Can Split ends be repaired?

[BlkOnyx488]

Ok I did not share this with you ladies because I was scared I was going to have to cut all my hair off

but a month or so ago, I noticed that I had a ton of split ends
but what freaked me out was that I had splits within the shaft of my hairs and not on the ends.

I came here and did a little research and found that i was not giving my hair enough protein, but I didn't want to go crazy and over do the protein and then have a whole new set of issues. So I got the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor. And I think that's exactly what it has done, I think my hair has been reconsructed.

SO am I going crazy, or can split ends really be repaired?

 

[Your Cheeziness]

Splits can't be repaired, they can be camoflauged, but they'll still be there. Products that say they can be repaired are usually full of silicones to make hair look slick and shiny temporarily.

If you are in need of protein, it should help rebuild the strength, flexibility, and moisture retention to prevent any new splits, but once they're there, they will stay there until they are cut.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

The only way splits can be repaired is with a good pair of hair shears.

Maybe the places where the hair was split within the shaft broke off (when I don't cut mine, they usually break on their own), so it looked like they were gone?

 

[BlkOnyx488]

So could the damaged hairs have just shed away?
I don't use products with silicone in I don't think.

When do an inspection of they hairs I can see they seem to be better
I will not know for sure until after I straighten my hair
I only do that every 3-4 months
I think I am going to wait until I buy a better hair dryer
mine current one is old and I think it could be causing a lot of my issues
because I don't use heat often

Splits can't be repaired, they can be camoflauged, but they'll still be there. Products that say they can be repaired are usually full of silicones to make hair look slick and shiny temporarily.

If you are in need of protein, it should help rebuild the strength, flexibility, and moisture retention to prevent any new splits, but once they're there, they will stay there until they are cut.

 

[longhairlover]

you can conceal them with products but in the end it's best to trim them.

trim little by little and be very gentle on combing and styling your hair til you get rid of all of them.

concealing is ok for a quick fix with end mending products but in the end they have to be cut, even though they are being concealed it doesn't stop them from moving up on the hair shaft it's just a temp cosmetic fix for appearance.

 

[BlkOnyx488]

Is it better to let them break naturally or trim them away?
I do light dustings but I am too sissor shy to do a half inch or more of a cut. and my hair grows slow and inch cut would set be back 6 months

The only way splits can be repaired is with a good pair of hair shears.

Maybe the places where the hair was split within the shaft broke off (when I don't cut mine, they usually break on their own), so it looked like they were gone?

 

[Odd One]

I think it's better to trim them off because they travel up the hair shaft

Girl be courageous.. Im about to trim my hair 2day because of those darn split ends..and I really dont want to

 

[Nonie]

Is it better to let them break naturally or trim them away?
I do light dustings but I am too sissor shy to do a half inch or more of a cut. and my hair grows slow and inch cut would set be back 6 months

Better to trim them away. Waiting for them to break away means they travel up your shaft and finally tear away leaving a thin, lifeless strand. I am a regular dust-er--which means I eliminate split ends before they have a chance to cause my hair any damage. At the risk of boring people to death I will post yet again how successful this method is at keeping my hair and especially ends thick.

This is a year's growth from one inch with regular dusting

This is the the same hair showing 2 year's worth of growth with regular dusting:

This is my hair FOUR MONTHS since the last photo was taken when I didn't dust. I adopted a no-trimming regimen I found on the forum and my hair suffered:

I had to chop off a lot to get it to feel and look right:

Holding onto split ends to keep length or letting them have their way with your hair is a big no-no in my book. BTW, I do believe split ends are inevitable so regular dusting is the only way to keep ends looking healthy and save your hair from looking a HAM down the road. And I don't mean search and destroy because I believe that is a waste of time. I mean just because an end doesn't look split doesn't mean it is a whole intact strand; half of the split may have torn away leaving a single misleading end. So better safe than sorry: dust all strands is what I say.

 

[BlkOnyx488]

Thanks ladies I guess I am in denial LOL

 

[Vshanell]

Is it better to let them break naturally or trim them away?
I do light dustings but I am too sissor shy to do a half inch or more of a cut. and my hair grows slow and inch cut would set be back 6 months

Don't look at it as a setback. Those splits/damaged ends will set you back even more than the trim will. Been there done that.

It's best to get rid of them otherwise they will keep splitting up the strand and breaking taking healthy parts of the strand with it.

 

[ceebee3]

Better to trim them away. Waiting for them to break away means they travel up your shaft and finally tear away leaving a thin, lifeless strand. I am a regular dust-er--which means I eliminate split ends before they have a chance to cause my hair any damage. At the risk of boring people to death I will post yet again how successful this method is at keeping my hair and especially ends thick.


Holding onto split ends to keep length or letting them have their way with your hair is a big no-no in my book. BTW, I do believe split ends are inevitable so regular dusting is the only way to keep ends looking healthy and save your hair from looking a HAM down the road. And I don't mean search and destroy because I believe that is a waste of time. I mean just because an end doesn't look split doesn't mean it is a whole intact strand; half of the split may have torn away leaving a single misleading end. So better safe than sorry: dust all strands is what I say.

Nonie, how often do you dust or trim? I've only been doing it every six months because I can't really see all of my hair to do it well myself.

When I visit the stylist I always ask her to trim about 1/2 inch so I trim about an inch per year.

 

[Nonie]

Nonie, how often do you dust or trim? I've only been doing it every six months because I can't really see all of my hair to do it well myself.

When I visit the stylist I always ask her to trim about 1/2 inch so I trim about an inch per year.

I am not consistent but when I am, I try to do it every 6-8 weeks. I am in extension braids which I put in myself and redo one at a time as needed. So I start at the back, as time allows, and undo each one trimming about 1/4 inch (__ that much) or more if the ends feel too thin for comfort, as happens if I go too long w/o trimming, before rebraiding.

Back when those photos were taken, I had just discovered that there were places online about growing healthy African hair and was excited and diligent in following instructions so I actually kept track. (I was following Brenda's regimen www.blackwomenrejoice.com and had also learned of this regular trimming from Wanakee's booklet after ordering her stuff before finding Brenda's site....and when I was doing it regularly, I saw how well it worked.)

When I was wearing twists, I'd just start from the back and snip ofr the tip of each twist and it kept my ends looking good.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

lol, everyone else done stole my answer.
But I do prefer to trim them away than let them break off.
At least if I trim, the damage is gone and the strand has a nice end. If they break, then they leave a nasty jagged one, and the damage will just keep on going up your hair. So you really lose more hair than you would have if you just trimmed in the first place.

 

[hillytmj]

I say go ahead and trim. You will be surprised at how much better your retention will be once the splits are gone. Also, I have found that when I trim my bad ends off, they grow back quickly. Please keep in mind this principle has worked when I had bad ends; if your ends are healthy and you trim unnecessarily, you may be sacrificing length.

I trimmed in Nov. because my ends got fried from a corrective. I relaxed last week, and I can't really tell that I cut anything.

 

[Your Cheeziness]

Is it better to let them break naturally or trim them away?
I do light dustings but I am too sissor shy to do a half inch or more of a cut. and my hair grows slow and inch cut would set be back 6 months

And you don't want them to break naturally, b/c they won't break evenly. It's like a tree limb breaking off, its jagged and that's how your end will look. It'll split and keep on splitting. Trim it about a .25 to .5 inch above the split to nip it in the bud.

Don't worry, it will definitely grow back and when you take care of your hair, you shouldn't have many splits if any at all. It'll give you a fresh start and your hair will look and feel much better.