Tips on How To Get Long & Healthy Hair

Originally published in The UWM Post by Madison Goldbeck

For the longest time, my short fake blonde hair was in a rut. It didn’t grow for two years, yet I kept dying over it. Brunette to blonde, back to brunette, then blonde again. I was stuck with damaged, collarbone length hair and even resulted to buying expensive extensions just so I could have the long hair that I desired. After many searched articles and consulting hairstyles, I found a mix of tips that work for me. Once I began applying these tips, my hair sprouted and began growing incredibly fast. Now, people ask me and even my mom if my hair is actually real. After getting asked about my hair a lot, I decided to put together a guideline on how to achieve healthy, long hair.

*I am not a cosmetologist. The below tips are knowledge I’ve gained from personal experience.

Deep Conditioning

Deep conditioning is essential if you want healthy, smooth hair. Whenever I take a shower, I immediately put shampoo on and try not to let it sit in my hair too long. Shampoo does strip your hair of its natural oils. Next, I’ll put in my conditioner. Personally, I just use Tresemme (Keratin Smooth), nothing fancy. I use a good amount of conditioner whenever I wash my hair and will get basically the whole head except my roots and a majority of the top. Then, I let the conditioner sit in my hair while I shave, wash my face, wash my body, etc. Washing out the conditioner is the very last thing I do before I get out of the shower – this way, the conditioner sat in my hair for a long time, making my hair really silky and smooth. I do this every time I shower and I promise it makes a difference. Additionally, I try not to wash my hair everyday. You can still take a shower, of course, just don’t wash your hair. You can literally train your hair with time to not get greasy after one day.

Stop Buying Expensive Products

When I wanted long hair, I would buy top shelf products so my hair would be healthy and grow faster. In my experience, this stunted my hair’s growth. Pumping these “special” products into my hair did absolutely nothing except waste my money. Keep it simple and save your money. As I mentioned above, I love Tresemme, but I also sometimes buy Pantene and Herbal Essence. I even sometimes buy the $1 shampoo and conditoner.Use whatever you like the most – there is no special hack.

Reduce Heat

Let your hair BE! Fortunately, I have naturally straight hair and don’t have the trouble of it frizzing on me in certain temperatures, etc. Being so, it made this step a lot easier for me to take on. Please, for the life of your hair, stop applying heat to it! Especially now since it is summer, let your hair be free and natural. Stop straightening it and stop curling it! I also have never been into blow drying my hair. My hair is too thick and it takes forever to blow dry. so I let it naturally dry. To this day, even now with the hair I want, I still rarely straighten and curl it. If I want curly or wavy hair, I will just put my hair in a french braid and it’ll create the look I want by the time I take it out. Your hair will thank you for reducing the amount of heat you apply, and in return grow healthy!

Coconut Oil Masks

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but coconut oil truly does wonders. I used to do a hot coconut oil mask about once a week, every two weeks. When I do a mask, I heat up the coconut oil in the microwave then I apply it from the roots to the ends. I get my hair completely soaked in the coconut oil then I throw it up into a bun and go to sleep with it in. I wash it out in the morning, but if you put too much in, your hair might be greasy even after you shower. This mask will help repair your ends and will make a difference if you keep up with it!

Avoid Up-Do’s

Try to wear your hair down and natural as much as possible. If you put your hair in a pony-tail, bun, or braid every day, you are destroying your hair. Your hair can literally fall out from this. It’s pretty obvious why this is bad for your hair, but if you must put your hair up because it is annoying or you’re hot, make sure it is at least loose. You can also put your hair up with pins or even chop sticks. Metal-free elastics are also great if you’re trying to wear your hair up without damaging it.

Minimize Dying

This seems pretty obvious, but it is the most critical. Stop dying your hair! Or, at least stop dying it until you reached the point of where you want your hair to be. I get it – dying your hair is addicting. I’ve been highlighting and messing with my hair color since the seventh grade. However, I realized that was the biggest problem with my stunted hair growth. I didn’t dye or touch my hair for 9 months and that is when my hair began sprouting like a weed. If you don’t like your natural hair color – there are natural remedies to get it lighter or darker. But, even that I would personally try to avoid. Just stop touching your hair! Consistently dying your hair is like never taking your makeup off. Your face needs to breathe so it stays clear – your hair also needs to breathe so it can grow. If you are ready to take on this challenge but scared of the outgrowth – go to your hairstylist and tell him/her that you are planning on letting it grow naturally so you would like it to get a natural balayage look by the time it does grow out.

Sunlight

Now that it is summer, this is the perfect time to get as much sunlight as possible! Your hair thrives from the Vitamin D. However, just like your skin, too much sun is also destructive for your hair. Sunlight is also proven to reduce stress, anxieties, and depression. If you’re not doing great mentally, your hair will also fail to grow. Let the sunlight be your medicine!

Haircuts

I don’t know if I’m just lucky, but I haven’t cut my hair since November (it now being June). I haven’t gotten a single trim. I used to and my hair stayed at the same length. Maybe now I will soon go in for a trim, but I’m not rushing it. Most people I talked to who have long hair, all say they haven’t gotten a hair cut in a long time. A hairstylist would hate this advice and I know this is NOT the healthy thing to do, but regular trims never helped my hair grow, even though it was supposed to. Again, this is just my personal experience.

Products I recommend

I don’t use many products and never really have, but I do use two products I really recommend. One is the Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10 BB Creme. After I take a shower, I apply this creme to the ends of my hair and then comb it. This not only acts as a detangler, but it is great to fix split ends, give shine, tame your hair, create softness, and do so much more! This is one of my favorite things to put in my hair.

For brushing my hair, I ONLY use a comb. I do not use any other type of brush on my hair. I start at the ends and work my way up slowly. I try to never rush when I comb my hair.

Lastly, I take Optimal Solutions Extra Strength Hair Skin and Nails Softgels. You take three a day, they smell gross, but they do their job. Vitamins are iffy and you always second guess if they’re actually doing their job. But, these Nature Bounty pink pills do the trick and I guarantee you they work! Make sure you get the softgels though, do not get the gummies.