Hi everyone,

I'm new to the long hair scene and wanted to know how you trim split ends between regular trimming.

Here's my method:

1.  Get a very sharp pair of scissors.  Embroidery scissors work well for me.

2.  Taking one section of hair at a time (Sections can be large or small amounts of hair.  If you think you have lots of splits, a smaller section would be advised).  Twist the hair into a rope.  The twist does not have to be tight, just enough that the ends of the hair stick out from the rest of the hair.

3.  In good light, look at the ends and snip off any ends that are split or have white dots on them.  Keep the scissors so that the cut is made straight across the end of the hair (to prevent additional splitting).

4.  It can help to have a good contrast color to your hair as the background.  White is good for dark colored hair, black or navy is good for lighter colored hair.

Repeat for as many sections of hair as you have time for!

An alternate method is to put your hair in twin braids and look at the ends that stick out from the braid.

Thank you.

What do the white dots mean? I have some of them, and I could never figure out where they came from? Can you trim the white dots to prevent future splitting?

I think the little white dots means something within the hair's cortex burst. I read something like that on a couple of websites, and here's the web address of them splitends.bebto.com/index.htm. Sorry for not posting a direct link, but it's not letting me do that for some reason

I seem to get a lot of them and I cut them off when doing S&Ds.

Yep, the white dots mean the hair cortex is broken from the inside.  Think of a tree branch that has been bent - the branch is still intact, but everything inside is broken.  This type of damage can come from <gasp> hair toys.  Barrettes and hairties are the primary culprits for this type of damage.

If you don't trim just above the white dot, the hair will eventually break off and will be prone to splitting.

Try this link as most splits will fall into one or another category. I found this useful to know how to identify splits and/or possible splits.

http://splitends.bebto.com/illustrations.htm

Thanks, NR!  I get all of the types listed, yikes!

That is a really interesting site!

Oh wow, I never knew about "the hole".  Interesting site!

Cynde

Good Heavens Bro Juniper - or should I say Holy Holes NR.

Fascinating link - thanks...  g

It was BB's comment about tree branches that made me remember the site. I was hunting for examples of splits because I wanted to try a little S&D.

Oh my goodness!  I've never seen the "hole" before!  :o

Thanks for the site, Rogue!

I was examining my hair today and saw the white dot AND the three branches, plus the regular split ends  :o. I didnt see too many, but time to get out the scissors.

Thanks NR for the link, very interesting indeed.  It does seem to me there's another type of split - or maybe just a version of the "wave."  I get splits I call "feathers."  They usually appear between a half inch to an inch up the shaft from the end, and are a series of splits, sometimes as many as eight, but all within less than a quarter inch.  Looks like the ribs on a feather, hence my "pet" name for them.   >:(  Does anybody else get this type, or am I just lucky?

When I was trimming my hair the other day, I saw some of those  :o.

wrote on Aug 26^th, 2005 at 6:24pm:

What do the white dots mean? I have some of them, and I could never figure out where they came from? Can you trim the white dots to prevent future splitting?

Yeah, I get those a lot. I think it's the point right before you get a split, so it's a good indicator of when to trim. That's been my experiance anyway

Is it just me or does anyone else go running for the scissors everytime they see a split? I hope I'm not getting obsessive about this  :-/. I only found this site a few days ago  :P.

I recently spent a total of over six hours doing S&D - and that's just in the past week.  Obsessive, yes.   ;D  But the good thing is that now I have to calm down a bit, since I seem to have gotten most of the little buggers.

wrote on Aug 31^st, 2005 at 10:20pm:

Is it just me or does anyone else go running for the scissors everytime they see a split? I hope I'm not getting obsessive about this  :-/. I only found this site a few days ago  :P.

I try to get a pair of scissors when I see a split, too. I think I was worse earlier in the summer; I'd actively look for split ends while watching TV.  :P Now I just do that every couple of days.

I think once I get my jojoba oil in, my hair will feel much better  ;D.

i used to sit for hours under a bright light, looking at every single hair, i was driving my mom crazy i stopped- at least in front of her. ;)
now every time i feel my hair is really rough at the ends i go and grab the scissors

When the dots are at the end I think it's good to cut a bit above - but sometimes those little suckers are way up - still best to cut since they'll break off at some point anyway but it's so much more annoying ...

I like to leave the ends uncut as much as possible because I really think cutting makes them more fragile - *says me who just cut three honking inches off* - but they weren't split  8)...g

AAccck! I just noticed today that i have split ends ALL OVER my hair, and i almost started sobbing!
I dont know how i didnt notice, but they are pretty bad, and everywhere...

My hair is very thin and breaks easily - so not all of my hair is at the same legnth- and the splits are everywhere. I dont want to hack off 6 inches of my hair, but i dont know what to do! Im so self concious now! They look horrible and i feel like the only answer is to shave my head or something.  

I dont know why im so scared to cut my hair back so much, i feel like ill be traumatized to lose my legnth!  

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with a million split ends??

Hey shmooey,
I remember seeing a photo of your white-blond hair and being *so jealous.*  If you got a ton of splits, this is what I would recommend:
Get a 1/4 inch trim.  It will help get out a lot of those little white bulbs at the end of your hair (the hair that's broken but hasn't split.)  And then after you get the trim, divide your hair first into two sections, and then divide those two sections (so four in total.)  And then go through them and try and weed out all of those splits.  Just don't cut your splits on an angle.

Then, if you feel like you can't get the splits out, then try to get another trim.  (Maybe do a self-trim, or have someone you trust cut it, so you don't have to take many trips to a salon.)

I hope this helps a bit.

Arrg!  I've been so busy lately that I've neglected to trim my splits... and reading all this makes me really want to get back into the habit... But of course, I'm at school, miles away from my hair scissors.  It's gonna drive me crazy all day now! :P

I always plan to trim my ends when the baby naps....dosent always work out!!! maybe i can get hubby to it? ;D

Is there something we can do to prevent these wonderful things? I would love to know if anyone knows.
Meg

Prevention of split ends:  

Be very gentle with your hair.

wrote on Nov 10^th, 2005 at 5:57pm:

Is there something we can do to prevent these wonderful things? I would love to know if anyone knows. Meg

So would I, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they're inevitable--just like death and taxes.  :P

Everybody's hair is different. But to prevent the ends from splitting, I try to oil them every day. I also get regular trims.

I honestly don't remember the last time I had split ends. The last time I remember seeing any was almost 10 years ago, although I'm sure I had them up until about 6 years ago. *shrug*

I certainly don't have any now.