Table of Contents Show
Split ends! They are ubiquitous and annoying. They start at a slow pace and gradually increase over time. It happens when the shaft of your hair opens and further splits into two or more segments. Everyone has to deal with split ends at one point or another, and they all want to know how to prevent split ends.
You can usually find it at the tip of your hair, where the dead cells of hair lie. The split ends first appears in the area of the dead cells on your hair strands.
Some people can maintain their hair from split ends for a long time, but some experience a terrible time maintaining it. It would help if you were shocked to know that even genetics play a significant role in the ability of your hair to grow from any breakage.
So, it becomes very crucial to maintain your hair health. In this article, we have covered everything for you, from the causes of split ends to how to prevent split ends.
1. What are Split Ends?
Split ends happen when strands of hair split into two. Unknowingly, if you pull apart your split ends, you are more likely to get acquainted with this problem.
Trichoptilosis is a disease caused to the condition when someone experiences split ends from splitting or fraying of the hair shaft. The ends of the hair strands have old cells, which are most likely to fray. Hence, split ends are mostly seen at the end of hair strands. However, they can occur anywhere on the hair strand.
The split ends of hair signify hair damage and unhealthy hair. If you ignore this condition, you can go through severe hair damage and break into several strands, with brittleness overall. Having split ends in fewer amounts is normal, but it is a matter of concern if they are in large numbers.
If you cannot grow your hair after a certain length, split ends must be the cause. Even boys do suffer from split ends. Men who trim their hair regularly are less prone to split ends because the only solution for split ends is to trim them off.
There are three types of splits—the Basic Split pattern, tree pattern, and tiny knot pattern.
2.1. Basic Split End
Some split ends in a fork are the most common types of split hair that people experience. Also, it is the early stage of a split-end. If you find these types of split ends in your hair, then you need to start with your prevention methods for split ends immediately.
2.2. Tree Pattern
In this tree or branched pattern, one side of the hair fiber gets damaged more than in the first stage. If your hair has developed the tree pattern split end damage, you should accept that your hair is well damaged and you need to get some serious TLC.
2.3. Tiny Knot
People with curly hair experience small knots forming on single strands. The hair tangling causes it, and it often breaks the hair if not brushed properly.
3. Causes of Split Ends
Every split end occurs from some hair damage. Gradually, it breaks the hair strand from a point where the old cells are more. Let us take a look at some of the standard split ends causes that are causes of your damaged hair.
3.1. Bad Hair Habits
Everyday stressors are the most common culprits for bad hair. Hot showers, covering your hair with a towel to dry hair, combing tangled hair, and sleeping with tied hair can lead to hair breakage and split ends.
Since genetics play a role in the cause of split ends, other factors are rising from genetics that can cause split ends. However, some people follow these grooming practices daily, letting hair break without even conceding it.
3.2. Heat Styling
Nowadays, most people use hot tools like blow drying, curling irons, hot rollers, and straighteners. Heat damage from these tools significantly impacts the hair since they strip the hair moisture and result in more delicate hair, making it more prone to splitting.
3.3. Chemical Treatments
Hair dying, bleaching your hair using chemicals, along with chemical straightening and perms, results in tweaking the integrity of the hair strands. This dramatically increases the chances of split ends because the hair cuticle blast opens, which acts as the protective layer of the hair shaft.
3.4. Using Wrong Hair Products
Using the wrong hair products, which contain drying agents and alcohol, strips the hair and increases hair damage and dryness. If you do not trim your hair regularly and peel off your split ends, it can trigger split ends.
3.5. Weather And Climate
You can control some factors, and some you cannot. Split ends are often caused due to weather and climate of your area.
You cannot control environmental aggressor factors. They can be heat exposure to the sun for a more extended period, lack of humidity, and dryness all contribute to splitting.
3.6. Choosing The Wrong Nutrition
You will develop yourself with what you eat. If your diet lacks certain nutrients, your body will grow its deficiency. An inadequate diet can be vitamin deficiencies, certain missing minerals, and hormones that significantly impact the health of our hair.
3.7. Using Hard Water
As sun exposure can cause damage to your hair, the hard water can also trigger split ends. Hard water, mainly found in pools or the ocean’s salt water, harms the hair, resulting in hair split ends followed by other hair issues.
4. How to Prevent Split Ends: Methods You Must Follow
You can always go for a hair treatment to stop split hair. But there are always some natural methods by which you can prevent split ends.
Preventing is always better treatment. Even if you are not gifted with healthy hair, there are some things that you can try to keep your hair healthy and maintain the hair strands from getting split.
However, it would help if you kept in mind that split ends and dry ends together, so while maintaining your hair for split ends, you also must keep your hair hydrated and clean.
