After your trim, your hair bounces around and looks fresh from the salon. That’s great, but what about in the weeks and months after? You don’t want to be in the salon every week trying to get your split ends trimmed and fixed.
There’s no need to, either. With a bit of care and attention between visits, you can improve the look of your hair. Here is your simple guide to getting rid of split ends naturally, inexpensively, and healthily.
Is Your Hair Split?
If you don’t know if your hair is split, don’t be embarrassed. Many women don’t know the signs of split hair. Even when they look, they wouldn’t be able to tell someone if there were the signs of a problem or not.
It’s not as easy as seeing a split all the way up in some cases. There are different types of splits that you can suffer from, including single, triple and even tree splits.
The hair should flow to the bottom, with the ends strands looking straight and full. If there is a hint of two strands right at the end of one, this is a sign that there is a split.
You may feel the splits before you see them. This is often when you brush. If you feel tangles forming while you brush, the hair is getting caught in the splits to make it harder for you. You may also see some discolouration at the tips, with the splits often looking lighter than the rest of your hair. Your hair can also look zig-zag or uneven at the tips.
If you visit a stylist, she will be able to tell you when and if there is a problem. She’ll also give you other signs to look out for depending on your particular hair type.
Know What’s Causing Split Ends
We all get split ends throughout the year. It’s not because we don’t condition, but because of the damage we cause through other tools. Even if we do condition on a daily basis, our hair ends up split and frayed.
You need to know what’s causing your split ends. Without that, you can’t possibly start getting rid of them.
Heat treatments are the worst problem for the hair. Whether you curl, straighten or blow dry, the heat damages the locks and ends up splitting the ends. The more you use the treatments, the worse your hair will get and look. Sure, you can use protective treatments, but your hair will still suffer from some of the heat.
You see, the heat dies your hair out. This ends up with damaged roots, leading all the way down to the tips.
Your hair brush is also causing a problem. No, you can’t avoid combing, but you need to think about the damage you cause as you get the tangles out. If you pull, you’re just going to tear and break the strands. This leads to split ends on a daily basis.
Avoid brushing your hair when it’s still wet. Gently comb through and push your knots to the end to get them out. When you are brushing, do it gently and slowly. Give yourself time to protect your hair.
Colouring your hair isn’t going to help matters either. The chemicals are damaging and drying so your locks will suffer. Even using the leave-in conditions and colour-designed shampoos isn’t going to help your hair completely.
But you don’t want to stop colouring completely, do you? You’ll want to curl your hair and make sure it stands out for your events or when you’re with your friends. Well, that means you need to take these steps to protecting it from getting rid of split ends.
Nourishment Is a Necessity
Your hair doesn’t just need conditioning. It needs full nourishment and coconut oil is one of the best ways to do that. You may feel like a coconut does everything for you, but there’s a reason for that: it genuinely is one of the best types of oils out there.
Not only does the coconut oil help to nourish the hair, but it has a low SPF value. Your hair is protected from sun damage! The coconut oil is also full of vitamins and antioxidants. They help to get deep into the roots and repair from the inside out.
You’ll want to work on a section at a time. This isn’t a quick, 10-second treatment. It needs to be left on the hair for at least 30 minutes but overnight is a great option. The oil will help to get into the scalp and encourage the natural oil production.
Massage the oil into the scalp and work through to the middle of your hair length. There’s no need to put it right into the tips. Now wrap your hair in a towel and leave it for the time period. If you are going to do it overnight, a plastic wrap around your hair will protect your pillow and sheets from the leaking oil.
Rinse the oil out of your hair with lukewarm water and shampoo it twice. This will get the oil out and then help to cleanse the hair fully. You don’t want the oil to build up on your hair, as it can leave it looking greasy and limp.
Try not to use too much of the oil. It can be heavy, so start with small amounts and work your way up. You should use this rule when using any type of home remedy, as many of the oils tend to be heavy and can lead to excess oil production from the scalp.
Before using this method, make sure your hair is clean. When the hair is dirty, the oil’s nutrients can’t get through. The dirt forms a sort of block on the hair and scalp.
You’ll only need to use this method once every couple of weeks.
Add Some Protein to Your Hair
Your hair gets damaged because of a lack of protein. This is the food group that helps to create the strong building blocks for your whole body. Without the strong blocks, your hair ends up weak and will be more susceptible to damage.
Protein is easy to add to your hair, and there’s no need to worry about eating the right foods. You just need to add the right stuff to your hair! Start with avocado, eggs and olive oil.
The eggs are perfect for protein, and you can apply them on their own if you really want. The problem is they can be sticky and difficult to work through your strands. However, the eggs will help to protect the hair better from heat damage due to the protein levels. You’ll see fewer split ends to form, as well as reversing some of the damage caused.
