Split ends are like lipstick on your teeth: you try to avoid it but you know it’s inevitable. Sooner or later, they’re gonna get you. But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with them on a daily basis.
A little tweak to your haircare routine can turn them into a rare occurrence that’s easy to cut out your life - for real. Here’s the complete guide on how to prevent and treat those dreaded split ends:
What Are Split Ends?
Put simply, you get split ends when your cuticle (the protective outer layer of your hair) is worn away by everyday wear and tear. This leaves the inner core of the hair vulnerable to damage and prone to breakage. Eventually, it either splits in half or breaks off completely.
What Causes Split Ends?
Anything that puts your hair under an incredible amount of stress:
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Chemical treatments, such as dying and perming
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Dry, sunny climates
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Harsh winter weather
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Heating tools like blowdryers, curlers and straighteners
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Washing your hair too often (especially with a harsh shampoo)
- Aggressive brushing, or ripping through tangles
How To Prevent Split Ends
1. Wash Your Hair Less
No one is suggesting you go out with dirty hair, don’t worry! But do you really need to wash it every single day? If you’re screaming yes because your hair turns into a grease ball every morning, why not give dry shampoo a go? It’ll buy you one more day so your hair won’t get too stressed by so much washing.
Here’s the deal: every time you wash your hair, you strip off some of your natural oils. Do it every day and your hair will react in one of two ways: get as dry as the desert or produce way more oil to compensate. Neither is good for you.
Cut back washing to 3 or 4 times a week. If that’s not possible, use the gentlest shampoo you can find or do a pre-shampoo treatment with argan oil first (Why You Should Pre-Shampoo Your Hair with Argan Oil).
2. Protect Hair While Drying & Styling
The best thing of all would be to let your hair air dry and never use any styling tools, but where’s the fun in that? So the next best thing is a leave-in conditioner. Put it on right before you start blowdrying/curling or straightening your hair.
Leave-in conditioners create a protective barrier on the hair that minimizes the damage the heat would otherwise do to your locks. This way, you can enjoy the best of both worlds: pretty curls and no split ends!
By the way, natural oils like Moroccan Organic Argan Oil work just as well at protecting hair from heat damage as they do at moisturizing it.
3. Do A Pure Protein Treatment Once A Month
Split ends happen when keratin, the protein hair’s made of, is slowly chipped away, leaving “open wounds” on the hair shaft. Left alone, they then travel up the shaft, wrecking even more damage in their path.
A protein treatment like our Pure Protein filler treatment simply fills in these wounds, so the weak spots don’t break in the first place. Plus, it helps to keep your hair soft and moisturized for days. Check out this post to find out more about hair protein treatments and how to do one at home (Hair Protein Treatments: What They Are and Why You Should Use One).
How To Treat Split Ends
Bad news: you can’t treat split ends. Once hair is split, you can’t stitch it back together for good. You can only stitch it back together for a while. But in the end, you need to give it a cut eventually. Here's a tip for now though:
1. Condition, Condition, Condition
But if you or the climate you live in are very harsh on your locks, they can still split. When this happens, conditioners go the extra mile. They temporarily seal in your split ends so no one notices them. Your hair looks perfectly healthy.
Just don’t wait too long to do tip number 2.
2. Get A Trim
There’s no way around it: conditioners may temporarily patch up your split ends but if you don’t get rid of them, it’ll only be a matter of time before they start travelling up your hair shaft. And then, you’ll have to cut off a bigger chunk of hair. The horror!
Go to the salon every few weeks to get a trim. It sounds like a chore but it’s a necessary one. Regular trims keep your look fresh and your hair healthy and happy.
Ready to say goodbye to your split ends once and for all?