new thread
So, I just discovered I have quite a few split ends. It seems you need to have the right lighting to see them. Anyway...
1. Do I need to buy a special pair of scissors, or are scissors sharpened with a scissor sharpener okay?
2. According to some web sites, the common method is to twist a small section of hair, and the split ends will stick out. I see lots of hairs sticking out, because they are naturally of varying length. But only a few of them are damaged. So am I missing something about this method?
I bought a small pair of scissors at a fabric store. Smaller blades are easier to handle then long scissors and they tend to stay sharper b/c of their smaller size you wont be using them for anything else.
As for finding them, I flip my hair forward while standing in front of a sunny window. At about 4 pm is the best time for me as thats when the sun shines best on my bedroom window. The splits and damaged ends stand out very nicely this way. It does take time if yo try to do all of them at once, so i do it 3 or more times a week for 5-10 minutes each. Any longer and it eats into my studying time.
peace
clayton
A sharp, straight across cut on each hair is really what you are after, so as long as they do cut well you should be okay with any scissors.
The twist is to let the hairs poke out but you are still are stuck with the long labor of cutting just the split hairs out. I find a shaggy braid at the end of the day works better for letting the hair stick out to be easier to see.
Elizabeth
Thank you, Lady Elizabeth Regina,
For posting. Didja HAVE to wear those silly purpley foil
hair appliances all throughout the festivities at the restaurant like that though? Oh, the humiliation of it all!
Anywho, thanks, E.R., for your input on the split ends feedback. It t'would seem that clipping those bifurcating ends would be the sole solution, wouldn't it? Yeesh. And mayonnaise isn't an answer, as I've been instructed, although it provides an excellent post-shampoo hair conditioner.
You rock. Why (k)not give the man of the house the microphone, hmn? He looks to have long enough hair to qualify as a denizen hereof. Go. Tell him. Join up. And forget (k)not to . . .
NE CEDE MALIS!
(Yield not unto adversity!)
Quenyan
I loved that headband so much, it just broke my heart when it cracked right between the sticking up bits! I learned the hard way hair accessories sold at tweener stores aren't made to fit adult men even for a momentary photo opportunity. The replacement headband doesn't have the glitz or two tones of purple so it just doesn't measure up.
The path of least work is what I do. At least for my hair the split will travel up for about a centimeter then one side will just fall off. Gotta clarify about the mayonnaise, you use it post shampoo? I've had great luck using it as a oil treatment/clarifier before the shampoo but as a leave in I'd think the oils and egg would go rancid unless you shampoo often.
Bill Dear plays at the Long Hair Community which is better populated by women than this place while I spend my time where the long haired men are better represented. It works out nicely that way. Besides, I chatter enough here for two already.
Elizabeth
Yes, Elizabeth Regina, excellent observation,
Thank you for your follow-up clarification. Mayonnaise would (and does) go bad for a leave-in. It oughta be rinsed out, shampooed out, again, after treatment. However, cocoanut oil, having a natural quality to NOT go rancid, is a good leave-in hair conditioner. I have two qualities of hair; straight at the vertex
and on the occipital regions, wavy everywhere else. The wavy hair, being coarser, begs more treatment.
Too bad about that fun hair appliance, though. The things that they make for one-shot wearables. Tsk. Well, SOMEONE will make something more endurable someday.
Best long-haired wishes,
Quenyan (+:-)}
Now that's an idea I never would have thought of... I like it, --- and will try that method out... Thanks!
- Ken
Careful with the "twist" method unless your hair is blunt all one length, because if not, hairs will stick out and will NOT be splits.
I have found that I have fewer resplits when I use better quality scissors...$10 hair cutting scissors are sufficient, and never use them for anything else. A less sharp pair will crush the end of the hair rather than cutting it cleanly, and provide a starting place for a new split.
The key, regardless of method is to manipulate your hair so that the strands that don't go the full length can be seen and cut if needed. Twisting can do this, splaying it out in one hand, holding a loop of hair (requires fairly long hair) and shaking it a bit so the ends pop out works. Then you have to select the strands to cut...bright light against a dark background is good...sitting in a sunny car with your hair in the sun with the dark footwell behind it is excellent...you should be able to see the splits and white dots that indicate damage, cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the damage. And you just keep at it, until you have had enough...come back to it later...and keep it up intermittently.
I tend to prefer using either early morning light, or light in the late afternoon (because the sharper angle of the sun I find to be more helpful than mid-day). I have a South-facing window in my bathroom. It is frosted, so the light coming through is soft and helps me see the splits right away, because my hair is back-lit. I also sometimes put a dark purple towel down in the shadows of where I'm trimming (my hair being blonde or white, the dark purple is the perfect contrast to help me see the hair strands and splits stand out better). It also helps that I have excellent vision up-close (my galsses are for distance), --- if I didn't, I'd have to use reading glasses to help out.
- Ken
I'm not sure how often you go for trims, but I found the best way to get rid of split ends was to get the hair dresser to do a routine trim. He or she will likely spot them easier and give a nice, even length to your hair (if that's what you're after). I take really good care of my hair and used to think I had very few, if any, split ends... but have always been surprised when the stylist finds a lot.
Some people like to use the "seek and destroy" method of clipping off any individual split ends with (probably) ordinary barber's scissors or maybe even regular utility scissors. I've never done that, though I will probably go for a trim once or twice a year as a preventative measure now. Until now, I've gone as long as two years without a trim.
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