Are you taking really good care of your hair? Avoiding heat, pampering it, using the best hair care products… You feel like you’re doing everything right and you still keep getting split ends.
Believe me, I know how incredibly frustrating this can be! I’ve been there.
And I went deep into researching what causes split ends and what you can do about them.
Let’s hear it!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Split ends don’t necessarily mean your hair is “sick”!
So first of all let me say, having some split ends is normal.
Why do we get split ends?
Well, your hair is a fibre that reacts to mechanical influences. Just as any lovely sweater will wear out after many washes or rip if you tear it. So having some split ends does not mean your hair is sick!
It’s simply a sign of you living in a world where you touch things, and that’s totally fine.
However, if you have lots and lots of split ends it can really influence the look of your hair and you might want to do something about it. It could even be a sign of your hair not being healthy. Because, of course, really weak hair will break faster.
So first, let’s look at some of the possible causes of why you keep getting split ends!
Reason 1: Your last trim or dusting was a while ago
The best-known cause for split ends is weakening of the hair cuticle at the hair ends. Here, your hair is the oldest, it’s been rubbing on your shoulders or your back for months or even years.
Does everyone have split ends?
It’s not even weird to have some split ends. EVERYONE will have some or many split ends after not cutting their hair for a long time. It’s normal.
So if you didn’t cut your hair or at least dusted the ends in a while, split tips will accumulate.
Why do I keep getting split ends after I cut it?
Obviously, the only way to get rid of split ends is to cut away the damage. But this doesn’t solve the problem forever, does it?
Unfortunately, cutting your hair doesn’t mean it’s immune from splitting again in the future.
Yes, you can protect it by following a good hair care routine to prevent split ends.
And still, as I already said above, you won’t be able to completely avoid mechanical damage to your hair.
So don’t despair if you keep getting split ends even after you cut out the damage. See regular “split care” as maintenance, just as you keep washing your hair.
You don’t even need to lose length, if you’re using this way of stopping split ends!
Why do I have split ends right after I get my hair cut?
Sometimes, you get your hair cut and then discover split ends right after the cut. What gives?
For many people, the worst breakage doesn’t happen at the tips, necessarily. Especially if you wear your hair up a lot, your tips will be pretty well protected.
But most hair cuts simply take off the tips. So if you have other areas higher up in your hair where there’s a lot or breakage, the cut doesn’t fix anything!
For example, I have a friend who wears a side part. (Yes, she’s a millennial!)
She brushes the front part of her hair to the side A LOT. With her hands or with a brush. And she’s pretty brutal with it, especially when it’s wet.
So, of course, this part of her hair gets exposed to a lot of mechanical stress and over time it will snap. So she has a lot of split ends in the front part of her hair, which doesn’t necessarily get touched during a “normal” hair cut.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Reason 2: Heat damage
Using heat on your hair damages your hair irreversibly. Especially if we’re talking really high temperatures like in flat irons.
Some heat protectants may help a little bit, but the best heat is no heat when it comes to hair styling.
Heat “breaks” the integrity of your hair’s protective shield. And as I already said above, weakened hair splits MUCH faster!
So if you keep getting split ends and don’t know why, take an honest look at your styling routine. Can you skip some of the styling tools?
(And yes, you can even dry your hair without heat!)
Why do I have split ends when I don’t use heat?
Some of you might scoff now, because you’ve already ascended and don’t use any heat in your hair routine anymore.
Still, you struggle with damaged hair, and ask yourselves: Why do I have split ends when I don’t use heat?!
Again, heat can be one of the reasons for hair damage. But even if you don’t use heat, you don’t live in a vacuum.
Check other possible causes and make sure to avoid all the causes of hair breakage, not only heat!
Check where the damage is
So double-check your hair to see if there are specific places where your split hairs accumulate.
Maybe where you usually put your hair tie? Tight ponytails are an infamous source of “hair tie breakage”. (Invisibibobbles* can help a great deal with this, by the way. Get some here!*)
Maybe your hair is being trapped under your bag strap or drapes over your clothes all day? All of this damages the hair over time.
Or do you have brutal brushing habits? Finding the cause can help you minimise further damage!
How do you sleep?
Another HUGE source of split ends for many is the way they sleep. This might surprise you, but think about it: for a few hours each night your hair endures quite a bit of moving around.
You roll over it, it might rub over a cotton pillowcase… All possible source of damage!
If you haven’t considered this yet, check out this simple way of preventing hair damage in your sleep!
Why do I have so many split ends all of a sudden?
Sometimes, a sudden onset of split ends has us puzzled. Your hair seemed fine so far, and suddenly your find split end after split end.
So where do sudden split ends come from?
This usually means, something in your routine has changed. If you want to be effective about it, make a list of all the things that could affect your hair, and go through them one by one.
New brush?
Maybe you changed something about your styling tools? For example, the wrong brush can do lots of damage on your hair.
For me, this happened when I got my Tangle Teezer. All of a sudden, I found way more split ends than before.
Don’t get me wrong, I loooove the Tangle Teezer for it’s detangling power! (You can get one here!*)
But it does lead to split ends for me, if I overuse it.
So I changed to using a wooden comb like this one* on the daily, and only using the Tangle Teezer for really stubborn tangles.
Related: 8 reasons for using a wooden hairbrush or comb
Related: How to keep hair from tangling throughout the day & night
Changes in products
Another reason for suddenly seeing many more split ends might be changes in the products you use.
Split ends after going silicone-free
Many people who start using the curly girl method and go silicone-free, report suddenly seeing way more hair damage. The reason behind this is simple: silicones sit on top of your cuticle, making it look more sleek and healthy.
Unfortunately, they only conceal the damage. It’s still there, but you can’t see it. So as soon as you stop using silicones, all the damage that has been there all along will become visible.
Split ends from protein overload
It’s also possible that you started using products with too much protein for your hair.
A protein overload can lead to very brittle, straw-like hair, which again, leads to more breakage and split ends.
Related: What you need to know about protein on your hair
Lifestyle changes
If you didn’t change anything about your hair care routine, think about any changes in your lifestyle.
Have you moved or gone on vacation recently? It might sound crazy, but things like the water quality can have a strong impact on your hair health!
Do you have a new backpack that traps your hair tips regularly? Or do you spend more time at the beach without doing the proper “beach hair care“?
Imagine your hair was a raw egg. Then think of all the things that might break the egg during your day. You might be surprised by how many things actually touch your hair throughout the day!
How to get rid of split ends
Lastly, no matter why you keep getting split ends, you’ll want to get rid of them.
Unfortunately, split ends treatments such as masks and other products don’t really work. They can improve the looks, but not fix your hair.
There’s only one way to really remove split ends and that is cutting them. But, with this trick you can do it without cutting all of your hair off and losing length!
And, if you follow these tips for preventing split ends in the first place, you won’t even have to do it that often!
Please share this!
I hope this information was helpful to you and you feel more empowered to tackle your split ends now. If you liked it, please share it with someone else!
*These links are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
