I just have been flustered recently because i notice i have so many split ends, no matter how often i trim them (every moment im sitting at my computer and i see them) - i dont know how it happens or why- but i have so many little white dots and starts of split ends. I oil the ends of my hair, do CoW's once or twice a week, and i only put my hair up in loose buns- no metal clips or even scrunchii type bands.... i even got rid of my brushes and i only finger-comb my hair...

How does this happen?? I get so depressed when i spend an hour trimming away at my hair and i wake up only to find the same amount as the day before. Is some hair just PRONE to having split ends?? I just feel like my hair will never be as 'healthy' feeling as it can be- with the splits.

Am i doomed forever, or is there something im missing? ???

I know how frustrating this can be.  It sounds like you are taking good care of your hair during the day - how about at night?  

A satin pillowcase might help - or even a sleep cap.   Protecting your hair at night can be just as important as during the day.  Braiding or rolling your hair at night can help protect those fragile ends.

Hope this helps a bit.

I know the feeling, I just got my hair trimmed and I find myself inadvertently sorting through the ends of my hair and I'm still finding splitz, ack! I think the problem, for me anyway, is that I did not get enough trimmed off this time.  I asked her to just nip the ends and layers for me (I have just a few long layers), and she did exactly that...which is good, I'm trying to keep growing, but I don't think I got them all off.  Before I decided to consciously grow my hair long I would go and get 1-4" off, no sweat, now I treasure every mm of growth!  When I would get all those inches cut off, I never had any splitz, now I've got to be much more careful.  HTH  :D

i JUST bought a satin pillowcase two days ago and slept on it last night :) Very nice!!

however, i just normally sleep with my hair down because im not sure what is best- How do i secure my braid at the end (my hair will slip out of braids very quickly) without using some harmful hair thing? Also- can you explain 'rolling' your hair? Sorry  ::) i dont know all the terms yet!

Hi shmmoey!

I use a satin pillow case (made it from the lining of a coat)  I also wear a satin sleep cap as well.  Perhaps the cap would help to keep the hair together when you sleep?  I make a french braid then wear the cap with the tail tucked in.  I just had a major chop myself.

I roll my hair around a sock or a fabric covered foam snap roller.  Once the hair is rolled to my neck, I tie the sock or snap the roller, and voila! the hair stays neatly rolled and protected until morning.  You could also use strips of fabric - they just need to be long enough for your hair to wrap around and then tie off securely.  I like using the sock or foam roller because the ends don't get such a tight curl if they are wrapped around something with at least a 1" diameter.

Metal free elastics are pretty safe for securing the hair. My hair is fragile but I haven't noticed any damage from them. In elastics, it's the metal part that does most of the harm, that or poor coating of the rubber band.
Or you could try a sleep cap. I have a silk sleep cap and it's wonderful.

Don't give up the ghost, shmooey.

Have you read Susan's Ultimate Guide To Growing Long Hair? You'll find it among the many resources featured on this site. If you haven't read it, I would urge you to do so at once. If you have already, then certainly you cannot neglect the first and most important "rule:"


Quote:

1. The first step to growing long, beautiful hair is by far the most important. It is absolutely non negotiable for anyone who wants healthy hair at any length, but it is also by far the hardest step you will have to follow. In order to have long healthy hair you absolutely have to start with healthy hair. You must cut off every inch that is damaged. If you are going for extreme length, from that point on you will have to treat your hair like delicate, antique lace at all times. Remember, once your hair is at your waist the ends can be as many as six years old. Your hair will go through a lot of trauma in six years no matter how careful you are with it. You *must* start out with healthy hair to have healthy hair when it's long, there's no way around it.

Once you have removed ALL of your split ends, it is far easier to keep your hair from getting them.
   There is nothing you can do to fix split ends except cut them off. This may mean losing a few inches, but think of all the trouble you'll save yourself in years to come.

Best of luck, and happy growing.  :)

How did I miss this??  I have to get out from this rock I've been living under!  I have to check this out...

I think i have pretty much cut out all of the old damage i have to my hair, over the last 6-8 months.

I went out to the store and found a satiny sleeping cap thing to wear at night with my satin pillow cases. Ive only worn it for two nights, but wow i can already tell a difference... Maybe im just imagining things but the ends of my hair feel SO much better! I will keep a watch on my split ends and see if this seems to be helping. Also, my hair is so much softer and free of tangles and crap- i love it.

Thanks everyone for the help so far! I will keep you posted  ;D

ok I have a question for this too. I got my hair trimmed about 2 weeks ago to remove split ends, and lost about 2 inches (its been a WHILE since I had it trimmed) and it looks nice, but as I sit and investigate it I see a common problem I've always had. my split ends arnt at the "ends" of my hair, the long hairs which are removed during the common "trim"are fine/healthy (after all they reached longer then any of the others) the majority of my split ends seem to be short, about a 3rd of the way down my hair, sometimes half way down, but very rarely at the bottom of my hair. so is it best to just trim the split ends when I see them at these lengths (it seems like a lot) or to get my hair trimmed much shorter so that most are really gone gone!! (I really dont want to have more trimmed off  :-[  )

I trim the split ends where ever they are.  

Many of my splits are not at the bottom of my hair length.  Not all your hair is ever going to be one length.  There will always be hair strands that are growing to catch up with the length.  If you get a split on a growing hair, you should trim the split off so that it can continue to grow and not suffer more damage.

When I went to get a trim about six weeks ago, I told the hairdresser that I was intending to try growing my hair and not to take to much off. I`ve got layers in my hair....not from a haircut style but from damage. I can see where last summer`s holiday was, ouch ouch! I was a bit surprised when she started trimming the layers and repeated that I wanted to keep the length...but she was quite firm that she wanted to get the damaged upper bits off too. She did quite a lot of poking around for split ends as well.

She did a great job and the layers lie smooth now, instead of these tatty little fuzzy lines at odd lengths. I should have trusted her...she`s in her fifties and has long silky hair down to her waist.

So I`m a convert to cutting off splits no matter where they are. A split is just going to get worse and you`ll lose that hair anyway. Might as well keep the hair at a slightly shorter length, no?

Slightly shorter healthy hair is better than longer hair that's unhealthy and will be shorter eventually anyway. Splits are evil and haunt me too.
Meg

wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2006 at 7:56pm:

She did a great job and the layers lie smooth now, instead of these tatty little fuzzy lines at odd lengths. I should have trusted her...she`s in her fifties and has long silky hair down to her waist. So I`m a convert to cutting off splits no matter where they are. A split is just going to get worse and you`ll lose that hair anyway. Might as well keep the hair at a slightly shorter length, no?

Oh, can I ask if that hairdresser lives in Dallas, Texas?  Or nearby?  I've been looking for a stylist whom knows how to handle long hair.  Most stylists I've meet want to comb my hair with this comb that has lots of teeth really close together and they want to comb my hair when it's wet from the top.  With great belief in pulling.  Ouch!

Anyway...
new to this list.

Just wandering around and checking posts.  
:)
BEM