How to care for your long hair

Our hair is the crowning glory of our looks, both literally and figuratively. Long, gorgeous, and healthy tresses are every girl's dream, but most of us end up hating our dull and lifeless hair. Owing to our hectic, modern lifestyle, which includes everyday stress and pollution, long hair extensions can be difficult to achieve.

 Maintaining long and lustrous hair is not a one day task. It requires a proper and dedicated hair care regimen that is easy to follow. If you are dreaming of long locks, here are a few tips you must follow.

1.Get To Know Your Hair

It is extremely crucial for you to understand the cycle of your hair. There are three stages to your hair cycle: Anagen, catagen, and telogen.

Anagen – When a new strand is formed in the follicle.

Catagen – When the lower two-thirds of the hair is destroyed.

Telogen – When the hair enters the resting phase waiting to be pushed out by the fresh strand growing in the follicle.

The last phase 'telogen' is when the hair falls out. Around 10 to 15% of our hair is in its last phase. But due to various factors, sometimes a majority tends to jump to the telogen phase. This is when we face hair loss problems and hair thinning too.

2.Cut It More Often

"The ends of long hair have been styled and colored so many times that they get dry and frizzy quickly," says hairstylist Serge Normant. Ask your stylist to snip less than a half inch every other month (since your hair grows faster than that, you won't lose any real length). If you wait too much longer between cuts, split ends could resplit, which means you'll have to trim ore later on.

3.Care for Your Scalp

Don't neglect your scalp, it can also get sunburnt and dry - lightly spray in leave-conditioner to moisturize all day and rub some pure jojoba oil on your scalp if it feels itchy. You can also put the jojoba oil on your ends - it's a light oil that mimics the natural oils of your virgin hair weave so it won't feel heavy at all!

4.Don't Overwash Your Hair

If you want your hair to grow, you need a healthy scalp, which means not stripping your skin of natural oils every time you hop in the shower. The easiest way to prevent this oil-free fate is by not washing your hair every single day, and you can always extend the length to time between showers by using a good  dry shampoo.

5.Purchase a high-quality hairbrush

When you have long locks, a great hairbrush is a worthwhile investment. Select a brush with natural bristles—a boar bristle round brush is ideal. Your brush should be firm enough to detangle your hair, yet gentle enough so that it does not pull too hard on your hair.

 6.Avoid using heat styling tools

Avoid using the hairdryer and heat styling tools every day. This dries out your hair and takes the shine away if you do it too often. Even better if you try and let your hair air dry whenever you can! Use snag-free hair elastics on your hair to prevent breakage.

7.Use Conditioner Every Time You Shampoo

Conditioning is a key factor in maintaining good human hair. It locks the moisture in the shaft, prevents dryness, and provides protection from dirt and pollution and, to a certain extent, from the sun as well. It also helps replace the lipids and proteins inside the hair shaft and seals the cuticles to prevent further damage.

8.Prevent Breakage When Sleeping

A lot of damage can happen to your hair when you sleep, especially if you're prone to tossing and turning at night. Some people sleep on silk pillowcases to prevent breakage, but you can also loosely braid your hair before going to sleep on your regular cotton pillowcase.

If you have long hair, you're going to spend a lot of time caring for it, so just be patient. If you're trying to grow out your hair, remember that on average, hair on a human head grows at a rate of about half an inch every month, so even if you implement all of these tips immediately, your hair still needs time to grow. If you do follow these tips and prevent damage to your hair bundles or human hair wigs, you'll be much more likely to end up with and keep, the length you want.