man growing long hair in need of some tips!

[naro]

Hi everyone,

I'm a young man from belgium who decided to let his hair grow, I must say I absolutely love it, long hair fits me much better than short hair. However having only used shampoo and gel all my life I know close to nothing about how to take care of long hair. I didn't even what a conditioner was for until 2 months ago or so.

My hair type is between 2a/2b I think, I have really minimal frizz and slightly curly. They're a bit like Christian Bale but a bit less curly.

Right now what I'm doing to my hair is put a small amount of olive oil after shampoo and before conditioning after I saw a girl praise it on youtube, I like it but I want to try as many things as possible before sticking with something.

I want to know if there are any general tips that apply to my type of hair, I've read that it's good to use a leave-in conditioner.
I've also read about pre-shampoo coconut milk being good and inexpensive I'll try it out soon as well.
I'm a bit lost between all these pre-shampoo, leave-in conditioner, mask treatments and so on.
Same goes for styling products, the only thing there is in my house is some ****ty wax from my brother that doesn't even last one hour but because I haven't much difficulty styling my hair right now with the oil I haven't bothered to try anything. Are styling products even necessary? Do most women use styling products? Is it just to give shine and make them soft?
My hair isn't damaged, obviously isn't colored, isn't dry or greasy, they're healthy. Just want to try as many things as possible to compare everything and see what I like best and when I do, I'll post a pic for feedback!

:)

[jacqueline101]

I'd say micro trim to keep damage away and twice a year if needed trim a half inch. An oil that's good for frizz is argan oil.

[Gingerbear]

If your hair is healthy now, you may want to just practice a bit of "benign neglect" unless you see a problem arise as it gets longer. It seems for a lot of people on here, the longer hair gets, challenges seem to pop up that were not issues when the hair was shorter. You will have to adjust along the way. For example, when your hair gets longer, it gets more important to protect your ends since they can be drier and get the mechanical trauma of rubbing against your body.

For now I would recommend using a gentle sulfate-free shampoo, trying to wash your hair no more than 2-3 days a week. It's good you have found conditioners and leave in conditioners--they will help keep your hair soft and shiny. You will find lots of threads on hair oils and oiling on here. These seem to be pretty individualized and no one oil or method works well for everyone. One of the biggest pieces of advice I have learned on here is to only try one new thing at a time when making changes to your hair care routine--otherwise you won't accurately be able to pinpoint what works and what doesn't. That's the hardest thing for me!

Anyhow, welcome to the community and happy growing!!!

[Mayflower]

I would just focus on protecting your hair and keeping it healthy, then it will reach its ultimate growth rate. So, using gentle shampoos, cone-free conditioners, oils (there are so many to try, I personally love coconutoil), microtrimming to keep your ends healthy and deep condition every week or once every two weeks.
Keeping it up a lot is also recommended, especially while you sleep. Just keep it conditioned, then your hair will show its maximum wave/curlpattern. Comb gentle using a wide tooth comb and don't brush or your curls will poof out!

Just read the articles section on here and you will learn a lot. Just don't try everything at once, it's hard to see what helps and what don't that way. (oh en welkom;))