I’ve been growing out my wavy brown hair for close to six years now, hoping that someday it will grow down to my butt. However, hard as I try, the ends always split enough that I need to get them trimmed every few months, so my hair has never gotten past a point just below my shoulder blades.
Long-haired men and women, what brushes/ shampoos/ conditioners etc. do you use to keep your hair long and lovely? For the record, I brush my hair with a wooden-bristled brush, use shampoo for “normal hair”, and sometimes stick a little conditioner down at the ends.
I have wavy brown hair that’s a few inches above my knees. Are you sure you want to grow it that long? It’s a whole lot of work, sure it’s worth it, because it’s beautiful and the compliments are great, but are you sure? I guess it just takes a whole lot of patience. I personally use shampoo for dry or damaged hair just because I like it, my hair is perfectly healthy but I love how those shampoos feel. Typically I use ThermaSilk or Herbal Essences just because it smells yummy. Good Luck!
Tsarina, I have hair almost to my butt and have kept it long and healthy for years. This is my experience:
Do you blow dry your hair? If you do, then stop. This is very damaging to the ends of your hair. I refuse to use one. My “hair dryer” is a thick, bulky, super absorbent bath robe that I wear when I get out of the shower until my hair is mostly dry. It takes more patience, but the end result is healthier hair that splits less.
Eat well and take your vitamins, especially Folic Acid, which seems to stimulate hair and nail growth.
I use a brush with soft polypropylene “bristles”. the bristles are tapered and rounded and very smooth. Try to avoid anything that has sharp edges or bristles that have un-finished ends.
Use a good conditioner on your hair starting behind your ears and working down. Keep the hair healthy that high up to prevent breakage and toward the tips to avoid splitting. Depending on your scalp, most people don’t need conditioner there. I used to LOVE Cortexx Conditioner for damaged hair. I can’t find it any more, but it always kept my hair in great shape. For shampoo, I use an inexpensive “daily clarifying” shampoo to avoid buildup, and only shampoo every few days.
I’d like to know too. I have hair just past my shoulders as well. I don’t blow dry my hair or nothing. I really would like it to get longer though, just to see what it’s like.
Your hair length is dependant on the cycle of growth (how long between the dormant periods), and the rate of growth. My hair is currently as long as it will get, unless I start eating more protein (I’m already up on Folic Acid). Actually, I eat a lot of protein, so this may be it. It is about mid-back length. I can’t remember the average length of the growth cycle, but basically, when each folicle hits that terminus, it stops growing the hair and shortly, the hair falls out. The folicle stays dormant a while, and then it starts up again. Folicles that go dormant and stay dormant are one of the mechanical causes of baldness (the reasons why being genetic or other). During pregnancy, the folicles don’t go dormant, so you get all this hair! Then after you have the kid, they go back to their old cycle, and huge clumps fall out as they all go dormant at once (whee… just loved that big layer of hair growing out again, too…).
Anyway, good luck growing it to max length. Just don’t be surprised if you hit a point where it just doesn’t get any longer. Three of my sisters have longer max length than I do, and one has way shorter (the rest have never tested the max length issue).
I recommend also not brushing your hair when it is wet - it breaks more easily when wet. Brush before you get in the shower, use a detangler and your fingers to straighten it out while wet, and then let it hang and air dry.
My hair is very long, and very dark red, and either very straight or very curly, depending on whether or not it is permed. It has been down to my caboose two times, and is headed that way now; it is at about mid-back.
Don’t wash it every day. Use your fingers on tangles. Finger-comb it before you brush, pick or comb it. The Swiss formula intensive hair care conditioner is really cool. It smells strongly of peppermint and makes hair look great. Always condition your ends. Towel-drying the ends before adding conditioner is good, and putting on a plastic shower cap and adding heat to the hair is great for it.
Keeping your ends conditioned will keep them from looking split, which is just as important as cutting them off. Hair grows from the root, so cutting off the split ends does not help hair grow at all. Which I’m sure you already knew.
My hair dryer is a fan on a stand. It just blows cool air. Try a leave in conditioner too.
conditioner is the key. go for pantene. also if you are fond of hot bubblebaths, at least once a week let your hair soak with you; add a few of those oil beads. this will hot oil the bottom of your hair. massage shampoo on your scalp only then finger comb the shampoo through the rest of your hair. when i had long hair my hair product use was 2 bottles of conditioner to one bottle of shampoo. no hairspray, mousse, gel, or blow driers. these products only dry out your hair. if you use hair appliances use only coated hair bands not rubber bands. i would recommend hair sticks for the times you would want to put your hair up. they hold very well and don’t get tangled or break your hair. you can use them for a variety of styles from ponytails to french twists.
My hair is about at my waist. It is not as nice as I’d like - the ends are scraggly, I wish it were thicker, but all-in-all, it looks OK when down, and I don’t intend to cut it too much shorter than it is now.
I don’t wash it every day, and I do use conditioner. I don’t blow dry, never have. I take vitamins (I find Choline/Inositol -sp?- helps too) and that’s it. I need to do more to take better care of it! So all of you are really helping out with this excellent advice.
I have very thin hair that I use a scraggly plastic comb with broken and bent teeth to comb (I keep losing combs, for some reason not this one though).
I jerk it through my hair until all the tangles are removed.
I do use conditioner. I think Pantene something or other.
Despite this it is around the middle of my back, and has few split ends. Luck perhaps, or genetics.