My hair splitting compulsion | How I ruined my hair.

[@amyyong5615]

I've got this problem, but the opposite. I love cutting my split ends, some days, I do it for hours! It's so satisfying. If I do it long enough, when I close my eyes all I can see is a split end haha

[@mahrukhjamali5526]

Sameee, i used to do it because i think once your hair is split there is no going back you just have to cut it but i literally cut my hair five inches some months ago and have not used heat after that but i still have slpit ends.

[@angelsanwinhtay5171]

Hahaha

[@gretelsmetals]

Oh my gosh I do this too, I honestly go into my zone and forget I’m doing it🤣

[@nibabi]

I do search and destroy while watching tv. It annoys my mom to no end. 😂 The trick is that you have to examine the entire strand not just the end.

[@rainfallmusic494]

I was just about to comment the same thing!

[@runoncaffeine]

I know exactly what you mean. I used to do this ALL the time in school. Picking my split ends was something I did all the time and I'm not actually sure when I managed to stop. Good on you for addressing it ❤

[@IsabellaDemarko]

so many people do! x

[@kaleigh1640]

I have a compulsion to sit for way too long and cut individual split ends off with sheers daily! If you need to find something satisfactory to replace the splitting habit, this is a much healthier one!

[@kandacehead9544]

I use fingernail clippers, since I just snip off one split end at a time.

[@oggtastic]

There's a wonderful KZbinr called Clare Siobhan who has had trichotillomania so badly that she's had to shave her hair and exclusively wear wigs. I'd totally recommend her video of her experience (I think it's called Why I Wear Wigs) and she goes into the triggers she has had and how this disorder has affected her. It's well worth a watch.

[@madisonsabsoluterandomness5411]

Yes she’s very honest and has shown her progress of growing out her hair and has said about her ups and downs with her trichotillomania

[@CrownedLily]

I too thought of Clare while watching this.

[@girlpower2644]

I tought she only played sims

[@heleenh6307]

What helped for me is instead of splitting the ends I just relax and take a scissor to cut all the split ends instead. My hair literally has never been so long nor as healthy. I highly suggest it.

[@draculena]

i really thought i was the only one who struggled with this obsession 💔 i’m extremely fixated on the “breaks” in my hair and snapping them apart and hearing/feeling that little snap. my friends used to even take videos of me splitting my ends in school, in the car, at restaurants... it was never-ending. it’s so addicting. it ruined my hair, too. the only thing that helped was cutting my hair short, above my shoulders. but every time my hair grows out again, i just go back to splitting even though i vowed i was never going to split again :( now i only let myself split if i have sharp shearing scissors to cut off damage. i have little split hairs on my clothes, my desk, etc.

[@aspenthorne]

i have been doing this for the past couple of years, and i had NO ONE to go to about it! it is the worst habit and it has been so hard to stop. this video is a GODSEND thank you so much!

[@swordfishtrombones4855]

Thank you for this video. I also have destroyed my hair for almost 20 years now and I twist mine and tear it out from the bottom. A lot of people only see thrich as “pulling” so I love the specific representation. No one understands what it’s like to get SO much comfort from something you DON’T want to do. Strength to you, THANK YOU again ❤️

[@zip0903]

thankyou for speaking up, ive never heard anyone talk about this. ive always felt so alone and embarrassed doing this and currently im in the process of getting diagnosed with trichotillomania for the pulling also

[@IsabellaDemarko]

i hope you find a method that helps you to control it

[@maggiemoyer]

I know a lot of people who go through this and it’s so amazing that you are able to talk about this and be someone that people can relate to

[@IsabellaDemarko]

[@Chad_Dabal]

I ended up cutting my hair short, like 'almost shaved' short because of this. Mine progressed from splitting the ends apart to just pulling out the hair, to pulling out the hair and taking the edge of my fingernails and peeling the hair shaft itself and creating my own split ends to see how many I could make on each hair. It was a lot. My hair has regrown and I still have the urge. I cut it often, not much, but enough to keep it healthy. It's been quite the road. Thank you for sharing, this is a thing for people and it doesn't get talked about much.

[@sarajanelafleur8796]

the using my nails to peel each individual hair and create or exacerbate the split ends has been a huge problem for me. glad to see I'm at least not alone.

[@Ana-vq6tp]

Man I'm devastated to read that I actually have a problem. I had a beautiful hair but now I absolutely ruined it! Time for a haircut and a new mindset

[@JustAnotherLucy]

So interesting to hear about hair related compulsions that aren't necessarily trichotillomania. I have always twizzled my front hair around my finger and then got it tight/tense enough to break the hair and hear a crack. I find it comforting and luckily it hasn't done much noticeable damage but it's still such a bad habit

[@oliviaj9037]

I do the exact same thing! Twirling my hair till I get the right tight bits to snap off. It’s not massively impactful but I do have less hair thickness on the side of my head I do it most!

