Monday, February 4, 2013

How I Care for Tailbone Length Hair

I know you guys can't see this in any of my posts, but my hair is down to my tailbone. The longer your hair is, the easier it is to get dry, damaged ends that look awful. Since I've had super long hair for most of my life, I thought I would share with you how I keep it healthy.
I typically wash my hair once a week. You may think that's gross, but you're really not supposed to wash your hair too often since you're stripping it of natural oils when you wash it. I had to wean myself from washing my hair everyday. When I tell people I only wash my hair once a week, they almost always tell me that they CAN'T go without washing because they get such greasy scalps. I used to think that, too. If you wash your hair too often, your scalp starts producing extra oil to make up for what is being stripped. My solution to this was to gradually go longer and longer without washing my hair until I got up to a week. Start with every other day, then work up to every 3rd day, etc. I can go three days without washing and still be able to wear my hair down. After that, I put it in buns or braid it. I don't use a dry shampoo right now, because I can't find a cruelty free one that I like. Suggestions welcome! 
Anyway, I sort of have my hair on a schedule. I know that makes it sound super complicated and time consuming, but it's really not. I wash my hair on Saturdays since I attend church on Sunday mornings. I want my hair to be at it's best when we go, because that's usually when I see the most people. Depending on what my plans are, I will put some kind of hair treatment in my hair and leave it in for 1 or 2 days before I wash my hair. Right now, I rotate between coconut oil, sweet almond oil, and a hair mask I have from Ojon. I'm not sure if Ojon is involved in third party testing right now so, I'm not sure if I will be repurchasing that product. In all honesty, I feel the oils work better in my hair anyway. 
The shampoo I am using right now is the Avalon Organics Thickening Shampoo Biotin B Complex Therapy. I never usually stick to a certain shampoo. I use one until it's gone and then try a new one. I am liking this shampoo right now, though. The conditioner I am using is one that was gifted to me and is not cruelty free so, I'm just trying to get it out. I do still use a conditioner in my hair from the ears down even though I use a treatment prior to washing. It's very important to make sure that the ends are conditioned when the hair is as long as mine is. After washing, conditioning, and rinsing my hair, I towel dry a bit and use the Alba Botanica leave in conditioner. This is a great leave in conditioner, but I prefer ones I can spray into my hair. I am going to try the Giovanni one next. I then let my hair air dry. I very, very rarely use heat in my hair. I only blow dry it when it's super cold. My hair doesn't hold a curl. and it's also board straight so, heat  styling would be pointless anyway. I do want to try some steam rollers and my friends Kristy and Brianna really like, but that won't be for a while. 
Every time I go to get my hair trimmed, which is just when I feel like it needs to be, I get SO many compliments on how healthy my hair looks and feels. I hope some of these tips have helped you and that I've inspired you to try to wash your hair less often. =)

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