Meg: Long hair. DO care.
When I’m in the chair gearing up for a haircut, the first thing I say is, “Leave the length, and trim the ends”. My hairstylist is as amazing as they come and she does a great job taking off the dried out ends and leaving as much length as she can.
Back in 2009, I chopped my hair off (probably a good 5 inches).
I LOVED having short hair, but after a while I missed the variety I got from ponytails, braids, and buns. And so began my journey to grow out my hair.
Of course the key ingredient is time, but people often ask me how I get my hair to grow in a healthy way. I’ve followed three basic steps and figured I’d share them with you:
1) Practice patience. When you reach that “awkward stage”, don’t reach for the scissors, power through it and it will be worth it.
2) Get regular trims! It’s important to continue trimming hair even when you’re trying to grow it out. Have your stylist “dust the ends”, and rid yourself of the unattractive and bothersome split ends without losing much length.
3) Monitor your diet. Obviously this is important as a general rule of thumb, but the protein and omega-3 fatty acids (found in salmon and nuts) are necessary for a healthy scalp. When I can, I opt for salmon as my protein of choice!
Some additional tips to help expedite your journey to long locks:
I use a once a day biotin supplement, that is rumored (NOT PROVEN) to promote healthy hair and nail growth. Before you consider taking biotin, learn about side effects, risks, and interactions here:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-biotin
I bought my bottle at Target.
Hair and scalp treatments are excellent ways to keep hair healthy. Similar to my avocado, egg, olive oil concoction, home remedies can keep hair shiny, healthy, and gives your scalp some extra TLC.
Distract yourself with adorable hair accessories. Don’t focus on how bored you are with your length, focus on the cute things you can do with it!
Those are just some ideas I’ve collected over time. What are some hair growing techniques you’ve discovered? I’d love to hear what works for YOU!
Xo-Meg
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Great post Meg. I set out to make hair appt. twice last week and they both fell through. I was going to chop it off again…but, after the fact I was so glad I didn’t! I actually went to the store and got some bobby pins, a banana clip, and a 7 day straightener system…this will help me feel like I have new things to do with my hair, instead of focusing on the odd length. I am definitely going to check out the biotin, thanks!
My hair grows at an extremely slow rate. It’s torture, really. I don’t know if it helped my hair at all, but I saw a huge turnaround in my nail health once I started taking 2,000 mg of fish oil combined with a daily multivitamin. I’ve looked at biotin, but never thought of taking it.
Oh, great ideas! I just chopped all of mine off for Locks of Love in May. I initially felt strange with short hair, then it grew on me, and now I’m already sick of it again and can’t wait for my hair to have grown back out.
I like your ideas, but I also think Pinterest can be a mighty tool! Not just for finding current hairstyles, but for a board of hairstyles you can’t wait to try out when your hair is longer!
i like the feather dusting as well. i usually get a little trim every other time i get color. so probably every 4-5 months.
i have long hair that gets tangles often! i want to rec my all time favorite drug store conditioner to the readers, Pantene (spelling?) Beautiful lengths! it comes in a purple bottle. its AMAzing! and cheap!!
can you tell a bit more about how you use your avocado recipe please?
Check it out here: http://fitnessista.com/2012/08/meg-hair-salad/
<3
I love all your posts Meg! You have such awesome style!
I would love to know more about that concoction too!
http://fitnessista.com/2012/08/meg-hair-salad/
:))))
Great post! I have been growing out my hair for two years, and as someone with semi dry hair, Morrocan Oil has been my savior! It keeps my hair so well conditioned and allows me to have shiny glossy hair, which normally would resemble some sort of straw or hay. Even though it is expensive, Moroccan oil works, and makes my locks look and smell scrumptious 🙂
I love Moroccan oil, too!
I used to be a long-time Aveda fan until I realized that my shampoo contained ALS (sulfate). So disappointing, especially for such expensive shampoo! So I recently switched to the Organix brand which can be found at most drugstores and grocery stores. If what my friends who use it say is true, I’ll be seeing less shedding and a faster growth rate.
coconut oil is great for hair and it def helps mine. I took the biotin and hair skin and nail vitamins before and from my experience do not buy into the hype it did not work at all.
I love long and short hair. I have always switched it up. I’ll grow it out for 2 or 3 years then I’ll cut it. I’ve always been like this. It keeps me from getting bored.
I have only in the past couple of years started really eating healthy fats and oils. I can tell a real difference. In fact, that’s why my hair is currently shoulder-length. The top half of my hair felt amazing while the lower half- notsomuch. So I cut it in hopes that when I grow it back out, it’ll all be soft and healthy now that I’ve learned how to really take care of it.
P.S. I think your hair also looks really cute short! You can pull both lengths off 🙂
I’m growing my hair out too, though it’s mostly because I’m too busy/lazy to get a haircut. My last one was in October X(
But I kinda missed having long hair and it doesn’t look too bad, just uneven. But I’ll be sick of it eventually and cut it all off.
Great post Meg! I am a hair person and I have an appointment this weekend. I have never had my hair longer than my shoulders and it is about there now. I’m trying VERY hard to grow it long, and your post was just the motivation I needed to push through my “awkward” stage. I think I’m going to change up the color this weekend rather than the length.
Great post! I’ve been meaning to try out the olive oil/egg/avocado mix. I sometimes “marinate” my hair in coconut oil to moisturize the ends.
I’ve been growing my hair out from an above-the-shoulders bob for about a year now and it’s finally past the awkward stage. These are great tips, especially playing with hair accessories to prevent boredom. I also learned that washing my hair less and less as it gets longer really helps keep it healthy. My short hair needed daily shampoo, but my long hair gets tangly if I shampoo more than every other day (sometimes even less). I do “conditioner wash” in between shampoos to keep it from getting too frizzy.
Also, playing with bangs really helps with hair boredom. When I was at that awkward stage, I just kept switching up my bangs so I felt like I had a “style” even when I was just trimming the rest of my hair. And find a stylist who is good at subtle layers!
Great post Meg, i have been using OJON hair products for a long time and really like using them. I also use once a week the OJON hair treatment.
Biotin has made a huge difference in the strength of my nails.
Hey! Great post. What are some hair accessories you like for awkward in-between length hair? Thanks!
I love long hair on some people but I think rocking shorter cuts is pretty great too. I find that the longer my hair, the easier it is to just throw back or not style which makes me really feel blah. I’ve had above shoulder length bobs and stacked/angled bobs for years now. Bangs, no bangs. Choppier. Smoother. I feel SO MUCH better with it shorter! I envy all you gals that can rock the long locks, but for me they just feel heavy and blah. (I chuckled at the short hair pic…its still long in my mind! But SO CUTE! LOVED IT!)
I have heard great things about biotin. Going to give it a shot for my nails!