The Definitive Guide To Split Ends For Men
Guys. Let’s talk split ends.
If you found this looking for ‘split end,’ the offensive position in American football, try ‘wide receiver.’
We’re not talking about split ends on the proverbial gridiron, but the mysterious condition relating to your long hair, spoken of by women in whispered tones like a shadow in the night.
“Oh, no…you have split ends.”
Is that like leprosy? Is it terminal? Can it be treated?
Fortunately this is not a life-threatening condition, although it is terminal as far as your hair goes. Treatable only by amputation, but we’ll get to that.
We’re gonna help you navigate these murky waters, but let’s start with some basic education.
What are split ends, and why are they bad?
Split ends are exactly what they sound like. It’s when the shaft of your hair splits into two or more segments, usually at the tip. Think about a rope that’s unraveling at the end.
Split ends are a sign of damaged, often unhealthy, hair. That’s a problem.
Once it splits, your hair will continue splitting further and further all the way up the shaft of your hair until it reaches the root. Then you’re in real trouble, because split ends make your already damaged hair more susceptible to further damage and breakage.
Split ends will affect your hair’s appearance, making it look weathered, tired and haggard. That’s bad.
Worse though is the long term effects of split ends. You probably want your hair to be growing longer, faster. When your hair breaks you’ll have uneven length, but you also lose that hair and have to start over.
Effectively, breakage is the enemy of long hair. And are you the type to harbor and abet the enemy? Of course not.
What causes split ends?
Damage. From heat, chemicals, exposure, rough treatment and wear & tear. Including but not limited to:
Here are some common situations and activities where you could be damaging your hair:
Do you have split ends? What do you do about them?
Take a section of your hair and examine it carefully under good light. Hold it between two fingers. You can look in a mirror if that helps.
You will be able to see individual shafts of hair splitting into a “Y,” or even further splitting into three or more segments.
Don’t panic if you have split ends, but you’ll need to amputate on these wounded soldiers, cutting at least a ¼ inch above the split. We recommend finding a barber or stylist you trust, and who is educated about hair.
If you’re in San Diego, we recommend House of Imago or Style Lounge Salon. It’s where we get our hair cared for, and the owners and professionals at both know their stuff and can be trusted.
Barber shops are badass—we go there for beard trims—they just might not have as much experience with long hair.
There are products out there that claim to repair split ends, seal them up or otherwise fix the problem, but these are like using a band-aid on a compound femur fracture. They will not actually repair the damage and more likely will leave your hair more susceptible to further damage.
We know it sucks getting your hair trimmed, especially if you’re eager for it to grow longer. But if you have split ends and your don’t trim them, they are going to get worse and it’s going to take more time to grow your hair longer in the end.
So how do you prevent them?
The best way to deal with split ends is to prevent them. How?
Healthy hair. About which we could write an entire book, so we’ll keep this abbreviated here.
The best thing you can do to keep your hair healthy is avoid damage. We’ve covered most common ways you can damage your hair above, but you should also avoid lighting your hair on fire, getting it caught in heavy machinery and soaking it in furniture lacquer.
Balance Your Moisture
Beyond avoiding damage, the next most important aspect to healthy hair is maintaining a healthy moisture balance. Your scalp produces a natural oil called sebum, which moisturizes and lubricates your hair. Some men have a more oily scalp, some dryer. Whichever the case, you want balance.
Brushing properly will help you distribute these natural oils evenly throughout your hair, so it’s a good idea to brush once a day. You want to use proper technique and the right brush, so mind the link above.
Your shampoo and conditioner regimen is important to moisture balance. Shampooing your hair regularly is a good idea, but not every day.
While cleansing your hair and scalp, shampooing strips the natural oils out of your hair. For most guys, somewhere between every other day and once a week is the number. Use products without sulfates, which are bad.
You can, however, condition every day. Conditioning is great for your hair and you can do it often, even in between shampooing.
If you don’t want to full-on condition that often, you can just spray the tips with water, then apply conditioner.
You can even leave conditioner in your hair, but you want to use conditioner that is for “moisturizing.” If you have a conditioner that says “strengthening,” “rebuilding,” “restructuring,” or similar terminology, you don’t want to leave this in.
