How to Prevent Split Ends in 4c Hair (Remedies)

Split ends are common knowledge and more often than not the right of passage on most types of hair. 4C hair isn’t a stranger to this phenomenon. Split ends, contrary to popular belief can be remedied and prevented because as they say prevention is better than cure. A healthy diet, clean water and the overall health of your body impact the strength of your hair.

When you are growing out your natural hair, split ends are normal, especially in 4C hair. In this blog, we will cover how to prevent and remedy 4C hair split ends.

Split Ends What Are They?

Split ends are basically the ends of your hair shaft fraying and splitting into two. This generally happens when your hair hasn’t been taken care of or has been treated to some styling or colouring. While the damage caused by split ends can often be seen, split ends don’t always occur as the result of extreme hair damage. Instead, they usually develop slowly over a while. Sometimes split ends on natural hair occur because they haven’t been trimmed or have reached the end of their life cycle. Mostly old hair which isn’t taken care of properly tends to have split ends.

Why Are Split Ends Caused?

Knowing what split ends are, we shall delve further and understand why 4C hair has split ends.

1. Heat Exposure

Heat exposure is one of the main culprits for split ends on natural hair. Blow drying and using a flat iron on your hair frequently causes your hair to have split ends. Albeit heat styling should be avoided at all costs, if you still wish to use heat to style your hair, a good heat protectant is a must in copious amounts, preferably one with silicone in it. Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Grow Thermal Protectant is a natural but gorgeous heat protectant. It also helps your hair grow.

2. Colour

Colouring your natural 4C hair is one of the biggest causes of split ends. Colouring agents cause your hair to weaken and your hair cuticles to be exposed. This causes your hair to age faster than usual and makes your hair weaker.

3. Internal Health

The kind of lifestyle you lead will always reflect on the health of your hair. The more you abuse your body the more your hair will be affected. Dehydration, malnourishment and overall bad eating habits will cause your hair to be weak and brittle. 4C hair needs extra nourishment because it is already quite dry.

4. Manipulation

Natural hair has to be handled properly. You cannot comb or detangle your natural 4C hair when it is dry. It will cause your hair to fray further and cause more split ends. A good detangling spray such as Paul Mitchell The Detangler always applies it before you detangle your hair. This ensures your hair has moisture and elasticity which helps your hair from breakage.

5. Environmental Factors

Your environment will always affect your hair. Extreme weather conditions can cause split ends in 4C hair. Too much humidity, dryness, rain or sun can cause your hair to fray and have split ends.

How To Prevent Split Ends On 4c Hair?

1. Gentle Detangle

Gently detangling your 4C hair is absolutely necessary. Since the curl pattern in 4C hair is tight and close, the hair tends to get tangled easily. What you can do is use a lot of conditioners to help your hair have good slip and also helps your hair break less. Palmer’s Coconut Oil Repairing Conditioner helps you to detangle easily and also repairs your hair from within. Also, use a hair mask that deeply nourishes your hair with moisture and reduce frizziness and dryness.

2. Less Manipulation

Avoid styling your 4C hair too often. Constant touching also causes your 4C hair to have frizz which in turn leads to split ends in natural hair. Trying new hairstyles every day, combing dry hair and detangle it in dry hair is a bad idea. This will cause your 4C hair to break, be brittle and have split ends.

3. No Heat

Heat styling is a big NO. Avoid excessive use of heat on your hair, like blow dryers and straightening irons to preserve its health. It causes your natural 4C hair to dry out. Heat also causes your hair to fry and lose moisture, which in turn causes your hair to split. And if you do wish to style your hair with heat, you should look at a good silicone heat protectant that will help your hair be safe from immense damage done by the heat.

4. Over Styling

Over styling is a problem when it comes to 4C natural hair. It comes from using too much product or having your hair be laden with products that cause your hair to become fragile because it is heavy and limp. Too much moisture or protein can cause your hair to break or snap. So, find a balance for the split ends products that you use for your hair. Give your 4C hair rest from styling. Deep condition it from time to time. This will strengthen and also make your hair have a shine. In order to have healthy hair strands, it is important to give your hair moisture and protein treatments. We recommend Original Africa’s Best Olive Oil Deep Conditioner for best results.

5. Trimming Your Hair Regularly

Trimming your hair regularly is a good practice. Split ends are inevitable since the usual hair wash and styling will cause fraying. Even your hair cycle of every strand is very important. You will encounter dead hair and if this dead hair isn’t combed away properly, it can cause your hair to have split ends and dryness. So, as per your own natural 4C hair, get a trim regularly. Getting regular trims will actually help your hair grow faster and stronger. Go to your salon or hairstylist and see what works for you. Leaving your split ends as they are, causes more harm, because they travel up the hair shaft till the root, splitting your hair into two and causing it to weaken and break.

In the end, 4C hair is fragile and need a whole load of love and affection. This is a love affair that is never-ending. Split ends are just like a bend in the roads of your life which are inevitable and will come, always choose to keep your hair better and choose products that will help your hair grow and be healthy. Follow a good diet and drink plenty of water which will help your 4C hair health.