How To Prevent Split Ends On Natural Hair

If you look it up in the dictionary, pruning means to trim a tree, shrub or 

bush and if you think about it, this is what you need to do when you ask how to prevent split ends on natural hair.  The hair is like leaves that grow out of the tree, which is like your body.  Sometimes, you have to cut back the tree in order for it to grow and flourish. I do people watch while I am out and about and see countless women with natural hair in dire need of a trim.  Yet if they come in, they are the first to say they do not want it cut because the hair never grows.  

The following list is a guide on how to prevent split ends on natural hair:

• Have the hair trimmed every 3-4 months; naturally curly hair grows half an inch a month as straight hair but because it curls, it looks like a quarter of that.  Cutting it more often can seem to delay the growth hence the longer waiting period.
• Moisturizing the hair regularly, with creams or oils to make it more supple.
• Including green, leafy vegetables in your diet.
• Make sure your iron is not low, meaning you are anaemic.
• Avoiding straightening the hair too often.
• Using a heat protecting product on the hair before blow drying like a styling gel, or lotion.  Please note that a spray heat protectant is only used on the hair after it has been blow dried to protect the hair from the hot iron.
• If you do not wrap your hair at night, braid it to protect the ends.
• Moisturize and comb your hair at least twice a week.
• If you wear a wig cap, YES you still need to moisturize and comb it.

As a hairstylist, you hear countless stories from people who had that one person “butcher” their hair.  The cut starts out fine but they are unable to balance the sides and end up cutting too much off.  This causes the client to have post-traumatic-stress every time a scissor is mentioned. Do your research and find a stylist who knows how to do a great haircut. I hope this helped you figure out how to prevent split ends on natural hair.

By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design