I want to S&D but Im pretty nervous about it

[spookyghost]

Can I mess this up? I have never done anything to my hair by myself. I have never trimmed my bangs or colored my hair. My hair is pretty damaged almost BSL. I have a few long layers in the back and I have those awful white dots. And the splits are embarrasing.

I cant do my whole head can I? I mean theres no why I will be able to do my back without missing some-or alot? So to get as much as I can is good enough right? Im pretty scared my hair is splitting all the way up the shaft. Well about three to four inches from my part is beautiful and healthy hair of course. The rest is flyaways everywhere. I know its damage and Im just praying its not spits going up the whole strand of hair. The flyaways seem to stop at this one spot and they havent gotten any closer to my part so Im hoping.

So Im hoping to get used to S&D and maybe I can get rid of some of the splits!

[petali]

good luck with it! For me, it is very rare to have long splits, because they used to break off at a certain point. S&D is kind of fun for me :)

[Vivalagina]

I just do a section at a time. You aren't chopping off swaths of hair, so it's not noticeable when you trim off a split. I tend to ignore the white dots and take care of those when I get a trim.

[lmfbs]

TBH if your hair is that badly damaged, you might want to consider getting a decent trim of a couple of inches first.

You can't really mess up S&D, although if a huge amount of your hair is damaged as it sounds, you could well end up with a very uneven hemline.

If I were in your position, I would be getting a good trim first to get rid of the bulk of the damage, then use S&D to tackle the damage further up the shaft.

[Madora]

Can I mess this up? I have never done anything to my hair by myself. I have never trimmed my bangs or colored my hair. My hair is pretty damaged almost BSL. I have a few long layers in the back and I have those awful white dots. And the splits are embarrasing.

I cant do my whole head can I? I mean theres no why I will be able to do my back without missing some-or alot? So to get as much as I can is good enough right? Im pretty scared my hair is splitting all the way up the shaft. Well about three to four inches from my part is beautiful and healthy hair of course. The rest is flyaways everywhere. I know its damage and Im just praying its not spits going up the whole strand of hair. The flyaways seem to stop at this one spot and they havent gotten any closer to my part so Im hoping.

So Im hoping to get used to S&D and maybe I can get rid of some of the splits!

The only way you can go wrong with S and D is to use scissors that are not sharp. If your shears are dull, when you snip off that split, the shears will not cut it properly and you'll end up with a "white dot", which is damage. So make sure your scissors are sharp, and don't use them for anything but S and D.

Be sure you use good lighting when you do it! Don't ruin your eyes. It helps to have a background contrasting color...i.e. if you have light hair, have a dark background and vice versa.

You might also want to look into stopping the splits before they appear. Splits are usually due to either mechanical damage or lack of moisture in your hair.

Article on helping retain moisture thru the use of mineral oil:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225

Article on using catnip rinses to combat splits:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=118

[spookyghost]

Thanks for all the advice!:) Im going to pick up some hair sheers at Sallys and just do the best I can. I had four inches taken off a year ago in May and micro trims until last month I had a half inch taken off. I had been oiling and using macadamia reconstructive mask until last month my hd said she thought I needed protein and I was using way too much oils in my hair. Before she ever said that I had tried a protein pack from Sallys, I wish I could remember the name, and it didnt do anything for my hair. It looked drier than before I used it. And I did use a good moisturizing conditioner afterwards too. So I figured my hair must not need protein. So I thought my hd was crazy when she suggested I use a protein S&C from the salon but I figured nothing else seems to be working so I might as well try it. And she told me to stay away from the oils until my next visit so she can see what my hair looks like with just the S&C. I wasnt over joyed about that but like I said, nothing seems to be working for me so what the heck right?!

Well I do like the S&C. My hair is damaged so its not like anything is going to make it look beautiful but the S&C does make it look a little better. So I am happy about that but very confused about my hair. I have fine ash color hair that has bleach highlights that are covered up by color while the highlights grow out. My hair does not like Mane and Tail, coconut oil, or protein packs. But it did like the salon protein shampoo. I really thought my hair needed moisture:confused:

Its just very confusing. I want help my hair come back from the dead! I know damaged hair cant be fixed but I can still treat it really good to at least help it out and camoflauge it till the damage grows out!

I guess S&D is heading in the right direction right?!

[lechatn0ir]

I say get a couple of inches cut off since it's that damaged! healthier short hair is better than damaged long hair. Plus if it's healthy it will grow out faster.

[minxe]

Don't be nervous! It's actually pretty relaxing :) Don't worry about getting all of your splits at once, just S&D whenever you have nothing else to do and you'll have better looking hair in no time!

[Winnie!]

Maybe you should consider another small trim? A lot of damage and S&D equals an uneven hemline. I've been there done that. Aside from the uneven hemline, there isn't much you can mess up. Just relax, it'll be okay.

[swearnsue]

Trust yourself and your instincts! You will only be cutting off damaged hair anyway, so how can you go wrong? If your hair is in really bad shape and your S&Ding thins out your hemline, you can trim the ends a little. Eventually your healthy hair will grow long.

[Kaelee]

I've just started this too! Just watch where you put your hands while holding the scissors! I accidentally cut off like 10 hairs haha.

Anyone with shorter hair do this regularly and have a trick for getting the back? I can't get part of my back around to my front to see it or snip anything.

[BrownEyedBeauty]

If your hair is badly damaged, I would start off by getting a decent trim of an inch or two. Then you can start doing S&D.

There is nothing to be nervous about. In fact, I have found it to be very relaxing and addictive.

[QMacrocarpa]

I went through a phase of constant strand-snipping in my youth and I'll never start again. Trims only for me. Hair is nice, but my sanity is precious to me.

[heidi w.]

Nothing to fear. Cut one split off, don't like it, then stop cutting them off. Easy.

heidi w.

[thatjengirl1]

I really enjoy s&d'ing but I try to do it sparingly. For me I like gettin an official trim 2 times a year and in between those I like to s&d cuz I think it's better to get rid of the splits before they get worse. I get paranoid about it making my hair uneven and that's why i get an official trim every 6 months.

[honeybunny_1996]

You can't really mess up with s&d. Just make sure to use sharp scissors and snip off the splits that you can find. It will really help with the health of your hair and you should be able to feel the difference after a good session.

[honeybunny_1996]

I've just started this too! Just watch where you put your hands while holding the scissors! I accidentally cut off like 10 hairs haha.

Anyone with shorter hair do this regularly and have a trick for getting the back? I can't get part of my back around to my front to see it or snip anything.
@kaelee
It'll help to divide your hair in half and pull the two sections to the front over your shoulders. Then grab a small section of hair from the bottom and pull it towards you to seek out the splits. I know I have tried pulling a section of hair around to the front to snip them off but it makes it harder to find if you understand what Im trying to say? If the method of splitting into two sections and taking from the front doesn't help then maybe you'll have to wait a bit longer to each those hairs. Hope I have explained in a way you can understand :)

[jacqueline101]

Take your time and snip off splits with sharp scissors.

[Pinkster8]

It's not scary - just take it a little piece at a time. I like to jam out to some good music, section in it little pieces and go to town! Cutting splits and white dots is a very satisfying feeling :)

[spookyghost]

Thanks everyone! Im going to do it soon, I have to get the sheers fist:) I really dont think I can mess it up unless Im not paying attention and hack off a big hunk of hair!:eek: I probably shouldnt even joke about that-haha.