Long Luscious Hair (and how to keep it like that)

Written by: geemegan

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There haven’t been enough articles on style06 for us ladies with our long hair (well guys can have long hair too I suppose…) so I thought as my first contribution to the site I’ll give some general tips for taking care of longer hair.

Likewise with short hair, the golden rule to healthy hair is a healthy lifestyle. Eat well, sleep well and steer clear of excessive smoking, drinking or stressing out.

Remember to brush your hair before bed, before shampooing, and in the morning just out of bed. Brushing your hair in a way massages your scalp which stimulates more blood flow to your head which then results in better hair growth. Also, having the right sort of brush is important too. Plastic is bad. Boar hair or wood is the best way to go. Having a brush and comb is essential for massaging the scalp and getting those ghastly knots out.

This little trick applies especially to very long hair, like halfway down your back. Flip your hair upside-down and give it a good shake. Then brush from the roots to the ends still upside-down. Yes, you may look like a fool, but just remember, all that extra blood flowing into your head will keep your hair follicles active resulting in noticeably healthy looking hair. Also massaging your scalp just with your fingers can do the job as well.

Always use heat protection cream or spray before blow drying, straightening, curling, etc. Hot air is dreadful for your hair, so never forget to use a decent amount of heat protection products. As well as that, when blow drying your hair, use the cool setting; by doing this you won’t burn your hair and also it closes up the pores of your hair therefore making it stronger and shinier (and no, it will not give you a cold despite what many people say).

Snipping off split ends will save your hair. If you see one, cut it off. Go for regular trims or whenever your hair is starting to look a bit dead at the ends. The secret to shiny long hair is strong hair, and that means hair all in one piece that won’t snap off. If your hair has been thinned with shears or has many layers, then you need to give it extra treatment (conditioner and leave-in cream will do the job).

Never use more styling product than necessary. Everyone knows chemicals are your hair’s worst enemy; all that wax to give it its poof, gel to get rid of stray hairs sticking out and a quick blast of spray to hold it all together…this daily procedure is pretty hard on your hair. So wash it all out every night with a good quality shampoo and treat your hair with just as good quality conditioner (tip: keep conditioner in for at least 5 minutes, even if the bottle doesn’t say for that long). Always buy shampoos and conditioners that are specific to your type of hair (for instance colour-protect, dry hair, etc). Investing in more expensive but superior quality products is always better than buying cheap stuff that only does more damage to your hair. And don’t forget, never put styling products on your scalp—it’ll clog pores and/or cause itchiness.

So hope this post has helped. I myself haven’t had really long hair in a while now, so if there’s anything you’d like to add or correct, leave a comment below! Tips from personal experience are always the best. Any questions or queries go in the comment box below too. And any suggestions for what I should write about next would be great too.

Written by geemegan