You may be here because you heard about the magical powers of hair dusting.
Problem. You find yourself short of the necessary deets to make it happen. You know, how to make the split ends disappear with a wave of the scissors?
Okay while dusting is good it’s not quite that easy.
Still splits are something no one wants. They make your hair look anything but silky smooth.
Not to mention each of us knows all too well you really can’t repair or “fix” split ends.
This is where the technique called hair dusting comes in. Spend some quality time with your hair and a sharp pair of scissors and BAM! you’ll never look back.
Now to navigate the nuances you need to know stuff to be confident you know how to dust hair. Your hair. So let’s mush on. Let’s see what we can do to liberate you from the struggle bus you’ve been riding when it comes to split ends.
This is really more of a search and destroy split ends game than anything. And it can be so satisfying.
Now if you’d like to feel satisfied keep reading to check out our look into the details behind demolishing splits.
Lessons on How to Find and Demolish Split Ends
- What Is Hair Dusting?
- Is Hair Dusting Yourself Good For Your Hair?
- How To Find Split Ends Four Ways
- Stylist VIDEO: Hair Dusting Split Ends Tutorial
- Benefits Of Dusting Or Cutting Off Split Ends
- How Often Should You Dust Your Hair?
- Dusting Vs Trimming: What’s the Diff?
What Is Hair Dusting?
Dusting is the selective removal of dead and split ends from specific strands of hair.
Basically you’re looking to clean up the unhealthy splits to prevent further breakage. This targeted approach preserves length while getting rid of frayed ends. Leaving you with locks that look shimmering and shiny and feel silky smooth.
Yeah but …
Is Hair Dusting Yourself Good For Your Hair?
Absolutely!
Seems to me anything that removes damaged and dead ends has to be considered good for your hair, right? That and then changing what you’re doing that’s contributing to those in the first place like these six hair care sins.
Besides this technique is supposed to revive stressed out strands. While preventing those pesky splits from proliferating in the first place.
Putting you on the path that takes your mane straight to gorgeous by leaving your hair in tip top condition. Rather than the frazzled, hot mess that’s plagued by split ends now?
Besides dusting isn’t hard. But it is boring. And this troubled tresses revival technique can eat up time like crazy. Just saying.
How To Find Split Ends Four Ways For More Resilient Hair
Getting rid of those dreaded split ends depends on finding them, right?
So if you’re wondering how to check for split ends know that there are four common ways to do so. Good to know since splits-free, longer hair looks and feels so much healthier.
It also helps to know what you’re looking for. So you might find our deep dive into the different types of split ends helpful.
Tip: Dusting is best done on dry hair. Otherwise the strands tend to clump together. Which makes it very hard for the problem ends to break through.
Anyway here’s the four different ways to find split ends in hair.
First up is “The Slide” which is a favorite of many. Maybe because it works so well.
With this one you simply slide a small section of hair under you index finger, over your middle then under your ring finger. Threading the hair like a wicker basket while keeping just a bit of tension on it.
As the hair glides across your middle finger errant strands will spring up. The guys that make an appearance here are the ones that need snipped off.
Easy to do. But again it’s time consuming. So don’t expect to invest five minutes and your splits will be all cleared out. It’s not THAT easy!
Also for best results this slide thing isn’t a once and done. It’s important to work through a section more than one time each sitting. Especially when starting out. Because not every problem child or dead end will reveal itself right away.
Now the next technique for finding split ends you might want to try is called “The Braid”.
Think loose braid here. Yeah, you want to avoid braiding too tightly. Because doing so will only prevent the little suckers from popping through to be snipped off.
Then here’s a trick for those without a lot of layers. Run you hand up the braid from the ends with one hand while maintaining a tight grip on the end with the other. This will cause more of the strands to stick out. Making it easier to see what needs clipped off.
Then there’s “The Twist”. It’s another good-to-know way when it comes to ideas for how to find the split ends hidden in your mane.
Finally you’ve got “The Fan”. Section out an inch or so of hair. Then as the name suggests fan out the ends. This makes it easier to see the dead ends that need to go.
