What causes our ends to split? 

The main reason why our ends split is due to friction and excessive manipulation which can cause the outer layer of our hair cuticle to begin to split. This can cause excessive damage which can lead to breakage.

Curly hair is more prone to split ends because it can often be dry and brittle. If these split ends are not trimmed within a reasonable time frame they can travel up the shaft of the hair causing breakage leaving your curls looking stringy. For curly girls, length retention is one of our main concerns and in order to retain our length we must keep up with our trims.

Curly hair should be trimmed every three to four months. In the salon the number one concern my clients have is that their hair doesn’t grow and that is not the case. Your hair is always growing, we aren’t seeing the length because the hair is breaking before you can see any length.

What are some of the things to keep in mind when it comes to trimming our yown hair between salon visits?

A couple things to keep in mind when trimming your hair is to never to trim your curls wet; wet curls are always longer than dry curls. There is a huge risk that you can cut too much when wet. Cut your curls when they are completely dry and defined that is the best way to see and identify exactly where your split ends, also remember not to pull your curls down with too much tension, that also increases your chances of cutting to0 much.

What tools should you be using to cut your hair?

The best scissors to use to cut are hair cutting scissors. The sharper the better, dull scissors can cause split ends as well.

How much should you be taking off? 

Small snips are best.  1/2 inch is more than enough – any more than that and you risk changing the entire shape of your overall hair cut. If you feel like you need to take off more, it is suggested to book an appointment with a curly hair specialist who specialize in cutting and shaping curly hair.

Can hair products fix split ends? 

Products can mend split ends temporarily but a trim is your best solution.