Healthy, shiny long hair starts with a good wash, but you don't need a ton of shampoo and a vigorous motion to keep your hair clean. Squeeze a coin size amount of shampoo into your hands and gently massage it into the scalp. Give your head an invigorating massage as you shampoo. This is a good way to improve blood circulation and helps to encourage hair growth. Wash the ends of your hair in a downward motion. Avoid scrunching it up in your hands because this can cause the ends to fray and split.
Follow with a conditioner, generously applied along the length of your hair to restore moisture. When rinsing, remember to set the water to a cool temperature — extremely hot water dries out your hair and creates tangles that could result in breakage.
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Don't over-wash your hair
Our hair's natural oils are designed to condition and protect it and shampooing daily can strip these vital oils away. This leads to a vicious cycle: washing long hair too frequently can cause an overproduction of oils, which in turn means the more often you wash it, the more you'll need to wash it. To keep your hair healthy, consider decreasing the amount of times you wash your hair to twice per week.
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Use a hair wrap or an old T-shirt when drying
Swap your fluffy towel for a smooth fabric hair wrap or microfiber turban (like the popular Aquis Rapid Dry Hair Turban, $30) to get rid of excess moisture after washing. These will keep your long hair smooth without aggravating your delicate strands, thus reducing the likelihood of fraying, frizz or damage when styling. Don't have a hair wrap? An old T-shirt will work just as nicely.
One of the worst things you can do to your long hair is overheating it with excessive blow-drying. If you want to avoid dry and damaged locks you need to rein in how often you use a hairdryer or pay attention to how you're using it. The dryer nozzle should always be pointed straight down and kept at least three inches away from the strands when drying. Using a heat protector (such as the multi-purpose Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer, $28) also helps because it forms a barrier around each strand of hair preventing damage and ensuring your style is sleek and frizz-free.
If you style your long hair with heat, chances are you already know the benefits of using deep conditioning treatments. Long hair can dry out really fast, so we love doing weekly hot oil treatments to replenish any lost moisture. Gently warm the oil (such as olive or avocado oil, both of which boast a high vitamin E content) in a pan on low heat and apply to your hair. Wrap in a warm towel and wash out after five minutes. Heating the oil allows it to be easily absorbed into the hair, boosting its effective qualities.
