The classic split end. The split will start out like the one of the left, and if not stopped will continue up the hair shaft to split the hair further like the illustration on the right.

 

The wave! Similar to the classic split, but here splits
occur multiple times up the hair shaft.

The dot. This will look like a piece of fluff on the hair, but
obviously won't brush off, and when the hair is bent at the
dot, you will see it bends at a sharp angle unnatural to hair. This is not really a split end, a split end (Trichoptilosis) is defined as a LONGITUDINAL split in the hair. This damage is called Trichorrexis Nodosa and is actually caused by an explosion of the cortex (2nd layer) of the hair in a single spot on the strand.

The hole. This is perhaps the most difficult split end to find. The hair shaft has developed a split in the middle of the shaft, but the top and bottom of the hair is not split. To find this one, look for a small section of hair that reflects light differently to the rest of the shaft - it seems shinier. When you take the hair above and below this shiny segment and push them together, it pushes the split apart and creates a hole.

 

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