Over the years I've been asked many questions and gotten many comments about my hair. They range from the best: "Your hair is beautiful!" to "How do you keep your hair so healthy that long?". Notice I didn't add the comments "Your hair is too long!" Oops!I guess I just did! So it would seem that some people find long hair to be unsanitary/unkempt, but this is for the ones who wish to know my secrets.
I'll start by inviting into my personally routine then finish with tips and tricks for other hair types. Most I've learned from my mother who is a hair stylist by profession (my source creds :3).
Firstly I don't wash my hair daily! Ya sounds gross (at least some people think so) but doing so will dry out your hair. Obviously if it needs it then do so and I do but unless I'm dirty my hair stays up. When I shampoo it's only the top half... about half way down the full length as this is the part that gets the greasiest. Don't worry though the rest of your hair is getting washed just not directly and not lathered. Now I personally use BIOLAGE at the moment. I switch it up a bit (seems to make my hair a bit fluffier) with this awesome Paul Mitchell collection.
Secondly, I condition just my ends. This refers to the part I didn't wash directly ... about my neck down. I am currently using a BIOLAGE cream conditioner with which I use most every time I wash and a mask called 'It's a miracle 10' which I use once a week as a deep conditioner. (FYI I get these things from my mother. They tend to be only salon products though I have seen BIOLAGE in the stores I'm unsure about the other products mentioned here.) The 10 I leave in for a good 5min plus the BIOLAGE about 3min or as long as it takes me to finish my shower. Then rinse!
Now that the shower is over: summer showers are the best because they are typically colder (heat so kills hair). I have a few things that I add to my hair. They aren't an everyday thing for my just when my hair feels like it needs it. Say frizzy at the ends or looking dry and split. So the first thing is something called BIOSILK. It smells awesome and makes my hair all silky smooth. :3 Love it (though it's pricey). I just add it to my ends (notice a trend here :) with long hair the ends need the most love). I just need a dime maybe nickle sized little squirt and it covers all my hair (last measured at 3ft ... in case you care). This BIOSILK can also be used on your body so if you have dry skin or even patches of dryness just rub a bit in and presto. The other thing I use is by Redkin and it's called EXTREME. This I will use like a detangler. Since the wind really doesn't like my hair ... well most things don't seem to ... it tangles like so easily. I just add a good bit of EXTREME and thoroughly massage in my ends and a brush will slide through with nary a problem.
And speaking of brushes, I use a square head boar hair brush (I imagine these products are helping the brush hairs stay supple-ish as well). I think a hair brush is better than the plastic bristles because the hair will give. *shrug* I very well could be wrong on that one. Though the boar hair brush will make my hair shine: crazy luster when it's brushed dry.
I also let my hair air dry when possible. If I need it dry fast to put it up or style it then I'll blow dry it otherwise it drys on it's own. And I almost never put a pony tail in my wet or damp hair. Since you hair is most brittle when it's wet it will break and bend and stretch if you try to tie it up. If I need it out of my way I put loose plaits in it and use a very small band at the very last strands loosely to minimize damage.
And those are my secrets... well secrets no more!
If you have dryer hair then you don't need to shampoo as much and if you have greasier hair just watch it a little more often.
I hope all this blathering helped out someone!
