Split ends are a sign that your hair has been weakened from chemicals and exposure to heat, wind, and sun, Blaisure adds. Trimming is the best way to keep ends from fraying and causing further damage.
"If you don't cut your hair, it may appear to stop growing," said Vitale. This is because as the ends get older and split, those splits begin to travel up the hair and cause breakage. So those with long hair may feel like it stays the same length, due to the ends breaking at a similar point."
Getting haircuts should always be a part of your hair care. A haircut helps keep your hair healthy by removing any breakage or split ends. Choosing to not get haircuts can be a detriment to all the hard work you do to keep your hair healthy, so try not to skip out on it.
Leave-in protein treatments with yogurt, honey, and olive oil can help restore the natural bonds in your hair so that damage is less obvious. Conditioning sprays rich in keratin can also soothe broken bonds in the hair follicles.
As we've noted, damaged hair repair isn't possible because the protein bonds and cuticles have been permanently altered. Instead, the focus should be on maintaining hair to prevent further damage. If your hair is severely damaged, the most extreme solution is to cut it off and start fresh.
Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, you can eventually grow the damaged hair out as long as the follicle itself has been preserved. The most common causes of damage are below. Damaged hair can still grow eventually, but routine damage can result in negative consequences for your hair.
Damaged Hair
Collins agrees, suggesting a trim every eight weeks if your hair is chemically damaged, especially fine, or frayed at the ends. More frequent haircuts can help prevent over-drying and breakage.
Using products that are designed to nourish the scalp and hair can definitely speed up this process, but on average you'd be looking at six months to a year to fully see a difference in your hair's condition.
Hair breakage can look like split ends or dry or damaged-looking hair. Severe hair breakage can make your hair look frizzy with a lot of split ends or with a lot of shorter, broken hair.
Unhealthy hair usually has a rough texture, lack of shininess and luster, have split ends, lack of moisture and elasticity even after treatment and easily broken. Damaged hair will also get tangled up and result in knots due to hair dryness.
Damaged hair looks dull, breaks off easily, is extremely thin and does not retain moisture. In addition, you can tell that your hair is damaged if you notice a texture and color change. Another important indication of damaged hair is excessive tangling and split ends that won't go away even after a trim.
Hair myth: regularly trimming the ends does not stimulate hair growth. And the answer is: no! Regularly cutting the ends of your hair does not make it grow faster. However, it does make your hair seem thicker, as well as healthier and shinier.
Harsh chemicals like bleach or relaxers can break down the bonds of the hair, making it weaker and thus more prone to breakage. Heat styling can also put enough stress on your hair to cause breakage, so it is always important to use a protectant before you grab a hot tool.
Damaged hair has less elasticity and is prone to breakage and splitting. Split ends are absolutely not repairable and are very challenging to conceal, especially when there are a lot. Another downside to split ends? If they're not removed, the strand will split even farther, faster and unevenly as the hair grows.
If at any point your hair feels rough, dry, and brittle and as if random strands are sticking out, this is a sign that your hair is unhealthy and damaged. Under such circumstances, you should consider seeking out treatment for your hair as quickly as possible and not let your damaged hair continue to grow out.
While the term hair damage is pretty broad, the five most common forms of hair damage include split ends, heat damage, color damage, chemical damage, and hair loss.
One surefire way to tell the difference is by looking at the length of the strands that are falling out. Broken hairs will tend to be shorter than shed hairs. Some other clear signs of hair breakage include sparse areas along the hairline and nape, split ends, and extreme frizz.
You can distinguish the difference between breakage and new growth because the new growth will be all the same length and all over the head, explains Capri. "If the flyaways are in just one section, it's most likely breakage."
This could be due to the breakage, which can give the appearance of thinning and slightly frizzy hair, although it is not usually seen to an extent that would be described as 'very thin'. It may be the case that you are experiencing a hair loss condition in addition to your hair breakage.
Things like aggressive brushing and combing, sleeping on wet hair or rough fabrics that create friction, constantly pulling your strands into styles that are too tight, and heat styling are all some of the main reasons why hair breaks.
You can change how you care for your hair, which can prevent hair loss. Once you damage a hair follicle, hair cannot grow from that follicle. Having many damaged hair follicles creates permanent bald spots.