split ends

[brg240]

ladies I need some help, i'm not sure what to do.

I've had an ongoing battle with my ends for a while. I've been doing a constant search and destroy mission but since everyone has millions of hairs it's kind of hard :/ I mean it's inevitable that i miss some. How do you ladies look at all your hair?

I'm going to trim 2-3" at the end of the month but i have split ends all over. So trimming just the lower layer won't do anything elsewhere.

I've almost completed my transition and wouldn't have a big problem if it was just my relaxed ends but it's not. It's my natural hair too

I wear my hair in a bun or braided pigtails most of the time. I don't really use heat(3-4 times this year) on my hair but it does stay in a perpetual dry state. I assume that has to do with my products because they aren't great. I"ve been looking at threads trying to find what to change my products too but it's a bit information overload and then i can't find some in stores. :/



here is a pic of where my hair broke up off in the front

 

[wish4length]

I wish I knew what to tell you......
Keep your ends on your upper layers moisturized and when it grows more trim it maybe....I really don't know.

 

[keepithealthy]

I would say just trim your ends and get rid of the damage. You don't want your damaged ends to cause further damage to the rest of your hair. I no longer do s&d because I have found it to be ineffective. I regularly trim my hair 3-4 times a year. (I usually only cut less than 1/2 an inch each trim). It has not interrupted my progress and I haven't had a real problem with splits. It has dramatically reduced my problem with knots.

Then began to up your moisture game. I have found that my natural hair needs to stay moisturized in order to avoid damage. You may also want to think about sealing your ends with something to prevent knots and splits. Some use Castor Oil or EVOO. I use Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Moisturizing Creme. I think your doing good to keep your hair up until you get the splitting under control.

In terms of using ingredients. I tried to keep my regimen simple and use products that I can purchase locally. I don't use a lot of expensive products and I feel like my hair is doing really good. For example for dc'ing I use Suave Professional Conditioners and add my own ingredients to enhance them (EVOO, EVCO, honey, Coconut Cream, ex).

Things that have become important in my Reggie are:
Not using sulphate shampoo more than 1x a month
regular dc'ing (has changed my hair)
using a leave in conditioner
Keeping my hair moisturized (I use shae butter mix/Shae Moisture Smoothie)
Sealing your ends

These are things that I have found to work for my hair. I've only been on my HHJ for 2 years so I hope some of the other ladies will come in and give you some advice as well. HHG and I hope that helps

 

[westNDNbeauty]

I get what you mean about shorter hairs requring trimming too...

The Split Ender is a device that claims to trim hair of all lengths. See is HERE on amazon ($16)

And here is a video demo HERE

 

[keepithealthy]

I get what you mean about shorter hairs requring trimming too...

The Split Ender is a device that claims to trim hair of all lengths. See is HERE on amazon ($16)

And here is a video demo HERE

I didn't even realizing she was saying that. Have you tried the split ender westNDNbeauty ?

 

[westNDNbeauty]

keepithealthy - No I haven't I am actually putting it on my christmas list. It is probably best that you use it when your hair is straightened and I don't plan to straighten until jan. But I'll def let ya'll know how it goes via my youtube channel.

 

[Nonie]

OP, I don't know why this concept is so hard for people to grasp but apparently it is. So I'll break it down to points.

• Hair will split no matter what you do. You can slow down the splitting by good hair care (eg not raking anything that isn't seamless through it; not using excessive heat improperly; sealing and protective styling, etc) but you cannot stop splitting altogether. Why, because all organic things wither with time.

• Because hair splits inevitably, if you're taking precautions to protect your ends, you will still need to dust the ends (trim a tiny bit). Why? Remember the splitting that happens no matter what? It is happening still, only to a small scale because you're being meticulous with the care of your ends. And if you don't get rid of that small scale, it'll expand and tear up more and wreck havoc on your ends. If you find yourself seeing thin ends or seeing splits, then you waited too long, IMO. And if you can see one, trust me, it's the same on all because all strands endured the same things at the same time.

• If you are seeing splits, and trim off say one inch, depending on how long you waited to do that, your problem may continue a few more months and only be solved by a proper cut or another few large trims. Reason being...splits don't happen in a neat V shape that stops right where you see it. Splits happen like this:

So while you might see the big main V and cut that off, notice there's more fraying further up...and you may miss that and it will continue the damage to your strands. Notice cutting off the main V removes a lot...but not everything. Hence the reason some people get so frustrated because they keep trimming and nothing gets fixed. Had they been doing a maintenance dusting more regularly, things would not have gotten to that point.​

• Every time we talk of dusting often (like every 6-8 weeks) folks freak out and talk about cutting off your growth. The only time this would be true is if you're cutting off the same amount you're growing in that time. But if you're cutting off a fraction of what you're growing, you will not lose conspicuous length. The estimate regular dusters dust off is 1/4 of an inch which is: __. I bet my bottom dollar that those who wait to dust once or twice a year, or those who complain of having splits and trim only when they see them, end up cutting off more than those who dust regularly. Prevention is better than cure IMO.

• Then don't forget there's such a thing as mid-shaft splits. Those will make your hair break at any point along its length...and I don't know if there's anyway to fix that. I think breakage from those is inevitable...and holding onto your hair may not make a difference because in the end I believe the tear gets so bad it just leads to loss of the strands. I think brushing, heat (bubble-hair) are major causes of these sort of splits.

• Finally there's the question of different strand lengths and splits. My viewpoint is, the oldest hair on your head is the one that suffers wear the most. The shorter strands are newer and fresher and less likely to be as worn as the older longer strands for two reasons:
  • They haven't been around as long as the longer strands;
  • They are somewhat protected by being buried inside the longer strands.
  So I think it's futile to waste time worrying about the shorter strands when you have bigger fish to fry. Now if you've been cruel to your hair, of course your issues will be extensive and a do over may be your best option. Not saying that to you OP, but just throwing it out there.
  

Bottom line: it takes more than a few months to correct a wrong sometimes. So if you're only now starting to do right by your hair, do not expect results right away or even next month. Just continue to plant the good seed, and in time you'll reap a good harvest. Be realistic and realize that sometimes the hair you have now may be a lost cause, so rather than fret too much about it, just educate yourself so the next "crop" will be better taken care of and in better shape. As @Supergirl shared, when you start a HHJ, you start it with hair that has not enjoyed the good habits you're now acquiring...so it is the new hair that will get that TLC and hence approach your true potential. So don't despair. Just remember that the darkest part of the night is the one just before dawn. So in time you'll cut the "bad hair" off or it'll shed and the hair you've been treating right will shine.

 

[keepithealthy]

keepithealthy - No I haven't I am actually putting it on my christmas list. It is probably best that you use it when your hair is straightened and I don't plan to straighten until jan. But I'll def let ya'll know how it goes via my youtube channel.

I will keep an eye out for that review. That might be a late Christmas gift to myself.