Do Split Ends Stop Hair Growth? | Nope! Here’s Why

Maybe you’re wondering why your hair isn’t growing past a certain length anymore or why it’s been six months, and barely any hair has grown. 

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at split ends and understand what precisely the role of split ends is and does to your hair. 

What Are Split Ends?

 The short answer is no. Having split ends does not stunt hair growth or stop your hair from growing. However, if your hair is dry, brittle, or damaged, you do have split ends.

Split ends resemble the appearance of a frayed or overused rope. Don’t confuse frizzy hair for split ends, though. 

Although frizzy hair and split ends look similar, they are much different. Frizzy hair curls at the end, resulting in messy or volumized textures, whereas split ends are easily tangled and separate at the end and feel dry. 

What Causes Split Ends?

While split ends can’t cause more damage to your hair, they result from damage already done. If you don’t treat your hair and do what you can to prevent split ends, you’ll likely end up with dull-looking hair that breaks and tangles regularly. Split ends are caused by:

• Heat styling tools such as blow dryers and straighteners
• Tight hair ties
• Excessive brushing or not enough brushing
• Extreme weather conditions such as hot and humid or cold and windy
• Dying or bleaching
• Hair treatments like extensions or perms.

Do Split Ends Stop Hair Growth?

Hair grows from the scalp. Unless you have a dermatology medical condition that stunts hair growth, healthy hair usually grows roughly 6 inches yearly. However, if your ends are dry and brittle, you’ll notice your hair isn’t growing as fast as you’d like it to.

No, split ends aren’t the reason for hair to stop growing. If you’ve noticed your hair isn’t gaining length, your split ends aren’t to blame per se, though they make your hair brittle and cause breakage.

What’s happening is that your hair is breaking faster than it can grow out as it’s too weak to last. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for split ends except for trimming them off.

How to Prevent Split Ends

The best way to tackle split ends is to prevent them from happening altogether. For healthy and long-last hair, you may want to look for ingredients such as panthenol, biotin, and coconut in your hair products. Panthenol helps strengthen hair follicles necessary for hair growth.

Coconut adds moisture and shine to your hair, and biotin helps produce keratin which is responsible for the overall health of your hair. Other preventative measures for split ends include our 4 favorite methods below.

Be Gentle and Caring With Your Hair

The best thing you can do after you’ve rid your hair of split ends is to be kind to your hair. When choosing shampoos and conditioners, ensure you are using natural ingredients that contain no chemicals or harsh byproducts. 

When using a brush or brushing your hair, try to aim for wide-toothed combs or boar bristle brushes. Boar bristle brushes will spread natural oils produced from your scalp evenly throughout your hair which is essential in keeping your hair healthy and strong. 

Other things you can do for gentle care are:

• Use detangler
• Use overnight hair masks
• Give your hair a break (don’t dye your hair or use heat treatment)

Sleep With Silk

Sleeping with cotton pillows and blankets causes messy hair, more breakage, and status or frizz. Sleeping with silk pillowcases and sheets helps to maintain healthy hair as the silk lets your hair fall where it will and gives it room to breathe. 

Since cotton is more porous than silk, cotton will absorb moisture from your hair resulting in a flaky scalp, dry ends, and out-of-control frizz. Silk pillowcases add moisture, ultimately preventing split ends and other damaging hair problems. 

Rinse With Cold Water

Hot showers open your pores so that you can clean dirt, grime, and dust from your skin and scalp. If your hair is filthy from a long day at work, then a hot shower is the way to go. However, consider rinsing your hair and body with cool or cold water.

Cold water closes your pores so that when you step out of the shower, your pores remain closed, which makes it harder for small particles to cause damage to your hair and skin, such as dandruff and acne. 

Get Tri-Monthly Trims

If you notice split ends, it’s best to get into the hairdresser as soon as possible to clip it off. However, the added benefits of getting half an inch cut off your ends once every three months. 

Getting a trim at least every four months promotes hair growth, repair, and strength. You’ll need fewer styling tools, and your hair will be more manageable. Trimming hair promotes health, shine, and control.

While it may seem counter-productive, cutting the dead ends, breakage, and split ends, is the only way to help your hair stay stronger and look more healthy because you’re cutting off damage that results in hair growth. 

Frequently Asked Questions

For those of you who still have questions about split ends and hair growth, here are the top five related questions most people ask:

Can my hair still grow with split ends?

Yes. Although your hair may grow slower, split ends are the reason you find pieces of hair strands on your pillow in the morning or in your shower.

While it’s natural to shed hair, shedding too much can signify split ends. The problem is that your hair is too damaged to grow out entirely, which split ends and other damaging factors cause.

Do split ends cause more hair loss?

Yes and no. Split ends may cause loose strands to fall out more often. However, the causes of your hair loss, such as poor hair care, may also be the exact cause of your split ends. 

A split end is a breakage on the bottom of your hair shaft that splits in many ways. Due to this breakage, your hair will fall out more often, so getting a haircut is a good idea.

Why does cutting split ends help hair grow?

Snipping off split ends helps your hair heal and reform to its natural state. When you cut split ends off, you’re removing hair that continues to split, which helps the root of your hair grow faster as your hair is no longer trying to repair what isn’t curable. 

What can stimulate hair growth?

Many things can help stimulate hair growth, such as:

• Protein-rich diet
• Caffeine infused products
• Essential oils like peppermint and pumpkin seed oil
• Vitamins such as biotin, vitamin E, and omega-s and 6
• Scalp massages
• Cold water and less heat
• Antioxidant scalp treatments

Are split ends normal?

Split ends are some of the most inevitable and common things that happen to hair. You don’t need to worry too much about them. With regular treatment, you should be more than okay.

Bottom Line: Do Split Ends Stop Hair Growth?

Split ends don’t necessarily stop hair growth. Instead, split ends make it more difficult for your hair to grow out due to the breakage and damage. So, how do you prevent this?

Start by getting yourself a haircut, and then take care of your hair to prevent it from happening again. A little proactivity goes a long way — do don’t take any shortcuts and you’ll love your hair again!