the case. That's why small trims on a regular basis are a good idea. You want to catch those splits while they're still new and small and barely noticeable.

[Lostsoule77]

I think it all depends on you how many splits are too many. I just keep a couple pair of hair scissors around and clip them when I see them. If your splits are higher up than you want to cut then cutting isn't going to up. Just keep up with doing S&D and you'll find less the longer you do it. Good luck.

[sazzie88]

I have the same problem as you and to be honest I think s&d might be contributingto it. My hair was almost bsl a year ago when I cut to a short bob. It was all cut very bluntly with no layers so a large amountwas cut off. Since s&d ing my hair is really uneven and I have splits all over that a visit to a salon cannot mend. I wish I had done the usual 6 monthly visit to the salon with my own micro trimming in between at least then it would be even.

I'm stopping s&ding because it seems to make mine worse. My hair also looks like I have layers in the front just from the amount I s&d. I'm going to quit it and then every trim I make will eventually catch every split. Good luck

[jacqueline101]

I do mine once a month.

[Unicorn]

What is S&D?
Search & Destroy, this refers to examining the hair for split ends and snipping off the individual split end, using sharp scissors kept for that purpose.

Unicorn

[lmfbs]

I have the same problem as you and to be honest I think s&d might be contributingto it. My hair was almost bsl a year ago when I cut to a short bob. It was all cut very bluntly with no layers so a large amountwas cut off. Since s&d ing my hair is really uneven and I have splits all over that a visit to a salon cannot mend. I wish I had done the usual 6 monthly visit to the salon with my own micro trimming in between at least then it would be even.

I'm stopping s&ding because it seems to make mine worse. My hair also looks like I have layers in the front just from the amount I s&d. I'm going to quit it and then every trim I make will eventually catch every split. Good luck

Wow. How often were you S&Ding? I do it a couple of times a week and there's no noticeable difference to my hemline. You must have been cutting a lot!

[petali]

I also have a lot of split ends, and hairs at different lengths :( I S&D a LOT, but I have fine hair, and quite a bit of it, so I can never get all my hairs. It takes me an hour to thoroughly S&D one inch of hair. Maybe there are techniques to do it faster.

[jojo]

I prefer to keep my ends trimmed when needed than s&d I can't think of anything more tedious! My hair tends to break rather than split. The longer the hair the more likely it is to split anyway in my experience anyway, life's to short to worry about them unless every hair is split that is!

[CurlyCurves]

Thank you, everyone, I really appreciate it. I think I'll just keep on with the S&Ds, keep caring for my hair and do a big trim when I hit goal.