Hair with Dead Ends?

A woman who is checking her hair for dead ends
Photo: Shutterstock
Q: I normally have curly hair, but lately I've been straightening it often. I wash and straighten it one day, skip the next, and repeat that routine throughout the week. Recently, however, I noticed tiny white dots at the ends of my bangs.
 
A friend told me I have dead ends, but I wasn't sure. It’s definitely not lice, and it only appears on the sections of my hair that I straighten most often. What could this be?
 
A: Well, I can tell immediately from your description of the location of these tiny white things that it isn't lice. Lice eggs (nits) are usually attached close to the scalp, not hanging out right at the tips of your hair.
 
I think it is most likely one of two things: either your friend is essentially correct and you are seeing severe heat damage. Often called "dead ends," though scientifically hair is already dead tissue. What you're likely seeing are white spots from fractured hair shafts or split ends, or you are seeing the effect of styling product build-up on the hair.
 
When hair is exposed to high heat from straightening without proper protection, the inner cortex of the hair can literally fracture and burst, creating tiny white spots that look like little dots right before the hair snaps off.
 
This is what I recommend:
 
• Switch to a Clarifying Wash Routine: Use a clarifying shampoo every third or fourth wash to strip away all product build-up and leave the hair clear of residues.
 
• Deep-Condition with Heat: Follow the clarifying shampoo with a deep-conditioning treatment or hair mask. Apply it to damp, towel-dried hair, comb it through evenly with a wide-tooth comb, cover with a plastic cap, and apply mild heat (via a hooded dryer, blow-dryer diffuser, or warm towel) for 15–20 minutes.
 
• Rinse Thoroughly: Rinse the hair thoroughly. Bonus: While cool water feels refreshing and can smooth down the outer cuticle layer slightly, hair cuticles don't actually have pores or muscles to "open and close" with temperature. Still, a cool rinse helps seal in shine and keeps hair smooth.
 
• ALWAYS Use a Heat Protectant: Since this is happening right where you straighten most often, heat damage is the primary suspect. Never put a flat iron on your hair without applying a high-quality heat protectant spray or cream first, and make sure your hair is 100% dry before straightening. Lowering your straightener's temperature setting will also save your strands.
 
• Get a Trim: If a clarifying wash doesn't make the dots disappear, those ends are fractured. Unfortunately, once a hair shaft splits or fractures at the tip, no product can permanently fuse it back together. You will need a trim to remove the damaged ends so the splitting doesn't travel further up the hair shaft. Just make sure to specify "just a trim" so you don't encounter a scissor-happy hairdresser. You don't want to lose unnecessary length just to clear up a few damaged tips!
 
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See also:
 
Damaged hair
 
Head lice treatments
 
What dead ends look like