What Causes Split Ends?

While split ends can occur with all lengths of hair, they are most common with hair that is longer. This is because the longer a strand of hair has been growing, the more the individual hair strands are exposed to wear and tear that can result in split ends. However, even shorter hair can be damaged and show split ends, whether it is due to chemicals, heat styling, sun damage, or even hereditary factors.

Heat Styling

Appliances that heat the hair are one of the major culprits when it comes to causes of split ends. Whether you use a curling iron, a blow dryer, hot rollers, a straightener, or some other device, heat can weaken your hair's cuticle and allow the delicate hair ends to unravel, resulting in the damaged, frizzy look known as trichoptilosis, or split ends.

Many beauty experts advise minimizing the use of heat styling tools in order to prevent split ends from occurring, or at least turning the heat setting down to the lowest level possible. Some even advise coating the hair first with protective styling aids on order to minimize the damage to the hair from the heat.

Coloring and Chemical Straightening

Another big cause of split ends is exposing the hair to chemicals through coloring or straightening processes. Whether these treatments are applied at a salon or at home, the chemicals can roughen and weaken the cuticle of each hair strand, which allows the ends to separate. Once the hair's ends have split, the separation can continue up the strand of the hair, resulting in a rough, frizzy look.

If you have choices as to the specific products that you use for color or straightening, opt for those that are gentle to your hair in order to curtail the potential damage. Applying a regular deep conditioning product can also aid in keeping the hair moisturized, which helps the hair to resist becoming rough and damaged.

Best Product To Repair Split Ends

In spite of your best efforts, split ends are likely to occur, and once you have them, you might think that you are stuck with them. The good news is that recent advances in hair care have identified specific ingredients that, when applied to the hair, can actually help split ends to bond together in addition to protecting the hair from further damage. Hair care products such as H2Thermal, which contain Sonoran jojoba extracts and moisture infusion microbeads, penetrate deeply into the hair's cortex in order to smooth and moisturize the hair shaft. H2Thermal's proprietary ionic technology then seals the hair's cuticle to preserve the moisture and continue the healing process.

While heat appliances are generally thought to be the cause of split ends, H2Thermal's formula is actually heat activated. This means that once the product has been applied to the hair, heat from blow dryers, flat irons, and other heat appliances can help the moisture to penetrate even more effectively into the hair and to seal the cuticle even more completely.