Tips for Growing and Maintaining Long Hair

I've had long hair my whole life (with the exception of infancy, of course). My identity would be lost without my hair length; countless peers would describe me as "the pale girl with long hair." It was practically my signature, and still is, in my mind. I have to thank my mom for instilling healthy hair habits that have helped me maintain my hair, and grow it back after a Supercuts nightmare visit. Allow me to provide these tips that have helped me grow my hair quickly, without any gimmicky tricks.

Look at all that ginger hair overlooking an Irish sea cliff.

First and foremost, I sleep in a braid every night. EVERY. NIGHT. No exceptions. Keeping my hair in a braid prevents massive tangling since the hair will be rubbing along the pillowcase and top sheet throughout the night. If you'd like to, you could try a silk or satin pillowcase; I don't always use one, but I've heard other people swear by the difference in their hair quality after getting one. But the braid is a must; it'll help prevent tangles and reduce breakage, allowing for it to grow healthily in the long run.

My scalp cannot go more than a day, MAYBE two, without washing. I need to wash my hair. I've tried washing my hair only once a week for 6 months and developed eczema on my scalp...so that didn't work so well for me. My dermatologist recommended that I wash my scalp more regularly, preferably every other day at least, to help maintain its health. Since doing this, my scalp has healed immensely. I use a sulfate-free shampoo that's gentle but still removes all the extra gunk from my scalp without drying it out; sometimes I'll blowdry, or I'll air dry if I'm feeling lazy. Wash your hair however much you see fit; don't feel like you have to follow certain amounts of washing per week. Everyone's hair is different, so figure out what helps your hair look and feel its best.

In the shower, I condition my ends first from the nape of my neck down to the tips. Then I work in the shampoo into my scalp for roughly 30 seconds, and rinse it all out at once. I find that this helps the conditioner rinse out more quickly; I always have a hard time getting all the conditioner out of my hair, but this tip really helps to get it all out. The conditioner also protects my ends from the shampoo; they always get so much drier than the rest of my hair, so I want to avoid putting any shampoo on them to maintain moisture.

These are the main tips that help me maintain my long hair while reducing breakage and dryness, and I find that after every haircut my hair continues to grow back quickly. Skip the gimmicky hair vitamins and just stick to simple maintenance of healthy hair, using products that work for you, and eating as well as you can (I know when I'm eating like shit for a while, more hair starts falling out). Hair is a beautiful confidence booster and I want everyone to feel confident in whatever hair type and color they have. Rock your curls, waves, pin straight hair, pixi cut, butt-length hair, long bob— whatever makes you feel confident.