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The main causes of split ends and hair breakage is over processed hair (relaxer/heat damage) or incorrect hair care (e.g not moisturising properly, being too rough etc)

 

Below are some tips to avoid split ends and hair breakage:

1- Stay hydrated

The human body is generally made up of aproximately 60-80% water. When deprived of water, our bodies become dehydrated which effects the health of our cells and how they reproduce, affecting hair growth and health as well as other things. Some people say to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day and others say to calculate your body weight in pounds, and then drink half of your body weight a day in ounces.

 

2- Moisturise Regularly

As the weight of our hair shaft is said to be approximately one fourth water, make sure to moisturise properly and daily to replenish the water content (water evaporates) as dry, unmoisturised hair is breakage galore.

As water is the most basic form of moisture,  water or water based products (products where water is the first ingredient on the label) are the best products to moisturise hair with. Oils/greases are sealents and so when applied to dry hair they seal in the dryness.

One of the most well known ways to moisturise black hair is to use the L.O.C Method. The L.O.C Method stands for Liquid such as water or a water based leave in conditoner, followed by a natural Oil of your choice (I like to use 100% Virgin Coconut Oil that is cold pressed and unrefined) and then apply a Cream such as whipped shea butter applied in that order. Variations of the L.O.C Method are L.C.O or L.O.C.O but Liquid (water and/or a water based leave in conditioner) is always the first product to be applied

 

3- Styling

Always moisturise your hair BEFORE manipulating (brushing, coming, styling) by spritzing it with water in a spray bottle and distributing a leave in conditioner evenly throughout your hair. This will not only provide your hair with some moisture but also lubricate your hair strands helping to detangle by avoiding friction between them. When detangling, gently use your fingers and a wide tooth comb, starting at the bottom of your hair and working your way to your roots. These tips will avoid hair damage as friction and rough handling leads to cuticle chipping and split ends which then will need to be cut off. Split ends that aren’t cut off will continue to travel up the hair shaft causing more damage resulting in more hair needing to be cut off. Regular trims such as every three months aren’t necessary, just trim when you see damaged/split ends.

Moisturised hair will also give you supple hair strands which will help management and styling. Before I learnt how to moisturise my hair properly and how to keep it moisturised, I would have painful detangling and styling experiences where I would end up with lots of hair ripped out in my comb. As I didn’t know any better, I thought that this was normal and that black hair was simply ‘hard to manage’. Now I know better and doing my hair is a easy and painless process.

If you haven’t been moisturising your hair properly as you didn’t know about this, you may find that it’ll take a while to see a difference in your hair (I did). I believe that this is either as you haven’t found what products work for you yet or due to your hair not used to being moisturised and so in the beginning quickly sucking up any moisture leaving it dry again shortly after. Don’t be discouraged, your hair will get easier to manage and soon reach a level where it stays moisturised for longer. The first leave in conditioner that I tried was Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Repair Cream. It’s great for thick, coarse or damaged hair and a little goes a long way.

 

4- Give It a Rest

Hair can get damaged during daily practices such as brushing, combing and styling, especially if you’re not moisturising first (refer to tip 3). It’s good to give our hair a break from time to time by protective styling (using wigs, weaves, braids etc) to give it a chance to grow undisturbed. Make sure that any plaits, braids, cornrows, updo’s etc aren’t too tight as if they are they may pull on your hair follicles and cause permanent damage resulting in balding (traction alopecia) . Also remember to keep your hair moisturised when protective styling by watering down your leave in conditioner in a spray bottle and getting between your tracks/braids and using natural oils. Coconut oil is great as it has natural anti fungal properties which would be good for the health of your scalp while you can’t really tend to it (under a weave with tracks in the way).

 

5- No Heat

Limit your use of heat appliances (hair dryers, straightener/flat irons etc) as these dry out your hair shaft and can cause damage leading to split ends and breakage. Other ways to stretch and dry your hair without using heat is to moisturise your hair with the L.O.C Method and then put your hair in a style that elongates it (e.g plaits /braids) and then take them out once dry. This is called doing a braid out, twist out bantu knot out etc.You will be left with dry, moisturised, stretched hair that has a wavy pattern.

 

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