Long Hair Care

I love long hair! I have enjoyed working with my clients that have long hair over the years and have come up with a few tricks and suggestions.

I suggest getting a micro-trim once every 6-8 weeks to stop the split ends from sliding up the hair.   Try detangling products after the shower and detangle with your fingers or use a wide-tooth comb.

 A good deep conditioner once a week and a treatment repair once per month. A great secret is to rinse your hair after conditioning with cold water.  It helps to seal your cuticle and give your hair shine.

Avoid rubber bands use a specialty treated band that will protect your hair from breakage.  While drying your hair use an ionic dryer. Ionic dryers put out less heat and help the hair dry faster. I also recommend using a micro-fiber towel to help absorb the water before drying.

Take care in selecting products that can help to protect your hair against heat. Drug store brands can contain waxes that build up on the hair and repeated heat can cause damage to the cuticle. Give your hair a rest and let it air-dry with the appropriate styling cream or gel . Most long hair clients do not need to wash their hair daily.  At the most, two or three days a week this will help preserve your hair's natural oils.

 Braids are great for long hair styles. I like to braid long hair when it is wet or damp then the client can wear the braid for a day then take out the braid and wear their hair with the wave the braid created in the hair.
Another option for long hair styles is a simple pony with a french twist. Easy to do just put your hair in a pony and then fold the hair towards the center and pin with large bobby pins. Hair sticks can also be used in place of the bobby pins.
 Another trick I suggest especially for straight hair is to wash it at night then take large 2" sections and pin curl them to the scalp using the large bobby pins. Take very large sections and loosely roll the hair into a big loop. In the morning you will take them out and finger through. You will have gorgeous wavy locks. Make sure to use large sectioning with this style or smaller for ringlets.

One of my favorite ways to style long hair is to use steam rollers instead of hot rollers. I like the Caruso steam rollers because they give the hair a little shine and are not damaging. They are easy to use and you can wear the look for several days. These curls last and can give you more options depending on what size roller you choose. You can wear it down, in a  nape pony or a fun twist with loose ringlets around your face on different days. 

When using flat irons on long hair try to select a flat iron that uses ceramic plates and has a temperature setting. Spend a little extra money on a higher quality straight iron and your hair will thank you for it.
 
Brushing your hair is one of the single most effective ways to help encourage hair growth. Brushing the hair from the scalp to the ends helps to spread the hairs natural oils for condition and shine. If you have natural curl or coarse hair try a scalp massage. This stimulates the circulation and will feed the papilla which is the mother of new hair growth.

Drink lots of water to help detox and clarify your hair.  Vitamin E is excellent for promotion of hair and nail growth. Exercise is also important to help circulation.  I find that my clients who work out or have a regular exercise program that their hair really grows fast. Summer is usually the time that hair grows the fastest. This is because we are more active when we have more sunlight, than in winter when we can tend to hibernate.

These are just a few of my tricks that I like to give my clients. I really like to work with long hair and love to help with educating them to be their own hair dresser at home.