Look for common split ends. Wear your hair loosely so you can pull strands in front of your face. Examine the tips of several strands. Each strand of hair should be straight at the end. But, if the hair is split, the strand will fork off into two or three different directions.
Sometimes visible to the naked eye, a split end will appear to be broken or frayed at the end of the hair shaft. Hair will feel dry on the ends and will be frizzy. It will tangle and knot, certainly making hairstyling difficult. In the case of severe split ends, the hair ends will feel spongy or mushy when wet.
When it comes to fixing split ends, you can't ever fully repair the damage that's been done and get back to untouched, virgin hair, but you can temporarily mend the strand. The only real cure for split ends is trimming them off.
It Causes External Damage. "Your hair will continue to rub against clothing, get ripped out by sunglasses, and generally get beat up by your day to day life," Bivona notes. "This roughs up the cuticle, which will cause your hair to lose its shine and cause added dryness and weakness.
Tree Split: If you notice that your hair has strands that are split into several different places and look similar to a tree with branches sticking out, then you have what is known as a tree split. These split types signal that your hair is damaged and requires proper trimming.
When a hairdresser carries out a dusting treatment to restore your hair back to its former glory, they will work strand by strand. The hairdresser places the first strand between their fingers and meticulously smooths it out, from the roots down to the tips to expose the split ends.
By trimming split ends, you can prevent further damage and breakage, which can help to maintain the overall length and thickness of your hair. So while cutting split ends may not make your hair grow faster, it can help to keep it healthy and looking its best.
When hair snaps off or breaks into split ends, the hair looks frizzy and dull. They may have similar symptoms (dullness, frizz, coarse texture) but dry and damaged hair are not the same. Dry hair is due to a lack (or the removal of) natural oils that act as lubricants all along the hair fibre.
Split ends don't stop hair growth as your hair grows from the roots, not the tips of your hair - which is usually where split ends happen. However, split ends do cause your hair to break off, which can slow the process of hair growth as they break and split much faster than your scalp can produce new hair.
Healthy hair is soft, shiny and lustrous and more even in texture and curl. Unhealthy hair is dry, brittle and dull. The ends of healthy hair have a blunt or angled end, depending on how your hair stylist cut them at your last salon trim. Damaged hair is frayed on the ends.
Most people tend to notice the very tips of their hair splitting into two (or more) sections when they're overdue for a haircut. That's usually around the three or four-month mark post-trim, but for people who style often, split ends may appear even sooner. Image courtesy of Rachel C.
The Traditional Split
The most common of all split end types, the Traditional is a sign of early split development, largely due to dehydration and friction. It's mini counterpart, the Baby Split occurs for the same reason – so if you spot one be sure to trim it right away to prevent it from getting worse.
Blunt bobs are chic hairstyles for damaged hair, as they cut hair off at their thinnest and give the appearance of fullness, while ridding strands of split ends.
If left uncut, these split ends can continue to climb up the hair shaft, eventually reaching the scalp. Once split ends reach the scalp, they can cause irritation and even inflammation. This can lead to an itchy and uncomfortable scalp, and may even cause hair loss if left untreated.
If your hair is more prone to split ends due to damage from these treatments, then trimming your hair every eight weeks will help keep your hair healthy.
While split ends are a totally normal thing to experience, that doesn't mean that you should ignore them if you start noticing them in your hair. Split ends and split hair are your hair's way of telling you that it's damaged and needs a little help to get back to normal.
Nutritional deficiency
Zinc and iron are important for keratin production so not having enough of these can lead to changes in the structure of hair. Zinc can be taken alone or with a mineral formula including iron. You can add foods that are high in zinc like beef, pumpkin seeds, and lentils to your diet.
You see, when you get a haircut, the ends of your hair are blunt. This bluntness makes it difficult for your hair to lie flat, which is why it stands up more. After a week, the ends of your hair have had time to soften again and the bluntness has disappeared, so your hair lays down better and looks shinier.
"It can be effected emotionally through stress and anxiety and from lack of the correct nutrients within the body, but shaving [off your hair] won't make it come back better or stronger."
Split ends, layers losing shape and hair that tangles easily (especially at the bottom) are some of these signs. No matter what, experts agree that you shouldn't wait more than six months for a haircut.