Split Ends vs. Frizz

My lovely natural hair friend had a major hair issue this weekend. She had split ends from hell. I mean, they were horrible. Luckily for me, it was a learning moment. She has been natural for three years and she has the most gorgeous head of hair. (Hair envy is in works!) She fluctuates between straightening and twists every two weeks. Well, this weekend, she had her hair straight. She had just had a major trim session throughout the week and did a good job but something crazy happened. We were in Walgreen's and all of a sudden her hair ends felt all sticky and broken. Come to find out, her split in the front of her hair. Horrible split ends. She freaked out, and I freaked out with her!

This was an extreme teaching lesson for me. I had never paid attention to split ends because I can barely stand to examine it long enough to do it. As I looked at her search and destroy her split ends, I got a chance to look closely at what split ends look like. And how to recognize split ends as split ends and not frizz as split ends. Split ends are distinct. The ends are split and they are really split. Frizz on the other hand is just just untamed hair. Split ends can cause frizz but I can't say the frizz can cause split ends. Now this is what I saw with her hair.
1. The ends were actually split. Like, where the hair ends, it is split in two pieces instead of sealed into a strand.
2. If you have split ends, your hair can feel sticky, it will feel rough and not smooth if you run your hand across it.
3. If you have split ends, you need to trim them immediately. They can cause tangles which can result in more split ends.

Here is a picture of what split ends look like. There are several kinds of split ends that can occur.

It is so important to trim split ends as soon as you find them. There is no other way to get rid of them. However, there are ways to prevent or prolong the damage from occurring.
1. Low manipulation-it is important to keep your hands out of your hair as long as possible. Your ends are the most fragile part of your hair so the longer you keep them, the harder it is to take care of them. Low manipulation will keep your hair from constantly rubbing up against itself. It helps prolong the cuticle which protects the strand.
2. Keep your hair moisturized as well as balanced in protein. A protein treatment once a month will go a long way.
3. Keep your ends protected as often as possible-your ends are the most fragile part of your hair. As long as you keep them protected, you will retain length.

Frizz is a simple fix. Just some moisture and you are fixed. Split ends are just that, they are not going to fix themselves.
Have you had problems with split ends? What do you do to prevent them?