[@victoriarobertson266]

Everything you're describing, while it doesn't have a specific name, is exactly what I experience with dermatillomania and trichotillomania. You've noticed the "imperfection" and you have to get rid of it. You "get rid of it," but you've done more damage than what you started with, but you're relieved when it's gone. You get lost in it for hours and it interrupts your day. I've been dealing with skin picking since I was very young, and now I'm in my 30s, still dealing with it and not really getting anywhere with calming the compulsion. Hair pulling was at its worst for me when I was pregnant with my son. He's 10 now, and he's been pulling out his eyelashes. OCD tendencies run in my family, but I'm the first one diagnosed with it, and I didn't know how deep it went. Yeah, I knew the skin picking was bad and socially unacceptable, there's just such a larger scope of how illogical my anxiety can be. Body-focused repetitive behaviors are hard to beat. We get lost in it, but we also do it when we're thinking, talking, stressed, tired, to soothe. It's self-stimulating.

[@Firecat_23]

I'm not an expert, but I think the more general term you could be looking for to describe the hair splitting would be a body focused repetitive behaviour (brfb). It's a broader set of disorders related to destructive self-grooming, and does include Trichotillomania, but also skin picking, nail biting, etc. Again, not an expert, but its a term that might be worth looking into if you're interested in learning more.

[@katehildebrant8420]

Isabella, thank you SO MUCH for making this video. I've been struggling with this for years. Whenever my hair was down and I wasn't actively talking to someone or doing something that demanded my attention, I would look down and see a split end , and I simply had to pull it apart. I would zone out and be uninvolved while doing schoolwork or listening to someone talk. It's so addicting. Two things that help me are simply putting my hair away into a braid or bun, so I can't get at my split ends, or cutting off the split ends. I'll get my little scissors and find every tiny split end or break and snip it off, sometimes doing it for hours. I wish I could just leave my hair alone and let it grow. Thank you for taking about this, as I've never seen a video about it that was actually helpful. People usually say "just don't do it." Thank you again for talking about this subject in greater detail.

[@IsabellaDemarko]

you are most welcome i'm glad this was relatable for you :) x

[@MarcePaz2008]

OMG I used it on the opposite, I used it to focus and concentrate exactly on what the teacher was talking about, I did not even miss a coma...It was like my method of concentration, weird anyways! LOL

[@charlotteulrich3275]

I have so much empathy for you here^^ I've struggled with skin picking for as long as I can remember and I can't go a single day without it. You described how it feels so perfectly, I don't think I could have said it as well as you did. Something that really bothers me are teachers like the one you mentioned, not in relation to my skin picking but fidgeting and stimming. I'm autistic and I constantly need to be doing something with my hands, but most teachers were never able to understand that. It's not that I'm not paying attention- I need to do this in order to even be able to play attention! I wish there was more understanding for things like this. When I tried to stop myself I always just ended up staring out of the window and zoning out.

[@rubywillow2794]

So glad you're talking about this! My childhood best friend was constantly doing this- especially when she was sad or stressed or didn't want to talk. Her mom was always yelling at her for it

[@IsabellaDemarko]

its seems to be quite common! glad i'm not alone though x

[@zanayda_love2434]

Not being able to stop until you find the “best one” and having a bunch of fly away hairs after, pinching hair between your nails to make the hair break even more, realizing you’ve been splitting for 3 hours

[@aysubulut9231]

Hey Isabella, i just wanted to say that i love your channel. I feel like you're my bigger sister who tries things, fails, does them and doesn't stop trying. Seeing your ups and downs on this channel really makes me feel seen. This is my comfort channel now

[@thebranco1351]

This is definitely a eye-opener for me I’ve had this obsessive compulsive disorder for awhile now, and I totally get what you mean when you say it’s like a trance I get so zoned in on it splitting my hair my fiancé doesn’t get why I do it and neither do I but i swear it’s the worst habit I’ve developed I’m going to try and keep a hair tie around my wrists to see if It helps at all thank you so much for this video

[@RoughStoneRollingLapidary]

I am 35 and started doing this when I was 9. I have OCD, depression, anxiety and addiction as well. I have never met another person who does it. I did learn about Trichotillomania from an episode of some TV show one time. I just last year found out there was a Reddit thread for it. I am so proud of you for quitting so soon. You seem to think the few years you did it was a long time, but to me, that is a super short amount of time.

