10 Hair Care Tips for Long, Healthy Hair

Has anyone else noticed how hair care is all over Pinterest? I have. Most of the pins I see are for growing long hair. You are not alone. I too scour the internet for hair care tips. For those of you who know me, you know how fast my hair grows. Why, just this summer, my hair reached almost to my tushy. Here’s the rub. My hair was not healthy. My hair roots get greasy so I used to think I had to wash my hair daily, but then my ends get super dry. Basically from my neck down, my hair was so dry it was nothing but frizz. To get it smooth, I would straighten it every day, causing more dryness. What’s a girl to do? Cut it off I donated 10 inches of my hair and gave myself a fresh start. Since cutting my hair, I have been taking care of it differently.

My hair is now clean, smooth, shiny, and healthy. How? I’ll share with you.

1. Natural hair is the best hair. Avoid coloring your hair at all. Coloring your hair will damage it and once hair is damaged, it’s done. In my opinion, natural hair looks the best anyway! It matches your skin tone and your eye color. You will look like what you were born to look like. If you have to color, stick with colors that will enhance your natural color. By picking a color that blends well with your natural color, you can take more time between colorings. This will save you money and means less damage for your hair.

2. Once your hair is damaged, it can’t be repaired. Trim your hair regularly, about once every 5-8 weeks. You can go longer between trimmings if your hair seems healthy and you don’t see split ends. If your hair is extremely dry or damaged, cut your hair and start over like I did. I know. You can cry.

3. If you have oily hair, you could be washing it too much! My hair stylist suggests most people wash their hair every 3 days, however if you have naturally curly hair or really dry hair, you could go longer. Check out our Dirty Hair, Don’t Care series for tips on how to wash your hair once a week, and get away with it.

4. Use shampoo on your roots to get rid of oily hair. Don’t concentrate shampoo on your ends, especially if they are dry.

5. Condition your ends only. Your roots are naturally oily and don’t need conditioning. Rinse conditioner out in as cold of water as you can stand.  Cold water will close the roots, sealing in the conditioner. Plus, cold water will make your hair shiny.

6. Use a leave-in conditioner. Yes, use both a conditioner in the shower and a leave-in. This will protect the hair, condition it, and help prevent tangles.

7. If you are going to use heat, use a heat protectant. Always use a heat protectant last if using multiple products.

8. Let your hair air dry. The blow dryer will RUIN your hair. I only use the blow dryer on mornings I have to be somewhere early, typically only on Sunday mornings. When using the blow dryer, use warm or cold heat, never hot.

9. Use a clarifying shampoo once a week, or once every other week. This will remove build up from products, including your normal shampoo.

10. Give yourself a deep conditioning treatment once a week, or once every other week after using the clarifying shampoo. You can buy deep conditioning treatments at your local grocery store, drug store, or beauty supply. You can also make one yourself at home. I make a hair mask using eggs yolks, olive oil, and honey. I put it on dry hair, leave on for 30 minutes or so, and wash it out really good. Coconut oil is also amazing for your hair!

Try these 10 hair care tips for long, healthy hair and you will have healthy, shiny, strong, sexy hair in no time.