Anyone with long hair knows the horror of “drain hair”.  You know, it’s that icky oh-my-gosh-did-all-that-come-from-my-head glob that we find after taking a nice shower.  I know that feeling all too well - and it use to scare me to death.  I grew up with long hair, and over the years have done practically everything you can think of to damage it.  During my teen years, my hair changed colors dramatically about every 6 months!  I could have also been a spokesperson for hairspray and curling irons - they were in use daily at our house. 

Finally, after high school, I settled pretty much into a favorite color shade, with a preference for blond highlights and the frequency of which I dyed my hair lessened too.  It wasn’t until I was 20, though, that I truly began to look for ways to be “kinder” to my hair. The picture here to the left was taken when I was 21 years old, and my hair was to my waist.   I really miss having hair that long!  Last April, after getting a “wild hair up my heiny” (as my mom says) I chopped my hair off to my chin, in a layered style, and dyed it completely black.  It was nice while it lasted, but thankfully it has grown back out past my shoulders now, and my standard light brown with blondish highlights are back.  Short hair is fine for some, but I don’t think anything will ever suit me as much as long hair does.  I just love the feeling of it!

In the olden days (and according to my mother as well) a girl was advised to brush her hair with 100 strokes every night to enhance sheen and distribute natural oils.  Some experts today disagree with that advice, but I tend to be a traditionalist and believe the old folks.  I’ve had long hair my whole life and it can sometimes be a chore to keep it looking nice and healthy.  Brushing seems to do wonders for my hair, until I glance at my brush and see all the hair that has come out in there. 

Fortunately, I’ve read that it’s typical for everyone to lose 80 to 100 hairs per day.  People with long hair seem to notice it more though because….well…their hair is longer and thus more noticeable. (And noticeable long hair causes drain clogs.)When brushing, you need to make sure you get close to the scalp.  This picks up natural oils and deposits it throughout the hair shaft, down to the end.  If you have tangles, use a wide tooth comb and work them out slowly from the ends upward until your hair is smooth - then begin the brushing. Trying to brush out knots can severly damage long hair!   Brush slowly, from root to tip, and clean the hair out of the brush often.  The type of brush and bristles use also make a difference as well.  I’ve found that only the “wider” spaced, long bristles can fit through my hair and make it to the scalp.  Your own hair type (thickness, coarseness, straitness) will determine which brush is best for you.  Many ”long hair experts” claim that boar bristle brushes are top of the line when it comes to brushes - but they’ve always been too expensive for my tastes.  I’ve never used a boar bristle brush on my hair so I can’t comment on how effective it is in keeping healthy looking hair.

Always brush your hair when it’s fully dry.  A big cause of damage to long hair is brushing when wet.  You hould never, ever brush your hair when it’s wet as it breaks it off at various points (a main cause of flyaways).  Elastic ponytail holders are also huge culprits in “breaking” long hair.  Always make sure your ponytail holders have cloth over them.  Stretchy cloth scuncci’s are far better than those cheap little bands - and they look nicer.   Overprocessing your hair with chemicals can damage your hair as well, and causes long hair to become brittle and unhealthy looking.  Too much frosting or highlighting does the worst damage.

Hair is..uh..here is an article from Teen Health which I think does a great job on teaching about hair care.  Even though it’s on a teen focused site, it’s great to step back to “basics” once in a while and relearn what we may have forgotten about taking care of that stuff on our heads.

With shampooing, rub in from root to tip, keeping your hair strait down your back.  Gently massage with your finger tips - and never pile your hair on top of your head and swish!  This causes wild tangles.  Rinse hair thoroughly (letting your hair flow down your back and the water run over it, while using fingers to gently rub away suds), and then squeeze excess water out.  Afterward shampooing, I have found that with long hair (which is very slightly wavy, with body, and very coase) using conditioner is always a must.   While shampoo is mainly designed for your roots, conditioner is designed for your tips and hair that is a few inches from your scalp.  Try to avoid getting conditioner on your scalp!  Squeezing your hair out after shampooing, and applying conditioner to sqeeze dried hair allows the conditioner to set in better!  Give it a minute or two to soak in (or longer if you have the time) and then rinse thoroughly in the same manner as the shampoo. 

Also, if you don’t have a very oily scalp, a daily washing is not needed.  Daily washing (and the resulting heat abuse from styling tools and products) may actually worsen your hair, as the natural oils are stripped away too frequently.  Your hair needs time to breath! 

For those of you who like more wholelistic approaches to hair care, vinegar rinses are great for removing product buildup and giving your hair a shine.  Cold water rinses also promote shine as it relaxes the hair shaft.  For a no-product shine, a healthy alternative can be found in using a dot of Jojoba oil rubbed into your hands and then smoothed over your hair.  Jojoba oil, unlike other oils, closely resembles the make up of our own natural human oils.  It’s not greesy and will not weigh hair down at all (unless you use tons of it).  It feels wonderful, smells fresh, and looks great.  (This oil can also be rubbed into your hands afterward!)

Following this approach, you should never have tangles after washing your hair (I don’t).   Next, be careful with the towel!  Never rub your hair with a towel to dry it.  This breaks and damages the hair shaft.  Use gentle squeezing or wringing motions only.  When possible allow your hair to air dry.  If you must blow dry, aim the air flow in the direction of the growth (from root down to tip) - never away from it or “upwards”.  This settles the hairs, smooths out the shaft, encourages shine, and prevents tangles.  Gently use your fingers to lift hair away from your head to dry the roots.   If you can take it, flip your head forwards and upside down - and dry from root to tip while your hair is hanging towards the ground.  This gives hair more body when dry.  I’ve used this method for 8 years now and love it. 

You should also aim to avoid styling irons and hair products whenever possible.  The heat from the irons can fry your hair (to the point of it being brittle) and products always leave a dull residue behind which many shampoos do not remove.   I haven’t used hair spray in about 5 years and I truly don’t miss it.  I can’t stand the feel of product gunk in my hair.  Hair gel or foaming mousse is worse - while yes, the style will hold better, it feels terrible to the touch.  I prefer soft, clean, bouncy hair over stiff product-induced hair anyday.   Most of the men I’ve known over the years agree as well.

To keep your hair healthy looking, along with a good hair care routine, frequent trims are also necessary.  The longer your hair gets, the more apt you are to have breakage and split ends.  Keeping these ends (about a half inche or so) trimmed off will help prevent the “thinned out” damaged look that many with long hair get.

Here is another great article - the Ultimate Guide to Growing Long Hair - which gives you 20 steps to follow for growing and maintaining long hair.  It covers some of what I’ve talked about in here, plus a bit more.  I’ve always found the internet to be a great resource for learning hair care tricks - a few years ago I was even a member of a “long hair care” message board.  Those people really, really got into their hair care and most of the women on there had hair below their knees!  That’s not really my cup of tea, but it is quite beautiful on women who can keep it healthy looking when that long.

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