How did your routine change as you went from short to long?

[Lamb]

I am wondering how people here with APL or longer hair changed their routines as their hair grew long - if they did change anything at all.

I realized that at my current length, and with my current layers, there is not much point in trying not to wash every day or do anything "fancy" - all my long-term CO experiments and attempts at stretching out washes have had bad results.

So, I would like to hear your input. :) Did you start with heat styling and abandoned that slowly? Did you wash your hair as frequently/infrequently at the start as you do now? How did your hair's requirements change over time, at different lengths?

[spidermom]

Now that my hair is so long, I need to oil before washing and leave conditioner in the bottom foot or so of my hair. At your length, shampoo and condition was enough. If you haven't tried the CWC with diluted shampoo style of washing, I can highly recommend it. I tried this at APL and have had such consistently good results that I haven't tried other methods, other than CO, which gives good results only every once in awhile.

P.S. - I still blow-dry with warm/cool whenever I feel like putting in the time and effort and see no bad results from doing it. I control my hair with a shower comb and don't pull/stretch with a brush.

I haven't flat-ironed in a long time because the weight of my length pulls out most curl these days - alas! I kind of miss it.

[JamieLeigh]

My routine really didn't change until I came here. I was already at tailbone-length or thereabouts, but I was still using shampoo and conditioner at least 5x a week, and now I've cut back to washing 2x a week or less, and using conditioner only. Once a month I clarify, if I need it, with shampoo.

So it wasn't the added length that changed my routine, it was the added knowledge. :)

[MsBubbles]

Difference between APL & full (lower) BSL:

Spraying more camellia oil/water mix onto my ends after wash - there's a larger window of error these days regarding accidentally putting too much on.

Actually wanting to put my hair up more - like when driving for example. It's already getting in the way and being tugged & possibly damaged shudder:

[SheWolf]

I used to wash everyday and use gobs of styling product. Now I shampoo every 3-4 days, I CO wash in between, and the only products I use afterward are leave in or coconut oil, nothing else.
I never even owned a hair drier when I had short hair, now I do, but I only start blowdrying when my hair is 50% air dried and on a cool setting only.
So far, so good.

[Delila]

I can't get away with putting conditioner on my scalp, my scalp just doesn't seem to like the stuff, but when my hair was shorter, I didn't have a choice. Back at shorter lengths, I washed more frequently than I do now, mostly from necessity, since my hair tends to be kind of oily.

Nowadays, I wash my hair about twice a week, sometimes three times, depending on how it looks and feels.

It's hard to say what other changes I've made in the transition, since I was experimenting with so many things. I tried CO, tried plopping, all the curly girl stuff, herbal cleansing, no SLS, no cones, Morocco Method, etc., etc., and ultimately decided on a fairly regular routine of dilute shampoo on scalp, condition length, using a separate detangler product as needed. I think I've been at that phase for about a year and a half.

Styling-wise, I haven't used a blowdryer in a LONG time. At some point I realized that I much preferred the results if it just dried naturally, also it tangles less.

At some point I quit detangling when my hair was wet. Nowadays, I just let a microfiber towel soak up the excess then wear it down until dry, and then I finger detangle. Before that, I had a fairly regular routine of detangling when damp, then working my length into one long twist, that I'd let dry over my shoulder. Made nice waves, and kept my hair nicely controlled while drying.

[sarawr]

Well, I grew my hair out, out of laziness. I never had time to schedule or go for a haircut, so I just let it grow, trimming it occasionally myself.
Because of that, my routine never really changed, although once I started appreciating the length of my hair I started taking much better care of it.
Now I do ACV rinses, let my hair air-dry, gotten rid of straighteners (not that I ever really needed one anyway), and switched to a better brush.

[Ash]

I got lazier. I used to CWC daily when I get up, now I alternate between that (M/W/F) and CO(Tu/Th/S/Sun).
I only do a heavy oiling the nights before I CWC, before I would do it nightly.
I don't do as many special treatments like coconut milk or deep conditioning with cooking products because it is extremely annoying to wash out in the kitchen sink since my hair wants to go down the drain while attached to my head and it is a lot of trouble to wash out in the shower because it gets everywhere.
I never heat styled then and I still don't and I will not touch a hair dryer either, before I might have used one a couple of times a year.
I don't brush my hair anymore, it gets combed instead.

[lynnala]

I used to wash every day because my fine hair would lay limp if I didn't. Now that it's long, that's not a problem so I don't have to wash everyday, and I also don't have to do anything to it style-wise, it just does it's own thing and looks fine!

[Carina]

The only thing I changed was to use a deep conditioner more often.I have always used leave-ins so my ends would be moisturised.

[Curlsgirl]

When I came here I was about shoulder and had started to let my hair dry naturally or diffuse occasionally already but went to less and less blowdrying until I got where I actually liked it much better curly. Then gradually I stopped coloring all over and just did the roots myself. Then I stopped doing roots with color and just got highlights at the Aveda salon. LOVE the Aveda color. It seems so much more gentle. That is what I still do now.

As for other things, as my hair got to BSL, I started shampooing much less so it wouldn't be as dry. Didn't like CO and liked my hair much better without cones so have stayed with a non-cone routine pretty much. I have to shampoo much sooner with cones is mostly the reason plus I hate that coated feeling. My hair just behaves much better. I started using a leave-in conditioner and quite a bit every time I wash too (which is 1-2 time per week). I can pretty much wear it down anytime I want now and I do a lot at work but also wear braids and updos especially in the summer or if I am out in the elements.

As it got longer and tangled easier, I stopped detangling except after putting leave-in in it right out of the shower. I sometimes detangle in the shower with conditioner on it but not always. I always use a wide tooth comb, never hardly touch a brush at all anymore even with updos.