[@kaylar5178]

I can understand your problem with the picking split ends. Between when I was 12-17 my parents would tell me that I should get my hair trimmed, but I was scared to loose length and didn’t care how thick or thin it was as long if it was long. I myself have never really picked my ends but similar to your situation, I instead thought flat or curling iron would all then sudden cover the brassy ends that led to heat damage. Eventually I did agree to cut my hair to almost my shoulders. So I’ve also learned the hard way and luckily it did grow back.

[@catienoble3191]

I used to struggle with something similar when I had long hair. The only difference was that when I started, I already knew that splitting ends was bad, so I just picked off the split ends. Sometimes I would be able to stop myself by cutting the whole end off, but other times, I would just hyperfocus for ~30 minutes picking off every split end I could find.

[@zoecraig5534]

I have exactly the same problem with snapping off split ends obsessively. Cutting my hair or wearing it tied up regularly are the only things I've found that help me. I completely relate to the embarrassment and shame you feel when you realise other people can notice you doing it. I started cutting off the damage with little scissors, but it was so extensive that now i have hardly any hair left. Slowly growing it now, it's taking all my self-control not to revert back to old habits. Thank you so much for making a video about this 💗

[@ellabegelfor1]

I am literally doing that for years and I didn't know that at all. Thank you. I really care about my hair so you saved me from damaging my hair more. THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@pokemonmanic3595]

So when I was in middle/high school I suffered from a bad case of trichotillomania-I would pluck out hairs from my head, then snap them in half to create artificial split ends, and then peel off the split ends. I would even “collect” split end hairs so I could peel them later. There was something about peeling a split end and seeing it curl that just satisfied me. I haven’t done this in forever (I mainly pull out my beard hair now) but talking about it makes the urge to peel split ends come back.

[@TheTasuneImputator]

As a child I used to damage my hair by chewing on it. I did that for years. The only think that made me stop was that I started dying it. I replaced one bad habit with another. But my hair is healthier.

[@ASa-zk7ww]

Please try K18! I’d love to see how it works for your hair!!

[@samanthaflatt6154]

I used to do this so much in high school! It was so bad! My hair was so much thinner as well and SOOOO unhealthy! Now I’m obsessed with cutting them, which helps keep my hair a lot healthier lol I’m glad someone is speaking about this! But I was obsessed too!!

[@sarahdreamix]

I have had trichotillomania (p much under control these days), and this splitting compulsion and yeah the urges are exactly the same! I've lost hours doing it before!

[@sillygoosegoose]

omg that inversion method video was the one that i started watching your channel on. memory unlocked.

[@sylphira9947]

I am not an expert or anything, but about that part you didnt have any depression or anxiety in that time. Could it have been the fear/anxiety of "having ugly hair"? Like you always wanted beautiful long hair and split ends are something you dont want to have. Pulling them apart makes the split end disappear and in the first moment make it look better (like you said at first you reasoned that "it was a good thing to do for your hair"), which would relieve the fear for the moment.

[@IsabellaDemarko]

that could be a possibility... i'm totally unsure x

[@MarcePaz2008]

You are not alone, I´ve had the same " splitendmania"....I recall being around 13-14 maybe when my new bestie from school was doing something with her hair, and so I asked, and she showed me, and said, do it it´s so much fun and it gave some sort of satisfaction as you well said....and from then on it spiraled to be for me, at least some sort of "concentration /focus" helper, I mean I was sitting in my school class and in order to pay attention and not even miss a coma from the teacher, I had to be focusing in finding split ends and separating them, and actually that kind of " ritual" helped me out even in University, with the years, of course, that urge has gone away, I had my hair cut in bobs also which had helped me forget through the years and stuff like that, but I guess it wil never dissapear 100%, it will always be somewhere in my head, I am past my 40´s and I still do it, by no means frequently, ohh no, maybe a few times a year....one thing I must say is that my hair never looked bad or dry or damaged, I was lucky to have thick and a lot of hair, so I guess that helped, but even though I bleached it and all that, It never looked damaged.....all in all it must be some sort of coping mechanism I guess....

[@ahliafioretti7479]

I have this problem myself. I've managed it by brushing my hair when I have the urge and then putting it up into 2 plaits/braids or a military bun. This has prevented me from cutting/spliting my hair. I do constantly feel the urge. I really do feel your pain. My hair is almost waist length now and I have to brush or put my hair up to stop myself. This has worked, however if I feel bored or stressed and my hair is down it's a struggle to stop. Wish you all the love ❤️

[@sapir6515]

o.m.g I splits my splits ends for more than 10 years and I never understand why my hair looks so fragile and frizzy, thank you for sharing this❤

[@Jinx_Rose]

i’m so srry u had to go thru this, so glad you’ve gotten stronger with it tho!

