Skipping Conditioner = Split Ends? {Hair Care}

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Last week, when I did a post on "Should I apply conditioner or not?", I got a lot of responses on the post and one of the comments made me think about this post. The comment was from Krupa and she said "skipping conditioner n using leave in serum is a gud idea but without conditioner wont we get split ends?". 

[Source: Google Images]

What does a Conditioner do?

Anyways, thinking from her point of view, she is right. Conditioner is supposed to condition our hair and provide it moisture and nourishment and when the hair strands are nourished, moisturized and hydrated, they do not develop split ends. But, I want to clear a misconception. Conditioner never ever repairs Split Ends. No product can repair Split Ends.

How to get rid of Split Ends?
Split Ends can only be prevented by taking care of the hair and being diligent about applying the products meant to keep the hair in a good condition. But, if they develop, you can only snip them off. Otherwise, those split ends can travel up the length of your hair strands and cause your hair to look rough and damaged. So, always take good care of your hair with regular deep conditioning treatments and snip off the ends at regular intervals too.

How do you take care of your split ends?

Vitamin E and Evening Primrose for Healthy Hair

No, I am not talking of supplements. This is a little advise which I got from my hair stylist when I went for a haircut. Every time you oil your hair, pour a tablet of vitamin E oil and Evening Primrose Oil in the oil and put the container in hot water for 10-15 minutes to heat it up and then, massage the oil in your hair. It helps in prmoting hair growth and keeps your hair healthy. Another advantage of doing this is that your hair will recover from breakages it might be suffering from. 

Another tip is that you can also pour contents of 5-6 vitamin E tablets in your hair conditioner as well (both leave-in and after-shampoo). This method will help your hair heal better from any dryness and split ends too.

Update: An important detail which I completely forgot to mention earlier. You might also be wondering of how and which supplements to get hold of. So, I was suggested Evion (Vitamin E supplements) and Primosa (Evening Primrose supplements) and they were pretty easy to get hold of. You should be able to find them in any drug store near your house. And, Evion is just 15 Rs per strip and Primosa is a little expensive at around 100 Rs. So, I would say use Primosa tablet once a week and Evion tablets at least twice or thrice a week both in oiling and conditioners for better results.

Wash your hair with Baking Soda

What to use to wash our hair? This is a great concern. No one definitely wants to put any kind of chemicals on hair but then, we are not sure that the herbal shampoos are actually herbal or just a marketing tactic. And, some do not want to give up on their favorite brands. In one of my earlier posts, I told you how to convert your regular shampoo into a herbal one. But, again its not a completely herbal shampoo. I have bee wanting to wash my hair with sole baking soda since a very long time. So, yesterday, I finally decided to put it into action.

Well, the results are fabulous. No frizz, no hair maintainence and management issues. Just soft and shiny hair. But, washing with baking soda is quite a challenging job. It takes time to get used to a non-foaming shampoo. (Even the herbal ones foam.) And, for the first time, it took more time for me to shampoo my hair. I took an approximate quantity of baking soda and mixed it with little water to make a paste. Do not add more water. It will turn into liquid and you might not be able to wash your hair properly. I divided my hair into sections especially on the scalp. Make sure your hair is wet through and through. Then, took a little of the paste and rubbed it on the scalp. Section by section, I covered my whole scalp. Then, applied the paste on the hair body and waited for around 10 minutes. Your hair would feel dry at that time as opposed to using shampoos because of the powdery texture of  baking soda. But, it does not make your hair dry. Handle your hair gently to prevent breakage. Stand under the shower and wash off all the baking soda from your hair. Massage your scalp well to make sure it is thoroughly clean. Your hair would take a little more time to dry too. Do not oil your hair too much before washing it. You will need a huge amount of baking soda to clean it and it would take lot of time.You need not follow with a conditioner. Baking soda acts as a conditioner too.

Your hair would be more shine, bouncy and healthy after washing it with baking soda. Regular usage of baking soda also helps prevent split ends. You might take little time getting adjusted to baking soda as it does not foam and you might not be sure of the exact amount to use for your hair. After two-three trials, you would find that using baking soda is way more rewarding and guess what, you are not using anything chemical on your hair. So, go ahead try it and share your experiences.

Get rid of Split Ends {Hair care}

Split ends are ugly and make our hair look unhealthy. More than that, they actually make our hair unhealthy by climbing up the hair shaft. The only way to get rid of split ends is by trimming your hair up to the level where you are sure all your damaged hair is gone. Next step is to take care of your hair properly so that there are no split ends in the future.

• First is to handle your hair very gently. Do not rub with a towel or use a rough accessory on it. Do not be harsh with it while drying it. Just gently squeeze the excess water out of the hair and let it air dry.Keep your combs and brushes smooth. If they develop jagged edges or get broken at any point, change them. The jagged edges or sharp broken points can rip off the hair. 
• Proper nutrition and regular exercise is necessary to maintain beautiful hair. Why? As our hair grows from the follicle, it gets old. The tips of our hair is years old actually and due to the lack of proper nutrients and exercise and loss of proper capillary action in the hair, it becomes difficult for the hair follicles to provide proper nutrition to the ends of the hair. This is one of the reasons for even the hair getting dry as it grows past a certain length. Due to the lack of nutrition, the cuticle wears off and the hair strand starts splitting.
• Due to the very same reason, we need to provide the ends with extra nutrition on a regular basis. If your hair is extremely dry or is prone to lot of split ends, do a weekly pre-poo on your hair. Egg and honey is especially helpful. 
• Excess usage of hair products can also bring this calamity to your hair. Use only the most required of the products and make sure they are of the highest quality. Use as minimum amount as possible of any product. 
• Mix a tea spoon of castor oil with two tea spoons of pure coconut oil and massage in into your hair with special attention to the ends twice a week. Dip a towel into warm water and wrap your hair in it. You can even take a steam for your hair. You can leave it overnight or wait for an hour or two and wash off with a mild shampoo. Do not forget to dilute the shampoo. After washing your hair, apply a intensive hair conditioner to the ends of the hair and stay for 5-10 minutes. Wash off. You can follow with leave-in conditioner.