I've had hair passed my natural waist almost my entire life and I constantly get asked things like "how did you get your hair to grow that long?" (seriously) or "how do you keep such long hair looking healthy?" Here are a few tips, some of which I learned purely by accident.
1. You are what you eat.
I grew up on a dairy farm, so I consume about a gallon of milk a week. I definitely give this credit for my very strong, and fast growing, hair and nails. For those of you who are lactose intolerant, or just plain don't like it (shame on you, haha) there are hair and nail vitamins available at any health food store. Eating a healthy, well-rounded diet in general, with lots of vitamins and protein, will help improve hair, nail and skin quality, as will avoiding smoking/drinking which dry out skin, hair and nails. Also, drink plenty of water!
Wash as little as you can stand. Seriously. Before I dyed my hair I never washed it more than three times a week, usually twice if I wasn't sweating a lot. With it dyed, I've gone as long as two weeks. The picture to the right was at 1.5 weeks. I have naturally low oil hair, so I realize not everyone can do this. My hairdresser, who has oilier hair, uses a dusting of baby powder to hide the "greasy" look. She also uses dry shampoo to extend her time between wet washings. Not only does excessive washing dry out healthy hair, it is especially bad for your color vibrancy (and hair texture) if you dye. Wash with cooler water - hot water opens your cuticles, letting color out faster and making hair look less smooth. Let hair air dry as much as possible!3. Treat it Right.
Always, always, always condition unless you have VERY oily hair (I'm talking you can see greasy after a few hours of not washing). If you don't dye almost any type of conditioner is helpful, even cheap stuff like Suave, just leave it on longer. If you do dye, use a color safe, high quality conditioner to avoid stripping color. When you get in the shower and plan to wash your hair, shampoo right away, then put in your conditioner and put your hair up in a clip. Let the conditioner sit on while you finish bathing/shaving/singing your favorite Cure song to your shower head. Rinse with cool water, then give your hair a final blast of water as cold as you can stand it. Using cooler water keeps your cuticle closed and will make your hair look more smooth and shiny (it will also help keep dye "in" your hair longer).
If you are noticing a lot of dryness, particularly from bleaching, try a leave in conditioner, or on the weekends you can put in regular conditioner and leave it on overnight or even all day for extra deep penetration. I know many women with dry hair that use mayonnaise (plain old sandwich spread) or a mixture of eggs and olive oil as a treatment to make hair soft and shiny (including women of color) - try something like this before turning to expensive chemical treatments. Coat your hair with the mayo or olive oil/egg mix, put your hair up with a clip and heat your head gently with a blow dryer to open your cuticle and let in the good stuff.You can wrap with plastic to keep the heat in. Let it sit on hair at least 20 minutes. Rinse with cool water and blast with cold, just like when conditioning. If you have average hair, don't do this more than once every few months, as you'll get build up. Oily hair should avoid intense treatments. Dry hair can stand it more often, from between once a month to once a week, depending on texture. If you dye, it's best to do this closer to when you plan to change color, as it may fade your existing color.
Pick a hard bristled brush for daily brushing. Do not use nylon brushes,which just make your hair fluffy. If you have a brush with round tips on the bristles, throw it out when they start to come off. Wet your brush slightly to help control frizz. Divide your hair in half and put one half over the front of each shoulder. Starting with the bottom few inches and working your way up, brush downward in firm strokes, working out snarls. If you start from the top you wind up with many more tangles and breakage. After you've worked your way to the top, brush all the way down from root to tips several times to help distribute oils (the more you brush during the day the more oils you distribute and the healthier your hair will be, but make sure you de-snarl first to avoid breaking - don't just yank it down through tangled hair). Repeat with the other side. When finished, bend over and shake your hair out - this adds volume. Flip it up and brush the crown to get rid of the "part" you made by seperating your hair. Try putting a little water on your hands and running it over your hair to smooth frizzies instead of using product. Style accordingly. If you are like me and have to comb your hair when wet to avoid it drying crazily get a comb made for detangling. Work from the bottom up, as described above.
4. Final Touches
Heat style your hair as little as possible!!! For straight hair, braid or put your hair in rollers when wet and let air dry over night for a change of texture instead of using an iron, crimper, etc. For very curly or wavy hair avoid chemical straighteners or constant flat ironing - try using large rollers (which will give you large, smooth curls) or a paddle brush and hair dryer on low instead. If you MUST heat style or use chemical straightener regularly CONDITION, CONDITION, CONDITION and avoid bleaching as much as possible. Avoid excess product in general - gel, hairspray, etc will make hair look dull and force you to wash more. Back combing/teasing is also a no-no on a regular basis (unless you have dreads, obviously). This damages the texture of your hair, greatly reducing shine and making your hair frizzy (on days you don't want to look like Tim Burton, that is). It sounds like an oxymoron, but you need to cut your hair to grow your hair (see pic on right with fresh cut/color). Dead ends will "leak" nutrients, and split, leading to hair that grows slower and is less healthy looking. Get regular trims. If you have non-layered hair, comb it out when wet and let a friend trim it straight across with a pair of very sharp hair shears. My mom did this for me when I lived at home - I went over ten years without a professional cut and had very healthy hair. If you go to a salon, stress to your sytlist you want a TRIM (even specify how much you want off) - many salons will give you a cheaper rate for this than an actual cut. If they get it a little too short, just remember if you follow the above it will grow back.
Remember, truly long hair (to back bra-strap or longer) is no longer the norm and can attract you just as much attention as a pixie cut.
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