I vowed this summer that I would do less. And when I say less I mean less work, less house cleaning, and less fuss over the small stuff overall…and that includes my hair! A lot of people have asked me about my secret to growing healthy long locks, and beyond my genes, there are a few things I do to help me maintain long healthy hair between haircuts…and I’m sharing them here!
I think I’ve already established this, but I’m semi-allergic to getting my hair cut. I LOVE long hair, and usually really like how mine grows out in between cuts when my hairstylist layers it. But here’s the deal with long hair – it’s really hard to keep it healthy! Long hair brushes against your shoulders and back, leaving it weak and prone to breakage. That being said, it’s important to take a few extra steps to keep hair healthy between haircuts (I only cut my hair twice a year maximum) to avoid extra split ends, dryness and breakage.
I wash my hair every 3 or so days in the summer, but rely on a spray-in conditioner on the last day to help repair my hair and keep it strong (when my hair goes into a bun, I use soft scrunchies where possible to avoid extra damage to my hair). I’ve been using the GLISS Ultimate Repair Leave-In Conditioner [1] formulated with keratin, which is the protein that our hair is made of. This treatment can be sprayed onto dry or damp hair so it’s super flexible (good to pack in your beach bag and spritz on your hair after a day swimming – just throw it into a braid or bun after spraying it in!). I’m a big fan of getting my hair wet, applying the leave-in conditioner, and braiding it to help seal in the moisture for as long as possible. When I finally take my hair out of the braid it feels SO much healthier!
When I do get around to washing my hair, there are a couple of things I take into consideration—especially in the summer. All the sun and swimming takes a bit of a toll on the locks, so I try to focus on enriching my hair with oil-rich products during these months and I love the GLISS Oil Nutritive [2] line. The shampoo [3] and conditioner [4] are formulated with keratin along with a blend of 8 beauty oils to repair stressed hair structure (they’ve been shown to reduce split ends by up to 90%).
When you condition your hair, you want to get as much as possible into your hair so here’s a tip: your hair acts like a sponge, so wring as much of the water out of your hair after shampooing to help your hair absorb the maximum amount of conditioner! Apparently, rinsing your hair at the end with cool water will help seal the follicles as well…if you can stand the cooler temperature in the shower lol!
After I wash my hair, I like to add an extra layer of protection to promote healthy hair between haircuts. One of my favourites is the GLISS Oil Nutritive [5] weightless oil treatment that you can spray on damp or dry hair to help nourish, protect and extra shine. I spray 2-3 pumps on the mid-section of my hair down to the tips in a light mist and comb it through before drying my hair.
If you live in or are visiting a humid area, the humidity can cause the hair follicles to open up and cause extra frizz. This can be helped by applying the weightless oil (even throughout the day) to help control it and keep it looking smooth.
When I do style my hair, I ALWAYS curl it (check out this post [6] for my hair curling technique). Here’s one thing that I fine helpful: when I curl my hair, I only wrap the mid-section of my hair around the curling iron and leave the tips exposed until the very end, when I inch the curling iron down to the tip to finish off the curl. I find that this helps avoid applying excess heat to the tips of my hair which helps reduce damage and breakage.
Lastly…ah yes, the greys. The joys of turning 40 (Who am I kidding? I’ve had greys since my early 30’s). You know how I said I wanted to do less this summer? Well, you can throw colouring my hair into the mix! As easy as it is, I’m a big fan of going as long as I can between colours (I’ll be doing a tutorial on how to colour only your roots soon…yes, at home!). I love the Schwarzkopf Root Retoucher [7] (I use ‘brown’, but it comes in 6 different shades), it shaves years off when I’m flying out the door and want to cover my grey roots. It’s SO simple, all you need to do is shake the can, spray it directly on the roots and voila! It washes out in one wash as well, which is nice!
I hope this helps loves! Happy summer to you and your families…and here’s to doing LESS of the little things and MORE of the big things (like building sand castles, drinks with friends on a patio and eating loads of fresh veggies from the garden)! XO Tori
This Guide to Healthy Hair Between Haircuts is sponsored by Schwarzkopf [8]. All opinions are my own.