The Avenue Salon, Fairfield

Split Ends: Casualties of High-Impact Haircare

One major benefit of a haircut is the removal of split ends. Take a look at Groupon’s overview of an irritating hair condition.

Trichoptilosis is one diagnosis that will come not from your doctor, but from your stylist. Deriving from the Greek terms for hair and feathers, trichoptilosis literally means a jagged feathering at the end of the hair shaft, and unfortunately, there is no cure—the offending ends must be trimmed. Split ends occur when a strand’s outermost layer, the cuticle, wears away. Composed of dead cells that overlap each other like roof tiles, the cuticle can wither due to stress from coloring chemicals or heat from blow dryers and styling tools. This leaves the inner layer—the cortex—exposed, allowing its spindle-shaped protein fibers to unravel and cause split ends. Though some hair breakage is inevitable, you can prevent split ends and brittle hair by shampooing less often, using protein-enriched conditioners, and taking care to coat hair with a heat-protectant product when using styling tools.