JeanitaMeow | Nails, Food, Life, and More: My Simple Long Hair Care Routine

I don't have a super complicated hair care routine. I think it's pretty simple and I'm sure there are some things I could be doing better but I thought I should go ahead and make this post as I get asked about it occasionally. Remember that everyone's hair is different and what works for one person may not work for you. Keep that in mind when reading my advice in this post.

How often I wash

Fairly simple wash routine. I wash 1-3 times per week depending on my plans + how oily my hair is. There's a certain point when it just needs washed. Some people like to try and stretch washes so their hair needs washed less often over time, but it takes a while for your scalp to adjust to that. Shampoo normally strips your scalp of everything making it overproduce oils. Generally you should aim for every other day if you can help it. Washing every day isn't very good for your hair, but everyone needs a specific routine so that's up to you to decide.

Shampoo & Conditioner

I'd been using Suave Professionals Moroccan oil infusion shampoo and conditioner. Then I switched to Pantene Sleek and Shine when I ran out of conditioner. Now I'm running out of shampoo (3 conditioners later..) and I saw there is a new Suave Professionals with coconut oil so I got that to try. So far it seems nice.

You may have seen my recent post, I'm Going to Denmark!. I didn't bring my own conditioner with me since I use so much. It would have weighed too much and I would have had to buy more here anyways, so not really worth it! Now I'm using Garnier Fructis Nutri Repair3. It's working great!

Clarifying & chelating helped my hair a lot. I believe that's why it looks so lovely in these outdoor photos.

Clarifying & Chelating

Ever feel like your ends are 'dead' and you need a trim? The feeling maybe comparable to straw, it's knotting up, it's hard to detangle, over all just blah? Then you may want to try clarifying and/or chelating first. Clarifying removes product build up, while chelating removes mineral build up. I use both. I had to clarify and chelate twice for my hair to be back to normal after years of growth, and consequently, build up. I washed my hair as usual so there was some time in between those 2 washes. It's a little harsh and the hair feels bad while you're washing it (At least for me) so you'll definitely want to condition after doing that, probably more than usual. It has done wonders for my hair. Now I seem to need to do it only once a month, if that. I use MalibuC Undo Goo and Hard Water Wellness. It's vegan and cruelty free.

Technique For Washing

I work the shampoo in pretty well down to about shoulder length. Sometimes I might let it sit for just a few minutes before rinsing. Then I condition it up to about shoulder length. I make sure to really work it into my hair, but gently of course! The better your work it through your hair the better of a job it will do. Then I let it sit until about the end of my shower. Sometimes I condition twice, the 2nd conditioning I use a lot less and rinse it quicker but it helps a lot.

Drying

I don't use a hair dryer. I'm not 100% against it but I try to plan my washes so that I don't need to and it doesn't bother me in the winter. I know many people like to blow dry in the winter and I totally understand that. I like to towel it up for about 10-20 minutes right after I get out of the shower just so it isn't a dripping mess. Luckily for me I have a nice terry cloth bath robe so I usually end up just sitting around in that with my hair loose until it dries. I normally wash at night so I often go to bed with it wet. Sometimes I put it in a nautilus bun or will braid it. My hair responds much better to being braided. Either way when I wake up my hair is still damp. If I sleep with it loose it's normally dry by morning.

Oiling

I use avocado oil on my hair. It's a penetrating oil so it goes inside the hair to moisturize which can be really helpful. There are lots of oils you can use on your hair and unfortunately this is the only one I've tried besides Moroccan Oil, which doesn't penetrate the hair, but has it's own qualities. Moroccan Oil makes my hair shine and helps frizz and flyaways, as well as keeping it from knotting like crazy.

I focus avocado oil on my ends and work it up lightly through the rest of my length. I apply it every few days, sometimes every day if the hair seems dry again. I like to comb it through. It helps with detangling a lot. I do about the same with Moroccan oil. I generally use it if I'll be going out with my hair down as it tames it really well.

You can do this with pretty much any oil. You really just have to experiment with the different kinds and how you apply it and see what works best for you. Right now I'm very happy with avocado oil.

Detangling

As mentioned above, oil helps me with detangling my hair. I also use seamless combs, a wide tooth comb and a fine tooth rake comb, by EternallyInAmber. I have quite a few of their combs, I absolutely love them. I couldn't believe the difference having a seamless comb makes. My hair would get caught on the seams of the old comb so often, it was terrible!

To detangle I always start at the bottom and work my way up. I use my fingers first if needed, then my wide tooth comb and if there are any large knots the comb catches I pull them apart very gently. After that I use the fine tooth comb to get out any stray hairs and lint that might be remaining. My hair is fine and somewhere around thin to average, so this works well for me. I'm not sure how a fine tooth comb would work for thicker hair.

Trimming

S&d, or search and destroy, is when you cut out split ends and white dots individually. It's really helpful if you don't want to get a trim, though I've heard it can thin your hair. If your ends are thin and you want to try to thicken it up, then micro trimming is probably better. It's where you trim just a tiny bit of hair, maybe 1/4th of an inch, as your hair grows half an inch per month *on average (6 inches per year). This way you still get some growth but you're still trimming. Of course you can do half an inch or so and maintain your length. It's a good idea to measure your hair to see how fast it's growing from month to month if you're concerned about how much to cut off.

I only do s&d currently but I really need to start micro trimming.

Daily hairstyles

I made a post about this a while back. It's mainly the same. I do a nautilus bun all the time. I might secure it with a hair stick or ficcare but mine stays on it's own so it's always my go to if I need it up and out of the way quickly and I don't have anything to secure it with. My hair is in my way so often it's almost automatic and I hardly realize when I've put my hair up in that bun.

If I'm going out I usually do a cinnabun with a ficcare or spinpins. If I go to the Orthodontist, or anywhere I know I'll have the back of my resting against something, I'll do some kind of braid. French, Dutch, English, side. Sometimes I do rope braids of any of those variants. Just whatever I'm feeling that day. I made DIY panty hose hair ties and normally secure the bottom with them.

Nightly hairstyles

Since the nautilus bun stays without anything securing it, I've been doing that at night lately. I used to braid it but it just takes forever anymore and I normally can't be bothered. Sometimes I sleep with it loose but now that it's classic length (past my butt) it's just not a good idea! My nautilus bun ends up loose by morning but that's much better than it starting loose and tangling all night.

It might be a good idea to invest in a silk/satin sleep cap/bonnet or pillow case. They reduce friction on your hair. I haven't personally tried it but I'd really like both of them. I know I'd have no problem with the pillow case, I'm just worried how I'd handle the bonnet.

Things I don't do to my hair

I don't use heat, dye, or bleach. I have in the past and it was fun but right now I'm having more fun with my long hair. I know doing any of that would damage my hair and likely destroy it at this length so I just don't bother. It is possible for some people to do these types of things to their hair and be just fine, others however, are not so lucky.

I've never been that good at heat styling. My hair doesn't really hold curls and it's already straight, which I love, so I don't bother with it. It tends to hold waves or curls better if I use a heatless method actually. I don't like the upkeep of dyeing and bleaching either. I have nothing against this stuff though. There are definitely times I wish I could have bright neon blue, or pink hair. Sometimes I dream of rainbow hair. Haha.