Other than that I do very little to it except occasional deep heat conditioning with Jessicurl Too Shea usually or Biolage. I use Paul Mitchell color treat shampoo and Giovanni SAS conditioner. Then for leave-ins I use Biolage or BWC leave-in, then pink Boots curl cream and sometimes a gel and/or coconut oil.

I also use coconut oil on dry hair in between when my hair looks dry or frizzy looking.

I actually love my hair and do less to it the longer it gets!

[Eden Iris]

I can now wash less frequently (from twice a week to every nine days).

I no longer use styling product, just put it up every day.

I rarely brush now, whereas before I was brushing several times a day to keep it neat. The combination of not brushing and wearing it up so it doesn't tangle has vastly improved the condition of my hair.

ETA: Started oiling the ends, too.

[hockeygirl256]

I have learned to set aside time for combing out after washing. Can take 15-20 mins (fine hair snarls). I also use a ton more product than when I had a pixie cut. Probably spend less time on a daily basis because I can just toss it up.

[InTheCity]

I agree that it's added knowledge that may change your routine, rather than added length.

For me, it was abandoning heat tools and trying to love my natural waves. I succeeded by the way and the damage-free lifestyle has already brought my hair to the longest its been in my life. :D

[jel]

When I joined LHC my hair was barely shoulder length (the longest layer, that is!). I had to wash daily as my scalp was oily and my roots would get greasy within 24 hrs. I tried CO and it made my hair too moisturised, coated and lank. I also tried what I thought was heavy oiling with coconut oil (2-3 tablespoons!) and couldn't wash it out... The one thing that did work almost from the start was CWC or C-COW-C.

Now, I wash my hair every 3-5 days, and it's because my scalp gets a little itchy. It doesn't get oily any more - I suppose all the sebum travels down the hair shaft and there's none left to look greasy! I still mostly CWC with diluted shampoo, though I'm experimenting with soapnuts at present. I use a few drops of oil as a leave-in on wet hair, both after washing, and in between (I wet my braid tassel and apply olive or castor oil on top). ETA: Quite often, I'll do a heavy pre-wash oiling (about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil).

At this length I find I have to keep my hair up or braided 80% of the time, otherwise it gets very tangled. Also, I have to detangle at least once a day, using a wide-tooth comb and sometimes a tangle-teezer after. Since about BSL I started braiding my hair for bed... And that's about it!

[Carolyn]

Until I was past mid back and doing updo's I washed almost everyday and used the blow dryer and curling iron every wash day. Since I've been wearing my hair up most of the time, I wash 3 times a week and don't heat style except when I get high lights. Then I let my stylist do something fun with my hair. I do a lot more deep conditioning. I've also added CO's to my routine. So to sum up, I've added tons of moisture and all but stopped heat styling. With shoulder length layers I had to heat style. I was trimming every 2 months so I wasn't worried about damage.

[bahannas]

Oh man, I've come a loonngg way.

Early '08: Made the big chop, blowfryed all the time, volumizing serum, shampoo'd EVERY day. I didn't have a hair straightener at the time, which was probably a good thing!

Last summer: Constantly looking for new styles, highlighted, washed DOUBLE some days because of hanging around at the barn so much.

Last Christmas: Got my first hair straightener. Yay! (not) Blowfryed a lot, straightened a lot, brushed when wet from roots to ends, ripped through tangles. Amazingly, I still didn't have split ends.

Earlier this year: Highlights, less washing, brushing more carefully (though still when wet), ponytails all the time, straightening nearly every day.

Now: Wash every three days, NEVER brush when wet, deep condition once a week, alternate products, leave-in moisturizers, detangle gently from ends to roots with a wide-bristled brush, avoid hair toys (tempting), no more straightening, air drying, learning to love my natural waves.


LHC has really helped me in the short time I've been here. I'm so much more confident about my hair now. I accept every part of it, and embrace my waves. It feels good to run my fingers through my newly lustrous hair. Not a single split end to be found. :p

[bahannas]

Oh, my bad! I don't have APL hair yet. :-(

[RavennaNight]

When my hair was short, I washed my hair way more often. Daily, or every other day. I used to heat style. I gradually stopped heat styling. And now I wash every 3-4 days. In the winter I did go 8 or 9 days without washing. :shrug:

[Flynn]

Well, I've grown out from pixie, sooo...

First stage was re-introducing conditioner, and trying to reduce washing frequency. (Daily with diluted shampoo on short, to get rid of product.) Then as I started needing more shampoo and conditioner per wash, there came the Great Quest for a Shampoo that Will Not Give Me a Rash. (On short, a watered down unperfumed Redwin Tea Tree shampoo did the trick, but once I had hair that actually needed washing, not just daily product removal, that started being an obvious problem.) Settled on a shampoo and conditioner, which did the trick rather nicely. I'd be quite satisfied to still just be doing a shampoo and condition of my waist-length+ hair. Buuut, then I discovered oiling, and then I discovered walnut oil, so I have incorporated a pre-wash oiling into my routine, now, also.

[windinherhair]

I basically kept the same routine until I came to LHC. I have started to use more natural products on my hair. And I got some great advice to wash my hair less. I used to wash every day to every other day. Now I am making it to every 4 days, and I hope to spread it out even more. I oil my hair now and it makes it feel so much better since the longer length doesnt get the oil like the scalp does. It used to feel more dry.

I have never used heat styling that much. Takes too much time on my long hair and I always knew it damaged my hair more. I usually used sponge rollers most often. Now I am focusing more on updo's. I never blow dry my hair.