How to Care for Long Hair

Long hair worn by women is not only beautiful but versatile. When well cared for, it suggests that the woman is healthy, strong, elegant and graceful with a preference for classic styles over the latest trends. However, when long hair is not cared for properly, it makes the woman appear unkempt and causes her to look older than she is. Follow these steps to learn how to care properly for long hair.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Trusted hairstylist
• Natural bristle or rounded bristle hairbrush
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Hats or scarves
• Clips and ties
• Detangler

Shampooing

1. De-tangle your hair with a comb designed especially for this purpose before shampooing.

2. Apply shampoo to your scalp and gently finger-comb your hair. Work the shampoo down to the ends. Don't pile your hair on top of your head and scrub.

3. Apply a small amount of conditioner to the ends of your hair only. Although the ends can become very dry, using conditioner nearer the scalp can weigh your hair down.

4. Gently squeeze the water from your hair. Don't wring it. Place a towel across your shoulders and allow it to absorb some water from your hair.

5. Slowly de-tangle your hair, starting at the ends and working toward your scalp. Be careful not to pull on your hair.

6. Unless time is a factor, allow your hair to dry naturally.

Styling

7. Get a trim. Even very long hair needs to be trimmed every few months to keep split ends under control.

8. Protect your hair from the elements. Keep it under a hat or scarf when outdoors to prevent it from drying out or being bleached by the sun.

9. Consider your choices carefully before coloring your hair. Hair coloring often comes with conditioning, leaving hair healthier than before, but only if the process doesn't involve stripping your natural color first.

10. Go easy on styling products and tools. The more you apply hair spray, mouse, gel, curling irons, flat irons, blow dryers or hot rollers to your hair, the worse it will look. Save the intricate styles for special occasions.

11. Reconsider perms. The longer your hair is, the more fragile it is. Getting a perm can be disastrous if you value your natural shine and silky texture. A bad perm will take a very long time to grow out if your hair is waist-length.

12. Choose natural bristle brushes, brushes with rounded bristles, wide-toothed combs, hair clips and pins without metal pieces and hair bands designed not to pull on hair.

Tips & Warnings

• If you visit a hairstylist for your trims, ask for a deep conditioning treatment while you're there.
• Having long hair does not mean it should be all one length. Cutting some long layers into your hair will improve its appearance.
• The longer your hair is, the less often you should wash it. Instead, brush your hair to pull the natural oils from your scalp to the ends.
• Don't wear your hair in tight braids or ponytails; doing so might cause bald spots.
• How long your hair will grow depends a great deal on your diet and your genes. Don't waste money on products that purport to cause rapid hair growth.

[cardinare]

on 4/17/2009 cool artical =)