Every woman wants to do cute hairstyles with their pretty, healthy, nice hair. But somehow, they can't manage to get the look they want. Why is that? Split hair. Most women in America have that hair problem.
Though any woman can have this hair issue with any hair type, and it is found that most people of African descent have this hair problem higher than others.
So what do people do when they have split hair? They just start to cut their hair. However, it might help you for the time being. Cutting down your hair is not a permanent solution. There are many easier and more handy solutions to get rid of split hair and get the nice hair back in your life.
What Are Split Ends, And What Causes Split Ends?
When the tip of your hair becomes dry, brittle, and frayed, it is called split ends. They may compare the end of an untwisted rope. Exposure to scorching weather conditions, environmental factors, hair care products, and techniques such as blow drying, hair extensions, heat styling, straightening, perms, coloring, rapid use of shampoo and conditioner, and curling may cause split ends.
Types Of Split Ends
Well, there are lots of types of split ends. Some look like trees, some look like a candle, and some may look like a thin line of extra hair. All these types of split ends indicate a health issue. Like the split ends, describe why they are split.
The Tree Split
Like a tree, your end of the hair gets lots of branches. Those branches indicate the most damaged part of the hair fiber.
If you have a tree split, book an appointment with your saloon as early as possible. You need to cut them off to make cute hairstyles.
The Basic Split
The most common split hair problem. The end of the hair gets split into two parts. If you have a nice hair check carefully, you will find these basic splits.
A basic split is nothing to worry about. It's just a primary stage of split hair. They indicate taking more nutrients and natural oils.
Fork In The Road
When you don't take care of the basic split, you are heading to have a fork-in-the-road split. Your hair end will offer you more hair branches.
The fork in the road split indicates that the hair needs deep conditioning treatment and hair mask. It's losing its hydration due to use of heavy shampoo and conditioner.
The Candle
This split means the significant loss of the outer cuticle with no split. The hair ends get thinner than the beginning of the hair. It means the split hair is about to begin.
The candle split is an indication to trim the hair and nourish the hair health with lots of nutrients.
The knot
Usually, curly hair has a knot split problem. The end of the hair gets knotted and eventually breaks.
Those who have curly hair need to be more careful while brushing their hair to avoid these breakages.
How To Fix Split Ends?
Gosh! There is no possible way of fixing split ends. You have to cut them off. Once you have split hair, there are no chemicals, shampoo, oil, or any treatment that can fix the split hair. Split hair means that the end part of your hair is damaged and will continue damaging unless you cut them off.
So, what are we going to do? Keep letting split the hair? Nope. Never. Healthy hair means taking care of your hair to prevent split ends. In that case, prevention is the best remedy. Taking precautions is the best idea so that you won't have to deal with a scissor to cut your split hair in the near future.
Tips To Avoid Split Ends
It's a fight between split ends vs healthy hair. Though you can't get rid of split ends, you can limit the number of split ends. The fewer split ends, the more beautiful, healthy, and nice hair you will carry for cute hairstyles.
Here, we will discuss 5 tips that can help you to prevent split ends.
Be Gentle While Washing Your Hair - Not Too harsh On them
Wet hair is the weakest thing in your body to damage easily. Hair gets vulnerable when it's wet. That's why you should be gentle while shampooing and conditioning your hair. And also use mild shampoo and conditioner.
Don't start to rub your hair. It's your hair, not a sink, that you need to rub! Also, don't rub your hair with a microfiber towel to dry them. Rubbing with a towel will instantly damage the hair texture and ends of your hair. It also causes physical damage to your hair cuticle. Try to dry your hair in the open air.
Detangle The Tangled Hair
Tangled hair is always difficult to manage. Especially the wet hair. Use your fingers and a wide-tooth comb to detangle the hair first and then comb gently. Roughly combing on tangled hair will lead you to the breakage of hair.
Hydrate And Moisture Your Hair
Dehydration will ruin the health of hair. Dryness is the enemy of hair. It will cause split ends, dry hair, fizzy hair, and broken hair.
Use a hair mask once a week, and moisturize your hair with good oil, which has vitamins E and A. Your hair will feel soft, and you will instantly notice a big difference
Coconut oil and olive oil are good sources of hair hydration. Use these hair oils before shampooing. But don't leave it overnight if you have sensitive or oily skin.
Also, you can use aloe vera, milk, coconut milk, honey, and banana hair masks as hydration hair musk. The mask will make the hair softer, smoother, and shinier.
Avoid Heat
Yes, I know, curling irons, flat irons, straightener, hot tools or blow dryer is a great help in doing ravishing and cute hairstyles. But they are cruel to your hair, and they damage the natural hair cuticle, resulting in damaged hair and split ends.
Use them occasionally for styling purposes. Not regularly. And also, dry your hair without a blow dryer.
Avoid overbrushing
100 brush strokes on your hair regularly will make the blood circulation active in the scalp to grow hair. Don't follow this. It's a myth, and you don't need to do that at all. Brush your hair when you need it. You can use a detangling product to get rid of knots.
Excess brushing will create hair damage, including split ends and breakage. Always comb your hair gently.
Use A Silk Pillowcase
Protect your hair at night by using a silk pillowcase. It also prevents split ends. To reduce friction, sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase instead of a cotton pillowcase. A silk or satin pillowcase allows the hair to glide over the pillow.
Or else you can wear a silk scarf at night while sleeping. It will also protect your hair from breaking and split ends.
Food For Hair
Nutrition and vitamins are the hair growth booster for healthy hair. Try to add more vitamins, green veggies, and fruits that work best in hair growth and prevent split ends.
Eat this food as a hair growth booster
- Eggs.
- Berries.
- Spinach.
- Fatty fish.
- Sweet potatoes.
- Avocados.
- Nuts.
- Seeds.
Conclusion
Avoid hair coloring, too much heat, flat iron, and curling iron. These all will lead you to a new split. To keep your hair healthy, use heat-protectant products while you have to use
excessive heat for styling.
Remember, heat can destroy the smooth cuticle and protective layer. No matter how strong hair you have, blow dryers and heat will develop split ends.
Regular trims will also help to maintain hair health. Because the dead ends of your hair are the oldest section of the hair. It should be cutting down.
Frequently Asked Question
Question 1- Do Split Ends Stop Hair Growth?
Answer 1 - Split ends don't stop hair growth or create barriers to growth. Hair grows from the roots, not the tips of the hair.
Question 2: What happens if you don't cut split ends?
Answer 2: Having split ends can result in thin and frail tresses. The split ends continue unraveling the hair shaft, and if you do not cut them off, the hair will split much more rapidly.
Question 3 - Is healthy hair thick or thin?
Answer 3: It is more likely that thicker hair strands will have a defect, which makes them more likely to break. Although thick hair may be desirable, it is not necessarily the strongest. In studies of hair breakage, scientists found that thin hair is more likely to be stronger than thicker locks.
Question 4 - What Is Healthy Hair Look Like?
Answer 4- Healthy hair strands have a glow, luster, little breakage, and minimal shedding. Healthy hair is moisture-rich, reflects light, does not break when brushed, and of course, healthy hair does not contain dandruff.
Question 5: How do I know if I have unhealthy hair?
- Excessive hair shedding.
- Plenty of split ends.
- Dull hair
- No shine.
- Tangled.
- Extremely dry or brittle.
- Rough to the touch.
- No volume
- Lack of elasticity.
- Breaking and snapping.