[@mcjerneen]

I have trichotillomania and really do feel it is part of that world. I've sometimes done the seeking split ends behaviour too actually! I'm glad it didn't escalate further but bet you must find it so infuriating and tiring to repetitively do this. I think my trichotillomania is linked to undiagnosed ADHD as that focused behaviour is soothing to my busy mind.

[@reechohair5604]

I am so sad to hear you are struggling with this. My experience told me sometimes people are depressive, but what the person doesn't realize is that brain is deceiving itself, one possibility is that the left side of the brain is in sync with the right side of the brain, and that causes us to ignore some of the things that happened, some bad things that we have experience, that actually affect our physical condition and somehow ignore by the memory system. That's one of the things I have heard, and my advice is to keep a regular diet and vitamin supplements, and socialize properly. Or hypnotize yourself with another positive event

[@beccasobieszyk1262]

I’ve never found anyone who does this too!!! Really nice to know I’m not alone. I need to stop.

[@theOGLC]

Try taking cuticle scissors along with you to trim the splits on the go. Get a pair specifically to always have in your bag. Carry rubber bands around with you as well so if you can't trim it in that moment in time, you have the rubber band to keep you busy. Then just trim it when you get the chance ❤️ I hope this may help you!

[@JCrowlz]

Hey Isabella! I struggled with splitting my ends since I was 14 or 15 as well and it destroyed it. My mom thought I cut my hair but I didn’t. It was just the splitting that made it look shorter. I do have some sort of OCD that is untreated and I’m trying to stop my self from doing it. I notice it now how bad it can get. I would put my iPhone’s flash light on and look through my hair for 1 hour was the most I’ve done it for. It was really bad. I’m so happy I’m not alone

[@samiaerghouni8273]

I do the exact same thing, i need help

[@ElizaAdam-zv9qu]

This video was very satisfying because it is exactly what I experience. I break off my split ends instead of splitting them, but it is such a strong compulsion idk how to stop. I’m a skin picker too. I really wish I could stop, but it was nice to hear someone else experiencing similar.

[@Littlechonch]

Girl… ever since I watched that video YEARS ago I’ve been curious as to what your “picking the split ends” meant, because I have a habit of yanking one part of the split end so that it comes off and the hair is left with one end again (albeit thinner) and I was so worried that’s what you were referring to as the culprit that destroyed your hair. I’m glad to see that’s not what I was doing and probably that I’m not particularly damaging my hair (I hope) Thanks for sharing this story and I’m sorry about what you went through

[@oliviaj9037]

I have the compulsive behaviour of twirling my hair in my fingers. Getting a little bit of hair, twirling it, and getting some pieces so twined and tight that I snap them off, the snap is the satisfying part. Been doing this for like 10 years, it’s compulsive and I don’t purposefully do it. Don’t have any ‘problems’ but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was diagnosed with anxiety. I most often realise I twirl when I’m anxious. Another interesting note is both my grandmother and mother have trichotillomania. Not sure how much of it is learnt behaviour or if there’s any chance of a biological impact!

[@jjw23]

OMG! I’m very prone to these compulsions (skin picking, nail biting, etc) and I just realized, watching this video that I used to have this compulsion back when I was in my late teens, and also cutting my ends with scissors, and the more I did it the more I kept on doing it!

[@kvitlyn_]

I had no idea anybody else did this, I thought it was just me. I started doing it when I was a teenager, and I have done it on and off over the years but I still do it to this day. It’s so annoying and I wish I could stop. I hate my hair because of it

[@dumitruedelean59]

Wow, your hair looks so good now!! Well done!

[@mayorlewispurpleshorts9693]

Just wanna clarify, as someone with OCD: Trichotillomania is a TYPE of obsessive compulsive disorder (in that it shares many of the symptoms of OCD) but it is not OCD. What you were describing at around 3:30 about repetitive addiction-like behaviors for the purpose of satisfaction/release is accurate for disorders like trichotillomania or dermatilliomania, but those disorders - though they share the label of "obsessive compulsive" - are actually quite set apart from what people usually think of when you say "OCD", particularly in terms of the motive for the compulsions. With trichotillomania, as you described, the compulsion is quite mindless and can put you into a sort of trance. But with OCD, most of the time the compulsions are very purposeful and intentional. There are many, MANY subtypes and different presentations of OCD, so I can't speak for all of them, but with my subtype (contamination OCD) my compulsions are not about satisfaction or release. They're about controlling and preventing what my anxiety tells me will happen if I don't carry out my compulsions. I also feel compelled to repeat my compulsions until they "feel right". For example I may wash my hands three times in a row, but they still won't "feel right" so I have to wash them 2 more times. Sorry for the tangent, I just wanted to clarify because I felt like you sort of laid your description of trichotillomania over OCD as a whole, which is misleading. It's a very complicated disorder and has a varying spectrum of severity and presentation. 🙂

[@kamrynwhite2109]

When you showed a picture of the different types of split ends it made me itchy to pick

[@MK_1Ultra]

I have the same compulsive behavior but instead of splitting my hair I snip the dead ends and I'll go strand by strand...I do it at home, at work and in public. I carry small sharp grooming sheers in my day bag. Some people call it search and destroy method for split ends. My hair is relatively healthy because of this, although uneven at time - it is however a dirty habit especially in public my mother told me. I do it ALL the time....

