You have about 100,000 hairs on your head, and those ends can grow to be a couple of years old, relates The Nemours Foundation. Each strand of hair has three layers, with the top one acting as a coating that protects the inner layers throughout your hair's lifespan. Every time you expose your hair to harmful conditions, you risk breaking through the hair's surface, damaging the inner layers and potentially causing all your hair to appear dull. If your hair has sustained damage, help isn’t far off.
Step 1
Get a trim at your hair stylist. Split ends become visible when your hair shaft cuticles wear down, the tips fray and cracks travel up the shaft, according to "Women’s Health" magazine. The only true cure for split ends is getting your hair trimmed at least every six to eight weeks. A styling product, such as one that contains glycerin, may temporarily bond split ends together.
Step 2
Shampoo with care. You may have heard that you should only wash your hair two or three times per week. But if your hair is fine or oily and it becomes visibly greasy overnight, wash it daily, advises MSN Lifestyle.
Regardless of how often you wash your hair, focus on how you wash it. Invest in a product that advertises “anti-breakage” or “renewal.” Soak your hair with water, focus on shampooing the two inches nearest your scalp and rinse under cold water, suggests dermatologist Mary P. Lupo in the MSN Lifestyle article.
Step 3
Deep condition once each week. "Good Housekeeping" magazine recommends rehydrating your tresses with a hot oil treatment or a hair mask that contains a fatty alcohol such as cetyl or stearyl alcohol.
Step 4
Turn down the heat on your styling tools, or turn them off completely. When you use a styling tool that reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the water within each hair boils, the moisture attempts to escape and then the hair blisters and breaks, according to "Women’s Health" magazine.
If you can’t stand the idea of chucking your heated styling tools, use a hydrating shampoo and conditioner, apply a protective oil product and turn the heat on a low setting.
Step 5
Brush your hair with the right brush, and in small sections from end to root. You risk tangling or tearing your hair if you don’t brush properly. Use a brush with bristles that are soft, smooth and spaced out, and never brush your hair when it’s wet, advises "Good Housekeeping." Use a broad-toothed comb instead.
Step 6
Color your hair infrequently and carefully. Hair dyes contain peroxide, which breaks down the protective layer of your hair, according to Pantene scientist Jeni Thomas in an MSN Lifestyle article.
To save your ends, apply dye to the roots to begin with and only comb it through the ends in the last minutes of the dye job, suggests MSN Lifestyle. Also, use a shampoo and conditioner specifically formulated for colored hair in order to preserve the dye job.
Things You'll Need
- Broad-toothed comb
- Brush with soft bristles
- "Renewal" shampoo
- Hot oil treatment or hair mask
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