What Can I Do To Help/Prevent Split Ends?
Split ends happen when the hair becomes damaged. They're usually caused by what we call 'mechanical stress', which is damage that results from over-styling, grooming, or friction to the hair.
Too much pulling or heat on your hair can damage the cuticle and cause the hair's outer layer to split. This usually results in you having to cut the ends of your hair, so it appears healthy again.
In this blog, we'll give you our best tips for preventing split ends before they happen and look into what you can do to minimise the appearance of existing split ends between trims.
Why Do I Get Split Ends?
There are several reasons why you might get split ends, including:
- Using a hairbrush with bristles that are too hard
- Overusing heat styling tools (hairdryer, curling iron etc.)
- Harsh chemical hair treatments
- Environment and weather
For most people, split ends will start to show up a few months after a haircut, as the freshly trimmed hair starts to take on damage.
Split ends are very common; however, if you're trying to grow your hair, it may not be a viable option to get a haircut every few months to get rid of them.
Instead, you should work on creating a hair care routine that's gentle on your locks to stop split ends before they're too damaged to be repaired.
What Can I Do to Prevent Split Ends?
The first step is always prevention – if you can stop hair damage before it happens, you won't have to deal with the difficult repair processes later. Here are a few things you can do to prevent split ends:
- Get a high-quality hair brush like our The Knot Dr.® Pro Our hair brushes feature FLEXALITE™ bristles which help to gently brush through the hair, detangling without pulling at it.
- Change your hair-care routine and cut out the harsh chemicals. Many cheap shampoos and conditioners are loaded with nasty parabens that can hurt the hair over time, so it may be best to go with a naturally made shampoo and conditioner to give your hair lots of nutrients without the harsh chemical additives.
- Try heat-free styling techniques, like using rollers instead of a curling iron or tying your hair in braids overnight to create waves.
- When you do use your heat styling tools, make sure you use a lot of protecting mist beforehand.
- To repair environmental damage (such as cold, dry winter weather), you can try doing a deep conditioning hair mask once a week to restore nutrients and help repair bonds. You can also use hair oils such as argon oil to help restore shine and strength daily.
A combination of all of these techniques can help you to prevent breakage and stop split ends.
What Can I Do to Help Split Ends?
Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to repair split ends. Once the hair has split, there is no way to bring it back together – the only thing you can do to get rid of a split end is to get it cut off. If you're not ready for a trim, there are a couple of things you can do to minimise the appearance of split ends:
- Use a leave-in hair conditioner to restore nutrients and deeply condition the hair.
- Use natural hair oils before bed to create shine and moisturise dry ends.
Keep in mind that split ends tend to tangle very easily, as the hair becomes dry when broken. Using a top-notch hair bush to get through tangles and knots without causing further damage is therefore very important.
We recommend our The Knot Dr.® Pro Mini for close-up control over your tangles, with no pulling on the hair that could damage it further
The Knot Dr.® Tips
Now you've learned how to help/prevent split ends, you can start taking control of your hair and getting it to look the way you want.
Take a look at our full The Knot Dr.® tips page for everything from information on looking after curly hair to reducing frizz and getting out knots!