[@duniagil8800]

For so many years I’ve struggled with growing out my hair. I twist the left side of my hair so much that it starts to split and become brittle. Then I’ll grab scissors and start cutting the split ends off so my hair becomes uneven and I have to go to the salon to get it even out or at least cut it in a way where the side that I chopped away can be disguised. Twisting and cutting my hair is so soothing but only while I’m doing it. Afterwards I feel upset that I ruined my hair again and again. Fortunately I don’t pull it but it’s a shame how this hair disorder is ruining my desire to have long hair. I have very nice and healthy hair until I get my hands on it and it becomes a vicious cycle. There are long period of times where I don’t even think of it or touch it but here lately I’ve been out of control and don’t know how to stop. I’ve prayed about it although it may sound like a silly request but it’s taken over my life. Can anyone else relate? It annoys me when people ask me why did I cut my hair again and they’ll try to be nice about it by saying I look good with short hair. Then I get those who try to give me ideas like popping bubble wrap or biting my nails; basically anything else but they fail to understand it’s not something I can avoid and it consumes me. If anyone goes through this too and has any tips or suggestions, I’d be very grateful. Thank you for reading this and I hope we can get help. I wish there was a pill to take or something.

[@carob3323]

I used to do that at the same age except that I cut off my split ends with scissors, which was not really damaging. But it was the same compulsion, and I did it a lot out of boredom (in class too), and also out of perfectionism, because I hated the look of split ends and the fact that it was damaged hair. So I don't think I ruined my hair doing that, but I recognize the compulsion, and I would say it's the same kind of thing as picking at acne or blackheads. I stopped doing it when I cut my hair short and obviously, when your hair isn't damaged and you don't have split ends, you find another outlet to whatever made you do it in the first place.

[@myweakness1883]

I used to do that, but rather sporadically - my go to thing was to grab scissors, look for a split end and cut it off. I could do that for up to 30 minutes at a time lol It's also not the greatest (you get rid of split ends but you might make your hair really uneven if you overdo it). I sometimes still indulge myself lol but I got rid of the scissors I had at my desk (I'd often stop studying/work and "take a break"), and I usually keep my hair up, all of which typically helps a lot.

[@princessss.]

I have the constant urge to go through my hair and single strands with my fingers and I can't stop it. Its been a decade and my hair is all broken because of it. Every time I wash my hair and it dries I can see all the broken hairs sticking out and it freaks me out because I remember times where I didn't have all these broken hairs sticking out. I seriously don't know how to stop it

[@IsabellaDemarko]

its a hard one! habits are extremely hard to break. but if you're determined enough you can usually find a method that will work for you.

[@shardasinha_]

Thank you for making this video , I’ve had this for a few years and it has ruined my time .I didn’t know other people had it too , now seeing you I think I can overcome it too to focus on being more productive

[@sarabrooksloveandlaughter2654]

This was a really good video! I just watched your hair story video before this one. I've only seen these 2 videos from you. I'm 34 & growing my hair long and healthy right now. Your journey was very similar to mine. I'm doing all the special hair things for length & health right now. I was confused on why your hair wasn't getting better for all the work you were putting into it. I kinda thought the hair splitting might have been a big part of the problem, or maybe the stress you said you had had. You also didn't mention how often you were washing it, so I thought that maybe you were washing it too often. But I thought with all your research that that seemed unlikely. I'm actually relieved to hear that it was the hair splitting. I'm also very happy to hear that you beat it! Great job! You're hair is beautiful! Thank you for this video! I think it's really important to point out these OCD behaviors. Like nail biting, lip chewing, chewing the inside of your cheeks & mouth, biting nail cuticles, hair splitting, etc. I've had very chewed up cheeks inside, ugly cuticles, dry chapped lips, and have ground my teeth in the places I use to chew. I've worked incredibly hard to break these habits, but it's exactly like you've pointed out in this video. It's addictive and impulsive & it damages. Even when we know it's damaging and bad, it's still so addictive. I'm trying to keep my daughter from doing the same habits, because her teeth are so beautiful & undamaged. And chewing on things damaged my teeth a lot. I love that you put a video out like this. Thank you! 👍👍

[@Aliciae411]

I don’t have this with hair but I have compulsive skin picking which is very similar. It’s so hard to stop and definitely an anxiety thing. Can do it for hours