4.1. Nourishing Your Hair
When it comes to growing your hair to shine, long, and strong, nourishing yourself with food is the best medicine. You will grow healthy hair if you consume a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fats, and protein supplements.
Folic acid can significantly improve hair length, health, and thickness. Biotin, which is found in walnuts, lentils, and brown rice, also helps in metabolizing carbs, unhealthy fats, and proteins in such a way that it can strengthen your damaged hair and repair split ends.
However, the folic acid in leafy greens and oranges facilitates red blood cell production and powers your hair growth. It would help if you were well-hydrated every time to avoid split ends and other health complications.
To prevent split ends, you must keep your hair hydrated and nourished. Deep conditioning treatment every week is a good option for hair growth, and stable condition with hair oil can hold your hair fiber, prevent split ends, and keep it clean and hydrated.
4.2. Trimming Your Hairs At An Regular Interval
Regular trims after every five to seven weeks are ideal for your hair. You must avoid peeling off your split ends and should visit the hairdresser after every two months for regular trims.
You have to keep your hair well moisturized and optimally nourished. Since you cannot avoid split ends, you should maintain your hair to reduce the risk of split ends.
4.3. Towel Drying Your Hair
You must check on yourself, on how you towel-dry your hair. Avoid being aggressive with your towel while you dry your hair. It can break the hair strands.
You can shift to a bamboo hair towel to dry hair since the hair is susceptible and traditional towels can cause frizz.
4.4. Switch To Bamboo Pillowcase
The cotton pillowcase can damage your hair during your bedtime. You even have to be careful while you sleep to prevent split ends. So, it would help if you thought of getting a pure silk pillowcase that will give you silky and soft hair.
Also, the bamboo pillowcase will not break your hair strands.
4.5. Using Right Products For Your Hair
You can keep the split ends in check by washing your hair less often and using the correct hair products. Choosing the right moisturizing shampoo, styling products, styling tools, and conditioners for your hair is essential.
Moreover, it would help if you stopped using the hard shampoos on your hair and stripped off the necessary oils. Many hair products are available on the market, filled with all toxic chemicals and ingredients like parabens, sulfates, and harsh drying agents, which cause more hardness on your hair.
Whenever you purchase a hair product, make sure to check all the ingredients included in it, and it will be better if you choose natural hair care products.
Also, check the products that are made for dry and damaged hair. Though high-quality formulas are better for your hair, traditional or natural products can be a good choice. It will save you money from those expensive salon treatments.
4.6. Condition Your Hair
If you feel your hair is incredibly brittle, you can try conditioning shampoo your hair. However, it is also recommended to condition your hair before shampooing from mid-lengths to ends.
The conditioning treatment will help your hair reinforce, avoid hair breakage, and retain moisture. You can finish off by conditioning your hair again for extra shine and softness.
4.7. Home Treatment
The DIY hair oil and hair mask can repair damaged hair, and these hair masks have only two ingredients. Hairs need some extra doses of TLC. So you can schedule a night to pamper your hair once a week and treat your hair yourself.
Hair treatment with natural oils can benefit your hair and prevent hair spits. If you do not have coconut oil, you can use argan oil, almond oil, and olive oil.
Even protein treatment is a great option to repair and restore dry hair. This treatment can be expensive in-salon under hair experts, but many products can help with your protein treatment at home. You can even make some hair mask recipes for yourself and find out which one is the best for you.
Protein Reconstructor Hair Mask is best for treating your damaged hair. They are explicitly formulated with all micro proteins and are very effective in reducing UV damage, effects of aging, causing breakage, and split ends.
4.8. Avoid Coloring Hair
Dying or bleaching can harm your hair. You can opt for the natural color technique to color your hair, including balayage or baby lights. However, using natural color is best, but try not to overuse it.
These hair care products have low maintenance and are also the best. It will also save your wallet and, most importantly, your hair.
4.9. Heat Protectant
Haircare without heat styling is always a better option. But styling your hair daily without heat styling is not possible. So, use a heat protectant spray before blow drying, straightening, or curling your hair with heat tools.
However, this will not prevent heat damage completely, but it will reduce the impact of heat damage coming from hot tools.
To reduce the impact of heat styling tools, try hair air drying as much as possible right before you start styling your hair. Also, make sure you work with clean hair. If there is conditioner or moisture left over on your hair strands, the hair may fry while using heat.
After you style your hair, apply hairspray or shine serum to avoid split ends. However, make sure you use a heat protectant spray, and it should be clinically approved.
4.10. Reduce Heat Intensity
Do not increase the temperature of your heat tools. It is unnecessary, but it can severely damage your hair.
Also, set the heat intensity of blow dryers to a medium heat setting rather than setting it at high intensity.
