Care for long hair and scalp
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free skin care · Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:37 pm

Hello,
I think it is a good idea to share experience and some tips for care of long hair and scalp. My hair is a little lower than my waist and I wash it every day. I know, some people say it is not good, but I just have to wash it every day (sometimes even twice)because I exercise every day. To prevent my hair from drying out I use Jojoba, Camelia or other oil. I just put it on my hair before I wash it. Every two weeks I put jojoba oil on my scalp and hair for a deep conditioning. I am constantly looking for a good shampoo (I haven't found the one that my hair likes yet). Presently I use Suave or Baby shampoo and a lot of conditioner. My scalp sometimes is itching for my hair is very dry and I put conditioner after shampoo on my scalp before I rinse it. It helps to reduce itchiness. I want to try the CO method for a week just to see if it will make any difference.
I am interested how many people have long hair or want to start grow hair. How often do you wash your hair? What kind of shampoo, conditioner, treatments do you use? Do you use any scalp treatments?

free skin care · Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:24 pm

Here is some info on long hair I saw on the Skin Biology website:

Quote:

The famous hair stylist George Michael (now deceased) of New York City developed successful methods to grow out very long lengths of hair in women. Women are often told that after they reach thirty that hair should be no longer than shoulder length. Michael felt long hair was majestic on a mature woman, did much to downplay wrinkles, made them look younger immediately.

One of his secrets was the use of acid conditioners and acid pre-treatment products used before swimming in chlorinated pools or salt water or exposing the hair to sunlight. This kept the hair proteins very tightly bound together. He used hair dryers set only about 10° F higher than body temperature. Common blow dryers reach temperatures of up to 260°F. Water boils at 212°F. This high heat can damage hair follicles. Large rollers of soft mesh or plastic were used for drying the hair. Velcro rollers were not used because they can tear the hair. Special care was taken to protect the ends of the hair when rolling or setting.

Hair cutting was done as one-length style using a straight blunt cut. Michael felt that when hair was cut in layers, the body automatically tried to even out the hair which created extra fallout. Shampoos were kept to a minimum. Vitamin and mineral supplements were recommended. He recommended covering hair at all times when exposed to direct sunlight.

Tips for Long, Healthy Hair

Hair experts have a number of suggestions. But remember, people who only want to cut your hair off usually know little about hair.

1. Hair is best cut when dry. The detangling comb is designed to be used on damp hair. Start at the ends and work up.

2. Detangle dry hair before washing. De-tangle ends first, then work your way up. Do not try to remove from top to bottom since this may pull out hair. Before entering a shower, use your your comb or brush to give your hair a few strokes. This aligns the strands, and help prevent tangles.

3. For washing, bring your hair to the front before you wet it and leave it there hanging down and keep it there during shampooing. During the washing, try not to move your hair. This keeps the hair strands in position so they won't move upwards and wrap themselves around other strands, resulting in tangles. Use water of room temperature for your hair. The lowest temperature that you can use is best for hair. Warm water open the hair scales, making the hair shaft more vulnerable to damage.

4. Use a minimum of a shampoo with a pH 5.0 to 6.0. Avoid foaming shampoos. Pour some shampoo into your palm, then rub your hands together and run the palms of your hands over your head but not yet down the string of hair. If the shampoo begins to foam, you used too much.

5. The shampoo is used to remove dirt from the top layers of your hair. Don't try to wash your hair inside out - just let the shampoo suds penetrate these under layers briefly as it flows over the lower part of your hair. Use your fingers to help release the soap from your head and works the shampoo down the hair. Running your fingers down the string of hair helps detangling.

Make sure that you wash out all of the shampoo. When you think all shampoo is gone, allow another half minute of constant water flow to ensure that residues are gone. Then bend over, and
give a final rinse of the lower hair part with cold water.

6. Folligen Therapy Conditioner is a acidifying conditioner with peptides that re-bond the hair cuticles. It also helps detangle hair, add body and increase the hair's natural shine. Put extra conditioner on the hair ends to prevent split ends. Give the conditioner at least a minute to glue into the hair. For a final rinse use cool or cold water.

7. Air dry your hair whenever possible and use a special highly absorbent towel for your hair. Do not dry your hair with your general bath towel.

8. When you must blow dry your hair, first wrap in a towel for a time to remove most of the water. Blow dry the hair for a time, then let it air dry for a time.

