As a woman with a lot of long blonde hair on my head, I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about the best way to take care of my locks in order to make sure I have more good hair days than bad.
It’s always a struggle! But I think I’ve come up with a few simple guidelines for taking care of long hair, and if they can help out anyone else, that’d be really wonderful! So here we go…
First of all-stop washing your hair every day! Many people, particularly those with more greasy tendencies, feel like washing daily is the only way to keep the grease at bay. But really you’re putting yourself in a vicious cycle where over washing strips the oils out of the scalp, causing it to go into overdrive by producing more oil to replace what’s been stripped away, causing you to get greasy, encouraging you to wash again….it never ends!
Washing your hair only once or twice a week keeps the healthy oil production on track. And never underestimate the simplicity of dry shampoo. A few spritzes on day 2 or 3 can be a complete life saver, and there are lots of cheap brands out there that do the job and do it well.
Next up, make sure you’re using your shampoo and conditioner properly. Now hear me out! But make sure you are shampooing only your scalp, and conditioning only the mid-length of your hair to the tips. Conditioner on your scalp is too overwhelming, while shampoo throughout all of your hair is far too drying. They each have a job, so let them do them well, and don’t mix up the jobs of the two.
When it comes to haircuts, things get a bit more personal, but getting a trim every 8-10 weeks is good enough for the long-haired lasses among us. The interval allows your hair to grow, but getting all those split ends and nasty bits trimmed off every few months keeps everything healthy and prevents the split ends from moving further up the shaft and causing more trouble.
I’ve been giving my hair a little nutrients boost by using GoldCrush hair supplements. GoldCrush Hair Nutrition Formula is an innovative complex vitamin that combines key nutrients to support optimal healthy hair and nail growth. Its unique blend of vitamins and minerals includes Selenium and Zinc along with complex B Vitamins such as Biotin, which feed and nourish your follicles helping to contribute towards healthy hair from the inside out.
Try not to use too many heat based styling tools. Thankfully we are out of the age of crispy straightened hair every day (thanks early 2000s!), but curling wands, straighteners, rollers-all of these are ultra-damaging to your hair, and should be used sparingly, and always with a heat protectant put on beforehand.
My last tip is a bit more luxurious-but I swear by a good hair mask. Facials and hydrating masks aren’t just for your face anymore. You can make your own mini spa in your house at least once a week by putting on a moisturising mask for 15-20 minutes, leaving your hair to soak up all the goodness while you get on with something else-painting your nails, or catching up on some YouTube videos. When the mask comes out, you’ll have luxuriously soft and luscious locks, and all for the price of a simple treatment in your own home.
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Did I miss anything? Or do you have any tress secrets you’d care to share?
I’m currently growing my hair after shaving it all off for charity I found this post really interesting Thanks
Wow, that’s incredible! What charity did you shave your head for? Well done, you! xx
Great tips , I shall be trying them as when my hair gets to a certain length it seems to just stop growing x
Don’t forget to get it trimmed – I made this mistake and it just kept breaking, which then felt like it wasn’t growing! xx
THis is as interesting guide.. a lot of people find it hard to get past shoulder length.
I felt like this for ages, then suddenly over a few months my hair had a growth spurt and is now almost down to my hips, just a year later! xx
Some great tips. My hairis very weak,so takes ages to grow
Thank you
Interesting reading – have you got any recommendations on shampoos and conditioners?
Thanks Tracey! I always use purple shampoo and conditioner but it was getting expensive so I downgraded to a cheapy wilko brand- which has actually caused hell for my hair. So I’m switching back to something slightly more expensive but I’m still experimenting! Have you found anything that’s worked well for your hair? I recommend mane and tail leave in conditioner though – 100% worth it and lasts a life time!!xx
Great tips, I also swear by hair masks
I’ve just bought one today – as last night my boyfriend spent over an hour brushing my tangled mane!! Eek 🙂 xx
Keep telling my daughter not to wash hair every day and am going to share this post with her.
It’s difficult to make the transition at first but the longer you can leave it, the less greasy it’ll get (even if that does sound backwards!!) haha xx
I’ve recently gone from long hair to short. My hair grows really quickly & I swear by hair masks too!
