Split ends..

So I was scrolling through the thread on voluntary simplicity and started thinking about razors. I haven't owned a razor for over a decade and the little cartridges seemed ridiculously wasteful and expensive even before I got interested in anything 'eco'. A close cut beard and a pair of paper scissors which get sharpened once every 6 months do me fine.

My brain then wandered to not having haircuts. I started growing my hair long at 17 and despite a few minor trims of the ends (last one about 8 years ago), not cut it since. Every so often I make the mistake of mentioning this to people. Invariably I get some response about split ends.

Now I think I know what split ends are. The tip of the hair gets damaged and forms a split and then this runs all the way back to the root. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

My question is, why the flying whotsit should I care about split ends?

Split ends is just when the end of the hair frays and looks like little tree branches or brooms. I don’t think the “split” ever reaches very far up the hair.

I tend to agree with you that it’s not much of a problem. First, if your hair is not damaged by bleaching/blow drying you won’t get them so bad. Second, other than maybe making it a bit harder to comb through the end, it’s just a minor cosmetic problem.

OMG, split ends! Marketing creates a problem, and ... OMG, we need to buy useless crap lest we be mocked by TV watchers. Pfft.

If your long hair makes the female of the species happy, keep rockin' the Samson. My 2c.

Not what you're asking but I've been using the same disposable razor for over a year.  It came with 5 replaceable heads so I think I'm good for the better part of the 2020s.  I just shave parts of my face every 3 days though so your mileage may vary.  I guess I'm trying to say that they don't have to be excessively wasteful...

As a female with longish hair, split ends bug me more than just appearance. When the ends of my hair start to split, my hair shortens unevenly because it makes the hair weaker and it snaps as it "frays" upwards. This is a pain if I want to braid my hair to keep it out of the way because the shorter hairs don't stay bound up as well. They escape and then tickle my nose or get in my eyes just as my hands are dirty or full and it's super annoying.

Split ends also make my hair tangle which in turn makes more split ends when I brush it. When my hair is trimmed neatly and free of split ends, I can often get away without brushing it because my hair is so very straight, it just falls down smoothly on its own.

I do have extremely slippery straight hair so possibly other hair types do not have the same problem as me.

Mike Haasl wrote: I guess I'm trying to say that they don't have to be excessively wasteful...

Sorry Mike, that wasn't supposed to be a poke at people who shave.

At the time I was shaving every day and had been given quite a nice razor. The cost of the cartridges was a bit ridiculous and it had an aloe vera? strip that wore off very quickly.

Jenny Wright wrote: As a female with longish hair, split ends bug me more than just appearance. When the ends of my hair start to split, my hair shortens unevenly because it makes the hair weaker and it snaps as it "frays" upwards. This is a pain if I want to braid my hair to keep it out of the way because the shorter hairs don't stay bound up as well. They escape and then tickle my nose or get in my eyes just as my hands are dirty or full and it's super annoying.

Split ends also make my hair tangle which in turn makes more split ends when I brush it. When my hair is trimmed neatly and free of split ends, I can often get away without brushing it because my hair is so very straight, it just falls down smoothly on its own.

Thank you Jenny. As a male, I tend to get funny looks if I start asking about this sort of thing.

It's good to hear a bit about why it's a problem for someone even if I don't notice it as a problem for me.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:If your long hair makes the female of the species happy, keep rockin' the Samson.

It makes me happy, so that will do.