Got long hair naturally? Lucky you.
In this blog post, we share our top 8 tips for looking after those luscious long locks of yours...because we know how much care and TLC they need! With these tips, your hair is much more likely to be beautifully strong and healthy.
If you don't have long hair, and your hair won't grow past a certain point, these tips will still apply to you, so keep reading! (Btw if you're craving that feel of long hair, check out these clip-in hair extensions which will give you long, thick hair in 5 minutes - and you don't even have to wait years before it grows out naturally!)
1. Use the right hair brush:
A boar bristle brush or a wet brush should be your best friend! With long hair, It's super important that your hair brush helps smooth the hair shaft, to minimize any breakage. A natural fiber brush, like the boar bristle, helps to minimize friction when brushing. Therefore, the hair doesn't get caught on any knots, leaving the hair smooth and silky without pulling out hair strands. The trusty wet brush also does a fantastic job as the bristles bend around any tangles putting less stress on the hair.
Start at the ends of the hair and work your way up rather than top down. This ensures no pressure is put on the roots, minimizing damage. Make sure you only ever use a wide-tooth comb when the hair is wet. Brushing when damp can cause a lot of damage as it stretches the strands rather than separates them.
2. Use a deeply hydrating treatment twice a week:
If style your hair with heat, you will already know the benefits of using a deep hydrating treatments to replenish any lost moisture. A favorite DIY of ours is the coconut honey mask for your hair.
The same effect can also be achieved by using an oil high in vitamin E, such as olive or avocado oil. To get the best results, gently warm the oil in a pan on a low heat and apply to your hair. Wrap in a warm towel and wash out after fourth five minutes. The heated oil allows it to be more easily absorbed into the hair, boosting its effective qualities. Check out this blog post on best 5 oils for your hair to learn more!
3. Use a heat protectant:
It goes without saying - we all know we should use one, but it's such an easy-to-forget step, that really makes a difference! A heat protectant wraps the hair shaft, forming a protective barrier, thus preventing damage and ensuring your style is sleek and frizz free. We did a post here on the best natural heat protectant oils that you can use. The article goes into detail about how heat protectants works and the benefits you can expect from using different natural oils. Do yourself and your hair a favour - use those tips!
4. Use hair bands that don't pull at the root:
The 80's scrunchy is back and secretly your hair couldn't be more happy about it! Using a band like a scrunchy, or the plastic coil type, means you hair is not pulled at the root. This makes sure the hair isn't under any unnecessary stress, keeping the strands strong and resilient. Cue the Madonna music if you choose to rock the scrunchy!
5. Use a hair wrap or an old t-shirt instead of a towel to dry:
It may seem slightly simplistic, but those with curly hair are already in the know when it comes to this well tested trick. Rather than a waffle brushed cotton towel, use a smooth fabric, such as cotton or linen, to get rid of excess moisture before heat styling. This way the hair shaft is not caused to fray when you wrap it to dry. The strands are kept sleeker within the fabric, reducing the likelihood of frizz or damage. Read more tips on how to get rid of frizzy hair here.
6. Use a low-heat setting for hairdrying and point the nozzle down, not sideways:
As a general rule of thumb, one of the worst things you can do for your hair is overheat it with excessive blow-drying. If you want to avoid dry and damaged locks, you need to either rein in how often you use a hairdryer or pay attention to how you're using it, and make sure to apply heat protection products beforehand.
Try and keep the dryer at a distance from your hair, ideally keep the hairdryer nozzle two inches away from the strands. Drying your hair from the side makes the hair frizzy by pushing it all over the place. Therefore, the nozzle should be pointed straight down, about three inches away from the hair for best results.
7. Try not to over-wash your hair:
Your hair's natural oils are designed to condition and protect your tresses, so when you shampoo daily, it strips these vital oils away. It creates a vicious cycle of over-production of oils and a need to shampoo very often. Ideally, to keep your hair healthy, you only need to wash two to three times a week. Invest in a good natural dry shampoo to help tide you over until your next wash and add volume and texture. By the way, there are probably a few more things you didn’t know you were doing wrong with your hair - read all about that here.
8. Wash your hair the right way:
Healthy, beautiful, shiny hair starts in the shower! Firstly: it’s important how you wash your hair. Do you reach for a large dollop of shampoo and scrunch it into the ends of your hair? If you answered yes (probably just like the majority of us would), then you should know shampooing the scalp ONLY is the right way to do it. That’s where most of the oil buildup happens, and it’s important to massage the shampoo into the scalp gently with your fingers (not nails!) to get rid of it. Giving your head an invigorating massage as you shampoo is a good way to encourage blood circulation and helps to detoxify the scalp. Then, use conditioner along the length of your hair to restore moisture.
Try and keep the water cool when rinsing, blasting your scalp with extremely hot water dries out your hair and create tangles that could result in breakage.
So there you have it, our long haired beauties. Long, beautiful hair definitely takes dedication, patience, and care - but the results are oh so worth it!
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