Help! I Have Split Ends
Split ends—we’ve all be there. Ends are frayed, weak, split in two, and, well, just plain sad looking. In order to get to the bottom of what causes split ends and how to deal with them, we enlisted Rodney Cutler, owner of Cutler Salon in New York City, to share all his tips for preventing this serious hair enemy.
Related: 9 Tips for Women with Thinning Hair
What causes split ends?
Split ends are the result of everyday wear and tear on the hair. Everything from blow-drying to brushing can damage the hair cuticle, resulting in splitting. “Even though we have more available to us now in terms of treating and protecting hair, we do more to our hair now than we did before as far as heat styling and blow-drying goes,” says Cutler. It’s important to note that having dry hair doesn’t mean you have split ends—it’s really about the health of the hair cuticle. You can have dry, frizzy hair and not have split ends, and you can have straight, hydrated hair but the ends can still split. The bad news is, once ends are split it’s nearly impossible to bind it back together—all those products claiming to fix split ends are really just temporarily hiding the damage. “Prevention is the key,” Cutler says. “Keeping the cuticle sealed and intact is most important.” So, what exactly can you do?
Look for protein-based treatments. Products that are packed with protein are the best for protecting and sealing the hair cuticle. Cutler says to think of damaged hair as a road filled with potholes. These protective products help to fill in the potholes and stop the hair from splitting all the way up the hair shaft. “These products are critical,” says Cutler who recommends Redken’s Extreme Anti-Snap, a leave in treatment that helps to restore damaged hair.
Related: Our Editor’s Favorite Hair Products
Always use heat-protecting products before styling. This is one of the most important things you can do to prevent damage. You want to apply the product directly onto the hair shaft, coating evenly before blow-drying. “Apply your serum or primer first to ensure the barrier of protection is on the hair cuticle,” says Cutler. Follow up with your styling product and then apply the heat.
Photo: Trunk Archive
Cut down on blow-drying. “You don’t want to over dry hair. If you dry the top layer and then dry underneath, it’s likely your top layer of hair will get dried twice,” says Cutler. He recommends air-drying or rough-drying using your fingers till it’s 60-70% dry to cut down on concentrated heat. “You’ll reduce the amount of blow drying time and heat on the hair.” Make sure when drying hair, the air goes from the roots to the ends to help seal the cuticle.
Related: The DIY Hair Trim
Get regular trims. The simplest solution to split ends is to get a haircut.“If you don’t cut a split, it becomes like a run in a stocking and it will run all the way up to the root,” he says. To keep hair healthy, Cutler recommends getting a cut every 6-10 weeks to make sure all those dead ends are stopped in their tracks.
