S & D question

[atlantaz3]

Okay I have fine blonde hair and could probably spend about three days doing just one S&D. What are the secrets to doing this correctly? I feel like I am going over the same side pieces and never getting around to the back - even if I have have my hair up in a half pony. Also how do you not make yourself cross eyed looking for the little {bleep}s?

[JessTheMess]

Ughhh I wish I knew. I spent 2 hours the other night and decided to throw in the towel. After all that, I still had half a head of hair that I didn't even start :(

[spidermom]

I've about got S&D limited to when I comb out my hair. If I hit a snag, I stop to untangle it and trim away any obvious problems. I've spent hours on S&D in the past, and there were always more splits, dots, and kinked hairs to find. There was no end to it! I'm going to keep up with regular small trims to hopefully nip most of it. As for damage on shorter hairs, if I don't catch it in a tangle someday, it will just have to shed out when the time comes and hopefully the new hair won't develop the same problems.

[Carolyn]

If my hair is in a braid, I'll do S & D on the tassel. That gets a lot of the little buggers. Other times I'll do a center part, like I'm going to do pigtails and work on half for a while and then switch and work on the other half. Yes I do get kinda cross-eyed so I just stop and let the eyes un-cross.

[trolleypup]

S&D is hard when your hair is shorter.

I don't worry about doing it systematically...just work randomly on bits when I have light and inclination.

[podo]

I just spend a few minutes each week on it. I'll get what I can find during that time, but you're right - it's endless!

Another thing is to do a quick check in the bathroom or at lunch or whatever - keep a pair of sharp scissors handy and if a huge, ugly split shows up - GET IT!

[burns_erin]

I am a periodic S&Der. I do not especially worry about what i miss. I just grap a chunk and go to town when i am in the mood to do so.

[happylynngilmer]

just work randomly on bits when I have light and inclination.

Yep, thats me as well.

[Anje]

I think it's harder for people with iii hair, too, since you just have that much more to get through.

For me, most of the damage actually is on the side bits, so don't worry too much about spending extra time there. You can also always start at the back, if you're concerned.

Finally, an easy thing for me to do is wear my hair in a braid or two for the day. The braid is always quite frayed by the end of the day, with ends sticking out everywhere. I search through those ends and the tassel for splits, then call it good enough. Rope braids are especially good for this, because they turn into bottle brushes in no time.

[bunnii]

I just cut when i can be bothered :lol: if i have a braid i'll go through the tassle and if I hit a snag when brushing i'll reach for the scissors then too, sometimes i'll sit and do a load but honestly I get bored hehe

[anna1850]

I do it every so often, it doesn't matter if you miss bits if you do it regularly.

Sometimes I do it with my hair loose, sometimes I do it with my hair braided. If I do it braided I tend to leave it in a braid for a few hours (enough for it to go messy) and then all the short hairs end up sticking out halfway up the braid which makes it easier to find them.

It's probably harder on light hair. My hair's quite dark and damaged parts are always lighter so easier to see.

I find large sections of my hair have no visible damage and then I'll find small sections where all the ends are slightly split. I don't know why it is.

I do this Search and Destroy is much better than trimming though as you can check the short hairs too.

[manderly]

I do exactly what spidermom does and when I hit a snag combing I inspect & cut. I also find LHC has the perfect lighting to hold up my hair and S&D.

I went crosseyed until I hit almost APL, now only certian spots (I have layers) give me problems.

[Silver & Gold]

S&D is hard when your hair is shorter.

I don't worry about doing it systematically...just work randomly on bits when I have light and inclination.

I sooooo agree. My hair is so short that the only way I can do S&D is in front of a mirror and really only on the hair in front. Fortunately this is also the most damaged part of my hair. I have a magnifying mirror in my bathroom and when my hair is down I periodically look at the ends through my mirror, I have tiny, high quality embroidery scissors I keep in the bathroom and I nip any splits or dots I find. I have my husband give me a micro-trim every 3 or 4 months on the ends in the back. This seems to keep my hair in reasonable shape as it is growing out. But I do look forward to a time when my hair is long enough that I can easily move the ends from the back to the front and have them rest at a comfortable eye level to see and do a S&D.

Who an I kidding? I just look forward to having long hair. *sigh*

*Singing wistfully*
Some day my hair will come,
Some day I'll be the one,
With the beautiful long flowing hair
The result of my tender loving care.

I'll whisper, "I love you"
As I twist it in a new updo
And how wonderful that moment will be,
When the hair of my dreams grows for me . . .

[sipnsun]

I only S&D occasionally, but when I do, I take sections of my hair and twist them from scalp to ends. The damaged or split hair usually will not twist so I just snip them off.

[Tapioca]

Every afternoon, I pick my husband up from work first, and then we go get the kidlet from preschool. He runs in to get her while I sit in the car. That usually gives me five minutes with not much else to do. So I keep a pair of scissors in the car and do mini-S&D missions.

[Arctic]

I think of it like dishes or dirty clothes: something that's never actually "done" (in a positive way: accepting they are a fact of life and not stressing over it too much). personally I really enjoy S&D, I get absorbed into my own thoughts - it's relaxing, kind of like meditation :lol:

[NurseMama]

It is really hard with thicker hair because there is just so much of it! I commute in heavy traffic so I just keep a small pair of embroidery scissors in the car for when I am stuck in a traffic jam. Those little 5-10 minute sessions can do a lot of good!

[LaurelSpring]

I think of it like dishes or dirty clothes: something that's never actually "done" (in a positive way: accepting they are a fact of life and not stressing over it too much). personally I really enjoy S&D, I get absorbed into my own thoughts - it's relaxing, kind of like meditation :lol:

I love this idea. the Zen of S & D.

[Arctic]

I love this idea. the Zen of S & D.

Thanks LaurelSpring! :D I'm glad you like the idea :meditate:

[winter_star]

Iv'e never heard of S&D before, so I just tried it. I got a little scissor happy and made my boyfriend take them off me and lock the scissors away... But i'm gonna find them next week and do the same. I think I may need supervision though. :scissors:

[Juanita]

In front of the computer screen is a great place to S&D.

[crystal_89]

I S&D the long bits whenever I could be bothered. To me, there is no system or organisation except see a split and snip.

I wear my hair down and do the long bits that are easier to see. Sometimes I put some hair between three fingers and run my fingers down the length to see if any splits pop up or I just sift through the hair.

One thing I hate though is that I can always find a billion splits when I'm sitting on the train and unable to S&D, but when I sit at home, am bored and want to remove some damage, I can't find any!

[Arctic]

One thing I hate though is that I can always find a billion splits when I'm sitting on the train and unable to S&D, but when I sit at home, am bored and want to remove some damage, I can't find any!


It's propably the lightning? I have noticed it matters when and where I S&D, in bathroom I see different kind of damage than in front of computer or sitting in my favourite chair, or out in sunlight.


As a side note, here is a split end chart :shock:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/Seasilver2k/SplitEndChart.gif

[Arctic]

Iv'e never heard of S&D before, so I just tried it. I got a little scissor happy and made my boyfriend take them off me and lock the scissors away... But i'm gonna find them next week and do the same. I think I may need supervision though. :scissors:


That's very common in the beginning :) I'm glad you found a solution though :cheese:

[1MegMeg]

I've never done S&D - what type of scissors should I use? Thanks!

[anna1850]

I use cheap embroidery scissors. You don't want anything too big and unwieldy really.

The most important things is not to use the scissors for anything else. Cutting paper really blunts them. You need sharp scissors for good ends.