How to Grow Long, Healthy Hair

Perfect hair always seems to elude us thanks to harmful heat appliances, harmful chemicals, sun damage, unhealthy diets, and every day stresses.

One of the best things you can invest in is a boar bristle brush for your hair. Boar bristle brushes distribute natural oils from you scalp along the length of your strands creating healthy, shiny, and smooth hair. Only drawback; they are very expensive. Mason Pearson are the most prestigious, being made for over a hundred years now. Don't make the mistake of buying just any boar bristle brush. Before you do, research which you need. Thicker hair should have a large brush with boar bristle and nylon mix. Fine hair should use a smaller brush with just boar bristle. You can you the Mason Pearson chart at tressence.com

The water you wash your hair in can affect your hair in a major way. Harsh water will cause chemical buildup in your hair that damages the hair and makes it dull and flat. Hair stylists recommend rinsing your hair in bottled water but that's not realistic. One of my favorite products is Johnathan Beauty Water Purification System $95. It is a filter you attach to your shower head. It filters out all harsh chemicals and drastically improves the health of your skin and hair, leaving them both soft and smooth. Also always rinse your hair very well. This is very important because your do not want product build up in your hair.

Just like your skin, your hair needs protection against the sun. Everyday apply a sunscreen for your hair. Try Aveda Sun Veil $26.

For hair to grow and to prevent spilt ends it is so important to trim your hair every 3-4 weeks. Even if you are growing out your hair, a frequent trim is necessary.

Your diet is a great way to manipulate hair health. A diet rich in Omega 3's promotes good hair health. You can try fish oil pills, flax oil, nuts, and/or hair supplements to get the ideal amount of Omega 3.

A once weekly mask really invigorates your hair and gives it instant shine and moisture. My favorite masks include ones by Johnathan Product, Pureology, and Ojon.

Pre-Shampoo oils are a hidden gem. They are vitamin rich oils that you put in your hair 15-30 minutes before you hop in the shower. Coat your hair root to tip in the oil and blast it with a blow dryer so it will penetrate deeper into the hair strand. I recommend either Dr. Hauschka Neem Oil $39.95 or Phyto Phytonectar Ultra Nourishing Oil Treatment $30.

Avoid products with Silicone. Silicone in hair products goes by the name of Dimethicone. This might be one the hardest steps for people because most products we rely on for anti-frizz and shine have silicone. Silicone creates a barrier around the strand preventing moisture that will cause frizz however this also suffocates the hair which over time causes breakage. Luckily many products now are going natural which means they are using other ways to prevent frizz and give shine. If you do use silicone products DO NOT use them before using a hot hair appliance. Contrary to belief this is not good. It creates a shrink wrap effect on your hair that further suffocates and damages it.

Believe it or not some products with alcohol are okay. The trick is knowing which ones to use and which ones not to. Fatty alcohols such as stearyl or cetyl alcohol can actually hydrate your hair. However, alcohols such as ethanol, SD, Propanol, Propyl, or Isopropyl will create frizz, roughen the cuticle, and dry out your hair.

Maintain a healthy scalp. Keep your scalp moisturized and healthy. This promotes hair growth. You can find products such as Rene Furterer's Complexe 5 $45 which stimulates the scalp and keeps it moisturized.

One-step shampoo/conditioners are a no no. They work more effectively separately.

Using a clarifying shampoo once a week helps to wash out buildup in the hair. Not all shampoo do this, only clarifying ones.

Don't overdose on hair products.

Use as little heat as possible. Yes, that means put down the hair dryer and straightener a little more often.

Try not to wash your hair everyday because that will strip your hair of good oils.