Hair Care: Long hair

There are two reasons why I still haven't decided on cutting my hair. The first is that I'm kind of lazy to book the appointment and spend an hour or so sitting in a chair and then pay them a hefty 50$ for chopping my locks. Secondly, I kind of like the fact that I can do a multitude of styles with my long hair. The last time I went for an actual haircut was back in October, practically half a year go.

I pride myself in having fairly healthy hair for the length its at (it's under my boobs!). I'm actually really proud of how healthy my hair is for the length its gotten to (reason #3 to not cut). So....if I haven't cut my hair in forever and it's SO long, how do I keep it healthy? Not to mention I've dyed it once or twice since the last trim.

To give you an idea of how long its gotten - see how it still hits mid back even when it's slightly curled? 

Here are a few of my tips and tricks that may help you. =)


1. I wash my hair only a few times a week, and I try to extend it as much as possible until my next wash. Not only does this dry out my hair less because it spends less time under a blowdryer and having shampoos stripping its natural oils, it actually saves me a lot of time. I have to expect a good 10-15 mins to dry my hair properly when I wash it.

Here are the exact steps that I do to try to extend the lifespan of each wash:

• Day 1: hair is loose and natural
• Day 2: Some sort of front bangs braid/twist just to keep the hair out of my face.
• Day 3: Teased crown and pull my hair into a ponytail or fun braid
• Day 4: Hair into a high bun. 

Generally by then I've got a day's worth of hair products in there and absolutely need to wash my hair.

2. I use some kind of oil and rub it through my ends on the nights that I do wash my hair. Here are a few that I've used in the past. 

• Moroccan oil (or Argan oil)
• Coconut oil
• Olive oil

All of the above are great. Depending on the natural texture and oiliness of your hair, you may have to use a serum instead. 

3. I use heat at a minimum on my hair. I generally use heat on my hair for a maximum or twice a week. Once right after I wash them with the blowdryer and perhaps some other time with a curling iron/flat iron (this is very rare though)

4. Last but not least, I trim my hair myself every now and then (sometimes when I'm catching up on certain shows). At the length my hair is now, the amateurish trims really don't effect the overall style of the hair anymore - I think. 

This isn't really a tip, but I also do an oil hair mask if ever I dye my hair one night after. So if I dyed my hair last night, I would make a hair mask and apply it just to the ends of my hair (wrap it securely in a plastic bag and leave it in for about 15 mins) for tonight. 

Keep in mind that damaged hair is damaged. You can't "patch" broken hair strands. The only thing you can really do is to take care of the new hair that is growing out so that when they get down to the length you want, those will be healthy. 

I hope this has helped some of you and I wish you all an absolutely wonderful weekend. TGIF!