what products do you use for long hair please? i need a step by step guide!

[addictedisback]

My hair is boob (well nipple) length. I love having. long hair but when it gets to this length it turns lank and dull.

I see prow with gorgeous smooth, shiny and sleek long hair all the time so where am I going wrong?

My current routine wash (every day at it gets greesy) with lorel elvive shampoo and conditioner. Brush and dry (when i have 20 mins to spare) with bbh. (when I don't have timeit gets tied up and left to air dry)

So what should I be doing?

This is the ideal routine (ie which I should follow but is a bit incompatible with having two under 3 DCs ) advised by the hairdresser I went to yesterday and nearly killed me:
1/ do not wash everyday (I do it too)
2/ only brush with "natural" brushes (ie some kind of animal hair made brushes). No comb, no plastic brush. Do it every evening and morning.
3/ sleep with a silk scarf wrapped around your hair
4/ wash with neutral shampoo
5/ never skip conditioner
6/ mask once per week
7/ when wet, only brush at the conditioning step.
8/ spray some hydrating lotion before drying
9/ keep the hair dryer at least 10 cm from your hair.

Here you have the golden rules. Good luck following them!
Products I was advised: John Frieda's

I have long hair and it looks great. When I deviate from the following it looks lack lustre.

I find that washing and conditioning it with as uncomplicated as possible products makes a massive difference. I like Tresemme 24 hour body at the moment but a few months ago it was something else.

About every couple of months I put jasmin oil in it either for a full day or overnight then shampoo and condition as normal.

I use a hair serum after wash/condition.

I don't wash my hair every day as it stays nice for about 3-4 days.

I take vitamins everyday.

I tie my hair up in a bun when at the gym along with a head band and that stops my hair getting sweaty.

No rocket science.

This is what works for me:
Wash 2 (or 3 times) max per week
Leave to dry naturally as much as possible. If I need 'body' in my hair I prefer to french plait or pin up some twists and let it finish drying rather than using heat products (rollers or hairdryers). Often do this overnight, so nice for next day.
Any old shampoo thats in the bathroom but if I want a treat then I like Aveda (once in a blue moon!)
When conditioning don't apply to scalp but onto the hair, turn shower temp notch down to rinse out the conditioner
Occasional deep treatment - currently liking coconut oil, put on the night before, sleep with it in and then wash and condition as normal in morning
Try to wear hair up, especially if in city (smoke and fumes) or at work (drying air con) which I think both protects the hair and means its less dirty so less need to wash it.
But the most effective is even though its long it looks best when regularly trimmed.

Oh and just remembered I only brush once a day, get the tangles out with a tangle teaser and then with a wide toothed comb. (But I am lucky that my hair is fairly straight and doesn't seem to 'need' regular brushing)

Wash 3/4 times a week. Last day usually needs dry shampoo. Shampoo roots only and condition length and ends only. Use 2/3 drops of loreal hair oil to towel dried hair. Use wide toothed comb to detangle. Blast with hairdryer briefly to get the most of the water and leave rest to dry naturally. Use straighteners to style (otherwise a frizzy mess) and a drop of the hair oil for extra smoothness and sheen.

It's my new routine and yes it takes time but can be done on a lazy morning or it's an evening job. I used to get to shoulder length then cut to a chin length bob every time as I couldn't bear the mess it was, it's longer than it's ever been and my hair has never been so gorgeous, I love it now.

Mag, I have 2 under 2, no way i can follow that! :o
Off to read the other replies, thanks for taking the time

The simplest way to keep your hair healthy and looking good:

Wash 3 times a week with a good shampoo and conditioner ie
Pantene, John Freda, Elvive. Use a volumising shampoo as it sounds you have thin hair.

Use conditioner not too much as this makes your hair greasy.

Rinse well.

Use a heat protecting serum, again not too much. Frizz ease is a good one.

Dry using a Big paddle brush

And straighten if thats how you style it (GHD's are a must for ladies who straighten regularly, they're the best out there)

Oh and get it trimmed about every 8-12 weeks to keep it healthy!

