Split-ends! Help!

[greywolf]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I keep on trimming my hair to get rid of the split-ends, and now my hair is only at bra-strap length again. I got my hair cut last month, and a week later, I already had split-ends again.

I stopped shampooing all of my hair. I shampoo the scalp only now and I only do that every other day. I do CO-washes the rest of the time. I switched over to a seamless comb last week. I'm hoping that'll help. And I oil my ends a couple times a week before I go to bed. I only heat-style my hair a couple times a month. I don't know what else to do. My hair would be hip length by now if I didn't have to keep on cutting it off the damage. =/

[furnival]

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with splits... How do you usually wear your hair? Wearing it down a lot is often enough to cause splits. If you wash very frequently you might try stretching your washes so you do less of them, as your hair is more susceptible to damage whilst wet. Detangling super-gently and wearing your hair in a protective style while you sleep also helps to minimise damage, and deep moisture treatments help if your splits are caused by dryness.

[Madora]

I'd dispense with the heat to begin with.

Also, cut back to oiling less frequently.

If you are trimming, be darn sure your shears are SHARP. Dull shears will create white dots which lead to split ends.

Splits are also a sign of lack of moisture in your hair.

You might want to try using baby oil (mineral oil) on dampened hair. To get the best effect, do it on hair that has been clarified FIRST, then apply one or two drops of mo to your palms, then run your palms through your dampened hair several times until the sheen has disappeared from your hands. The MO helps keep the moisture in your hair longer and rinses out in your next shampoo. You only need a few drops. It is lightweight, provides plenty of slip, combats the frizzies and is a great detangler too.

I would strongly recommend you try and limit your shampooing to once a week. It sounds like all that shampooing and co-ing in between is robbing your hair of moisture. Less is more works. You just need to be patient. Good luck!

[natural_shine]

maybe that's your healthy terminal lenght, sory to say, but it happens to a lot of people- it gets to a certain lenght and than it starts splitting. not much you can do about it, it's genes/...

[pixietail]

maybe that's your healthy terminal lenght, sory to say, but it happens to a lot of people- it gets to a certain lenght and than it starts splitting. not much you can do about it, it's genes/...

This frightens me because I'm struggling with the same thing. My hair is not-quite-waist length and I'm getting terrible splitting. Some of the splits are 3-6 inches from the ends! I was hoping to make it at least to tail bone, so it sucks to be stalled here.

A couple of questions - first, will coconut oil work as well as mineral? Also, how do you deal with oiliness when you stretch your washes? My hair is quite thin on top, and oily to boot. Not shampooing gives me thin, stringy looking hair with bits of scalp showing through

[greywolf]

maybe that's your healthy terminal lenght, sory to say, but it happens to a lot of people- it gets to a certain lenght and than it starts splitting. not much you can do about it, it's genes/...

I wondered about that, but I remember growing my hair very long when I was a teen. I also remember that I didn't pay very much attention to the health of my hair either, so maybe it was just as bad back then too, but I don't remember all the split ends.

This frightens me because I'm struggling with the same thing. My hair is not-quite-waist length and I'm getting terrible splitting. Some of the splits are 3-6 inches from the ends! I was hoping to make it at least to tail bone, so it sucks to be stalled here.

A couple of questions - first, will coconut oil work as well as mineral? Also, how do you deal with oiliness when you stretch your washes? My hair is quite thin on top, and oily to boot. Not shampooing gives me thin, stringy looking hair with bits of scalp showing through

Coconut oil made my ends very brittle feeling. =/

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with splits... How do you usually wear your hair? Wearing it down a lot is often enough to cause splits. If you wash very frequently you might try stretching your washes so you do less of them, as your hair is more susceptible to damage whilst wet. Detangling super-gently and wearing your hair in a protective style while you sleep also helps to minimise damage, and deep moisture treatments help if your splits are caused by dryness.

I usually wear it down or in a ponytail, or wear it up with a pencil or something.

I'd dispense with the heat to begin with.

Also, cut back to oiling less frequently.

If you are trimming, be darn sure your shears are SHARP. Dull shears will create white dots which lead to split ends.

Splits are also a sign of lack of moisture in your hair.

You might want to try using baby oil (mineral oil) on dampened hair. To get the best effect, do it on hair that has been clarified FIRST, then apply one or two drops of mo to your palms, then run your palms through your dampened hair several times until the sheen has disappeared from your hands. The MO helps keep the moisture in your hair longer and rinses out in your next shampoo. You only need a few drops. It is lightweight, provides plenty of slip, combats the frizzies and is a great detangler too.

I would strongly recommend you try and limit your shampooing to once a week. It sounds like all that shampooing and co-ing in between is robbing your hair of moisture. Less is more works. You just need to be patient. Good luck!

My hair gets very limp when I don't shampoo. =/ And is jojoba oil a good alternative to MO? Because MO tends to feel heavier on my hair. What do you recommend for a clarifying shampoo?

[Madora]

Greywolf, Neutrogena Clarifying shampoo has received good references here from other LHCers. The thing to remember is to do a simple moisturizing treatment after you clarify. The clarifying shampoo strips everything from your hair, leaving it feeling haylike and starved (for lack of a better description). Personally, I use 4 drops of MO on damp hair after I clarify (but I have 48 inches of hair so need more MO).

Sorry, but as I've never used jojoba I cannot compare it with MO. Perhaps someone else here who has used both can shed light on this.

[furnival]

maybe that's your healthy terminal lenght, sory to say, but it happens to a lot of people- it gets to a certain lenght and than it starts splitting. not much you can do about it, it's genes/...

It's possible to reach a false terminal when hair gets to a certain length and gets damaged more easily, edpecially if it's worn loose or in a ponytail as the ends are not protected. This isn't your true terminal length though.

I usually wear it down or in a ponytail, or wear it up with a pencil or something.

It's possible that this is one of the reasons you are getting splits. Wearing your hair up in a bun or other style where your ends are safely tucked away will prevent them getting damaged.

[Redhead Rebel]

I have the same problem too! My problem is from bleach/heat damage. My hair is almost BSL but my hair below shoulder length is where all the damage is. I S&D pretty much every day to avoid losing length, I haven't found any routine that stops the damage yet.

I have noticed though if I do a small trim and then straighten my hair just once, it all splits again almost instantly, so I had to quit all heat tools.

[Angelica]

I'm inclined to believe this about myself since I have never been able to grow my hair to great lengths, even when I was in school and it still remained virtually the same length. Whereas a lot of other girls in school were able to grow their hair to excessive lengths. A lot of it has to do with genes.

But since Greywolf says she grew her hair very long in her teens, it can't be her terminal length. I think sometimes even updos can damage the hair shaft.

Perhaps the ponytails are too harsh or heat styling it even occasionally is the problem.

I hope you reach a solution Greywolf