my college roommate has a habit of pulling apart her split ends. she peels them all the way up to the root, so eventually one side of the hair comes off all together.
why is she doing this, and what does it do to her hair? is there anyway i can help her stop because i'm sick of little pieces of hair all over our room!
2007-02-01 04:57:47 · 12 answers · asked by silvershadow627 1 in Beauty & Style ➔ Hair
Split ends weaken the hair and increase the chance of the hair breaking, change the cross section, which makes it more likely to curl or tangle, and make it more likely to be dry (more surface area that needs moisture).
As far as getting her to stop, the key question is whether she is trying to quit. If she isn't, you can either politely try to convince her to stop, or you're out of luck. Telling her how "fried" her hair is likely to get if she continues might help. Regular haircuts will minimize split ends in the first place.
If she wants to quit and it's just a bad habit, there are any number of tricks to that. For fiddling-with-things habits, I have found that getting a stress toy helps, as does a hands-on, simple-project hobby like knitting or crochet. Putting a rubber band on your wrist and snapping yourself when you catch yourself doing the bad habit has also worked for me, but your wrist hurts like hell for the first week or so. :-) It's basically slapping yourself on the wrist.
If she is trying to quit and the habit is holding on like an addiction, she might have a variant of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The behavior sounds a lot like Trichotillomania, in which the person compulsively pulls out hair. Fiddling with your hair a lot, usually twirling it, is an early sign. If you suspect the hair splitting might be compulsive, definitely try to get her to talk to your school's counselor or psychiatrist. Most universities have both, some small colleges might not.
Other related behaviors to watch for are cutting (making small cuts in the skin, not in a suicide sort of way, just self-injury), eyebrow pulling, and picking at the skin.
Good luck!
2007-02-01 05:35:21 · answer #1 · answered by Sara Q 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi, I am from the Uk and its like you are talking about me! I have done the same thing for years, even if I have my hair cut and theres no split ends I snap my hair and make them, which has resulted in the back top layer of hair being only 2 inches long. The rest of my hair is about 10-12 inches long so I probably look stupid from the back! But I cant stop and I need help too. I think it is a compulsive thing.
2007-02-03 22:12:55 · answer #2 · answered by LISA P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really ruins the strand of hair... I do it sometimes too, when my hair is long enough and I haven't had a haircut in like 6 months or so. When you pull the strand apart, it is kinda like pulling one of those mozzarella 'string cheese', that you can get in the dairy section of the market, apart. The remaining piece of the strand is not very strong and has a tendency to curl up and be more easily broken...
2007-02-01 05:03:01 · answer #3 · answered by doctor_76 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is really just a bad habit like biting fingernails. It will be hard to get her to stop, but you could talk to her and tell her to place the pieces of hair that she pulls off in the trash.
2007-02-01 05:15:31 · answer #4 · answered by David G 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's could actually be an compulsive disorder called trichotillamania. Some people pulls their hair out- even their eyelashed and eyebrows. I know that she isn't really ripping it out but maybe you should look up word. She might need help/therapy and try not to give her a hard time b/c she probably can't control it.
2007-02-01 05:38:24 · answer #5 · answered by deborah g 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
tell her she needs a good haircut, and then to start using a good conditioner. If she carries on like she is she will be bald by the time she is 27. Also make her vacuum up all the hairy bits
2007-02-01 05:02:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
thats just gross. why dont you take her to get a haircut, that way there will be no split ends to pull apart
2007-02-01 05:01:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Eek!Just tell her that u don't like this act of hers...And ask her to get her hair cut regularly...And i f then also she is behaving like this only then let me know..I m here to help u
2007-02-01 06:11:43 · answer #8 · answered by Vibha d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take her to a Doctor or a shrink immediately
2007-02-01 05:05:51 · answer #9 · answered by SillyOle'Bird 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She probably has OCD and needs to get help. I bet her hair is wickedly frizzy.
2007-02-01 06:04:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