My Long Hair Maintenance Tips

I am definitely a person with long hair, and I've had it all my life! I just like the way long hair feels, and I like the way long hair looks on pretty much anyone! There's always room to cut when you have long hair, but you can't grow hair back whenever the next trend is in town, so I just say keep it long! Below are my tips on how to brush your hair and keep it long and fresh looking!

1. Brush from the ends.

Brushing from the root of your hair down, like we see most people do on television, is actually the worst way to brush your hair. First, you want to brush the ends of your hair and work your way up since brushing from the top down would put too much stress on the root of your hair and probably pull it out.

2. Use a round brush.

The big bristle round brush will gently pull the tangles out and glide along the surface of your hair until you can work deeper, closer to your head, to get those hairs. It also adds tons of volume to any hair type.

3. Use a leave in conditioner.

Leave in conditioners always help with tangles, because they moisturize the strands. Dry brittle strands break off, and get in tangles really easily.

4. When you shampoo your hair, work in conditioner all the way to the roots.

The scrunching fingers technique works conditioner all the way to the scalp, and it definitely works better when it can be absorbed all the way with all your hair.

5. When your hair is wet, use a comb.

Comb through your hair when you get out of the shower, but be careful to start from the ends, and ONLY use a comb. If you use a brush with small bristles, or a round plush brush you won't get all the tangles out, and you'll probably pull more hair out that way. So be careful and use a small wide toothed comb until you feel like you've gotten the majority of your tangles out.

6. If you can, let your hair air dry then use a brush on it.

Hair drying can damage the cuticle of the hair, and cause it to break off which will eventually cause more tangles. Air drying previously combed hair is always a good idea, because it lets the hair fall where it may since it's really elastic while its wet.

7. Never brush your hair as it is flipped over, then flip it back over and re-brush it.

If you throw your hair over your head to dry it to create volume, do not brush it with a brush; just run your fingers through it. As you dry your hair this way, running your fingers through it will prevent the majority of tangles, and as it dries it will fall better later.

8. Be CAREFUL towel drying your hair!

If you want to towel dry your hair, be very careful not to rub your hair all around with the towel. Gently wrap the towel around the ends of your strands, and squeeze the water out. Then if you want to scrunch your roots, do so very gently so as to not create more tangles. Getting the water out of your hair is not the most important part of maintaining and brushing your hair, keeping the tangles out and moisturizing is!

I hope my tips have helped everyone understand why certain methods are not great for long haired people, and can keep beautiful healthy heads happy!