[@IsabellaDemarko]

there is a name for that it's called Excoriation disorder. yes it can be very hard to stop x

[@saltyriz7734]

Talk to a doctor or something

[@Aliciae411]

@@saltyriz7734 that is not a cure

[@evamayruth]

thank u so much for sharing this I've been having the exact same issue for over a year but its gotten worse in the past 6 months. like I literally strain my eyes and my fingers start bleeding from picking so much for 3,4,5+ hours at a time and u rly don't even realise the time going by I rly thought I was the only person whos had this issue so thank u sm

[@MelissaServicePack7Lucky7]

I thought I was the only one who pulled apart split ends!! I’ve been pulling apart split ends in my hair since I was 12 years old and I’m now 45. But, I can honestly say that it hasn’t really done anything to ruin my hair though. I can easily spend 2 or 3 hours working on my hair, and even longer on someone else’s hair. I’ve even pulled split ends apart in someone’s beard. I don’t think I’ll ever be able stop doing it. As you said, it’s so satisfying and FUN!! It kills time when I’m bored and makes me feel better when I’m nervous or upset about something. I didn’t have any trauma or depression when I started. I just saw one in my hair one day and wondered if I could split it in half, and I soon became addicted.

[@draculena]

my favorite thing to do is to find breaks in my hair, and then just snap my hair in half at the breaks. for me, thats even more satisfying than splitting. UGH! i cant stop

[@sophiasergi5344]

I can understand you so much. For me, it's the pimple popping...

[@msparanoidmonkey]

I am obsessed with getting rid of split ends but I use scissors.... Thanks for sharing your story xxx

[@Emma-pb5sh]

Hi! Thank you so much for your videos. I have many hair loss problems so seeing someone about my age learning how to fix it matters a lot.

[@Black_hole-o9u]

I have been struggling with this for a year now and I have been wondering what is wrong with me because no one else could relate to me not my friends or family. I have been looking up things like "how can I stop splitting my spit ends?" Or "why do I split my dead ends?" I have been depressed since I was 9. I did go to a therapist but I stopped because I didn't like them. So I do think that was one of the reason why. I was also diagnosed with Anxiety and depression which is probably why I did split my ends as well. I can DEFINITELY relate to this video! I did tell my best friend about my hair and how I'm addicted to splitting my ends she said that she noticed me picking them in class I was also embarrassed!!! So I can DEFINITELY relate to that and I would also turn on my phone flash light and use it to find my split ends easier and faster. Which I heard you did too! I'm still in this addiction and I hope I stop soon!❤️‍🩹

[@honeykai8274]

This is eye opening.. every woman in my immediate and extended family does this. We didnt know that it's bad for us.

[@IsabellaDemarko]

i hope you can manage to stop

[@theolanarre6444]

omgg i still remember the video where u made a tutorial on cutting ur ends lol, it feels like yesterday... im glad youre happier with ur hair now :)

[@IsabellaDemarko]

Aw haha thank you for sticking with me so long! xXx

[@SweetWitchYukiChan]

i have a very similar thing, i don't split my ends but you know you have a white dot on your strand when it's about to break off from that white dot, i pull it and break it myself and it's so satisfying..

[@IsabellaDemarko]

Yeah i would do that too! It’s still very bad for your hair though it’s best to snip it if you have scissors handy x

[@uselinda22elxA]

when i was younger, about 13/14, i did split my ends in school too, because i was so bored. but thankfully i guess i was too lazy to do that all the time and i didnt develop this disored, although my hair has always been so thin and whispy. always crying about how bad my hair was that i didnt know that my ends were a part of the problem. now that im 20, i learn more and more about taking care of my hair, that i have learned to just cut the split ends with scissors (bc i too do not want to cut my hair short, as i have not been able for years to grow it long other than having it till my chest). so i relate a lot

[@user-cathysbd1]

I split my hair when I’m stressed, I find it calms me. xxx

[@Lindi_Loop]

Tank you so much for your (hair) videos! They always make me feel encouraged and less alone ❤️

[@IsabellaDemarko]

your so welcome xXx

[@NMjewelers]

I started doing this a month ago when I would get bored during class , I discovered it and got so addicted to it, I didn’t know if it was really bad and did it for so long . [1 mnth] this scares me bc I have very thick healthy hair and I’m so glad I found this video thank you

[@B_s_Vids]

Thank you so much for this video!❤❤❤

[@sophieromanca]

This video came at the perfect time. Thank you❤️

[@IsabellaDemarko]

your most welcome im glad it could help you :) x

[@meggieqin8496]

