Understanding Split Ends: What Causes It and How to Avoid It?

Found split ends again? We can understand your pain. Split ends can spoil your hair’s look and confidence with their presence. Our customers often complain and ask for actionable tips to avoid them.

If this sounds similar to your feelings, we have covered it. This post has a comprehensive guide about split ends for you. We’ll closely understand its causes and 9 actionable tips to avoid it. Stay with the guide till the end to get smooth and hydrated hair ends with our expert advice. 

What Are Split Ends?

Rough, pointy ends of hair that split into two or more strands indicate split ends. In other words, when the end of a single hair strand divides into multiple thin strands, it’s called split ends.

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Split ends lead to a dull appearance, making your hair look unhealthy and lifeless. Signs of split ends include:

• Rough texture
• Tangling
• Lack of shine
• Dryness 

These damaged ends can make your hair brittle and prone to breakage. Moreover, if not treated on time, the splits can move up the hair shaft, affecting the entire length and harming your hair’s overall health.

Causes of Split ends

Understanding the causes of split ends can help you take the necessary steps and tailor a hair care routine to prevent them from worsening. So, here are 7 key reasons that could be causing split ends:

1. Genetics

Genetics plays a significant role in determining your hair’s health and texture. People often have naturally fine and fragile hair, making it prone to split ends. You will likely face the same if your parents have a history of brittle hair or damaged ends. Although you can’t change it, adapting the proper hair care routine can prevent it from worsening. 

2. Hair type

Different hair types have varying moisture needs. When the needs don’t meet, it causes split ends. For instance, curly hair tends to be drier, and not moisturizing can lead to split hair strands. Thus, it’s essential to understand your hair type to avoid potential hair damage.

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3. Heat styling

Excessive use of heating tools like hair dryers, straighteners, and curling irons can weaken the hair and deplete moisture. This leads to a damaged hair cuticle, making it more prone to splitting. It’s wise to avoid heating tools whenever possible.

4. Use of chemical treatments

Regular chemical treatments like hair coloring, perming, and relaxing can significantly impact your hair’s moisture level and pH balance. Hair ends are often fragile, so these treatments weaken the hair bonds and cause hair splits. 

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5. Overwashing

Overwashing is one of the most overlooked causes of brittle ends. Frequent washing with harsh shampoos strips the hair’s protective layer away, leaving it dry and vulnerable. This dryness increases the chances of developing splits at the ends. 

6. Irregular trims

Skipping regular trims allows the damaged ends to split and travel up the hair shaft, causing more damage to the entire hair length. Although you might be trying to grow your hair longer, avoiding trims can make your hair prone to breakage and slow down the growth process due to damaged ends. 

7. Hair care practices

Daily hair care practices like brushing wet hair, using tight hair ties, and roughly detangling your hair can weaken your hair bonds, leading to split ends. Pay equal attention to your hair care practices as you choose your products. 

9 Tips to Avoid Split Ends

Preventing split ends brings you beautiful locks and potentially improves hair growth by adopting simple habits. You can achieve your hair goals. Here are 9 tips from our expert to prevent split ends:

1. Wash your hair less often

Washing your hair too frequently strips away its natural oil and moisture. As a result, it damages the protective layer of hair strands and causes dryness, increasing the risk of split ends. 

Closely understand your hair needs and limit washes to two or three times a week. Your scalp produces oil, which acts as a natural conditioner and makes a protective barrier on the hair shaft. Limiting washes can help your hair retain moisture and preserve the natural oils.

2. Avoid shampooing ends

According to experts, you should use shampoo focusing on the scalp instead of applying it to your hair length and ends. Once you have massaged your scalp with shampoo, allow the lather to travel down to the ends of your hair as you rinse.

The hair ends are often drier and more fragile. Skipping the shampoo on ends can help preserve their moisture and reduce the chances of split ends. 

