Split ends are THE WORST. Not only do they look gross, but they signal your hair is damaged. If left untreated the hair can split from the end right up to the root, completely damaging your hair. So you can only imagine my distress when I discovered a few split ends whilst finger combing my hair the other day – cue crying eyes emoji. Even though split ends are totally normal and a part of life, it can still be really annoying to discover in your hair. I should also add that split ends can be more likely to appear in natural/afro hair because this texture is quite delicate. As such, I felt inspired to share tips on how to deal with split ends.
How can I prevent split ends?
Hair masks are one of the easiest, best ways to take care of your hair and prevent split ends. Why? Because they really give your hair the chance to sit still for a twenty minutes to an hour and absorb all the wonderful goodness of its ingredients. Hair mask also provide your ends with the TLC they deserve as they don’t always receive the key elements when they pass down from the root. You should ideally be masking at least once a week (though I tend to mask once every two weeks – but that could be why I’ve suddenly been inundated with split ends grrr). One of my all-time favourite masks is the Vitale Olive Oil Hair Mayonnaise that is packed with oat proteins, cholesterol, olive oil, vitamin e and botanicals. Alternately homemade ones also work nicely, and I found a few nice recipes over on Byrdie. Plus, what could really be better than dosing your hair with a lush mixture while you veg out watching your favourite kdrama… oh just me? Okay.
Moisturise
After masking, making sure your hair is nice and moisturised is a big way to prevent the splitting of your hairs. Like I mentioned above, natural hair is more likely to split thanks to its tendency to dry out and coils that stop nutrients from travelling down to the ends. By moisturising your hair (and again paying closer attention to your ends) you can ensure that every strand is nourished, conditioned and well taken care of. You guys know I love Blue Magic Tea Tree Oil Leave-In Conditioner and the Paltas BKC Leave-In Conditioning Spray as well as a few others. It’s super, SUPER important to make sure you try and moisturise at least three times a week if not every day.
Regular trims
Now, this last one hurts me especially and most naturalistas who are keen on length and are actively trying to grow their hair. I mean, who wants to really snip off ends? However to ensure that splits do not develop as often and to properly get rid of all split ends, a trim every now and again is vital. I also like to think that in the long run, it’s better to have healthy trimmed hair than slightly longer damaged hair.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take some of my own advice and give my hair a quick trim.
alice
xo