I have been dignoised with both ocd and anxiety disorder ,and what you describe at 6:11 sounds like the effects of high anxiety on your ocd habits, they work as a team reslly , the anxiety triggers your ocd do you will do something to turn off the sound in your head and then the behaviour ruin your hair for example which cause more overthinking and anxiety😭I am by no mean an expert but being following you for 2 year almost and my own habits the dituation sound like anxiety cobined with ocd for me

[@marleen_m]

I am so sorry that happened to you. I think you should defenitly talk to a therapist about it even when you are not strugglyng with that anymore or just not that much. If it keeps coming back and going away and what you talked about then please reach out to somevone who can help you. This is not just a bad habbit, this was something else. Please find help and get better. Also you should never be embarrased cus of it, it was not your fault and you couldn't controll it. Normally depression, anxiety, trichotillomania and so on are caused by a trauma but it's not always that. I am just a 17 year old but please don't be confused because you are picking at your ends instead of your roots, what you described was very serious.

[@kittykooky]

I used to sit for hours many years ago pulling apart my split ends !! I loved it !! My friends daughter came round last year and I was pulling apart her split ends it was wonderful and I would do it everyday if I could, my hair is short and in great condition but I still look for split ends, I have none. 😣

[@karolla1192]

I am so glad I find this video and all thoese comments below. I have been splitting my split ends since I was 8 years old (I am now 25) and sometimes it gots so bad that one side of my hair is shorter than the other. A lot of hairdressers asked me if I bleached my hair or sth. The last time I picked on my hair was 20 days ago and now when I can not stop myself I stand up and grab my scissors and cut ONLY THAT ONE split end. I didn't really thought it would be so hard to quit it, but I just want to have long hair now. And again, I am just so happy that I found this video 💜

[@LittleMoonCleaning]

I used to do this all throughout school. The earliest I remember doing it was in 4th grade all the way up until I got a job my junior year in high-school 😬 that explains why I felt like my hair would never grow. I think I stopped when I got a job and had to start wearing my hair up out of my view all day and got too busy with graduating early and my job

[@luluvdv]

Bro i have been struggling so bad for about a year now, when i just split my hair for about 30 minutes-1 hour per period of time. And i do love the satisfaction. But yes sometimes i do not realize that i am doing it. And it is anxiety for me. And i feel glad that i am not the only person going through this.

[@bal9944]

You have seriously the most beautiful eyes ever

[@IsabellaDemarko]

Thank you ! :)

[@AnimeLuver3231]

Do you know if pulling the split end off (like trying to break the hair a few cm above the split) has the same negative effects. I prefer using scissors but often don't have them

[@anickahodulova2566]

I never thought that somebody else may have the same problem as me 😅 when I finally cut all of my 'dead' ends off I became obsessed with taking care of my hair and I would look for splits ends to cut them off. Fortunately I have never had the urge to peel them, I have always cut them. But still it was affecting my life. I had always a pair of scissors available, i was doing it during classes and I remember, that sometimes I was holding the one piece of my hair for an hour (waiting for the lesson to stop) just to cut it off. Now i have realised that i dont do it anymore and it is maybe because i have also cut my hair so short, that i couldn't reach it. I always thought that by cutting my ends I am making my hair healthier, however it has the opossite effect. I've found out that by cutting your hair with blunt scissors you are still just splitting the ends but higher and higher. It is so good, that somebody is speaking about these habits ❤️ We do it in order to help our hair, not knowing we are just making it worse and gradually it becames our irresistable compulsion

[@theawksone1995]

I can’t believe I found someone with the exact same compulsion as me.. I decided to stop cold Turkey a few days ago because my hair is absolutely ruined.. all my strands are different lengths and my scalp hurts so much from all the pulling 🥲 Im going through withdrawal symptoms now but I’m adamant to stop this time and beat this habit

[@alexandrakate1888]

Ive been doing this for 10 years and just cannot stop! I especially do it when I'm anxious. When I was in high school people teased me for doing it but I just can't help it

[@1001reasons1968]

Thank you for sharing. Telling your story can help others ❤️

[@IsabellaDemarko]

your most welcome x

[@twinkledinkle3458]

I have something like this, but again no name for it!!! Instead of splitting them, i cut them with little scissors. Except i dont just do this sometimes, i do it in every second of my free time. My boyfriend finds it quite funny, and i suppose it is, but i genuinely can't stop constantly looking at my hair and getting the urge to cut it

[@IsabellaDemarko]

at least cutting it is a lot healthier for your hair!

[@c.a.jayasooriya2333]

hi isabella I heard camellial oil is very good for dry and damaged hair if u ever face this issue again u can try that

[@DivinePeace1102]

Tricheckylmania (im probably spelling that wrong) ...I definitely have that. It started with my eyelashes as a kid. Now I'm an adult, and it has moved to my pubic hairs. I have no idea why I feel compelled to reach down there and pull out a pubic hair or two.

