Split Ends? Tips to Prevent and Treat this Common Hair Problem

How to Protect Your Hair From Breaking

Alex3 weeks ago

15 7 minutes read

Split ends is a common (but aggravating!) hair issue and you need care and attention because they could be a symptom of a problem in the structure of the hair itself. How to prevent split ends from forming? How to treat them with natural products or remedies without cutting hairs?

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What are Split Ends ?

It refers to a rather frequent hair problem that needs to be treated, in order not to damage the hair too much and getting worse.

Split ends are what they say : the hair splits in 2 parts at his final part. Also known as tricoptilosis, this is an alteration of the hair shaft, especially frequent in women who wear medium-length, thick hair.

How to Recognize Splits Ends ?

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The first signal of the presence of split ends are knots at the comb that break.

One method to tell if you have this problem is to make a ponytail and observe his final part : is it even and compact? Or are there long and short ends? If so, there could also be split ends.

Long hair tend to lose elasticity and ages prematurely: their ends become dry, lightless, and split over 2-3 cm. There are probably split ends as well.

split ends

What are the Causes of Split Ends ?

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There are many causes of the formation of split ends. It should be emphasized that split ends are formed in weakened hair: this is mostly hair that grew and lost elasticity and aged prematurely, reducing the amount of internal creatine.

The causes of this weakening can be attributed to:

severe iron deficiencies
external causes such as ultraviolet rays (prolonged exposure to the sun or tanning lamps), air pollution, excessively dry air, chlorine from swimming pools, salt, wind, and cold
cosmetic treatments such as excessive heat from the hair dryer, use of flat iron to straighten hair and use of iron to curl it , frequent brush use
chemical treatments for hair coloring or bleaching and perming
a poor diet
smoking habit can cause weakening of the hair which is the main risk factor for the establishment of split ends

How to Treat Split Ends ?

Taking care of this problem is possible even without going to the extreme of cutting hair to eliminate them.

There are excellent cosmetic products able, if used regularly, to repair the micro-fractures suffered by the hair; they can be found in perfumeries and are quite expensive. They are based on aminoacids similar to keratin, proteins of plant origin, or based on minerals such as iron, manganese, copper and zinc, and vitamins.

There are also natural products for use in daily care designed to prevent damage to the ends of the hair: these are oils that are massaged into the ends to make them stronger. They create a coating and rebuild the hydrolipidic film, like a protective sheath.

Natural Products for Split Ends

To treat and nourish your hair, simply apply some natural oils directly from roots to the tips in order to prevent the forming of new split ends:

coconut oil to be rubbed directly to wet hair, it is an effective restorative. This beauty treatment can be repeated every 15 days.
sweet almond oil natural nourishing to be left on for 20 minutes.
shea butter, regenerating to distribute only on the tips with the fingers.
broccoli oil as smoothing, polishing and anti-frizz

Products to avoid in case of Split Ends

There are many products to nourish the ends of the hair, and there are also many products that ostensibly solve the problem but actually damage the hair even more: this is the case with shampoos, conditioners, and serums containing silicones, parabens, and salts.

Therefore always try to use organic and natural products.

How to Prevent Split Ends ?

Prevention is always the better choice. In case of split hair the only real way to get rid of them is trimming them off. Some practical tips must be followed so that they do not form on the hair.

It is recommended to:

make a haircut every two months: 1.2 cm is enough
wash hair every 2-3 days, not daily and use shampoos suitable for your hair type
don’t use excessively hot water for rinsing and blow dry not too hot
do not rub the hair after washing too vigorously but dab lightly
comb hair while it is still damp but not wet with an antistatic wide-toothed comb
avoid chemical treatments: perms, dyes and bleaching
brush hair with soft bristles
combing hair too tightly and for a long time slows growth: it’s okay to keep hair tied back but every now and then you need to let it breathe

In short, one must treat hair with consideration, without using force in a gentle way. If it is more brittle and dull, perhaps at certain times of the year, keratin treatment is recommended.

split ends

How to Prevent Split Ends with a diet

To prevent the problem, it is necessary to have a proper diet, rich in minerals and vitamins, and to drink plenty of water: especially scalp, it counteracts split ends and makes hair stronger.

Which are Natural Remedies for Split Ends

Hair should be cared for like everything else in the body. Natural remedies to eliminate split ends are many: here are some easy-to-prepare recipes for making DIY masks.

Oil, egg and apple cider vinegar mask for Split Ends

Ingredients for a fortifying oil and vinegar mask:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1egg
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Preparation. In a dish, beat the egg and then add oil and apple cider vinegar. The mixture should be heated in a double boiler. When lukewarm apply to the tips and leave on for half an hour. Rinse well and wash hair with a mild shampoo. Use conditioner as well.

Egg Mask for Split Ends

Ingredients for an invigorating and healing mask:

2 yolks
warm water

Preparation. In a bowl beat the eggs. Add a little warm water and continue beating. When it becomes a smooth mixture put on all the hair from root to ends. Cover with a cap or plastic wrap and leave on for half an hour. Then proceed with thorough washing.

Mask with essential oils

Ingredients for a lavender oil and vitamin E compress that can be purchased in drugstores in capsules.

a few drops lavender essential oil
coconut oil
1 capsule vitamin E

Preparation. Mix the vitamin E capsule with coconut oil and a few drops of lavender essential oil in a container that you are going to heat in a water bath. When lukewarm, soak your split ends and let them soak for almost an hour.

Honey Wrap

Ingredients for a fortifying mask:

2 and 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation: Mix olive oil with pure honey and apply to hair for half an hour. Rinse and wash with gentle natural products.

How to Treat Split Ends with henna

Neutral henna nourishes, eliminating dryness, frizz and split ends.

It should be applied to the hair like a mask: leave on for at least an hour and repeat once a month. The results on your split ends will be amazing: however, beware, henna is a natural dye, make sure it is neutral and if your hair is light there is a risk of it turning orange. It is not, therefore, the first method we recommend.

Burning off Split Ends with a Candle

Can you burn off split ends? Absolutely not! The old-fashioned and dangerous method our grandmothers used was to twist the hair strands, popping out the damaged ends, and bring them closer to a distance of about 5 cm from a candle to burn the split ends in this way.

The method is first of all dangerous, not effective, in fact it worsens the situation by making the hair even more brittle and stressed.

Hair Straightener to Eliminate Split Ends

Online and at some beauty salons they use an innovative straightener to remove split ends from hair. It costs 100 to 200 euros and is a straightener that removes even the most stubborn damaged ends.

Does your Hair grow with Split Ends ?

Dry hair and split ends are among the factors that slow growth because they are indicative of weak hair. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the hair starting from the scalp.

Split Ends in the beard

This problem is also common in men’s beards especially if the beard is long and thick. On the other hand, if the beard is short and requires constant trimming, split ends do not take time to form.
The causes of this problem in beards are:

dryness of the hair due precisely to sebaceous glands that do not produce enough protective oils
using of aggressive products or products containing chemicals (perfumes for example)
using of dyes
excessive heat or temperatures that are too low

Remedies for split ends in the beard

To prevent this problem in the beard, one must:

have a balanced diet
wash the beard often but only with water
use the right products such as oil and conditioner but natural, with no alcohol

You can make your beard beautiful and healthy with the use of oils, such as argan oil.