If you still find your hair is dry, whether naturally or from using products or swimming in chlorine or some other cause, using natural oils are a great way to moisturize. Coconut, avocado, tea tree and nut oils are all excellent for your hair.
Of course we highly recommend our premium argan oil hair serum. You don’t have to believe us…but the locks don’t lie.
Your Health, Bro
Your overall health and fitness are directly related to the health of your hair. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and a healthy, balanced diet are all important.
Lastly, in terms of priority, your hair is basically the least important in your body systems.
As a consequence, your hair is a good indication of your overall health, almost like a “first responder.” If you are having constant problems with unhealthy hair, you might visit your health professional to dig a little deeper into what’s going on with your body.
For more tips and details on keeping your hair healthy, sign up for Quick Tips.
One final comment. Women have been going to great lengths for centuries to make their hair look great. But in their endless quest, they’ve often taken measures that damage their hair.
As a result, it’s not uncommon for men with long hair to have healthier hair than some women, and you might even have women complimenting you on your hair.
Accept their compliments with grace and gratitude, and remember the reason why: less is more.
Treating, coloring, hot air blasting, teasing, spraying, straightening, curling. It might sound like a good idea, but the best idea is all natural with proper care and maintenance.
Are you using hair ties that are damaging your hair? If you’re using any of these, the answer is yes.
Comments
My hair is down to my lips. I opted for the undercut style. I have been putting it up in a top not tuck in like high ball… I have noticed my head hurting from the pulling and have had some damaged hair. I have been growing it for about 5 or 6 months…. I have started using argan oil and it will hopefully strengthen my hair…. I can’t wait to get your hair ties….. I am sure that is a big cause…. I am not giving up….
Hang in there Robert! Yes that’s the classic pain when the hair tie is on too tight for an extended amount of time. You’ll find our hair ties much better on the skull.
Late to the party, thank the Pandemic for my long hair. Last time I had long hair I was 25 and just out of college.. I’m now 51!
Are there any good stylists in (or near) the Bay area of Los Angeles, specifically Torrance, which anyone has encountered?
Every time I go to a new stylist they seem to do okay for a little bit. The last guy I went to performed 2 perfectly great trims, then completely ignored my requests and butchered my hair, chopping off large lengths of it. Haven’t gone back to anyone in over a year and change now. Time for a quick clean up, but I know what awaits if I go to the wrong one.. and they ALL seem to be the wrong one.
Yo Chris! Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your hair stylist last time. We don’t have any recommendations specifically for Torrance, but we know tons of great stylists in San Diego.
Excellent Blog! Split ends are a sign of damaged, often unhealthy, hair. Always remember your overall health and fitness are directly related to the health of your hair. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and a healthy, balanced diet are all important.
Hey!
I’ve been growing my hair out for around 10 months now. I can just about do a full bun right now. Throughout the ten months I haven’t gotten a hair cut or trim. Recently however, I get the feeling I’m shedding/losing more hair than before, and my ends do look like they’re forming a Y. I shampoo and condition about twice a week. My question is, is there any way I can trim the ends myself? I’m afraid of going to a salon because I’m not sure I can find one around me that just won’t cut off 3 inches easily.
Abhinove! Glad to read your comment. I recommend this follow-up post on split ends, then Confidently Navigate Your Visit To The Salon. Please let us know if this helps.
C’YA!
Thanks for these posts. Very useful stuffs.
Trying to grow my hair. And the length is now only just over 6 in. But my hair end gets all tangled and dry. So I am wondering if I need to trim my hair just the tip (unhealthy tangled end) regularly and so that eventually i will have long heathy hair. Would be great if you could advice me on this. cheers
If it’s only been six months you may or may not be experiencing split ends. Might not hurt to get a trim. I suggest gently combing out the tips once a day to manage the tangles. I would also recommend our hair serum, it’s perfect for this purpose, though we have been sold out for quite some time due to coronavirus. You might try coconut oil, or another nut or argan oil, which can really help with the detangling. Thanks for the comment man!
