“But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” – 1 Cor. 11:15

Long hair is one of the most beautiful ways to be feminine, but as women have joined the work force and begun to lead lives very similar to the men, hair has been getting shorter and shorter.  Many of us no longer even know how to care for long hair!  Right now my hair is as long as it has ever been.  When I was 14 I had let it grow out to my waist, but it have me an almost constant headache so I cut off about a foot.  I enjoyed my new shoulder-length, layered style but every once in a while, like when I picked up the book “Beautiful Girlhood” with the new cover photo, I would wish I had long flowing hair like that.  I kept it no longer than a few inches past my shoulders for several years and then one day I decided it was time to grow it out.  After almost 2 years of practicing patience, my hair is now waist-length again, no headaches and I love it!

Here are some things I’ve learned so far about how to grow your hair out long and how to take good care of it so it stays healthy and beautiful.

1. This is the most important tip if you have shorter hair that you want to grow out long.  Here it is: Be content with whatever length you currently have.  Don’t keep thinking about how you wish your hair was longer.  You’ll get discouraged and end up cutting it.  Just be happy with the way it is, don’t think about how long you would like it to be and before you know it you’ll start to look like Rapunzel!

2.No matter what length your hair is, the No Poo Method is the best hair-care system that I have found.  If, like me, you can’t wash your hair with conditioner only, baking soda and apple cider vinegar work great!

3. Make sure you get all the nutrients that you need every single day. With the nutritional value of our food greatly decreased even eating all organic fruits, veggies and meat will not necessarily give you everything you need consistently.  I very rarely recommend any food supplements other than Shaklee because I have yet to find anyone that has products that are such high quality.  To maintain overall health, I recommend Vitalizer and Soy Protein (non-GMO soy that is perfectly safe unlike a lot of soy products).  If you’re healthy on the inside, your hair will be healthy too.

4. Trim regularly.  A lot of women with long hair think that the way to have long hair is to never cut it, ever, at all.  This is not the case.  As your hair grows, it eventually dies and begins to split at the ends.  If you leave it untrimmed, the splits move up the hair shaft and you end up with long, unhealthy hair that probably won’t grow as fast.  When you start noticing split ends, get your hair trimmed.  Usually 1/2″ is plenty to remove.  I usually trim my hair about every 6 months or so, but people are different so pay attention to how your hair works.  Trimming will keep your hair looking beautiful, healthy and growing.  Oh yes, and make sure that your stylist doesn’t cut too much off.  I have told stylists before that I wanted one inch removed and came away with 2-3 inches off.  They all measure differently so ask her what 1″ looks like to her before she starts cutting.

5. I haven’t tried this one myself, but a friend of mine recently informed me that since she started taking gelatin every day, her hair has started growing 2 1/2″ every month!  You can usually find gelatin at a local health food store.  She suggests you put it in hot tea or other hot drink (when it’s cold and then heat it). (Note: A lot of gelatin is make from pig products. Yeck!  But you can find clean, beef gelatin.  This is what my friend uses.)

6.  If your hair is anything but stick-straight (most of us don’t really have straight hair, we just think we do) check out the Curly Girl book.  It goes right along with the No Poo method and includes all sorts of great tips.

7. Avoid heat from blow dryers, straighteners, curling irons, etc.  Don’t use a brush, use a wide-tooth comb (a pick works best) and let your hair air-dry.  Some people say to avoid exposing your hair to the sun as well, but I tend to foolishly ignore that advice most of the time because I like the reddish tint that my hair gets when I’ve have had lots of sun.

8. Don’t use those tiny rubberbands that rip your hair out and avoid putting stress on your long locks by putting it in tight hair-dos.

9. Braid your hair at night so it’s not getting a bunch of friction or being twisted and tangled while you sleep.  If you are African-American, (you probably already know this) but it’s also a good idea to sleep with your hair in a shower cap or wrap it in a nylon scarf.

10. If you still want to use shampoo, apply conditioner first from your ears down and then use shampoo only on your roots.  The rest really doesn’t need any more than that.

11. Use essential oils.  I LOVE using peppermint and lavender on my hair!  Peppermint is very stimulating on your scalp and lavender is a great way to moisturize your hair without any build-up.  I like to put 4-8 drops of each in my hand and massage it into my roots and I’ll also put about 10 drops of lavender in my hand and put it in the rest of my hair then braid it and leave it overnight.  The next day after I wash my hair it will be smooth and silky. Lavender can also be used to replace conditioner completely.

12. Wash your hair in cold water.  The colder the better.  I usually do this over the side of the bathtub so only my hair gets the cold bath and not the rest of me.  Cold water helps the cuticle lay flat and makes hair easier to comb afterward and more shiny.

13. Say Thank You when women at the grocery store tell you how much they love your beautiful hair!

Special thanks to Ellie, Marlee, Susie and Grandpa’s Neighbors for the use of their photos.  Tips sourced from my own experience, tips from friends and LongLocks.com