Any Other Naturals With ALOT Of Split Ends?

[NerdSauce]

I had/have all of the above. I just chopped my hair 3 inches tonight. (yes, at 2:30 in the morning. Don't judge me >>)

I'm really happy I did it, since I was having breakage as well as the splits and knots and tangles. If it keeps breaking, I'll keep cutting it. I'll be going back to the practices of my first year natural for the most part, where I retained the best (with a few slight changes.)

For me I think most of this sort of damage comes from manipulation-blowdrying, combing, etc. That and dryness, which I will go back to combatting avidly internally and externally. It seems that if I don't drink at minimum 2 liters of water a day, there's just no hope, lol.

I don't blow dry much at all but combing has been an issue and I'm definitely going back to the no comb stuff. No more impulsively using boxed color (what was I thinking?) No more experiments, really... And I think this time I'll try to grow it blunt, or mostly blunt.

Also thanks for this post, because I was really confused and feeling kind of like a failure. Im still not sure what exactly caused them, I just know that once they started they wouldn't stop (especially the mid shaft splits.) I thought I had maybe done something terrible and horribly noobish, but your hair is lovely, and you seem to be having the same problems. (actually weirdly enough my hair looked quite good when i cut it.) I guess I just have to be extra vigilant.

 

[AfroKink]

Here's my plan of attack. I'm going to continue to redo my hair every 4 weeks which keeps manipulation to a minimum. I'm going to baggy every night to keep my moisture level up. Every time I take down my hair, I'm going to search and destroy like how Tracee does in this video. She has a way of getting to both the ends AND splits that are higher up. And during the month when I'm bored I'm going to search my twists for any splits or chewed up strands that are sticking out. Hopefully by summer my hair will have some improvements!

 

[hair4romheaven]

sometimes combs with seams can tear and rip strands, causing splits and breakage.
i just recently purchased my first seamless(bone) combs and i hope they aid in reducing splits.they cost a little more, but i think they might be a good investment.hope this helps a little.lol.

I just did the same thing.

 

[JaneLane]

ugh, i have split ends and i don't even know where they come from! it's so annoying ... why me?? i'm going to start doing catnip tea rinses .. hopefully, over time, i'll be split end free!

 

[Whimsy]

Not usually, but now I'm living in splitsville (setback after abusing my hair for a month) and will be cutting soon.
I'm not exactly sure what prevents splits, but keeping my ends protected most of the time and moisturized all of the time helps me out.

 

[Rastafarai]

Another good point. If you think about it, a lot of naturals grow their hair when they wear it in twists or braids or weaves. Minimal manipulation means less wear and tear and therefore less breakage, more retention. Besides that, there are styles like twist-outs/twist-outs which are simple and don't require you to comb your hair if braids/twists aren't your thing.

My twists never stay put for more than 4 days. Some parts are more loose than others and the twists untwist themselves. They start to look frizzy by day 2 even if I tie it down with a silk scarf at night. And my scalp feels like it needs to breathe by day 4 that I just call it quits and go back to my loose look.

I detangle and comb using this and this alone:

Any recommendations on how a loose napptural can prevent splits without requiring braids/twists for daily maintenance? erplexed

 

[Whimsy]

Any recommendations on how a loose napptural can prevent splits without requiring braids/twists for daily maintenance? erplexed

I dont consider myself a loose natural, but my twists like to untwist sometimes too. When I use a shea butter/coconut oil mixture, it helps to seal the ends of those bad boys and they're less likely to unravel.

If you're not into twists, maybe buns, and just doing some updos, I think maybe anything that keeps your hair ends from rubbing against stuff, and keeps you from playing with em or anything....

 

[Rastafarai]

I dont consider myself a loose natural, but my twists like to untwist sometimes too. When I use a shea butter/coconut oil mixture, it helps to seal the ends of those bad boys and they're less likely to unravel.

If you're not into twists, maybe buns, and just doing some updos, I think maybe anything that keeps your hair ends from rubbing against stuff, and keeps you from playing with em or anything....