Seriously, just $1,- for shipping hair ties, even internationally?? I’ll have to try….
Not sure I catch your drift but glad to have you here!
Now I understand you were referring to a previous comment from 2016. We have changed our shipping process since then, so I’m afraid it won’t be $1. Still do hope you can give our products a try, thanks again for the comment!
Had to get a lot of my hair cut the other day due to split ends. Before my hair was down to a bit lower than my armpit and I had to get it cut to just under my shoulder. I had taken care of my hair except for having regular trims. The last time I’d had a hair cut was around April. I’ll probably go to the barber every 3 months or so so that won’t have to happen again.
Glad to have you here Tom!
I’m a 15-year-old with hair that comes a bit past my shoulders. My hair is straight/wavy on top but pretty curly on the sides and underneath. I think because of this I have a lot of issues with some parts of my hair being oily and the curlier parts stay really dry, frizzy and split. I use a wide-toothed comb when I shower but I’m not totally sure if that’s the right move. I want to have my hair come down further to my chest but I don’t know where to start for keeping it healthy
Btw I wash once a week and condition every other day
Yo Victor! Glad to have you here amigo.
First of all, using wide tooth comb in the shower is a good idea, and your shampoo/conditioning routine sounds good as well.
Let’s talk about your shampoo technique. If you feel like it’s especially oily on top, that’s where you want to focus your shampoo. Ideally you’re focusing on the scalp and the hair closest to your head.
When conditioning on the other hand, leave the top alone, focusing on the lengths, ends and the curlier parts of your hair.
For more tips on technique check out How To Shampoo Your Long Hair Properly and How to Condition Your Mane – For Men.
Also check out Dealing With Tangled and Damaged Hair.
Not to sell you on it, but The Longhairs hair serum could also help with the dry, frizzy hair you’re talking about.
Hope this helps man! Glad to have you here, and KEEP LETTIN IT RIDE.
I’m only a 15 yr old lad and I grew my hair out for a few weeks. I’ve always used mainstream but what I thought to be high-quality hair products. I noticed my hair feeling dry and knotted. Yes, my hair was split bad. And still is. I have had multiple haircuts since and but despite me mentioning these splits to my barber, they just don’t seem to be going away. I believe the splits are already too far down some of my hair. What should I do? My forehead isn’t massive but it’s not small and my hair is slightly receded (it’s in my genetics) so I am afraid to shave my head. When you’re a 15 yr old boy it’s not easy to pull off the skin-head look. And of course, I would be judged at school. What should I do?!
YO ARCHIE! Glad to have you here man, and troubling waters indeed. Glad to hear your forehead is not overly massive. Try out this blog post: Dealing With Tangled and Damaged Hair. I have personally gotten keratin treatments and the results are stellar. I don’t know for sure if it’s the right answer for you but at least this post should give you some ideas.
For heaven’s sakes don’t cut it, KEEP LETTIN IT RIDE MAN!
3 more months until its 3 years of my hair. Probably might trim an inch to maintain that healthy look on my hair when growing it out. The brush im currently using is called “Tangled Teezer” its a paddle brush and it detangles hair really well. Recommend to buy it since i have long hair. I got it from the store “Ulta beauty”. All these tips are very useful.
Thanks for the recommendation amigo, glad to have you here and keep LETTIN’ IT RIDE!
Hi dudes, nice hair thoughts. Hers an unpopular opinion: split hairs are fun. I like splitting them. Especially when I’m bored at school. Ah the joys of curly hair, no one can even tell… despite this I’ll probably take your advise and get a trim 🙂
Don’t let those spilt ends get up to the root or else you got a serious problem.
hi so i have a pretty chubby face and was thinking about growing my hair out all my friends tell me itll make me look even work what do yall think?
Tell your friends to pound sand and GO FOR IT.
hello! I noticed my hair has split ends. so I trimmed them but still after some days split ends came out again and hair getting thinner.. So instead of trimming can we shaved all to get rid off split ends? will it be helpful for new hair? THanks..
Shaving it will get rid of all the split ends
Hey how about for black man with short hair and got split ends but didn’t know about it untile like a year or two, because my hair isn’t growing as mutch no more please help
Yo Yosef!
