How do you take care of your ends?

[FebeeSigns]

They're the oldest part of our hair and I recently got my hair straightened for a trim .I realized the ends of my hair would simply not straighten like the rest of my hair, they were extremely raggedy, rough to the touch while the rest of my hair was silk.erplexed I thought I was taking very good care of my ends by moisturizing and sealing but apparently this isnt enough. Perhaps I should trim more often because I have some really bad splits, yet I use no brushes, wide toothed combs, hardly except to detangle gently. I couldn't tell my ends were so bad UNTIL I got my whole head flat ironed because when I'm natural it just pretty much blends in.

I've been lurking this forum for quite some time and decided to just go ahead and subscribe because I just can't deal with them anymore. Trimming so much is just setting me back further from my goal so any tips and suggestions on how to better care for your ends to prevent roughness, dryness and splits are greatly appreciated.

 

[Whimsy]

Oooh yes trim the splits asap!

I take care of my ends by keeping them moisturized and sealed and hidden away a lot. I wear my hair out loose a decent amount but I bun a lot too, and I protect my hair when i'm in my house. (scarfs/bonnets)

 

[Whimsy]

Oh, and WELCOME!!!!! YAY for coming out of lurkdom!!!!

 

[HennaRo]

I have the same issue erplexed, I don't want to do a bc again....it's really almost at that point.

 

[frizzy]

I sometimes moisturize, seal with oil, put it in 2 ponytails and baggy my ends only.
Adding extra oil, grease, butter to the ends helps to preserve them.

 

[FebeeSigns]

I've heard of the baggying method but I've never quite got the process down. Ty for sharing frizzy, and Whimsy thanks so much! I should try to protective style more often. And Henna, I hope you find a solution in my topic. There's not much we can do but trim off the damage and never repeat the mistake of mishandling the ends again :/ I'd like to learn how to properly care for them. The rest of my hair is thriving but the ends.

 

[Whimsy]

I kinda feel like you have to just be EXTRA with your ends sometimes. Just please promise me you're gunna trim your splits...no good can come of them.

By being EXTRA I mean just moisturizing them for no reason. i coat my ends with coconut oil some nights even if they dont feel like they need it. I just feel like the more you keep em moist and put away, the longer they'll stay lookin nice for ya.

 

[wednesday]

I have the same issue erplexed, I don't want to do a bc again....it's really almost at that point.

Same here, i almost BC'd today! :-(

 

[Whimsy]

Awwww girls, try everything to get em acting right. try baggying perhaps? moisturize day and night. protective style only for a while...

UNLESS they're split in which case trim!

 

[FebeeSigns]

My hair is very porous and sucks up moisture like no one's business. I could have doused my ends in coconut oil every night (though it was more like every other night) and they still wouldnt be happy and satisfied, but thirsty. The Baggy methods seems like a really good way to preserve moisture. If anyone cares to elaborate more on baggying their ends, it would be great. I admit I am a little reluctant to trim off months worth of growth but it will give a fresh start and a new journey to caring properly.

 

[Whimsy]

My hair is very porous and sucks up moisture like no one's business. I could have doused my ends in coconut oil every night (though it was more like every other night) and they still wouldnt be happy and satisfied, but thirsty. The Baggy methods seems like a really good way to preserve moisture. If anyone cares to elaborate more on baggying their ends, it would be great. I admit I am a little reluctant to trim off months worth of growth but it will give a fresh start and a new journey to caring properly.

KARAMEL! I'm not joking with you. If you have split ends TRIM THEM OFF!!! Don't worry about losing a months worth of growth cuz splits will ruin way more than that if you let them fester!!!

Baggying is kinda what you make of it. People seem to do it differently and use different products.

How I do it (and I don't do it too often - maybe monthly) is I will wash or cowash my hair, and then while it's still damp I will moisturize thoroughly (with cantu) and seal (with coconut oil) and braid it in about 4 to 8 braids. I will then cover my hair with a showercap and then a scarf to keep it on throughout the night.

In the morning my hair will still be damp and moist. And if i'm not leaving the house i'll just keep that showercap on till i have to go somewhere. but usually in the morning I'll unbraid and pull it back into a loose bun with the ends rolled under.

But that's just my way. Do a search for baggying and u'll find SO much

 

[southerncitygirl]

my ends can be rough at times but are not split. may i suggest using oils or products with ceramides they help my ends to feel better. moisturizing and sealing your ends should help. with the rough ends sometimes the technique with blowdrying and straightening is not on point.....if i cut everytime i assumed i had split ends i'd be bald. i dust/length check at a salon every 6 months and don't have any splits, you may just be paranoid.

 

[Angelicus]

Welcome to the forum. I gave myself a really big cut because of my ends. Although my hair is shorter, it looks so much better and healthier. I love using different oils on my ends like vatika and olive oil.

 

[Summer79]

Castor oil has worked really well for me. Every night. Hope that helps.

 

[FebeeSigns]

It does help, thanks ladies! & I know for a fact I indeed have splits, them suckers are staring me right in the face and I can take a finger and peel part of my hair cuticle off the shaft. I will professionally trim then and research baggying as well as protective styling.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

Welcome to LHCF!

I agree that you should get a bit of a trim to take off the splits, but I also think that it's important that you address your porosity issues. While porous hair does drink up moisture super fast, it loses the moisture just as quickly. So most techniques that infuse the hair with moisture (like baggying) won't be as effective as it would be on hair that is not so porous. Also, porous hair tends to feel rougher, frizzier and drier than non-porous hair, so addressing that could help you with the feel and look of your ends.

You said you've been lurking for a while, so I could just telling you stuff that you already know. But porosity can be a troublesome area, and it's definitely messed me up more than once, so I just thought I'd mention it.

Okay, good luck!!

 

[SweetTea]

Are you deep conditioning? Maybe a light protein treatment weekly or every other week will strengthen your ends up a bit. I have old relaxed ends, but they are still in good shape because I DC weekly and keep them extra moisturized. They get sprayed with water daily, then I seal with moisturizing cream and put my hair in a twist bun. If you don't DC already, try for a week or two to see how your ends behave. They might not be split, just overly dry. But unfortunately, I think the only remedy for extremely damaged ends is a pair of scissors. Don't hold on to bad ends.

 

[LushLox]

...I keep heat styling to the bare minimum. This works for me.

 

[Truth]

Welcome to the board!!!!!!

I know exactllllyyyy how you feel. I co sign with everyone else..add moisture to those bad boys even if they feel perfectly fine ,DC ,do light protein weekly and heat to a minimum. It took me A LOT of trial and error..but I realized I got lazy with doing all of these things especially moisturizing properly ..and I promise u since I've started keeping my ends moisturized daily..my splits have decreased dramatically. Cut the bad ones off and start a fresh...they will be back in no time.. U will be so happy with how healthy ur hair feels and looks u wont even miss em...

 

[frizzy]

Hey Karamel. It seems like the #1 issue you need to take care of is porosity, otherwise you will be trimming off split dry ends very very often, and your hair will be dull looking and fragile because of the compromised condition. Handle that.

 

[Lovelylocs]

I prepoo with coconut oil and always dry my hair in rollers. This helped me get from APL to brastrap length in no time.

 

[HennaRo]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. My ends aren't split luckily that rarely happens, now knots is a different thing! But I have low porosity and maybe that's why so much of my ends are rough. Castor oil sort of helped, is there something else that would work-a certain oil or moisturizer?