Avocado offers the healthy fats that help to create a hormonal balance within the hair. When the hormones are out of balance, the hair weakens. It loses its shininess and starts to look limp and boring.
Finally, the olive oil is full of vitamins and antioxidants, which offer the same benefits as the coconut oil mentioned above. The oil is also sleek and will help to add some natural conditioning to the strands.
Mix the three ingredients together to create a protein mask for your hair. You’ll want to apply directly to freshly shampooed hair, and create it so that it has a thicker consistency than normal conditioner. Think of it actually as a facial mask but for your hair instead.
Leave for around 30 minutes, with your hair pinned up with a soft clip. Wrap with a towel if you want to keep your clothing protected.
Rinse with warm water. Avoid hot water as this will just damage your hair.
You’ll need to do this once a week to see all the benefits to repair your split ends and prevent others forming in the future.
Add the Fish Oil
Fish oil is more beneficial than you would initially think. It doesn’t just improve your brain health but helps to protect your hair. The omega-3 fatty acids offer the strands to keep hair shiny, strong, and flowing. The oil will also help to balance out the natural oils in the scalp to prevent the hair drying out.
You don’t have to find a way to get fish oil into your diet. You can add it to some coconut oil and create a mask for your hair. You can also make it into a fresh-smelling leave-in condition by adding some lavender or orange essential oil.
This is one of those treatments that you don’t want to add to the whole of your hair. You only need to apply it to the tips, where the split ends are. Work up but don’t let the oils touch the roots of your hair. It’s not going to damage your scalp, but it can lead to too much oil production. Your roots will soak up all the oils, and it will make it extremely difficult to get rid of the oils later.
Leave the mixture in for around 40 minutes. This is a great one for overnight, but you’ll need to wrap your hair to protect your sheets.
Double wash your hair to remove all the oils. This will prevent the build-up of oils within the roots.
Don’t Forget Your Vitamins
Your B vitamins are essential for healthy hair. These are always vitamins that you can add directly to your locks, so you’ll need to add them to your diet.
Folic acid and biotin are the two vitamins that you want to focus on the most. They are essential for building blocks to supplement your overall health, as well as the health of your hair. If you have long hair, you should especially consider adding both of these vitamins to your diet.
Folic acid helps with the red blood cell production. Your hair needs this to create strong locks and shiny hair, especially when it gets longer. The biotin then offers the extra strength by helping protein and fats metabolise in the body.
The great news is both of these are easily gained through the diet. You can eat dark green leafy vegetables, lentils, brown rice, walnuts, and even oranges. There’s no excuse not to get enough of either.
Following a healthy and balanced diet is one of the best things you can do for your overall health. But having one particular reason—like healthy, shiny hair—can help you get in the right mindset.
Opt for Regular Trimming
One of the biggest reasons for split ends is not getting the hair trimmed regularly enough. Every three to six months is the best option to protect your hair. You’ll also get the salon conditioning treatments.
The more you use heat or colour on your hair, the more often you’re going to need to go. This can help to prevent the tips dying, so they don’t become as tangled and difficult to brush through.
There’s no need to spend a fortune. Just a quick trim regularly will help you benefit, and make sure the scissors are sharp enough to avoid pulling accidentally.
If you are going to cut your hair at home, invest in some hair shears. They are designed to cut straight across the hair and not create more split ends. Your paper scissors can actually make it worse.
It’s Time to Fix Your Split Ends
Nourishing your hair won’t just help to repair damage to your hair, but will help to avoid it occurring in the first place. By using some of the treatments above as part of your regular hair care routine, you won’t even have to think about looking for signs of split ends because they won’t occur.
Many of the treatments above will help to add nutrients that heat and colour treatments remove. If you do regularly blow dry, dye, or even straighten your hair, just use some coconut oil or an avocado-egg mask to add proteins back in.
Now you have the tools, it’s time to fix your split ends. Which one will you try first?
While you might be tempted to hide your locks under a sunhat all summer long to hide split ends, it’s better to just take care of the problem once and for all.
Here are tips on how to combat spill ends before they become a bigger problem:
- The best way to avoid split ends is to trim your hair regularly, preferably by a professional who’ll use the right tools for the job.
- Avoid subjecting your hair to excessive heat by minimizing blowouts and the use of curling irons. You can still look cute without frying your hair every day.
- Use a really high-quality mask to regularly lock in moisture in your hair.
- When washing your hair, make sure the shampoo gets into the roots by massaging it in gently with your fingers. Once you’ve rinsed the shampoo, lather the ends with conditioner and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing it off.
- Always use a wide-tooth comb on your hair after taking a shower as harsh brushes can break wet hair.
- To dry your hair, wrap a soft towel around it and gently squeeze out the moisture in sections.