Thanks for writing in man. It would be hard to have split ends with short hair. Split ends happen due to wear and tear over time, so short hair hasn’t been around to sustain that kind of damage. Are you sure that’s what’s happening? Tell us a little more about the problem and hopefully we can help out.
Hey guys
I want to know where can I find or how can I get your ties o similar to them, I’m in Colombia so … a little bit far
Thanks for this site, I’ve learned many thing I didn’t knew
Yo Christian,
We can ship them to Colombia! Just place an order and we’ll send ’em out to ya. https://thelonghairs.us/collections/hair-ties-for-guys
Glad you like the site man!
do you get split ends from cutting hair against the grain?
There could be a long explanation behind this, but the short answer is no. Split ends are caused by damage. However, if cut haphazardly, certain cutting techniques can make your hair more susceptible to split ends.
Hi
I still don’t know if I have split ends or not. i trimmed 3 days ago and my barber said nothing about it. Would you explain it again?
By the way my hair twist . how should I make it straight?
Hey Longhairs!
Is washing your hair less always a good thing? I’ve got it about to the point now where I can wash it once a week, only on Mondays, and it doesn’t really start to get noticeably greasy until Saturday. The problem is that even though it is horribly greasy by Monday morning when I wash it, it still seems extra dry, especially at the ends after I wash it. Should I wash it more often?
Jackson Lane, what a name! Good question. I’m not sure if washing more is the answer, but moisture balance in between washing might be. Make sure you’re brushing daily in between washes to distribute all that oil buildup. You can also try using moisturizing in between washes using moisturizing conditioner or other moisturizing tactics. Thanks for writing in man!
How to ask the saloon to trim my hair?
Walk up to the bar. Order three shots of whiskey. Put your head down on the bar, hand the bartender a big butcher knife and tell him, “just a little off the top.”
I’m sure you meant salon, and that is a great question.
The first thing I usually do is tell them “the goal is not shorter.” Beauty professionals will often have ideas or suggestions, anywhere from thinning your hair out, shaping it, layering, texturing, etc. Which makes us realize we’ll need to do a more in-depth post on this topic.
Certainly, listen to their ideas, ask questions and take advantage of the education opportunity. But our best advice is to simply ask them for a minimal trim. Really what you want is to find a salon or hair cutter you can build a relationship with, who knows your hair, knows about mens hair and you can trust.
We’ll go more in depth on this in a future post, but hope this helps in the meantime and thanks for the great question man!
Since I wash my hair with cold water every day exclusively (no baking soda or all that bs, just plain cold water like our ancestors did), I don*t have that problem.
I wanted to ask you whether you will put up hair ties without any patterns on them? Like unicode black or red. I always like to keep it simple with no fancy designs :p Just like my clothing choice.
Cheers guys, great to have a community of other longhaired dudes.
Yo! Yea man, next run we will be releasing some plain colors.
Great! The shipping will cost more than the ties themselves but it’s worth it!
No way man! Shipping is only about $1, even international. We don’t have control over any import fees imposed by your country’s customs, however, you may want to check with your local post on that. Thanks for writing in amigo!
Alright, any vague idea when your plain-color ties will be available? My hair finally reaches my shoulders. Also, any idea how to upload another profile pic? Don’t see any way to access my profile.
Yo dude! Yes, we will be launching new Hair Ties For Guys this year, including plain colors. Estimate is 90 days.
Your profile pic is pulled from Gravatar. It’s a WordPress service so your profile picture will appear on any WordPress website you comment on. Looks like you’ve had one before, you just need to go in and update it.
Thanks for keeping in touch man, stay up.
What’s wrong with the round, black, fabric ones with no metal parts?
They twist up and form a razor like edge cutting the hair. They also only last about 2 days.
Shit! I looked at a strand of hair and the end tip goes to a Y shape. It’s like 2 milimeters long. Do I go get a trim you think? I have never been to a barber. I have only been to the really inexpensive shops.
Yea man trim that off before it starts moving higher up on the strands, that’s when you’ll have a real problem.