I had a fresh touch up and thorough trim at my salon about a week ago, so I'm evaluating my ends with a new start
It's still a mystery why I experience split ends so rapidly. I'm reading threads about women who only trim every 6 mo, even 1-2x a year...I would love to achieve something like that, if I could just. figure. out. the culprit!!
My regimen doesn't involve any frequent heat on my ends...I only use heat in the salon every 3-4 months. I shampoo biweekly, so my ends are normally exposed to harsh sulfates, and I use a moisturizing dc at least one time a week. I also use protein monthly and moisturize and seal every other day, or every 2 days. At one point I was shampooing weekly and alternating a lot between moisture and protein, but I noticed more splits just from all the flip-flopping between dryness, moisture, and protein. Spreading things out and giving my hair time to breathe has brought much better results. But still, I see splits.
I use a seamless comb when detangling, and I only comb 1-2x a week (otherwise I finger detangle). I used to bun 95% of the time, but I noticed more splits from the constant styling, so now I'm experimenting with looser updos and low manipulation styles. For the past two weeks I've been wearing my hair out almost every day...my ends still seem in tact, but it's too soon to make any valid observations. Amongst the ladies on here who trim sparingly, some PS almost every day, while others rarely even bun. I'd like to see what works best for me.
So I've been making a lot of changes to my regimen and seeing progress, but I'm still think my ends could be better. My biggest suspect right now is my detangling process--I think detangling after airdrying can be very traumatizing on my ends, so I'll work on using gentler techniques and noting any progress. I'll also be sure not to finger detangle unless my ends are lubricated with oil beforehand. Other than that, I'm not sure what's bothering my ends yet.