[@earthbruja5268]

Oh my goodness. I've been dealing with this for yearsssss. Recently had a colleague tell me it's disgusting and it just made me feel so ashamed.

[@afairlyweirdpersononline]

As somebody with dermatillomania, I can heavily relate to this

[@alexislinehan9561]

I split my hair, I pluck my hairs out, etc. I started to get bald spots from plucking hairs out so much in the same spot. For a while, I had to sleep with a head covering of some sort because when I would lay down that is when I would pick my hairs out the most.

[@anammaccoi7846]

Suffering from the same This got worsened to a point where i couldn't stop. Trying to work on it. I create split end by putting pressure on the hair strand much like rubbing on a rope again and again. It sucks 😞

[@Whehhshshhssbw]

I do this Aswell I have ruined my hair I’m so sad

[@rdpcl]

I'm not diagnosed, but I think I have some form of trichotillomania. My hair is straight and most of the fibers are smooth, but sometimes I notice strands with a wiry/coarse texture and I must pluck them out. The problem is that I spend hours feeling my hair searching for coarse strands and even the tiniest rugosity irks me and in the end I pluck mostly good fibers. Obviously my hair volume has diminished and I can deal with that, but now I have a lot of baby hairs growing all over my scalp and I look crazy. People have asked me if I'm postpartum; my mother thinks that I intentionally cut random strands short. I keep telling myself that if I didn't have these random coarse strands I wouldn't pluck my hair at all, but I haven't figured out the cause for these strands. Same for my face: I constantly pick my pimples, but when my face is clear I don't pick at all. My goal is not to hurt myself by doing this. It's just that I can't stand the feeling of "imperfection".

[@CS-yq8hp]

I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been doing this since I was in middle school, and I’ve only ever gotten compliments for my hair, including my ends. Maybe it’s because I do it in a specific way. I don’t try to keep splitting it upwards. I just try to evenly split off the most damaged end. So instead of splitting the tree in half, it’s more like I’m tearing off a dead branch. I try to taper it off as quickly as possible.

[@Forestdweller9083]

An aspect of trichotillomania you’re missing is the pain response that happens, which releases endorphins. That’s part of why trichotillomania is so addicting. Same with dermatillomania. Where are you aren’t getting that with just splitting the ends, but I can see how it still can be very addicting!

[@angielotl]

Please share the videos you speak of. This is an obsession I’ve had since my teenage years I’m now 45. I am unfortunately able to make split ends by pulling my nails along the hair. I make what I personally call the bridge, a ladder effect on my hair. I’ve recently cut my hair off and at first it was great but like I said I can make them and now I’ve got short hair that I’m literally destroying. The question is how do I stop? I’m hoping for more recognition for this compulsive disorder. Thanks so much for sharing your experience because I truly thought I was the only one. ❤ We should come up with a name because who best to give a name than people who suffer with this.

[@angielotl]

9 months on I’m still doing this 🤦🏻‍♀️ We need some sort of name at least so it can be searched and understood by people who go through this. It’s such an isolated condition. To everyone with this compulsion you’re not alone even if your searches prove otherwise. ❤️

[@erwtjes]

I had this problem for quite a while but now when I have stress I just clip my hair back and it has helped. it’s been months since I touched my hair

[@mar449]

I love u stay strong bae !!!

[@WanderingWinds]

I don’t split my split ends but I do pick them, my hair is a mess! I just recently ripped off about 4 inches of my ends. Every day I grab a handful of my hair off the floor and throw it away. I’ve also wondered the name of this. I catch myself doing it a few hours a day. This is so much like me, the longer I listen to you, yessss, I can’t keep my hand off my hair, I put it in braids, put it up in a bun anything I can do to keep from picking my ends. Before I know it, there I was, pulling a strand out to find more split ends, I like to lay in bed and hold my hair in front of a light beside my bed so that I can see the spit ends better. I can feel them too, and that’s when I start ripping the ends, if I can’t pick one by one, I’ll just rip it

[@a_active9904]

Okay, this is me, so whenever I see a split end, I become really disturbed and agitated that I cannot resist to leave it- however, I did not peel it in the past- I would used to cut that one hair knowing that it was the correct thing to do.

[@gabrielagoncalves4349]

Thank you for sharing! It’ll help other people ❤

[@corvinox]

I struggle with 2 things with my hair. The one i take the ends of my hair between my index and ring fingers and push the ends with my thumb. The other thing i do is push at my roots and it breaks off creating little stuble bald patches. It doesnt have a name but definitely a an OCD self soothing reaction to stress and anxiety. I dont notice when i do this. Even when i do notice i really struggle to stop.