Endless split ends - how to remove far-up ones while retaining length?
July 20, 2017 7:18 AM Subscribe
I just had a haircut - from a hairdresser who'd received very good reviews, the director of the hair salon. (I hadn't had a haircut for about six months beforehand.)
My hair is still full of split ends, though, even just after this haircut with a hairdresser who should be objectively pretty good. Some are pretty far up, maybe at shoulder height.
I think I treat my hair pretty well - no heat, wash roughly every third day.
So... what should I do:
a) to get rid of the split ends I currently have. Can I somehow preserve the length while getting rid of split ends? Is this a thing a hairdresser can do for me - presumably sit there for ages cutting individual hairs?? Or do I just have to chop it all off? (I have heard of a thing called a "split-ender" - I don't know if this is any good in practice.)
b) especially if I do have to chop it all off and start again (but even if not!) how do I avoid getting so many split ends?
Getting a shorter cut (you don't have to chop) will reduce a lot of these, and then religiously getting trims will help. A tiny wisp of a split at the end will run halfway up your head or the full length of the strand if you go 6 months without a cut.
posted by kapers at 8:22 AM on July 20, 2017
posted by kapers at 8:22 AM on July 20, 2017
Olaplex is a new-ish thing that hairdressers are using with color treatments. It supposedly bonds the hair and prevents breakage. I bought a kit and use it with and without hair dye and really like how it makes my hair feel. I do see a significant improvement in split ends after using it. It might be worth looking into even if you don't color.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 9:20 AM on July 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by PorcineWithMe at 9:20 AM on July 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
You can ask for 'hair dusting' -- yes, sitting in a chair while the stylist cuts off the split ends just above the break. It doesn't take as long as you might think!
posted by ananci at 11:45 AM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ananci at 11:45 AM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
+1 for the Olaplex. I abuse my hair with regular double process coloring and it helps a lot. My hair is way smoother and less blown out looking, even only using it once every couple of weeks or so. I don't use any other product in my hair. Not sure if it will repair existing split ends but it definitely helped prevent new split ends for me.
posted by DarthDuckie at 12:55 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by DarthDuckie at 12:55 PM on July 20, 2017
Rinse your hair with water with a bit of vinegar in it every couple of weeks if your water is not soft. If there are any minerals in your water they will be left in your hair when it dries and they will be roughening the texture and this will increase its tendency to tear. If your tap water produces scale in your kettle it is producing scale in your hair, so a vinegar rinse will make your hair smoother, shiner and less prone to split ends.
Use oil on your hair sometimes to moisturize it. Just pour a little oil into your palm and smooth it into the ends of your hair a few minutes before you wash it. Don't use so much that you make your hair saturated, but make it quite oily and lank. You don't need to oil it next to your scalp. The further from your scalp the more oil your hair needs and the more oil it will absorb. Olive oil and coconut oil are both good but any edible oil with a scent that you like is fine. Dry hair is brittle hair.
Always use a conditioner when you wash your hair, not just a combined shampoo and conditioner, unless it's the time you oiled your hair in which case it's the one time you don't need to use the conditioner.
And last thing of all, before allowing your hair to drip dry, rinse your hair in the coldest possible water that you can, ice water if you've got it. If you were to look at your hair under a microscope you would see that it has scales. When you expose your hair to heat the scales lift. When you expose your hair to cold, especially to cold running water the scales lie down. You get split ends when your hair starts tearing under one of these lifted scales. So flatten them by rinsing your hair by pouring a pitcher of ice water over it. You should avoid exposing your hair to any water or detergent or soap that you would not want to use to wash your delicate woolies. If the water is hot enough that it would make your lambswool scarf or your angora sweater or your silk shawl suffer it's going to damage your hair too.
- Please note that vinegar, oil and ice are all very inexpensive.
