Hey everyone! I recently just had my hair dyed and I am super excited about it. Both above photos were taken 24 hours apart, and I don’t know how I like my hair better. I’m still not used to it being lighter, I really loved my black-brown hair. Yes, I realize that people get their hair done everyday, but this was my first time in four years and I LOVE talking about hair so bare with me! In this blog post, I wanted to give you guys my hair story and share some tips to grow your hair long and keep it healthy. I’ve done this before, and made videos, but I took them down, due to some updated methods I’ve chosen. My whole life, pretty much, I’ve gotten questions about my hair, or if it’s real or extensions, how I keep it healthy, and all that…

People often ask, how do you keep your hair so long, and it’s not dried out? Well, I actually had a long journey to where I’m at today. I’ll give you all some background, so that maybe someone with the same or similar hair type to mine can use my advice!

Back in high school, I used to dye my hair reddish, never much lighter, but dying it eventually dried it out. In August 2010, before I went to my first year of university, I dyed my hair back to my natural colour (black-brown) one last time, and never dyed it again. Since then, it has all grown out over the past nearly four years, and is healthier than ever. My hair has a medium-course texture. I also have pretty thick hair, in a ponytail it has about a 1.5 inch diameter across. The length of my hair is just longer than mid-back, and it has no layers or special cut or anything, I find I can do more styles when it’s all just long.

Now that you have some background on my hair, I’m going to list some tips for y’all! Remember, just because these methods work for me, does not mean it will work for you.

1. Do not wash your hair everyday. To make sure you are not drying out your hair of its natural oils or using hot water too often on your hair (which results in the same effects as heat products), only wash your hair once or twice a week. This is not for ALL hair types. The finer your hair, the more you’ll have to wash it because it gets oiler a lot quicker. With my hair being thick and course, I can go longer than fine-haired, because our hair absorbs the oil more, letting us get away with not washing our hair.

2. Invest in a good shampoo. I used Pantene for the LONGEST time, but I later found out that it’s one of the worst for your hair. I started using Organix, which isn’t too pricey, around eight or nine dollars a bottle, and I definitely noticed a difference. After washing and conditioning my hair with it, I can just let it air dry, and it’s so soft and shiny without putting any after-product. Even if you don’t want to use Organix, do your research on various products from different sources to get educated about what is best for your hair, especially when you’re hair is long, and needs to be maintained.

3. Use a wide-tooth comb! When your hair is wet DO NOT use a brush. Brushing wet hair will cause it to stretch and also rip out a bunch. Use a wide tooth comb and comb your hair from bottom to top to minimize stretching and pulling on the hair.

4.Don’t trim your hair once a month. This is one of the most common myths, people going to get their hair trimmed every month and claim it helps their hair grow. Hell no. Yes, it gets rid of your dead dry ends, but if you cut off at least half an inch, which i’m assuming it’s usually more, you’ve just cut off all your growth from that month. To help get out of this cycle, follow my tips and MAINTAIN your hair to stay healthy and your ends will be healthy enough to not get cut. Trim your hair every five or six months, this way you’ll gain at least two or three inches of growth and not lose it all at the hair salon.

5.Oils, oils, oils! Coconut oil, Extra Virgin Olive oil, Moroccan oil, Argan oil, put it in your hair. Coconut and olive oil can be used BEFORE washing your hair by slightly warming it up and massaging it into your scalp, hair, and down to the tips. Leave it in to soak for 30 min to even a few hours, then wash it out. Moroccan and Argan oil can be put in your hair while its damp after being washed, or even after being styled for some extra shine and smoothness.

6. Hold back on the chemicals and heat tools. Dying your hair too often, using too many products like hair sprays, perming and relaxing, always using a heat straightener or curling iron is all terrible for your hair. Chemicals and heat ruin the bonds in the hair and also cause it to split and eventually snap off. If you want to dye or bleach your hair, leave at least a couple of months in between so that it doesn’t dry out and become stringy. Only straighten or curl your hair when you NEED to, I’m sure your natural hair isn’t that bad, and if you feel it is, there is also always heatless hairstyles you can do as well.

7. Drink water! This is just common sense. Not only for your hair, but for your skin and overall wellness. This will make your scalp healthier, and not dry and the hair that is growing out of it. It won’t really change the hair that is already grown though.

8. You are what you eat! Hair is protein, so the more protein you eat, your hair will grow more. Just like nails, protein helps them grow.

So these are my main tips for healthy hair! If you have any questions or even better suggestions, comment below! If you have any questions about the process it took for me to get my natural black hair to dirty blonde, ask away. Thanks for reading and yup! Have a great week!