Thanks Whimsy. This is what I am currently doing. I wear mostly buns and loose flat twists that requires daily combing with my Jilbere comb. But now I wonder if this is counterintuitive in achieving longer strands and minimizing my splits (though not excessive).

Sorry to the OP for taking this thread in a different direction!

 

[Whimsy]

Thanks Whimsy. This is what I am currently doing. I wear mostly buns and loose flat twists that requires daily combing with my Jilbere comb. But now I wonder if this is counterintuitive in achieving longer strands and minimizing my splits (though not excessive).

Sorry to the OP for taking this thread in a different direction!

Maybe something where you don't have to comb/manipulate every day?

 

[anon123]

I can't see myself not combing daily given how much I do shed...and well, my hair feels better and looks better when combed.


ETA: Fine hair, I suppose. Like if I put it into a ponytail or protective style my hair doesn't look massive. But when out, its super thick and large. That's fine, right?

You may be combing too frequently. I comb my hair once a week max. I'm working on once every 2 weeks. But I understand if your hair looks and feels better when combed. In that case, are the splits really bothering you? I mean, are they actually causing you any retention problems?

By fine hair, I meant strands that are fine. How big your ponytail is will also have a lot to do with how many strands of hair are on your head; some people have more than others. Are your individual strands wispy, thin, frail-looking? If so, then you have fine hair.

My hair is in twists or braids 90% of the time, but I don't redo my hair often. I retwist every 2 weeks, but I'm stretching that now to every 4 weeks.

I might need to learn to roller set faster than I thought (but then, that's bringing in heaterplexed)


I have fine strands. I don't brush. When I comb its with a bone comb, and it's a rare activity.

I'm sorry, I don't know what's causing them. Maybe it's because your strands are so fine? Mine are medium, I've decided.

Mwedzi, I think from your styles it's very clear you don't manipulate your hair a lot. I think that's what keeps your strands happy. You seem to have fully mastered how to handle your hair. :notworthy

I also have never understood the love for brushes. To me it seems like they'd rip through your strands.

It's true, I don't manipulate a lot. Even when I change styles, I just put it up or down; I don't comb. When I comb, it's gentle. It's because I'm so tender-headed. I am really gentle with my hair. But maybe it's also because my hair is not so fine that it has so few cuticle layers that it splits more?

Brushes are rough on the hair. Whereas a comb has, say, 10 teeth, a brush will have 30 bristles. That means the brush does a better job at detangling and removing shed hair (for me, at least), but it is harder on the hair. I went a decade without even owning a brush. Now I have one with very soft rubber bristles that I use every now and then (average 1 time a month).

 

[almond eyes]

I am about to say something that might not be very popular, I think black women are obsessed with the idea of perfect ends, smooth ends and split ends. And this obsession leads us to frequently cut our hair. I have very fine strands and for so many years my frizzy ends and fine, curly ends were mistaken for split ends and my mother, myself and hairdressers cut it constantly. My friends of other races only cut their hair if they are getting a hair cut but not to get rid of split ends.

My mother is the search and destroyer of split ends and is always cutting her hair like every week and she gets very annoyed that I have told her that I dust in a blue mood and don't feel the need to cut or trim split ends. I like Nonie, do not look for split ends anymore. I don't use heat, use moisture and wear protective styles so if my ends aren't the best well then it's just genetics and all the cutting and trimming will only even out my hair but not change it to look more uniform or less frizzy. If your ends are dry, snapping, weak and damaged that is one thing but if not don't obsess just relax and focus on the actual health and not getting that perfect smooth look on the ends (look at other races of women who have long hair but have frizzy ends (not from colouring or any heat use). Getting a smooth look on the ends is really a matter of appearance especially if one wants to wear straight hair styles. Not everyone is meant to have that smooth look on the ends. My BF has extremely thick hair and has never had a split end in her life despite all the heat appliances she uses and her ends are beautiful but every time she goes to the hair dresser they have to cut split ends (where are the splits? I always say). She is always telling me why don't my ends look like hers I should cut my hair and she has since come to understand that my hair is fine hair and not the same!!!!!!!!So while my hair continues to grow, my mother and my BF continue to cut and have shorter and shorter hair.