3. Get regular trims

Regular trims are an essential part of the hair care routine. Trimming down damaged hair prevents the worsening of split ends and prevents them. Further, even if you are trying to grow your hair, regular trims help to remove damaged ends, encouraging healthy and better hair growth. 

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Thus, schedule an appointment with your stylist every 4 to 6 weeks to trim your hair ends, preventing damage and split ends.

4. Use the right hair-drying techniques

Be gentle with your hair, especially when it is wet. Roughly towel-drying and rubbing your hair can cause hair breakage and damage to the cuticle, leading to split ends and frizzy hair.

Instead of rubbing your hair, gently dab dry using a microfibre towel to prevent split ends. This helps to minimize friction and keeps your hair healthier. Besides this, whenever possible, allow your hair to air dry to reduce heat exposure, and always apply heat protectant serum while blow drying. These basic steps help to prevent hair splitting and breakage. 

5. Condition your hair ends

Hair dryness leads to split ends. Thus, keeping your hair hydrated prevents brittle ends. Condition your hair ends regularly to add moisture by considering hair oiling and masking.

Hydrating hair oil and mask can infuse your hair with moisture and reduce frizziness and dryness, which are potential causes of damaged ends. Consider a nourishing mask like Intense Nutrition enriched with the benefits of vitamin E and moringa oil. 

Regularly using this magical solution can reduce frizz, prevent damage, and provide deep hydration. Further, it’s specifically designed for chemically treated and damaged hair, making it suitable for all hair types and conditions. 

6. Use gentle products

Harsh shampoos and styling products can disrupt your hair and scalp’s pH balance, impacting overall health. Chemical products often deplete hair's natural oil and moisture, causing dryness and split ends. 

Pay close attention to the product ingredients and adapt to gentle shampoos and nourishing conditioners on your hair. Choose hair care products enriched with natural oils and protein to maintain your hair health. 

7. Use heat protectant

Heating tools make your hair drying and styling process easy and quick, but they can also cause hair damage and split ends if not used smartly. Always use a heat-protectant serum before using heat styling tools to protect your hair from heat damage and moisture loss.

Plus, seal your hair with nourishing hair serum after heat styling your hair to avoid dryness and tangling. You can use our multi-tasking Serum Illuminador to protect and nourish your hair from heat damage. Enriched with antioxidants and vitamins, this serum hydrates your hair and prevents split ends. 

8. Avoid hot water

Hot water damages your hair’s protective barrier, making it prone to dryness and breakage. Hot water strips your hair’s natural oils and moisture, increasing the chance of split ends.

Instead, use lukewarm or cold water to wash your hair. This helps to seal the hair cuticle and lock in the moisture, significantly promoting shine and reducing the risk of split ends. 

9. Improve hair care habits

Adopting gentle hair care habits is vital for maintaining hair health and preventing damage. These gentle habits include not brushing your wet hair, using a wide-toothed comb, detangling your hair before showering, and more. These gentle practices can help minimize split ends.

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Conclusion

Understanding split ends and their causes is essential to achieving healthy hair. Hair splits are often caused by dryness, using harsh products, and unhealthy hair styling habits. In this guide, we discussed 9 practical tips to prevent split ends, and here are three takeaways:

• Get regular trims.
• Stay hydrated and keep your hair hydrated by conditioning. 
• Never forget the heat-protectant serum before using heat-styling tools.

Split ends are a crucial hair concern. If left untreated, they can travel up the hair shaft, impacting hair’s overall health and growth. So, immediately apply the above tips in your hair care routine and shop for the best and most nourishing hair care products on Floractive to achieve beautiful locks and prevent split ends for good!

FAQ

1. Is it ok to peel split ends?

Peeling the split ends weakens your hair, making it prone to breakage and splits.

2. Does oiling remove split ends?

Hair oiling can’t remove split ends, but regular oiling can help prevent further split ends by providing hydration, reducing dryness, and improving overall hair health.

3. Is it ok to cut split ends?

Trimming down your damaged hair frequently is essential to avoid the split ends running through the entire hair length.