It’s no secret that long wavy hair has always been and will always be one of the most established trends in the beauty world, and just like the rest of our body, hair needs its special care to stay beautiful and shiny.
It is not very difficult nowadays to find a treatment that suits your hair’s needs but before choosing any product with “ideal silky” on the label, keep in mind that not all hair is the same and to keep your hair healthy you should first find out which products are ideal for you.
Differences Between Hair Types
The type of hair you have defines a lot about the products you should use, not all of them can work because their components vary to target specific hair problems. The first step is to find out which product is right for you, especially if you have long hair.
Long hair generally needs extra care as many factors can affect it, such as the level of oil or natural oils that flow from the scalp, dandruff, damaged ends and heat tool burns.
Types of hair:
Type 1: This is straight hair and its care is very delicate because it tends to be the finest of all hair types. It is recommended to avoid washing the hair too often; a good option is to wash it with cold water to give it more shine. As extra care, a little moisture a week will keep it healthy.
Type 2: Here we get into waves literally, this type of hair is considered by many to be ideal as it is perfectly balanced between straight and curly, resulting in long silky waves and great waves. However it is not so easy to maintain, the best way to take care of these beautiful waves is with a good shampoo without salt and applying moisturiser at least twice a week.
We know that frizz is the eternal enemy of wavy hair so we recommend that to avoid it do not use towels after washing, since the use of fabric in the hair generates frizz, likewise avoid brushes. Use wide bristle combs or wait for it to dry naturally; you will notice the difference immediately.
Type 3: It is quite curly and pronounced, it is a bit difficult to manage but well cared for it offers a beautiful view. For this type of hair moisturizing is important because defined curls have the impediment of cutting the natural oils of the hair, normal shampoo with oils works quite well and with a weekly moisturizing is more than enough.
Type 4: This is considered an afro and although it is very beautiful, it is extremely difficult to maintain, especially if you do not have good control of hydration. The use of neutral shampoo is the most recommended for this case as well as the use of moisturizing masks and rinses based on coconut oil or aloe vera. Avoid the use of cloth to dry it as it produces a lot of frizz, it should be brushed very gently to avoid making it brittle.
How To Care For Long Hair
From roots to ends, long hair can be very hard to maintain, and although it’s worth it can be exhausting, especially if you’ve never taken care of it in the first place. One of the peculiarities of having long hair is that it tends to fall out under its weight making it “easier to manage”. However, even though it looks good it’s not necessarily it.
Hygiene
First of all, you should start with the most basic, cleanliness, and is that although it is a little tired long hair requires a certain degree of hygiene, it usually happens that in some cases it does not look dirty until after a week but believe me when I say that you should wash it every two days because it accumulates a lot of dirt in that short time.
Just like a sponge, hair absorbs a lot of impurities that surround our environment, dust, food debris, micro trash, and even small insects. All this can be remedied with a bath and a good shampoo. Believe it or not, the hair’s natural grease can also be detrimental because it can saturate our hair making it susceptible to heat, both from instruments and from the sun itself.
Straight cuts
Trimming your hair from time to time helps to stimulate it, making it grow steadily, so you can control the length and keep adding inches to your hair. It’s also a good way to keep ugly ends at bay and get rid of damaged hair.
Regulating cuts also serve to purge the hair of old, damaged strands or simply to remove unwanted color. It is a fundamental element of care when it comes to keeping our hair healthy.
Specialized products
Keeping your hair as natural as possible will always be the best option when it comes to taking care of your hair, and even though irons or curling irons give a very good result, the cost for the hair strands, this is why several alternative options work very well if you want to take the best care of your hair.
Gel: It is a product designed to keep the waves in place, it offers a less aggressive alternative to electric curling irons and helps with hair hydration, it is easy to apply and even easier to remove since it only requires washing with water and a little shampoo.
Moisturizing creams: Also known as styling creams, they not only serve to detangle the hair after washing but also shape it quickly. It is applied in the same way as the conditioner and, like the gel, it works very well as a moisturizer.
Heat protectors: Ideal for those who can’t do without heat tools as they allow you to use them without the hair suffering too much. They are applied after washing and it is recommended to seal with a blow dryer so that the product works better.
Styling mousse: Soft and fluffy, it is the best friend of waves, super simple to apply, and very comfortable to wear. The curling mousse is the perfect companion for your hair if you intend to leave it loose naturally, it is applied even on dry hair to give volume and shape, and it is long-lasting and comfortable to wear.
