How To Get Rid Of Split Ends
Unlike other hair-related issues, split ends can be a bit harder to detect. According to Byrdie, you'll recognize that you have split ends when your hair begins to fray and the ends feel instantly dry as soon as you get out of the shower. Additionally, if you find that your hair is thinning toward the end of your strands, it's highly likely that you have split ends.
"Split ends are fraying of the ends of our hair," Joyce Davis, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, told Good Housekeeping. "Various physical and chemical factors (both environmental and cosmetic) can cause progressive damage to the cuticle that normally protects our hair. When this is lost at the hair tip, the underlying fibers separate." This physical and chemical damage can be caused by brushing or combing, using hot tools like curling irons and straighteners, styling your hair in tight hairstyles, coloring your hair, and subjecting your hair to perming, relaxing, and keratin treatments.
As you might have already guessed (or been told literally a million times), the easiest and most effective way to combat split ends is to get regular trims. As professional trichologist Gretchen Friese told Byrdie, it's important to get your hair trimmed every six to eight weeks (especially if you have long hair). However, if you're not willing to let go of a few inches of your locks, there are plenty of other remedies to combat split ends.
How to get rid of split ends without a haircut
If you aren't able or willing to get regular trims, there are still plenty of ways to keep your split ends at bay. One of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to combat split ends is to change the way you towel dry your hair after getting out of the shower. Rather than vigorously rubbing your hair with a towel (which actually causes quite a bit of breakage), you should only be applying light pressure to squeeze the excess water out of your hair, per Elle UK.
Though cutting back on using tools like curling irons and straighteners to style your hair is a great way to prevent damage, on those days you do desire pin-straight hair or curls, be sure to use a heat protectant spray. In fact, you should be really beefing up your hair product regimen. According to Byrdie, using a leave-in smoothing conditioner, coconut oil treatment, DIY moisturizing masks, and other products with moisturizing elements like fish oil and honey, will work wonders for your split ends.
After purchasing your fair share of moisturizing hair products, Elle suggested investing in a few silk pillowcases (the silk prevents your hair from getting tangled up in knots as you sleep) and a wide-tooth comb that won't require you to add pressure or brush your hair vigorously enough to cause further damage.