Although your hair is strong, it can be vulnerable to damage from daily wear and tear. The ends of your hair, which are also the oldest part of the hair shaft, can weaken and lose their protective layer and exposing the inner cortex.

Most common factors contribute to split ends include:

chemical processing, like perms and coloring
heat treatments
forcefully combing or brushing your hair.

Split ends are the most common hair problem, but there are ways to keep your hair healthy and prevent split ends from happening. Let’s look at how you can do this.

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Tips to Prevent Split Ends

Unfortunately, you can’t treat or repair split ends. So once the ends of your hair become damaged or frayed, the only way to get rid of them is to cut them off.

That’s why prevention is key to keeping your hair healthy and free of split ends. Although you may not be able to avoid split ends completely, you may be able to limit how often they develop.

Let’s look at seven tips and techniques that may help prevent split ends.

1. Wash Your Hair Gentle and Be Gentle After Washing

Wet hair is vulnerable to damage, so it’s important to care for your tresses gently after shampoo and conditioning.

Frequent rubbing after washing hair causes hair damage. It can also damage to hair cuticle , resulting in split ends.

Tip: Instead of rubbing hair dry, blot it dry with a towel to avoid breakage and damage.

2. Hydrate Your Hair

Dryness can weaken hair, especially at the ends. To add moisture to your hair, consider using a weekly hair mask. A hair mask is a deep conditioning treatment that can infuse your hair with moisture and reduce frizziness and dryness. A mask can also reduce the risk of hair damage, resulting in softer, shinier hair.

You can buy a ready-made hair mask or make your own using ingredients like:

coconut oil
aloe vera
honey
olive oil
bananas

3. Detangle

Tangled hair, whether wet or dry, can be difficult to comb or brush. So always detangle your hair before drying, brushing, or styling.

Use a wide-tooth comb, the wider tooth allows the comb to glide through your hair without damaging the ends or causing breakage.

4. Avoid overbrushing

Only brush your hair to style it or make it look neater. Avoid pulling or tugging on your hair as you brush or comb it, and use a detangling product if you need to get rid of knots.

5. Limit or avoid heat

Using heated appliances on your hair, especially on a daily basis, can dry it out and change the structure of your hair proteins.

If possible, let your hair air dry after washing, and then style it without using a curling iron, flat iron, or blow-dryer.

If you do need to use heated appliances, try to turn down the heat setting. You can also apply a heat protectant product before blow-drying or styling to avoid heat damage.

6. Sleep on silk pillow

Protecting your hair at night can also prevent split ends. Rather than sleeping on a cotton pillowcase, sleep on satin or silk pillow to reduce friction.

Sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase allows your hair to glide over the pillow. Having less friction between the pillowcase and your hair may help prevent hair damage and breakage.

Another option is to wear a silk scarf at night to protect your hair.

7. Maintain gap between hair treatment

Chemical treatments like coloring, perming, or relaxing might cause split ends if you have more than one treatment at a time.

You can take some steps to lower the chances of hair damage, breakage, and split ends:

Add more time between treatments. If possible, try to go 8 to 10 weeks between touch-up treatments.
Only get one type of chemical treatment at a time. If you also wish to color your hair, wait 2 weeks before getting it done.
Apply a hair mask once a week or use instant conditioner each time you wash your hair.

Is it possible to conceal split ends?

Even though there’s no way to repair split ends, you can make the damage less noticeable. One option is to apply coconut and almond oil, or another type of moisturizer to the ends of your hair. These products not only add shine but also smooth your hair, which helps conceal split ends.

Another option is to choose hairstyles that hide your ends. You can try styling your hair in a low or high bun or wearing hair extensions.

Keep in mind that split ends can progress and split up the hair shaft. So you’ll have to trim or cut off the damaged hair to prevent further damage.

Final Words

There’s no remedy for split ends once you have them — the only option is to trim them off. That’s why prevention is key to keeping your hair free of split ends and breakage.

Keeping your hair well-nourished and avoiding certain habits can go a long way toward improving