If you're seeing split ends it means that the hair that's splitting has been damaged in some way. If you have split ends, it either means your hair was damaged, or it's still being damaged. Split ends are the result of some sort of trauma that makes it so your hair can no longer hold together and splits open from the bottom up, like a chopped log. Many things can cause this, including chemicals, flat irons, blow drying, and rough combing or brushing.

The only way to stop them is to cut them off and try to figure out what might be damaging your hair to prevent more splitting. Chemicals, blow drying, combing roughly, or combing your curls when they are dry could cause split ends. Unfortunately, once your hair has been damaged, the damaged part will continue to split, even after you solve the problem. So all you can do is keep trimming until all the damaged parts are gone. And if you stopped the damage, at some point, you will see that your hair isn't splitting any more. Then you don't need to trim until you see split ends again (which means there's still damage being done).

I know it can be confusing about all the conflicting information out there on split ends. Kinky curly hair doesn't have to have split ends. It almost always does because it's being damaged somehow. Are you relaxing your hair? Have you colored your hair? If you are perming or lightening your hair, I hate to say this, but it will always be damaged in some way, and it will keep splitting. What are you combing your hair with, and how do you keep your hair moisturized during the week?

I've read that split ends will travel all the way up the hair shaft, but I doubt it's true. The split usually splits off somewhere, and you are left with ragged, damaged ends. It is true that you get a new head of hair every six or seven years, and if you aren't damaging your hair, you don't need to trim at all. But if there are split ends, it means hair is still being damaged, and it's best to trim off the damage until it's gone, or just keep trimming forever if damage is still being done. Hair generally looks better when the split ends are trimmed off. If the splits stay, your ends will keep looking worse and worse (the splits do travel, just not all the way up) is the reason people say you should trim. But again, if you aren't damaging your hair, you don't need to trim.

If you just have a split end here and there, but most of your hair is fine, and you aren't perming it, or using heat or color, and combing very gently, then don't worry about those at few split ends all. You don't have to trim all your hair for an occasional split end. One here and there happens even to the healthiest hair. It's only bad if you see lots of split ends. If you want to, you can snip off that one split end.