Some really helpful tips! I love having longer hair but it can be a pain sometimes. I’ll be sure to follow some of these tips and see if it gets easier!
Great tips I’ve grown my long for the first time in 15 years
great advice i dont wash my greasy hair daily, but i cant leave the house without doing so. So although in principal i agree washing daily strips it not even batiste or such like will make my dark brown hair passable
I agree that a good hair mask. is essential
Thanks for the tips. I am getting married in March so trying to grow my hair to help style it.
Hair masks? I have never heard of them! Where do I buy?
I really don’t know how we survived without dry shampoo. It’s great for a little boost between washes. I love Batiste Oriental as it smells lovely!
Id love to get my hair to grow faster…will try the shampoo and conditioner tip. I think maybe a hair mask should be added to my weekly routine,
these are really good tips as my hair is very short and always has been!
im trying to grow mine back long some great tips going to try the supplements xx
Good luck! The supplements really help, let me know if you find any in particular that work especially well for you!xx
Great tips. I’m the kind of person that lets my hair grow really long and then gets it cut really short and regrets it straight after! These tips might persuade me to keep it long 🙂
Haha I used to be exactly like that!! I’m still a bit guilty of it when it comes to having a fringe 😛 xx
Some fab advice. I’m currently trying to grow my hair some great tips!
I’m so guilty of overusing heated hair stylers – particularly straighteners. It’s so difficult to stop doing when you’re in the habit but I definitely need to start if I want healthy long hair 🙂
Me too! I wash my hair in the evenings now and let it dry naturally, to try and cut down the amount of heat I use on it!! xx
great tips, thanks for the post
Glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂 xx
I have tried to grow my hair long but it is so fine and thin that it always looks lank and uninteresting!
Thank you for your tips. I have problems growing my hair to any decent length, so will give your ideas a go.
I’m guilty of washing my hair every day,it gets so greasy and I have tried to leave it longer but I find the fact it’s so greasy embarrassing.
I grew my hair, it took me 18 months and in the end I looked like ‘Cousin It’ gone wrong…….. I wish I had read your tips, very interesting …I have now had the lot chopped off and my hair style is quite short x
Thanks for the tips, it can be hard trying to grow your hair longer
Excellent blog post. Please may I just say that if anyone is thinking of having more than 7″ cut off the length of their hair, please consider making a hair donation to the Little Princess Trust charity, which gives ‘real hair’ wigs to children and young people who lose their own hair, primarily through chemotherapy. Thank you.
Great post! My daughters hair right now is below her knees as she’s 8 and never had it cut, and I love all the styles I can do with hers, so trying to grow my own hair long! 🙂
I’ve been toying with the idea of cutting my hair short, just to make it more manageable. I’m just worried it will take longer to grow back now I’m mid-thirties.
I have long hair and only wash it once a week – to be honest I wouldn’t have time to do it any more regularly anyway, it takes an hour just to wash it and then at least 4 to 5 hours to dry. But I don’t cut my hair at all, once a year usually, so towards the end of the year the ends can be a little bit unruly.
I’ve just cut my hair as I found it was getting dull & dry as it got longer. I’ll take on your tips as I grow it longer again
Great advice and very interesting, thank you. I always wanted hair so long I could sit on it – and straight hair too. Don’t we always want the opposite to what we’ve got?!
It’s so true you don’t need to wash your hair every day as it strips out the scalp’s natural oils. Nice to see someone else spreading the word xx
Thank you for this-am currently trying to regrow my hair and will be doing all of this and keeping my fingers crossed! <3
When I was 40 I had the urge to grow my hair long (I’d never had long hair before) and it got long enough to sit on. I was very lucky because, apparently, I have long lasting hair. No amount of hair care will make your hair grow long if it is short lasting hair. You will moult it before it gets long.
I would also recommend getting a Mason Pearson hairbrush for long hair. They are pricy but so worth it
Long hair in older women is very aging. Thst’s my opinion
Interesting article – thank you!
Some really helpful tips, thank you for sharing 🙂