This treatment should make them show less.
posted by Jane the Brown at 3:16 PM on July 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Use oil on your hair sometimes to moisturize it. Just pour a little oil into your palm and smooth it into the ends of your hair a few minutes before you wash it. Don't use so much that you make your hair saturated, but make it quite oily and lank. You don't need to oil it next to your scalp. The further from your scalp the more oil your hair needs and the more oil it will absorb. Olive oil and coconut oil are both good but any edible oil with a scent that you like is fine. Dry hair is brittle hair.
Always use a conditioner when you wash your hair, not just a combined shampoo and conditioner, unless it's the time you oiled your hair in which case it's the one time you don't need to use the conditioner.
And last thing of all, before allowing your hair to drip dry, rinse your hair in the coldest possible water that you can, ice water if you've got it. If you were to look at your hair under a microscope you would see that it has scales. When you expose your hair to heat the scales lift. When you expose your hair to cold, especially to cold running water the scales lie down. You get split ends when your hair starts tearing under one of these lifted scales. So flatten them by rinsing your hair by pouring a pitcher of ice water over it. You should avoid exposing your hair to any water or detergent or soap that you would not want to use to wash your delicate woolies. If the water is hot enough that it would make your lambswool scarf or your angora sweater or your silk shawl suffer it's going to damage your hair too.
- Please note that vinegar, oil and ice are all very inexpensive.
This treatment should make them show less.
posted by Jane the Brown at 3:16 PM on July 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, folks, for the answers! I'll just respond to some points:
Dwardles: I use conditioner every time I shower. (Separate shampoo and conditioner.) I don't use bleach, hair dye, or any heat. I try to squeeze my hair with the towel rather than rubbing. I don't use snaggy hair elastics (I use the terry towelling ones). At the moment I only use a Tangle Teezer on my hair, no other brush or comb, and I try to be gentle and brush from the bottom to the top.
kapers: do you really think that splits travel faster than hair can grow? And when you say I don't need to chop but I do need a shorter cut, what do you mean?
DarthDuckie: you do still use conditioner, right?
ananci: with hair dusting, how does the hairstylist find all the split ends, if they are alllll through your hair at all different levels - not just at the bottom? Do they cut them off one by one?
Everyone mentioning Olaplex: thank you; I'll look into that!
posted by tangerine_poppies at 3:46 PM on July 20, 2017
Dwardles: I use conditioner every time I shower. (Separate shampoo and conditioner.) I don't use bleach, hair dye, or any heat. I try to squeeze my hair with the towel rather than rubbing. I don't use snaggy hair elastics (I use the terry towelling ones). At the moment I only use a Tangle Teezer on my hair, no other brush or comb, and I try to be gentle and brush from the bottom to the top.
kapers: do you really think that splits travel faster than hair can grow? And when you say I don't need to chop but I do need a shorter cut, what do you mean?
DarthDuckie: you do still use conditioner, right?
ananci: with hair dusting, how does the hairstylist find all the split ends, if they are alllll through your hair at all different levels - not just at the bottom? Do they cut them off one by one?
Everyone mentioning Olaplex: thank you; I'll look into that!
posted by tangerine_poppies at 3:46 PM on July 20, 2017
You have to figure out what's causing the splits, else any remedy will ultimately fail. For me, it was dry hair and rough handling. The Tangle Teezer and similar tools also caused a lot of splitting for me. For reference, I have curly hair.
posted by sm1tten at 8:53 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by sm1tten at 8:53 PM on July 20, 2017
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- use a serum to temporarily glue the hair together
- chop them off. This is probably best as the split hairs will break and fall off anyway, and if you leave them the splits can go continue to spread further up your hair
Things that cause split ends:
- bleach/hair dye
-any heat treatments like hairdryers, straighteners or curling irons
- rough treatment- vigorous towel drying or brushing (particularly when wet), elastic bands which snag your hair
- for me, products including plastics/silicones
Use a conditioner every time you wash your hair (and you can also use a leave in conditioner), use a wide tooth comb or Tangel Teazer, use coated elastic bands, blot rather than rub your hair dry with a towel, and use a heat protecting spray before blow drying/straightening etc.
posted by Dwardles at 7:47 AM on July 20, 2017 [5 favorites]