In most cases, this will lead to your hair eventually breaking off, resulting in uneven, thin ends. In severe cases, a split end that is picked and splits all the way to your scalp, can result in follicular damage.
If you don't trim your split ends, they can work their way to the root of your hair strand.
Left untouched, a split end will continue to split all the way up the hair shaft, damaging the entire strand beyond repair. Split ends no longer have a smooth cuticle covering them, so they naturally catch and snag on each other and on healthy ends. This causes tangles and (you guessed it) more split ends.
“When split ends are left untouched, a small split can travel up the hair shaft and cause even more damage to your strands,” says Whitney Eaddy, celebrity stylist and founder of Juices & Botanics. All experts recommend getting trims once every three months.
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.
The sad part is that split ends are inevitable, and worse, irreversible. Once a strand splits, there's really no way to completely mend it back to health, aside from cutting it off. Thankfully, there are things you can do to prevent them from splitting in the first place.
If your hair is healthy, getting a trim about three or four times a year should suffice. This is more of a preventive measure to maintain healthy ends and prevent split ends before they even start.
Are Split Ends Bad? Split ends are generally bad and signal a problem with your hair that should be addressed. Split ends also can prevent hair growth and may even cause your hair to snap. Split ends also point to hair that has become damaged, weakened, and unhealthy.
For most people, the most obvious sign of hair follicle damage is hair loss. As your follicles become damaged, they may stop growing new hairs, resulting in a receding hairline, bald spot at your crown (the area at the top of your head) or diffuse thinning. Irritated skin.
Split ends and broken hair fibres can cause the hair to look dry, straggly and uneven at the ends, with the lengths looking flat and dull.
"If [split ends are] not treated, they will continue to split, causing multiple splitting, which can look feathered or tree-like," says hairstylist Gigi Lenora. So if you do notice a few more branches poking out of the strand or deep splits up the hair shaft, it usually indicates more damage on the cuticle.
Seeing a visible scalp is often a sign of fine hair, and genetics can be the primary cause for this type of hair loss. However, other common causes of thinning hair include stress, hormone imbalances, certain medications, illness or infections and malnutrition.
If you don't trim your split ends, the split hair will eventually start splitting all the way up and will probably reach your scalp. This will make your hair frizzy and uneven. It also makes your hair look less voluminous. With an increase in frizz, you will also have a lot of tangled hair.
Every day bad hair habits
The most common culprits are everyday stressors like taking a hot shower, brushing out tangled hair, putting your hair up in a towel to dry, and sleeping with your hair tied back—all of which can lead to hair breakage and split ends.
The best and most effective way to deal with unsightly split ends is to cut them off completely. Cutting also prevents them from rising further up the hair shaft and causing more damage. “It's almost like stopping a tear on a piece of fabric,” says Kei. “If you don't get rid of it, it'll only get worse.”
If you're still getting split ends after taking those precautions, you may be using too high of a setting. Whether you're using a blow dryer, bonnet dryer, flat iron, or curling iron, you should turn the heat down. If you usually use high, use medium, if you usually set the temp to 350°F, set it on 300°F.
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.
The moral of the story—your hair won't stop growing if you skip regular trims for a while, but it will appear thinner and frayed, create split ends, and increase tenfold the likelihood that you'll pick them (maybe, maybe not).
Unfortunately, split ends won't go away on their own or fix themselves, and if left alone, they just get worse.
The Takeaway
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.
“Whatever is done on the outside of the hair follicle as far as cutting or shaving does not affect new-hair growth,” says Heser. The belief that shaving your head will cause your hair to grow back stronger is just not true. “It's an illusion,” she emphasizes.
If you're having a hard time understanding whether you have fine or thin hair (or both), the best thing to grab a handful of hair in your fist, if it's long enough. Then looking in the mirror, look at the roots. If you can easily see your scalp through the hair, it's thin. If you can't, it's medium or thick.