4.11. Embrace The Natural Texture Of Your Hair
Embracing your hair’s natural texture is much recommended. If you get regular perms or take Brazilian Blowout regularly, you should eliminate it from your hair care routine.
Leaving your hair in its natural and frizzy state can be daunting for many. The chemical processes included in it are not bad for your hair, but inhaling the fumes during treatment can cause dangerous conditions. So, it is better to take some small steps which will not harm the hair and help it be in its natural texture.
4.12. Be Gentle With Your Hair
You must avoid brushing your hair right after a shower. The wet hair is more susceptible to breakage, and split ends occur. We must be gentle with our hair to get rid of split ends and keep the hair healthy.
Instead, you can use a wide-tooth comb to remove the tangles while in the shower. Start from the bottom of your hair and brush your way slowly upwards.
Even while drying your hair with a towel, be gentle with your hair and avoid twisting and wringing them.
Try to tie your hair loosely, and it is even better if you choose a scrunchie (hair tie) or hair clip instead of traditional hair elastics. In addition to this, a ponytail can break your hair strands if using elastic bands and hair ties. All of these can snare your hair.
You can even choose a hairstyle to hide your split ends and stop breaking your hair strands. Try styling your hair with a low or high bun, or you can even try wearing hair extensions.
5. Can You Repair Your Split Ends
You cannot repair split ends. There is no way once you have hair splits or split ends. The only way to hide them is by trimming them. So, prevention is the best option for you to get rid of split ends.
5.1. Trim the Split Ends
It is miserable to tell that split ends cannot be repaired. You can get rid of split ends by trimming them off and following other prevention methods. Since it is non-curable so, preventing it in the very first place is crucial. In addition to this, trimming your hair often can also help your hair grow stronger and faster.
If you do not trim the split ends, it will continue to damage your hair strands from higher hair strands. It will result in frizzier hair.
However, you can even try to smooth your hair with various products of natural oils, argan oil, gels, and serum. Pomades are also beneficial in keeping the hair hydrated and help you get rid of split ends appearance.
5.2. Fake Your Hair Splits
Though prevention is the best approach, once you get split ends, it can be a long way to get rid of split ends and start with hair growth. So, you can fake your split ends. Here you will find some tips to hide your split ends until you overcome them and prevent them.
-
When your hair is still damp, you can spray a leave-in conditioner all along your hair length.
-
Use hair oil or serum (Argan oil will be best) on mid-length, and it will keep your hair hydrated and smoother on the cuticle.
-
When your hair dries, apply some product at the ends of your hair, giving your hair a polished look.
-
Finally, you can use some hairspray and smoothing pomade to remove the hair breakage around the roots and hairline.
6. Do Split End Vary
Though this question is very, we do not speak about it often. People who have curly and kinky hair are more likely to have hair damage and split ends than those who have straight hair.
Curly hairs often lack natural moisture and other essential oils than other hair types, so people with curly hair need to pass through some special considerations during hair care.
7. Bottom-Line
The hair treatment is not limited to some daily wear and regimen. You must use the correct products to stop split ends from happening to your hair.
Though one cannot stop split ends once you get them, there is always a prevention method available for you to get rid of splits on your hair to stop your split ends. You must know how to prevent split ends and what their causes are. You must be very diligent with your hair and treat them properly regularly.
When purchasing hair products, check the products and their ingredients. Many products on the market have toxic chemical compositions that can harm your hair and make it worse. Also, do not forget to check if the products suitable for your hair growth or not.
In addition to this, the hair growth supplements that you take must be approved by your dermatologist. It would be best if you did not act on your own while taking tablets and gummies of hair growth supplements.
Now that you know everything about split ends, their causes, remedies, and prevention, it is now time for you to take care of your hair. Your hair passes through daily wear and tear, which is more harmful. Biotin, zinc, and vitamin C can help you with dry and damaged hair.
Read more from us here.
8. FAQs
8.1 Does Applying Oils or Serums to Your Hair Prevent Split Ends?
By hydrating and nourishing the hair, hair oils or serums can temporarily reduce the appearance of split ends. They can contribute to a temporary bonding of the split ends, reducing frizz and creating a smoother appearance. The only long-term fix is to trim them because they don’t actually fix the split ends.
8.2 Is Split Ends the Reason for My Hair Breakage?
Hair breakdown can be exacerbated by split ends. Split ends can go up the hair shaft if they are not clipped, weakening the hair and increasing its susceptibility to breakage. Split ends can be stopped from causing further harm with regular cuts and good hair care.
8.3 Are Split Ends Bad for Your Hair Care?
Split ends are everyday things that everyone with different hair types experiences. But this does not mean you can ignore the split end because it can wipe off your hair from your head.
Your face split ends when you have damaged your hair and need good hair care to get back to normal.
Last Updated on by Sparsh Sehgal
Author
