Seal 'em Up: Banish Your Split Ends

"The hair is the richest ornament of women"
~ Martin Luther

I couldn't have agreed more. A head full of thick, long , luscious hair is every woman's pride and dream. No wonder it gave the inspiration to Alexander Pope to write an entire mock epic, The Rape of the Lock on a maiden's chopped lock of hair.

I have always had cropped hair as a kid.  But there were times when it grew a little long and I had to tie them up with red ribbons  into two sections when I went to school. The physical training teacher made sure that we looked something like this.

Image courtesy: Cryptomundo.com

I wasn't half as cute as this kid but well my braids stuck like horns on my head like they were wired and made to stand up in the air.

Thankfully, my hair doesn't look anything like that now. This is a pic of my hair tied up into a ponytail with a French twist. This is one of the best ways to protect your hair from the sun, rain, and pollution. It also keeps stray hair stands from falling all over your face, a respite during summers. Also, they are a great help on bad hair days.

I remember my mum telling me how thick and long her braids used to be when she was young. Her long dark mane tied in thick braids were her pride. She still retains her thick shiny hair which would put women half her age (yes, me included) to shame. But then you have this monster called "split end" to ruin all of it.

Mum has these frayed hair ends which make the hair ends rough and dry. Having long hair which isn't trimmed for a long time tends to split towards the end. Hair as it gets older tends to lose its moisture and starts splitting. Therefore, it needs special attention and care. Regular cleaning and conditioning your hair is extremely important to maintain the luster and prevent damage.

There is no cure for split ends except of course chopping them off. The only thing you can do is to prevent them from coming back.

• If the hair ends are split and damaged, chop till the portion where the split has extended to. Regularly trimming your hair every 6-8 weeks keeps them from splitting further.
• Keep your hair tied instead of keeping them open and down when you are out in the sun. Tie a scarf, bandanna or wear a hat.
• Apply copious amount of conditioner towards the ends of your hair. Start from the portion from your ears and apply till the ends. This is the portion which needs the highest care.
• You can trim your hair yourself at home in between your haircuts at the salon. Make sure you use hair shears and not just any paper cutting scissors which will cause more harm than good.
• Stay away from harsh chemicals and SLS based shampoos.
• Don't brush your hair too often. Too many brush strokes cause more splits.
• Don't brush too harshly or back brush. Hair strands are fragile and tend to get damaged if you use a bad comb and pull them too hard.

And well if your hair is already damaged and you don't want to chop them off, you have Dove's split end rescue treatment. It seals up those split ends and prevents further damage to the hair strand. I saw visible effects on my mum's hair after three washes. Her hair looks less damaged and rough towards the ends and are now smooth and shiny from the tips to the roots.
This is what the product says-

"Split-ends mean damaged hair. The Dove Split End Rescue Shampoo is a part of the Dove Damage Solutions range, specially formulated to help bring split-ends together. It has fiber actives that work on the deepest level of your hair, to give you up to 4X lesser split-ends*. "

The product doesn't claim to revert the effects but seal the frayed ends to provide smoother and softer hair. And it does exactly what it promises leaving your hair shinier and softer to touch. Dove has always been a favorite of mine when it came to hair care products and it keeps up to its promise again.