Which one works best for you will vary by hair length and type.
But hopefully this demo is the best advice you’ve seen in a while on finding annoying split and dead ends.
Each can help you play up the shine factor and breathe new life into your tattered mane.
Now to put it all together and give you an idea of what’s in store for you here’s one split end killer in action:
Stylist Shares Hair Dusting Split Ends Tutorial
Some mistakenly feel only those with longer hair can dust. Not true.
Her hair grazes her collarbone and she manages.
Yes, she does use a mirror.
Shining a bright light on your hair might help too. But this works on various lengths.
The Basics: How to Dust Hair To Freshen Up Your Ends
- 1:57 Section off your hair.
- 2:57 Slide smallish sections of your hair over a finger of your non dominant hand.
- 3:16 Dust, or snip away, any split ends seen.
WARNING: If you use any ole scissors you’ll be doing more harm than good. So make sure you’re using razor sharp, hair cutting scissors. Dull shears risk creating fresh split ends and damage.
Yet don’t think you have to sell a kidney to get a decent pair of hair shears.
This pair is an Amazon best seller. And this one is also very popular. Both come in well under $10.
Sure you can pay more. If you’re a pro. But for home use I doubt either of these can be beat for occasional use.
Hope you’re getting the idea that the right shears are important. Like she says using any scissors you’ve got laying around won’t deliver a clean cut. And in fact risks creating splits not eliminating them. Certainly not the desired effect.
If you’d like to know more our quick guide exploring what kind of scissors to use to cut hair might be just what you need.
How To Tell You Need To Dust Tip: When brushing out your hair are you seeing little bits of hair cascading on your top (or flying through the air)? Those bits are breakage. Which suggests it’s time to get busy clearing out the dead ends.
Benefits Of Dusting Or Cutting Off Split Ends
As mentioned earlier, it’s recommended you regularly get rid of splits to keep your tresses healthy. You know, to prevent breakage or ending up with split ends that have split ends?
Dusting your hair may be the way to go because of these benefits:
The result is healthier, more resilient strands.
How Often Should You Dust Your Hair?
Best answer? As often as it takes to keep splits in check so you can avoid having to get a trim due to ragged ends which will cost you length.
Which means the best answer is – “It depends”.
The more hot styling tools plugged in and boxes of hair coloring in your bathroom the more often you should be dusting due to all the damage you’re likely inflicting.
On the other hand if heat never touches your strands, but lots of hydrating masks do and there are micro fiber towels in plain sight then you can probably do it less frequently.
I know. If you are a rule follower and were looking for a hard and fast “this often” rule to follow, sorry. there isn’t any.
But if push comes to shove if you tend to abuse your hair – every three or four weeks might be about right.
While if you treat your hair with TLC, pencil a split ends clean up onto your calendar every six to eight weeks.
Obviously you mileage may vary.
Since we’re on the topic …
Dusting Vs Trimming: What’s the Diff?
In a way it comes down to the amount of length you’re willing to lose.
With dusting you should be focused laser-like on the hopefully few strands with splits. Snipping the least bit of hair away to banish the problem.
So that if you’ve been keeping up with cutting off the damaged ends it won’t cost you any length.
Trimming on the other hand means cutting off a bit of length. At times that means an inch or more.
Hair is trimmed typically to get the shape back. Or due to widespread damage. Like most of your strands are showing signs of distress. That’s too big of a job for dusting.
So examine your ends. Which to do when depends on the amount of dead ends you see.
If you see few split ends go ahead and dust them away. However if you see most of the strands are in trouble with lots of them sporting split ends that will require a trim to fix.
This demo video might help you see the possibilities.
Unfortunately there is no audio with this one. It’s all a visual demonstration with text comments – if that matters to you.
Pop Quiz! After reading about the four ways to find your splits let me ask you. What method is the stylist using to tease out the splits to get them to show themselves?
Also notice that dusting and a trim produced a pretty dramatic improvement in the appearance of her hair. Leaving a curtain of smooth, silky, shiny awesomeness.
Maybe you can see why dusting is so popular. It flat out works.
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