A big question when having healthy hair and growing out hair is, how to treat split ends and how to avoid them.
Split ends are normal and it’s very hard to avoid them completely.
Also, you can’t mend split ends. Once the hair is split, you have to cut it off to get rid of it fully.
There are some split ends best practices to treat split ends for healthy hair.
If you want even more tips on how to protect your hair from other problems, check out this blog post!
Get Trims Regularly
If you use heat on your hair a lot, have dry hair, and more damaged hair overall, you might need to get trims more often than others. Cutting them off is the only way to treat split ends.
It’s usually recommended to trim your hair:
- 6-8 weeks to maintain the length
- 8-10 weeks if you are trying to grow your hair
However, if you notice more snagging, breakage, or a split end before, you should get it cut soon.
When the hair is split, it can keep splitting up the hair compromising the entire hair strand and its health.
Keep in mind that thicker hair can usually last longer between trims as opposed to thin hair which might need more frequent trims.
You don’t need to go to the salon every time. You can do quick trim on yourself or just cut off the split ends as you see them
Here is an entire blog post on ways to trim your split ends at home and different techniques.
There is the myth that if you cut your hair regularly, your hair will get longer. While you are cutting your hair and therefore making it shorter, you are helping maintain the health of the hair strands to help your hair grow longer over time.
Limit Heat
I will never not use heat on my hair and I’m not going to tell you to, but limiting the amount of heat you put on your hair throughout the week will help keep it healthy.
Using heat on your hair changes the shape of your hair’s keratin strand which eventually leads to weaker hair, loss of its elasticity, and becomes more prone to damage.
Always use heat tools on a lower setting and ALWAYs use a heat protectant. While a heat protectant won’t completely prevent heat damage, does help at least 50%.
Be Gentle When Brushing
Brushing your hair too much can stress out your hair. Over-brushing will lift the hair cuticle, create too much friction and cause split ends.
You also want to be gentle when brushing your hair to avoid friction and ripping out your hair if there are knots. Start from the bottom of your hair and work your way up.
If your hair is super knotted, go in with a wide tooth comb first, start at the bottom, and gently pick through the knots.
Avoid Friction at Night
We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping and that means our hair is rubbing on our pillow all night and being thrown around.
You need to get a silk or satin pillowcase. Read more about why here.
In short, satin helps the hair glide to avoid friction and tugging as you move when you sleep.
Also, keep hair up off your body while you sleep whether it’s in a high ponytail, in a bonnet, or in a heatless curl hairstyle. Your body temperature mixed with the heat with friction can cause hair damage.
Keep your ends away from your body and pillowcase as much as you can while you sleep.
Minimize Bleaching
It’s no secret that bleaching your hair is damaging. But if you limit it and do it right, it can be done with little damage.
Find a color look that is less upkeep and try to avoid bleaching hair that is already bleached. AKA rebleaching the ends.
A live-in color style like a balayage, smudge root, or shadow root helps you go longer between coloring sessions but can give brightness where needed for dimension.
Go longer Between Washes
Water can be damaging to your hair and having your hair wet when it’s most fragile is where the most damage can occur.
Water is drying and overwashing your hair, especially with harsh shampoos can dry out the hair even more (and your scalp).
Most people only need to wash their hair 1-2 times a week. If you are more active, you might want to do a little more. However, if you have fine hair, you might want to do a little less.
While you don’t want to over-wash your hair, please don’t go longer than 7-10 days without washing. I don’t care if someone said that you should ‘hair train’. It’s just gross to go too long In between washes. You are probably clogging your hair follicles by not washing enough which can lead to more damage like hair loss, breakage, and dryness over time.
Use Hydrating/Moisturizing Masks
Dry hair is damaged hair. So make sure you try to hydrate your strand with products that bring hydration back in.
A deep conditioning mask is great as well as hydrating leave-in conditioners and oils after you wash your hair.
I use hair oil on my ends almost every night to help protect them. It also helps bring nourishing ingredients to my strands while I sleep.
What do you think of these tips to treat split ends? Which ones are you already doing and which ones you are going to incorporate?
XO, Annie