When I had long hair this is all I did and it used to look lovely, Im sorry i've had it all cut off now It used to take me about 30 minutes to do all this. Once you get into the routine of doing it you'll never look back!

those that tie their hair back do you use any products like hairspray to keep it smooth? if so does that not make your hair feel dirty at the end of the day? or am i using the wrong hair spray? perhaps i need elnett which claims can be brushed out.

My fabulous hairdresser which has just gone mobile due to fitting in around children, (had been visiting her at an expensive salon for years where they used redken and sebastian products,) recommends the loreal elvive range or john frieda, and always use a heat spray, and at the most wash your hair every other day, regular trims too.

I find it hard to shower everyday and not wash my hair, but i let it air dry, so its in good condition.

watchiong with interest

hair is too fine as well

Would love to try something new but I like my long hair!

Watching with interest as my hair is getting to that stage where I look at it in the mirror and think 'it's shit' and although I am desperately trying to grow it back to its previous long length, deep down I know I should get yet another trim arghhhh!!! Only had one about 3 mthsago. It's just past my shoulders now and kinda looks a bit of a frizzy mess, think James May on a bad day.

I wash and condition about 2-3 times a week with Dove pro-age. Use intensive mask about once a week. Before blowdrying i spray with V05 heat protector and then when dry rub a little V05 serum through ends, I straighten maybe once a week. Even now using straighteners doesn't make it look much better and they are GHD's!!! Well now you know my hair looks crap, you now know what not to do /not to use ha ha!!! But then again I do colour it so I guess that doesn't help either. I think maybe trying a different shampoo/conditioner?

I use Weleda's lemon balm & orange blossom shampoo every day/other day and their calendula & chamomile conditioner about once a week. Towel dry, brush, leave to dry. It's always shiny.

I have long thick unruly hair. I wash every other day, and then slather with Shea butter conditioner. I use the same conditioner as a leave in smoother/ detangler. If I have time I blow dry with diffuser, if not, then French braid and off I go.

miche8 - I rarely use hairspray if I'm putting my hair up. Tend to go for styles that don't need it - and are more of a 'messy' look rather than perfectly in place. Have you seen this link from the 'french style' thread? I am loving the ponytail twist... Doesn't really need hairspray although I probably pin mine up a bit tighter than the picture shows and over the course of the day it gets a bit looser but doesn't fall out.

Lots of good advice here but Pantene is a total no no according to my hair dresser. It leaves your hair with a plastic coating that feels great after one wash but eventually leaves it in much worse condition :-(

Yeah i've heard lots about Pantene shampoo on here, i don't use it as when i did try it, i'm sure it made my hands dry, anyway, my niece, as far as i know, has always used Pantene, she's 18 and has waist length coloured hair and it looks in good nic too. Humph. Her mum said that it was only when my niece started using Pantene that her hair's condition improved. Her hair is really long and looks lovely its just unfair :( !!!!!!!

I bought treseme shampoo, conditioner and dry shampoo. Hoping this will make an improvement.
Will get some hair oil (what does it do?) And serium (any recommendations?)

People comment on how thick and sleek my hair is, but in reality it's very fine - there's just tons of it!

I wash every day, Phillip Kingsley recommends this and it doesn't cause me any problems. I have to be careful - too silliconey and it's lank and weighed down. I'm having a love affair with the body shop's ginger shampoo at the moment, followed by joico moisture range conditioner (massive bottles really cheap in tkmaxx at the moment!).

I only shampoo my scalp, and I only condition middle to ends. I have one of those special hair towels, not a turban and the fabric is smooth so as not to snag hair. After rinsing, before wrapping towel around my hair I slop on some serum/oil - one of the oil/serum mixes like Moroccan or miracle oil are best.

Then I leave it to air dry. Once it's pretty much dry I comb with a wide tooth comb and pop in some Velcro rollers held with clips (like butterfly clips). After 20mins or so I take them out and any curl drops out but i'm left with sleek smooth hair. If I don't do this last step I have frizz!! If I use any heat on my hair i have instant split ends, so I'm really really glad that I've worked out this routine. Someone told me that my hair is like veronica lake's the other day - I'm hoping that's a good thing!! (am a bit scared to google)

Wow (I Googled) that's a lovely compliment.

Does hair oil make your hair greesy?

Blimey I googled too - must have been a dry good light! Haha

Yes oils can make hair oily - so experiment with small amounts at the ends only.