How do you keep your long hair in good condition?

[TheRhythmlessCarolMan]

I'd really love to grow my hair to about mid-boob length. It's reasonably thick, reasonably straight hair that comes just above my armpit at the moment. I wash it and blow dry every couple of days. It needs a trim but I want to ask all you long-haired (on the head obv.!) stylish MNetters how you keep your luscious locks in good nick??

And what hair cut do you have? Straight cut? Layers? I have layers at the moment. How often do you get it cut?

I'm growing mine at the moment too. It has got a lot thinner in recent years and seemed to be taking forever to grow.

I've been taking Nutrihair vitamins for the last couple of months and that seems to have improved it a lot and it finally seems to be getting some length. It's just beliw my shoulders now ( from a short bob length).

I also Olaplex it every couple of weeks and use a Kerastase hair masque which is fab and really helps make it soft and shiny.

I have hair that goes just past my boobs. It has been as long as past my bum but I prefer it a bit shorter. I get it trimmed every 8-12 weeks to maintain the length. I get the ends cut quite bluntly so they look thick and healthy and I get some face framing/graduated layers through the front.

I tend to use Joico products or Keratase. For cheap stuff I use ultimate blends. I let my hair air dry most of the time but a couple of times a month I’ll straighten it with my L’Oreal Professionale steam straighteners or I’ll use a wand or Big Hair when it’s mostly dry. Always use heat protection. I wear my hair up for work most days and try and keep heat styling to a minimum.

Blake Lively and Amanda Seyfrid are good hair inspirations by the way in terms of a haircut idea.

Oh yeah Blake lively's hair is beautiful. This is what I'd like to aim for.
But now that I'm a new mum not sure if I've entered cloud cuckoo land

How would she get her hair like this? I'm really asking how would I get my own hair to do this without spending hours (ha! As if).
Pic one is gorgeous. Pic two might be more realistic for me. Would she blow dry straight then use curlers for the ends?

Each individual hair on my head is very fine and silky but there is a lot of it. It is dark brown, straightened daily with GHDs, and is at boob-length. No layers, all one length and straight cut across the bottom.

I have my roots done every 5 weeks at the salon and have a miniscule trim each time to straighten the bottom and get rid of any crappy ends. About 5-10mm off.

I wash my hair every other day and leave the conditioner on for a few minutes. It is always a deep moisturising one.

Other than that I don't use any products at all.

Celebrities have very good quality hair extensions

Ah 😞
Oh yeah I forgot about hair ext's.

Only wash it once a week.

Only blow dry every few weeks.

Get lots of compliments.

I wave mine using my GHD's. Once done it lasts until I wash it again.

Just realised it doesn't look particularly great in either of those pics! 😂

It hasn't seen a comb at all today!

My hair reaches my butt crack. Classy.
I wash every other day, but use leave in conditioner on the ends. Usually an oil based conditioner. But I think it's all down to diet. I eat a lot of fruit and veg and drink loads of water. I only dye my hair every two months, but not the ends. I haven't cut my hair for five years.

I only use a hair dryer on my hair but only until it's touch dry.

I took Viviscal for 3 months after my hair started falling out far far too much. No idea if it really was the Viviscal or not but my hair grew LOADS. My hair is currently down to just past my waist. Its dyed blonde and i get my roots done every 5 weeks. I wash it once a week, use Body Shop conditioner and some leave in conditioner spray I bought from my hairdresser (think its Revlon Equave?). It's in good condition despite the bleach.

I've always had long hair (used to be boob length but I got a chunk chopped off a while ago). I prob get my hair cut 2/3 times a year, I don't find mine grows any quicker if it's trimmed more regularly. I wash it 2/3 times a week and when in good condition doesn't need straighteners ran over it. I curl mine quite a bit but it lasts until the next wash (dry shampoo is amazing for stretching the last day). I use Lush split ends balm after I blow dry it and it really helps the ends of my hair.
I had DS 8 months ago and all my lovely hair fell out but is slowly growing back thank god!!

Here’s mine - ignore the weird parting on the first photo, I was playing around with it.