Night Care
Bedtime is a time of vital importance for the care of our hair, especially if it is very long. Nighttime care is the most delicate part of our beauty routine and even more so for our hair.
When we sleep our hair can be affected by discomfort, accidents, or discomfort of both our body and our hair. Things as simple as a knot in your hair when you wake up can make your life an ordeal; here is a shortlist of things that can help you maintain better hair care.
Brushing: the best way to protect our precious mane is to give it a proper brushing before going to bed, this way we can ensure that there are no knots before or after waking up.
The best option is to braid the hair but not too tightly so that it remains uniform and undisturbed until the morning, when you wake up you can check that your hair is still intact and ready to face the day.
No wet hair: Sleeping with wet hair is the worst mistake you can make in your hair care routine. When we sleep we tend to sweat slightly, no matter what temperature we are at, if your hair is wet it can start to develop fungus or dandruff due to excess humidity, just as it can cause you to catch a cold.
In the best-case scenario, you could also cause frizz or break your hair so it won’t look so good when you wake up.
Repair: if you already have damaged hair, nighttime is the perfect time to apply a mask or repair treatments as sunlight will not affect it. As is well known, sunlight is one of the greatest enemies of both our skin and hair, especially if the hair is already damaged.
Whenever you dry your hair after application, nighttime is the best time to apply repairing treatments. As an extra recommendation, wrap your hair tightly with a cloth so that the treatment rests better.
Comfort and care: pillowcases are an element that normally goes unnoticed but is very important for your hair, cotton pillowcases tend to be more rustic and makes it easier to make knots in the hair, as an alternative you can opt for silk or satin pillowcases, they are comfortable, soft and ensure the comfortable sliding of the hair without causing frizz or knots.
Extra Care For Colored Waves
It may look fabulous at first glance but the reality is that any color-treated hair is a challenge to care for, some more than others, as is the case with long wavy hair. Waves in themselves represent a lot to take care of, but dyed waves are a different story, however, there is nothing that a lot of patience can’t achieve.
In the case of long wavy hair, the focus that requires more attention is the ends and it is because from the middle of the hair down it tends to dry out when it has a lot of length. This is because the hair’s natural oils take a long time to reach that area or simply do not reach it, causing dryness.
If we add to all that dyes or bleaches, we will have hair in bad condition. If you find yourself in this situation, keep in mind that hydration is very important even if you don’t have colored hair, so it’s not surprising that this should be your priority if you’ve already taken the plunge.
To solve the problem, give some love to your curls with moisturizers and masks, if they can be natural even better. Don’t forget that salt-free shampoo is your best friend, especially if there is color involved; aloe vera and coconut oil in their natural state are also exceptional for treating bad hair as well as avocado.
How Long Should My Hair Grow?
In theory, hair can continue to grow indefinitely but depending on the hair, there comes a time when we must say enough is enough. Just as there are hairs that do not grow very long, there are others that grow at a super accelerated rate, however, this is not necessarily good.
This is because the longer the hair grows the thinner it becomes, which represents a threat to the health of the hair, this is when the scissors come into play. Some may think that it is not so bad to have thinner hair, but they are not right; the hair does not start to become thin from the root but from the peak of growth, which causes half of the hair to be strong and shiny while the other half is brittle and dry.
It is important to consult a professional at this point because it requires expert hands and a knowledgeable eye to treat the problem, after the point of maximum stretching is not healthy to allow excessive hair growth because we can run the risk of splitting or that the rest of the mane is affected in the process.
Styling and Care
One of the things to keep in mind when talking about long hair is that brushing is vital to maintain it, combing the hair regularly helps to promote growth as well as benefits the good circulation in the scalp. The use of soft or natural bristle brushes is the best choice when it comes to taking care of your tresses, this is because they are less aggressive than synthetic or hard plastic brushes and prevent frizz.
The way you comb your hair can be a determining factor in hair care because if it is done incorrectly it can split the hair, the frequency is another point that frequently combed hair is shiny and healthy hair.
Brushing should be done at least twice a day, taking care not to pull the strands too hard and stopping to untangle any knots that appear with patience and precision.
Finally, using loose hairstyles, for the most part, is the best choice as it prevents the hair from bending or the slings from unraveling, if you have beautiful long hair do not hesitate to wear it proudly, loose and free; after all, it would be a shame not to see it shine.