9. Never buy a "heavy duty reconstructor" for your hair.

10. A "cool" setting on the hair dryer helps "set" the hair.

11. Never brush your hair when it is wet.

12. Excessive sunlight and use of tanning beds harms hair.

13. Find non-alcohol hair sprays which are less drying.

14. Only use wide toothed combs and picks.

15. Many hairdressers only cut hair. Tell them to keep trimming to an absolute minimum. Avoid hostile or hyper-critical hairdressers.

16. Only use coated or snag free elastics and hair fasteners.

17. Think of your hair as a silk garment and treat it accordingly. Both silk and hair are protein fibers. You would not wash a silk garment with a cheap detergent in a washing machine at a high temperature with a high agitation cycle and then dry it in a dryer at a high temperature. Think of what a silk garment would look like after such a treatment.

18. Take time for your hair. There is no product that can create wonderful hair within a few hours. Hair improvements take a few weeks.

19. If someone criticizes your hair, ignore them. Hair arouses may emotions and jealousies so arrange your hair in the fashion that pleases yourself.

http://www.folligen.com/folligen-shampoo-conditioner.html#Secrets%20of%20growing%20very%20long%20hair

free skin care · Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:52 am

Lara1, how cool your hair is so long! Mine stops growing past the middle of my back. You're lucky!

free skin care · Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:28 am

I recommend co-washing (conditioner only washing) for scalp care, it's sort of like the whole shampoo free for 30 days thing except you don't just go cold turkey and use any old conditioner to replace a cleansing shampoo. I usually go 2-4 days co-washing and a gentle shampoo in between, or if I have time a kaolin clay mask to help absorb excess oil.

I use several Japanese brand conditioners, a famous one is Shiseido's Tsubaki Camelia oil conditioner. Japanese conditioners are not as thick and silicon-slippery like supermarket brands such as Pantene, Palmolive, Dove etc. They retail for around $10-20 for a huge 500ml and will probably cost around $10 for shipping but still very reasonable.

If you can tolerate heavier oils on the hair since you use straight oils anyway, there are a lot of good quality silicon free (mostly natural brand) conditioners that contain extremely mild surfactants which also deposit pure oils onto the hair. I have used various types of A'kin conditioners and they made my hair feel very clean but the oils were a little too heavy for my liking.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:22 am

Why is he opposed to reconstructors?

Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:35 am

bethany the aricle you posted is great, i think it will help me a lot. thanks.

free skin care · Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:10 am

My dds hair is very long my hair is to the middle of my back. DDs hair is unmanageable (somewhat wiry, tangles easily and can be rough). I recently bought a large tub of coconut oil I cook with this but I also recently used it as a mask for both dds amd my hair (mine is baby fine). I was very pleased with the results. I nuked the oil for a few seconds to melt and warm it. Then I put it all over our hair and scalp and covered with a large shower cap. After about an hour I washed our hair out. The oil came out easily and the next day my dds hair was especially smooth and soft. I am planning to do this once a week from now on.

free skin care · Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:32 pm

My hair is down to the middle of my back. I wash and condition my hair once a day. (when I condition, I use two different ones). I do not use a whole lot of hair spray, usually on the top and some light spray over my style. I end up putting my hands throughout my hair all day. I twist it up I take it down, but it is long hair so I am not messing up the style. I wash my hair at night, so that I do not have to blow dry it. I already curl it and color it, so I do not want to damage anymore than I have to. By the time I go to bed, it is dry. In the am I just style it. I also do conditioning packs and oils on it periodically too. I think men love long hair.

free skin care · Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:50 pm

I co-wash too. I usually wash my hair every other day. I add some apple cider vinegar into the conditioner, and that keeps my hair fresh and clean.

free skin care · Fri Jun 06, 2008 10:28 am

My hair is to the middle of my back and it grows a lot!! I think that's just in my genes though not because of a routine. My hair is coarse and thick with a natural curl (medium wave). I can't usually wash it at night because in the morning it's unmanageable to style. I wash every two to three days and workout every day. The first day I wear it natural and the second I usually staighten it, so by the third day I just have to touch up some areas with my straightening iron. I use Redken All Soft which contains avocado and olive oil. Before this, my hair was really unmanageable and easy to tangle.

When you stop washing every day your hair goes a little oily, but it changes once it gets use to producing less oils on a daily basis.

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