How to Avoid Nasty Split Ends

Split ends need to be trimmed once they appear.

Split ends can ruin a wonderful hairstyle. In addition, going to a hair stylist to have your split ends trimmed whenever they begin to form can get expensive and time-consuming. Practicing some common-sense hair care at home, however, can help you avoid or reduce the problem.

Things You'll Need

• Leave-in conditioner
• Wide-toothed comb
• Deep-conditioning treatment

Instructions

1. Moisturize your hair and use leave-in conditioners to keep your hair from getting dry and coarse. Avoid using blow dryers. Dry hair will split faster.

2. Don't brush too often. Over-brushing irritates the hair and can cause splits in your hair cuticles.

3. Avoid brushing and combing wet hair. Wet hair can stretch as much as 20 percent; this causes the most split ends.

4. Don't heat-treat or color your hair too often, as it damages and weakens hair, making it brittle and easier to break.

5. Blot your hair dry when you towel-dry it. Then comb it with a wide-toothed shower comb.

6. Give your hair a deep-conditioning treatment every week to keep it soft and silky.

7. Trim those ends at least every six weeks to stop any split ends from traveling further up your hair.

References

• Daily Glow: How to Maintain Curly Hair and Avoid Split Ends