I have very thin and fine blonde hair that tangles very easily.  I need some suggestions on how to treat the ends to keep them from thinning excessively.  I trim off several inches to get my hair thicker, but it grows right back the same way.  I posted a picture of my hair in the photos section today if you want to to see my issues.  That picture was taken a couple of months ago before I trimmed off 5 inches.  Thanks for you ideas..............

Jim

Thinning ends usually mean there is breakage.  You might look for split ends higher up on the hair and trim those, thereby potentially preventing more breakage.

I've found that keeping the ends soft helps minimize breakage.  I regularly oil the ends and I try to protect them when I sleep.  

If you wear your hair in a braid frequently - the hair tie on the end might be causing breakage at that point.

I wear my hair in a braid most every day....or a pontail.  
I use the "ouchless" plastic elastic, expandable ties for the end of the braid...not rubber bands.  I must have a lot of split ends that have wreaked havoc with my mane.
Thanks Bikerbraid.

Jim

Yeah, even the ouchless bands are still bands that are tight around your hair, Blondestorm.  I've gotten to a point that I braid my hair then twirl it in a bun without fastening the ends and using hairsticks, which don't clamp down on hair, but merely catch it.

I guess the best piece of advice I can give you is try using a fabric covered elastic whenever possible as that has less friction on the hair.  And have you ever though about "banding" your hair?  I've seen this done several places... where a strip of leather or ribbon is wound round a braid from top to bottom.  I hear it's a very protective hair-style.

Much luck to you!

I'm familiar with this one.  ;D I'm struggling with thinning ends too though my hair is barely BSL length, but at the moment, I think I'm winning.

Some thoughts:
-Trimming every 6 months is enough for some, but it seems that many people with fine/thin hair are better off if they trim less but more often. I'm currently experimenting with small trims every 3 months. So far, I feel this is much better than last year when I tried to go 6 months between trims- I always ended up chopping more than I had planned to because I wanted thicker ends. Between trims, it's a good idea to do small search & destroy missions to keep split ends in control. While trims improve thickness, they don't take care of nearly all the splits.

-You may need to pamper and protect your ends extra carefully. Keep your hair down or in a ponytail as little as possible. Buns are very protective (and I think they look good on men!), also segmented ponytails and braids are good. Keep your in a braid or segmented ponytail for night. If your hair tangles at first opportunity, don't give it that opportunity!
   Do deep treatments often- homemade treatments tend to be the best. Lastly, but not least importantly, try throwing your brush away and switching to combing only. Many people (including me) noticed immediate decrease in their shedding rate.

-I agree with those who tell you to pay attention to what type of hairties you use. Scrunchies are the gentlest, but I prefer to use flat, metal free elastics to secure braids. I have noticed no damage from this. I don't know the "ouchless brand", but if they are plastic "hairsafe" ties, they don't seem quite as gentle as abovementioned elastics. They are thin and sit tight- I think they could well cause damage at least to fine hair.

-A word of encouragement: with good care and patient search& destroy missions, it's totally possible for you to get rid of most splits. When I came to this board, my hair had lots of splits, now it has "next to none". The amount has decreased maybe 95%- something I wouldn't ever thought even possible. You can do it too!

wrote on May 16^th, 2006 at 5:05am:

Do deep treatments often- homemade treatments tend to be the best. Lastly, but not least importantly, try throwing your brush away and switching to combing only. Many people (including me) noticed immediate decrease in their shedding rate.

I'm with Galadriel on this one!  I gave up brushing (now I brush with a boar bristle brush only when I need to "fluff" the roots for special occasion hairdos) a few months back and the decrease in splitting ends and tangling was amazing.  I just love my much-used wide toothed comb.   :)