Preventing and Repairing Split Ends

By Jenna Brooks

Split ends are an absolute tragedy for your hair, especially if it feels like you just had to cut them off. While there aren’t any proven permanent solutions to fixing split ends, there are a lot of great tips on how to prevent them and even a temporary solution for fixing them if you can’t get to the hairdresser straight away.

If you start noticing split ends in your hair, start with a deep conditioning treatment at least once a week. There are a lot of great brands you can find at Target and Ulta that make deep conditioners to rehydrate your natural hair. Avoid any hot tools, or at least any excessive usage of them, until you get a trim since high heat can further dry out and strip your split ends, only making them worse. Also, if possible, try to keep your hair up in updos or in protective styles, this will keep your hair away from sweat and bacteria on your skin and will prevent the split ends from spreading. You can always try different hair mists or leave-in conditioners designed for split end prevention as well. 

Recently, some research has suggested that there may be temporary fixes for split ends, repairing them for a short period of time until you can get a trim. These would-be products that contain the chemical Polyelectrolyte Complex, which is shown to keep your ends together for a while. However, while these are all great tips for preventing split ends, they are only temporary and the best advice is to just keep up with regular trims every few weeks or so, this is the best method to keep your hair healthy, strong, and split-end free.