How to Get Long, Healthy Hair

Long and healthy hair requires routine maintenance.

While many women dream of luxuriously long and healthy hair, realizing that dream can be a trial. The best thing any woman can do is establish a routine of healthy habits. A combination of direct and indirect factors determine the quality of your hair -- and what you put into your body has a dramatic effect on how it appears to the outside world.

Things You'll Need

• time
• patience
• some really good conditioner

Instructions

1. Eat vitamin-rich and natural foods. Iron, whole grains, fatty acids from foods like fish and nuts, and vitamins B6 and B12 from eggs, bananas and spinach are all essential. Though many women are apt to cut fat out of their diet, it's also critical.

2. Drink a lot of water. If consuming ounces upon ounces of nature's flavorless beverage is difficult, add a low-calorie flavor enhancement, which is better than no water at all.

3. Wash your hair regularly. Learn what schedule works best for your hair. Some responds best to washing every other day. Most importantly, make sure you get all of the shampoo and conditioner out of your hair and off your scalp when you rinse. If your water pressure is not strong enough, try a thinner shampoo.

4. Limit your hair's exposure to heat. Let it air dry when possible. Straighten your hair with a hairbrush while you blow dry to avoid flat iron overuse.

5. Treat tangles with care. To achieve beautiful long hair, you need to minimize breakage. Brush or comb your hair gently, especially if it's already tangled. Work from the bottom of the tangle. As you de-tangle lower portions, brush hair out gradually from higher areas.

6. Minimize the number of hair products you use. Chemicals are like heat to hair -- it can withstand them, but less is better.

7. Embrace your hair's natural texture. The less you fight your hair with heat, chemicals and direct contact, the more time it has to replenish necessary oils and grow.

8. Wear your hair down as much as you can. Elastics pull and break hair.

9. Trim your hair every four to six weeks. Every woman has a point where her hair stops growing healthfully. Beyond that point, it starts to look thin and stringy. Identify that point and keep your hair just above it. Nothing makes hair look healthier than when the ends are thick and sleek with a blunt edge.

References

• "Allure": 6 Easy Ways to Undo Hair Damage
• "Women's Health": Sexy, shiny hair starts from the inside out; Gina Way