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[Nonie]

My twists never stay put for more than 4 days. Some parts are more loose than others and the twists untwist themselves. They start to look frizzy by day 2 even if I tie it down with a silk scarf at night. And my scalp feels like it needs to breathe by day 4 that I just call it quits and go back to my loose look.

Maybe it's your twisting method? At the risk of boring people to death, I will return with a link to one of my posts on this. Also, if you're one of those people who can't stand to see a hair out of place, then I can't help you. My twists have fly aways after a few washes but it's not a look that bothers me:

I don't use any products but I'm sure if I had some type of product, tying a scarf at night--which is what I do so I don't have to do anything in the morning but take it off and go to work--would have that do looking like it's just been done.

I detangle and comb using this and this alone:

I haven't detangled my hair with a comb in a long time. Ever since I learned that Happily Me uses her fingers and conditioner, I have somewhat learned to do the same. But what's more, I do not let my hair get tangled. The only time I remember spending time detangling my hair was after I wore a twist-out and then was too lazy to retwist my hair at night. Remember I don't use products except when combing my hair out, so in the AM, I was faced with this:

I applied Organix (I think it was Vanilla Silk) to the dry hair for slip and used fingers to separate the strands. It worked out better than I thought. This was my hair with conditioner on it:

I then rinsed again no comb involved, just fingers and this was the fully detangled hair:

To keep my hair from tangling, I keep it stretched.

Any recommendations on how a loose napptural can prevent splits without requiring braids/twists for daily maintenance? erplexed

If you mean not even braiding/twisting at night, then I can't help you there. If you don't mind doing that, then do what Mwedzi does. Braid/twist at night, then wear a twist-out/braid-out style in the day. No combing necessary and very little manipulation.

 

[bludaydreamr]

sometimes combs with seams can tear and rip strands, causing splits and breakage.
i just recently purchased my first seamless(bone) combs and i hope they aid in reducing splits.they cost a little more, but i think they might be a good investment.hope this helps a little.lol.

Where did you get it or what brand of comb is it?

 

[Nonie]

Where did you get it or what brand of comb is it?

You didn't ask me but you can buy seamless "bone" combs here (they're really resin but definitely seamless): www.hairsense.com

The site below actually has real bone combs (from horns) but it's so busy looking it might trigger a migraine (OK I exaggerate a bit)...so browse at your own risk. They also have an interesting phenomenon known as scritching. www.horncombs.com

 

[dynamic1]

I think a few things could contribute to splitting and holes(not addressing knots in this post).

• Are you deep conditioning with heat if you have low-porosity hair?
• Are you using products that block moisture (humidity)?
• Are you using the above products in non-humid conditions?
• Are you inadvertently back combing or teasing your strands?
• Have you used henna or other coloring products that penetrate the shaft and make it swell?
• Some hair will not respond well to direct heat. It can take months to see the damage has been done.
• I have noticed hair thinning in women with sew ins. Is the thread causing friction on your hair strands, essentially shredding or cutting your hair.

I noticed some holes or bubbles on the henna portion of my hair. This could be from direct heat and/or henna. I was not deep conditioning with heat as well. My hair has low porosity in some areas, especially on the leftover hennaed ends. I have not used direct heat in 2+years and do not see the same issue on the non-heat, non-henna new growth. Also, I do not wear weaves but I noticed fraying on several friends' hair that do wear them. I attribute it to friction from braids/thread over potentially heat weakened hair. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why people use anti-humidity products when there is none. This just dries out your hair more. If you live in a dry climate, run don't walk away from the cones and anti-humidity products.

PSA - when you detangle your hair always make downward motions. Never try to loosen a knot or tangle by pulling the hair up and out of the clump or knot. It causes the cuticles to go in the wrong direction on the remaining hair, creating wear and tear. This is equivalent to teasing/back combing. Now you have strands that actually create more friction on the other strands. This probably happens more frequently with finger combers. end PSA