NO SPLIT ENDS!!!!

Oh yes, you read correctly..... I have been dying to tell you all but I wanted to wait until I reached the TWO MONTH mark.... I have been a whole 2 months with no split ends... Not ONE...and please understand that I do search and destroy where I look for split ends at least ONCE a week, sometimes more....

Now you may be asking yourself why I am so obsessed with split ends.... For as long as I can remember (at least since I was about 13 and knew what a split end was) split ends have plagued my hair... Natural or relaxed it never mattered... I would be sitting in class or riding in the car, take a quick glance to the right or left and there would be at least 20 split ends all pointing and laughing at me.... I used to visit the salon weekly and faithfully get a trim with every relaxer... but less than a week after the trim I would still see split ends hanging around.... She started trimming my hair every 2 or 3 weeks...and never once told me,"hey, you have a problem"

Okay okay I know you want me to shut and stop talking about how great it is to have conquered split ends and just tell you how I accomplished this feat.... I always felt like my hair was so dry but growing up my mother(like most Black mothers) thought grease was some kind of magic potion and slathered it on like butter on toast ( ha ha I made a funny).... what I remember vividly about those days is that my head always felt like it was too heavy for my body.... everyone said it was because my hair was so thick but the truth was that mineral oil was weighing me down like an anchor.... So as soon as I started doing my own hair I vowed that I would not be using any grease... Swearing off grease was probably wise but I made the mistake of giving up on moisture period and that was not good...

A few things that I have learned that altered how I treat my hair:

• The body makes its own natural moisturizer called sebum. Sebum not only adds moisture to your skin and hair but it also works as a barrier to protect your hair and skin from drying elements like wind and air.
• The curlier/kinker/coarser your hair the harder it is for the sebum to travel down the hair strand AND sebum can't travel down a strand that is longer than neck length
• 4 a/b/c hair is naturally drier than straighter textures
• A split end is formed when the outer protective cuticle of the hair is destroyed, this causes the hair to literally split into two

When it comes to split ends an ounce of prevention is worth more than an ounce of cure

• Limit your use of chemical applicatons like relaxers and dyes (these chemical processes break down the hair and alter its natural structure... use them sparingly... this year I am getting 3 relaxers... next year I plan to try and only get 2....contrary to what most stylists tell you, your hair does not need to be relaxed every 4-6 weeks)
• Limit your use of direct heat (put the blow dryer, flat iron, and curling iron away and only break them out for extremely special occasions)
• Pay attention to the ingredients on your hair care products -- mineral oil, a very popular ingredient in commercial hair products, does not add moisture to the hair. Instead, it sits on the hair suffocating your strands and blocking OUT moisture... Use products that contain mineral oil very sparingly

Now for the DOS

• Do use products that contain ceramides -- I promise I have a blog coming on ceramides because I think they may be the holy grail of healthy hair but everytime I think I finish the blog I find more info on ceramides and fall in love all over again.... but for a quick overview ceramides act like a glue for the hair... they help hold together the scales that make up the fragile outer layer of hair
• Do deep condition your hair regularly-- I feel so silly for abusing my hair for years... I had my hair flat ironed every week and then used a curling iron throughout the week BUT I thought deep conditioners were just a treat for the hair so I'd have a DC done once a month or once every couple of months.... silly silly me...it's a wonder I had any hair left at all... Now I DC at least twice a week (yep you read that right!! LOL)
• Do trim split ends as soon as you see them (despite what you read on the label NO product has been scientifically proven to CURE split ends...once you have them you HAVE to cut them...that's why you have to focus on PREVENTION)
• Moisturize your hair as needed (I actually moisurize once a day but I know a lot of people who do it twice a day and some who only do it twice a week.... You have to determine how much moisture your hair needs but give it ALL the moisture that it needs)
• Steam Treatments are heavenly.... your hair will thank you for them... some people don't want to buy a steamer (personally I think it's worth saving up and making the investment...skip the vending machine at work for a month or two and save that money towards a steamer..your hair and your waistline will thank you) but there are some YouTube videos which show you how to do a "homemade" steam treatment.

Okay, I don't think you can ever completely rid yourself of split ends (or maybe I just believe that because it makes me feel better) BUT you can certainly take control of them before they take control of your hair... That's all for now

Lots of Love

Ke Ke