I just had mine pressed and trimmed today. The stylist showed me the difference between my ends and the rest of the hair, and I saw why it was necessary to do it. I asked her if they were just dry or if they were split, she said they were split. She cut off 1/2 inch today, but she said I should come back to have another inch trimmed off sometime in the next 6 weeks.
They did look & feel pretty bad. I dusted my ends back in October, but that wasn't enough. I hadn't really trimmed since I did my last big chop though, so I wasn't expecting any good news. She told me to stop wearing puffs and that I need to condition more to avoid nasty ends, but that I need to go ahead and cut off the ends that are already dead.
BTW, I went to Marie at Sedwic's, 63rd & Stony.