How To Grow Long & Healthy Hair!

Watch my video on How To Grow Long & Healthy Hair here!

One of my most frequently asked questions is "how do you get your hair to grow so long and healthy?"  The truth is, I've always been lucky with my hair -- it tends to grow like a weed!  However I have picked up a few tips & tricks along the way and thought I'd share them with you guys!  Please keep in mind that I'm not a hair stylist or anything, I am just sharing what I've learned through personal experience with cutting and growing my hair.  Also, I do not have the healthiest hair -- I have split ends, don't trim it nearly enough and damage it regularly with heat styling.  But I have learned how to repair the damage or at least hide it as much as possible through these tips.  To start this blog post off, here is a quick re-cap of my hair growth over the past years (from when I last cut it short).

October 2010 -- I cut it to right below shoulder length

May 2011 -- I "ombred" it and let it grow out.

August 2011 -- I trimmed it and had layers put in right before my wedding

April 2012 -- past my boobs, my goal length! 

Tip #1: Eat Healthy

My number one tip for healthy skin, hair and nails always starts with this.  Beauty does really come from the inside out -- you need to feed your body healthy foods and make sure it gets the right amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals for it to look (and feel!) its best.  I have always had naturally fast-growing hair and nails but I totally believe that my diet has a lot to do with that.  I'm not perfect, I don't eat 100% clean or anything but I do try to eat healthily about 80-90% of the time.  Another thing which has helped my hair & nails grow very fast and long is prenatal vitamins!  Now I'm not suggesting that all you teenage girls go out and buy prenatals just for the beauty benefits, ha ha ha!  Ask your doctor about that one!!  I just want to be honest with you guys -- this stuff definitely has helped since I started taking them when I found out I was pregnant!

Tip #2: Don't Overwash

I am a huge believer in letting your hair do its natural thing, especially when it comes to the washing process.  Your hair does possess its own natural oils which shouldn't be stripped by overwashing it.  I personally only wash my hair twice a week, and to counteract greasiness or oiliness I sometimes use a dry shampoo like Batiste.  This will help you to "wean" your hair off of washing it too frequently and helps keep it looking fresh and clean!

Tip #3: Say No To Heat!

It's a well-known fact that heat is the worst thing for your hair -- it damages it, fries the ends, dries it out and causes frizz.  Too bad heat styling makes it look so good!  I know how hard it is to quit cold turkey (trust me, I did the 4 week no heat challenge last summer!) but there are small baby steps you can take to limit the amount of heat damage done to your hair.  For example, I never blow-dry my hair anymore.  I wash my hair at night and let it air-dry while I sleep on it.  The next morning, I just style it like normal (whether I use a curling iron or not) and I've already cut heat damage in half.  Also -- always use a heat protectant!  This will help to minimise the damage and also keep it frizz-free.  I'm currently using Tresemme Heat Defence with UV Filters.

Tip #4: Nourish Your Hair!

Make sure you are nourishing your hair with the right products.  Having dry hair, this kind of works to my advantage as all of the "repair", "moisturising", "damage care" and "intensive moisture" products are what suit my hair type best anyway.  But either way, you need to make sure to nourish the ends and keep them from getting dry or splitting.  Right now I'm using L'Oreal Elvive Damage Care Repair Shampoo & Conditioner which leaves it feeling silky soft and is supposed to repair the cuticle (whether it does that or not, I don't know).

  

I also have recently started using an oil before heat styling or even just as an everyday thing -- Ojon Instant Restorative Hair Serum.  About once every two weeks, I deep condition my hair using olive oil.  I have a video on how I do this which you can watch here!

Tip #5: Trim Those Ends!

Even though I'm the worst for getting my hair trimmed, I don't believe you need to do it as often as people say IF you are trying to grow it out!  Obviously if you want to maintain a certain cut or style, by all means trim it every couple of weeks.  But if you want it to grow I personally think you can get away with trimming it twice a year, if you look after it and maintain it well.  Either way, keep an eye on the condition of your ends and if you notice them getting ragged it's probably time to visit your hair stylist (which in my case, would be right now...lol).

I hope that these tips will help if you are trying to grow long & healthy hair!  And if you have anymore advice you'd like to add, feel free to do so in the comments below!  I would love to hear from you :)

Stay Stylish!