Split Ends occur when the cuticle is damaged and the fibers of the cortex unravel. The hair is dry, brittle and prone to tangling and can split at the end or anywhere along the shaft. Split ends can be a major hair problem. Although there are many hair products out there which claim that they can repair your split ends, the only way to effectively get rid of them is to cut your hair. Luckily, however, there are a number of things that you can do to control a problem with split ends once it has occurred.