You’ve finally grown out your hair, and you’re loving your long locks. But how can you keep your long hair growing? Here’s what you need to know.
Eat Well
We often think first about things we can put on our hair to help it grow, but hair growth comes from the hair follicles within our scalps, so you really need to nourish your hair from the inside out. That means you’ll want to skip the restrictive crash diets and cleanses. Instead, opt for a healthy diet with plenty of protein, biotin, zinc, iron, omega-3, omega-6, and vitamins C, D, and E.
Trim Regularly
You may think you should avoid getting your hair trimmed if you’re trying to conserve length, but that’s actually not the case. Regular trims help your hair stay healthy by removing split ends before they can travel up your hair shaft and do more damage. It’s much better to have a little bit trimmed off your hair every eight weeks or so than to wait until your hair is breaking from damage. You’ll lose less length in the long run by keeping your tresses in good shape.
Avoid Heat Styling
We get it. That’s a lot of hair to air dry. But heat tools like blow dryers, curling irons, and straighteners do serious damage to your locks. If you want to keep growing your long hair, you should avoid heat styling as much as possible. And if you absolutely must use heat tools (hello, last-minute shower before going to work in -20-degree temperatures!), use a heat protectant first.
Skip the Bleach
The idea of rocking waist-long blonde hair this summer may be tempting, but if you want to keep your long mane, you might want to go for another look. That’s because chemical treatments, and especially bleach, can be super damaging to your hair cuticle. Over time, that means your hair is more likely to break, so you’ll end up losing length instead of gaining it.
Shampoo Less Often
Washing your hair too frequently strips it of its natural oils. Instead, try washing two or three times a week. Your hair will stay healthier and shinier. If excess oil is a concern for you, we recommend trying Citrus Yao, which is formulated to cut through excess sebum without stripping your hair.
Keep Hair Hydrated
The more moisture you can keep inside your hair shaft, the less likely your hair is to break. Turn down the temperature when you shower to avoid drying your hair, and condition every time you wash. Adding a DIY hair mask once or twice a week will also help keep your hair hydrated and strong.
Use Longsheng Rice Water
If you’ve found our blog, you have probably seen the incredibly long and healthy hair cherished by the Red Yao tribe. Red Yao women know a thing or two about growing long, beautiful hair! In fact, they hold the Guinness World Record for the Longest Hair Village.
So what’s their secret? The Red Yao credit their long locks to their ancient tradition of washing their hair with Longsheng rice water. We were tutored directly by the Red Yao and use the same Longsheng rice in all our shampoo and conditioner bars, so you can get the same benefits!
Growing and maintaining long hair is an achievement! Keep your locks healthy and strong with the above tips, and you’ll continue to add new growth for years to come.