I had my long hair straightened! :(

Last February, I had long, gorgeous, curly hair. Then, on a whim, I had it chemically straightened, and ruined it!!! Plus, the straightening didn`t work AT ALL. I basically paid $80 to have my hair dried out completely. I never EVER had split ends before, and now my split ends have their own split ends, and all I have to do is pull on the ends of my hair and they break right off! I have always dreamed of growing out long, curly hair, but my hair (with the exception of the new growth since Feb) is completely unhealthy and coarse. Should I cut it all off, or just keep the unhealthy hair, and trim it gradually waiting for all of the treated hair to grow out?? Has anyone else had a similar experience?? What should I do? Thanks!

Absolutely right! Split ends will travel up the shaft of your hair and keep on damaging until they are cut off. Nothing will heal them once they are formed. Shower conditioners will only temporarily glue them back together. Leave-in conditioners and hair oils only temporarily stick them back together, too. None are permanent repairers, for nothing can repair split ends. You can remove the split ends without losing too much length with a twisting technique. Take a strand of hair about one fourth an inch or half an inch wide near the scalp then delicately twist it to its ends. You will see the split ends sticking out. Take a sharp pair of scissors and hold it perpendicular to the strand of hair. Using the tip of the scissors, cut off the split ends and around one fourth an inch of the unhealthy hair above it. Do this in small segments down the length of the strand then turn the strand around and twist in the opposite direction to get the few you may have missed. This will not replace a trip to the hairdresser but it will help keep your hair in good condition while removing the damage. Good luck!!