Split Ends: Everything You and Your Hair Need to Know

Split and Splitting Ends
Trichoptlosis. Split ends. Nobody likes these bad guys, but unfortunately they are a fact of life. Hair gets old, hair gets manipulated, and hair gets damaged. When the hair has experienced a great amount of trauma or has simply reached a certain age, these little nuisances crop up with the intention of destroying our length and hair health dreams. While our hair will never be totally free of split ends, there are certain measures that you can take to ensure that they don't take the beauty away from your crowning glory.

But first, why am I an authority on this issue?
For the last several years, I have been into promoting healthy hair care strategies for women of color, and the Internet has allowed me and many others the opportunity to address these populations that would otherwise remain under-served in traditional media outlets. For me, hair was a problem, turned hobby, turned passion. Because of my experience and undergraduate background in science and health care, I regularly disseminate trusted and valuable hair care information and advice on hair care forums web-wide. Currently, I am in the midst of writing a manuscript for a more comprehensive work on black hair care and I maintain an online hair album that documents my hair success and progress!

What are they?
I like to differentiate splitting ends from split ends. Splitting ends are places along the hair shaft where the cuticle is actively breaking apart and the cortex of the hair is exposed. Splitting ends can occur at any point along the hair shaft, but are the most prevalent near the ends of the hair shaft. Some say that splitting ends that go "untreated" will continue to split up the entire shaft, but such an occurrence is not entirely the case. Depending on the angle of the split, the tear can reach fairly high up the hair shaft, but a majority of splits simply peel away or break off not far from or right where they originate.