My advice is leave it alone! I wash it every other day with sulfate free coconut shampoo and conditioner, then ‘blow dry’ (attempt to) with a quick straighten.

I go to the hairdressers maybe 2/3 times a year for a trim.

I've always had long hair that stays in pretty good condition. I try to keep it a bit shorter nowadays, but it'll probably be about mid boob before I get round to another trim. It's quite thick (as in, the hair is fine but plenty of it), straight and naturally fair. That's probably part of why it's in good condition, it doesn't ever have more done to it than wash, condition (volume types eg tressemme 24hr volume or Aussie) and then warm hairdryer or just leave to dry. Washing used to be daily but now alternate days. Straight cut with some shaping at the front.

Waist length curly hair here. No layers. Wash and condition it with Superdrug's coconut and sweet almond conditioner once a week. Stick it in a loose scrunchie overnight. Only brush when wet then use boots curl creme and Tesco value gel, then leave to dry. I dye the roots every 6 weeks or so. Never straighten it and snip the ends off myself when needed. My hair is in fabulous condition and I get a lot of compliments.

I go against all the rules Wash and condition my hair every day - not expensive stuff either, just Pantene or whatever smell has taken my fancy. Cut it myself - layers, shaped round the face, length to middle of my back.

The only thing I don't do, and it's only because I'm too lazy, is use lots of heated tools on it. I leave it to dry naturally overnight (probably only good if you put it in a ponytail, as I do, more or less every day) and only use hairdryer/tongs off for special occasions. (Bizarrely, I have many many different heated implements!)I

Oh I use a half decent paddle brush with wide-set bristles to brush the tangles out when it's wet. I do brush my hair a fair bit i suppose.

I had long hair until a few months ago. It was in the best condition of is life when I was rinsing it with apple cider vinegar. I got so many compliments on how healthy and shiny it was then. I keep meaning to buy another big bottle and start it again. Otherwise I wash it twice a week with Lidl tea tree shampoo and condition with the 99p/£1 conditioner in a brown bottle from shops like Poundland and poundstretcher. I think it’s called argan oil or something. I also get the same brand hair mask and leave it on overnight once a week the night before I wash my hair and then about once a month I use the same brand hot oil masks. I leave them on overnight too. I brush my hair before I wash it, conditioner on first, comb it through with my fingers starting from the bottom up until I can smoothly run my fingers through the entire length of it and then leave it on for the length of my shower then without rinsing it out I shampoo just the scalp and roots, scrub, leave it for a couple of minutes then rinse everything out. A cold water final rinse also gives great shine.

I don't find mine grows any quicker if it's trimmed more regularly.

Cutting hair doesn’t affect the speed at which it grows. It just gets rid of the damaged ends so the hair doesn’t break.

Oh wow loads of excellent advice on here! Great pics too. Thank you!

I don't use any product at the mo but it's interesting to read about the overnight treatments and also about only shampooing the roots. Makes sense, so the hair doesn't dry out and become brittle.

I do find I have to wash hair every second day otherwise the roots get really greasy and I'm not brace enough not to blow dry my hair- it looks awful (and in bad condition!) if I don't.

Does wearing hair out long everyday risk it being damaged more easily? Especially during this time of year in U.K.

My hair needs to be blow dried too in order to look half way decent. It’s wavy but not defined enough to form nice waves/curls so I have to blow dry it either straight or bouncy.

I used to wash my hair daily but over about two years I have managed to stretch it out to twice a week. I just extended it a day at a time until it wasn’t looking greasy on the day I was washing it.

Wearing your hair loose risks more damage than being plaited/bunned/pony tailed. It gets more tangled which means breakages, it then requires more and harsher brushing which means breakages and there is also more of it exposed to the sun/air pollution etc than if it’s all tucked away in a bun. Be careful with hair bobbles though, some are very snaggy and actually break your hair!

Wearing your hair loose risks more damage than being plaited/bunned/pony tailed. It gets more tangled which means breakages

Not in my experience. If I'm out and it's really windy I'll use a buff to keep it under control.

A buff?