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Plagued by Split End? How to Prevent, Protect & Repair Hair Damage
You probably see all sorts of shampoo or conditioner ads that claim to fix split ends, but let's start by acknowledging the fact that the only way to fix split ends is to cut them off. You can't mend split ends, but you can trim them away and give the hair a chance to grow out again under more favorable conditions.
Preventing Split Ends
On the other hand, you can prevent split ends to some extent by keeping your
hair from drying out. The main causes of split ends are time and dryness. Drying
and aging hair tends to become brittle and break: keeping it in good shape can
hold split ends at bay longer than usual, so treating your hair with kindness is
a good rule.
Ethnic Hair can be prone to more split ends
African American women often have a tougher time keeping the split ends away:
their hair tends to be thinner and fragile, easily damaged. Keeping breakage to
a minimum involves avoiding heat, permanent or straightening fluids and daily
styling with irons or hair driers. Coloring hair weakens its structure and makes
it even weaker, so that women with black hair who want to use colorants run the
risk of thinning their hair or winding up with bald spots. African American hair
demands extra gentle treatment and frequent conditioning with rich emollients
such as shea butter or coconut oil. These natural remedies are also ideal for
keeping the scalp healthy. Keeping Black hair in its natural state is
healthiest—forget straighteners or colors and your hair will be stronger and
shinier. Tight braids can also damage your hair and may even damage the roots,
which can cause you to lose your hair in places, so keep it loose as possible.
If you must color your hair, go for henna, which smoothes the hair shaft and
deposits the color atop the hair instead of opening the cuticle and adding the
color inside the hair. Henna doesn't last quite as long as chemically-based
permanent colors, but it actually makes hair healthier when you use it: other
colors make it weaker.
No forever solution to stop spilt ends for occurring
Eventually, all hair will develop split ends if it isn't cared for properly.
Most hair experts recommend getting a trim every 6-8 weeks, so ends don't have a
chance to dry out and split. The beauty of your hair really shows when it's
shiny, glossy and thick. Keeping the tips trimmed is protection from further
damage: split ends tend to work their way up the hair shaft as it sustains
further damage over time. The solution to split ends is to act quickly: don't
skip the trip to the salon, or get your hair stylist to teach you how to trim
your own hair if you don't like to go in that often.
Breakage and Frizzy Hair Texture is Not from Split Ends!
Don't mistake frizzies for split ends. If your hair looks frumpy or frowsy, the
ends might be just fine, but the hair shaft is roughed up from humidity in the
air or dryness from harsh shampoos. If you've had your ends trimmed but still
see a fuzzy halo around your hair, try using one of the new hair smoothing
treatments. Usually consisting of a solution of dimethicone, these smoothers add
a gloss to your hair that makes it shiny and more manageable. They don't really
do anything to nourish or improve your hair, but they coat the hair the same way
furniture polish makes your tables look shiny, and they wash out with each
shampoo.
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Continue reading the next beauty article on fix a bad haircut
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(1) Cut your own hair (2) Use too much styling product (3) Use the wrong styling product for your hair type (4) Forget to style the back of your hair (5) Choose a hair style that doesn't fit your lifestyle (6) Pick the wrong hair color for your skin tone (7) Eyebrow color clashes with your hair color.
