Once a hair strand splits at the end, the damage will only progress.Here are a couple reasons why you do NOT want to see split ends in your hair: (Learn about foods to eat for healthy hair.) If split ends are so normal, why are they bad? If your body is dehydrated, malnourished, or protein-deficient, your hair will be too, and thus more susceptible to split ends. Your diet, the water your drink, and the overall health of your body impact the strength of your hair. And if you frequently style your hair in wash 'n gos, afros, puffs, or styles that expose your ends to the environment, this accelerates the damage. Wind, cold, heat, sun, dry climates, humid climates… it seems like no matter what the weather, it takes a toll on your hair. If your hair is long enough that it brushes the back of your shirt or jacket, this causes damage too.Įnvironment. Hats, scarves, and sweaters accelerate the develop of split ends, as do cotton pillowcases and towels. Some fabrics and materials cause more damage to your cuticle than others. Excessive heat causes extreme damage to the ends that are already stressed by other factors.įriction.
Heat tools are one of the fastest ways to cause split ends. This includes styling, brushing, detangling, handling and touching your hair, all of which break down the cuticle little by little. Some of the most common processes that damage and degrade the end of your hair cuticle are… While split ends can develop rapidly due to extreme damage, they usually develop slowly as the result of small damaging factors. They are part of the normal life cycle of hair. The common denominator is, unless we trim our hair often, all of us will experience some split ends. You may even notice hairs that split all the way up the shaft. You may notice ends that split into multiple pieces (like a tree or broom) or hairs that thin at the end as the cuticle disappears but the cortex remains intact. You may notice the classic end split in two, or smaller, just barely split ends. Your ends can split in a variety of ways. The result is split or frayed ends of your hair.
So is it any wonder that your ends can’t last forever? Over time, daily wear and tear on your hair will degrade and wear down the hair cuticle, exposing the inner cortex. Not to mention, the end is the most exposed and vulnerable part of your hair. How many times have they been washed, styled, or straightened? How many hats, scarves, and sweaters have they touched? How many cold, windy, dry, and humid days have they seen? Depending on the length of your hair, the ends may have been with you for several years! Just imagine all the things the ends have seen and been with you through. Your hair grows from the root, so the end is the oldest part of your hair.