Growing long, healthy hair
Long hair is sort of a universal ideal in lolita. If you wear sweet you go big poofy pigtails, if you wear classic you go long and straight or braided, if you wear gothic you tease it up. No matter the substyle, the vast majority of snaps have some sort of long hairdo, so much so that people constantly ask for short hair inspo because it’s so hard to find! Maybe you too love long hair and are thinking of growing it out, but you don’t know where to start. Sure your scalp will be doing most of the work, but you have to keep it healthy and you’re the one who’ll be styling it for meetups. If you’re that person, then this post is for you! Of course this isn’t some all-encompassing Long Hair Bible, it’s meant as a short introduction with some basic tips to get you started. I based all of these on things that work for me personally- for reference, my hair is caucasian, on the thin side and tangles easily (and yet comes down to my hips! So even difficult hair can be super long). If your hair is very different, for example Asian or black and frizzy, these tips might not do as much because of the difference in texture. In that case I can only recommend the long hair community which has lots of helpful tips but it and the accompanying forums can be a bit hard to navigate. It's still a great source though!
(by the way, I'll be using the words "super long" a lot in this post, obviously that's not a real unit of measurement. The length I mean with that is roughly my own length aka waist/hip length)
Something I want to say straight away is that having super long hair also requires a LOT of care. I spend about 20-30 minutes on it in the shower every single day. I also can't shower in the morning, because it takes up to eight hours to air dry, and I've been straight up refused dyes at the hairdressers because the damage would be far too much on the sheer length of it. If you love the idea of having long luscious hair but don't want that kind of upkeep, want a candy colour but have naturally dark hair, or simply love morning showers too much, consider investing in a nice wig instead. Growing long hair requires dedication and upkeep, but there's no reason you can't simply take a shortcut instead! If you're still interested, then by all means keep reading.
On growing
When you start looking online for tips on growing out your hair, sooner or later (most likely sooner) you will stumble upon hair growth supplements which claim to give your system a boost of vitamins and make your hair stronger/grow faster as a result. AVOID THEM. Your hair indeed needs vitamins to work, but there is absolutely zero evidence overloading your system with extra does anything for it. Plus, you can in fact get a vitamin overdose! Vitamin A, which is in many of them, is especially well known for this. Early polar explorers often died from acute vitamin A overdose due to their love of polar bear liver, which is where the bear stores its excess vitamins. Admittedly you're very unlikely to straight up die just from taking some vitamin pills, but you could still end up getting some nasty symptoms like nausea and diarrhea (vitamin C), dehydration, fatigue and muscle weakness (vitamin D) or blurred vision, headaches and hair loss(!!) (vitamin A). In short, best case you spend a lot of money on some products with no proven effects, worst case they can actually make you sick. If you still want to try fortifying your diet for your hair, try simply eating more food with naturally occurring vitamins. Your body will let you know when you're having too much- there's only so many oranges you can eat before you get sick of them!
A common myth is that haircuts make your hair grow faster. Unfortunately this isn't true, just think about it: if your hair were to increase its growth speed after a cut it would need to know it just lost some length, and the only way for that to happen were if your hair contained some kind of nerve which would make haircuts a VERY painful ordeal. The reason why your hair looks like it grows faster after a cut is simply because you notice it quicker when your hair is freshly cut and you're keeping an eye on your nice new 'do. However that doesn't mean going for regular haircuts isn't a good idea! Yes it will make your hair shorter, but long fried straw is hardly a good look. If it's long and dead, it will just look bad, and you're not growing out your hair to look terrible. Keep it looking fresh, keep those split ends from tearing further, you'll look so much better even with half an inch less.
The most important tip on growing your hair out is to mess with it as little as possible. That means no blowdrying, no bleaching or dyes, no brushing when wet etcetera. All of that will take a toll on your hair and cause it to die sooner and you'll end up having to cut off more than you would otherwise. Of course you can indulge once in a while and do a big teased updo or some tight heat-curled ringlets, but if you want to get long and nice hair you might want to switch from blowdrying to airdrying overnight and switch out those hard plastic brushes for some softer ones or a wide-toothed comb. The little things add up after all! If your hair turns frizzy when airdrying, try gently (gently!!) combing it through after showering and putting your hair into a loose bun or a ponytail with several elastics down the hair (like princess Jasmine).
Something you will most likely encounter in your hair journey is your hair plateau, aka the point where your hair length stagnates and apparently refuses to go past. This plateau can be at any length, mine is around my waist but a friend of mine has hers around shoulder length. Fret not! Your hair is in fact still growing, albeit slowly, and once it gets past the plateau it will likely start growing normally again. It's a bit like losing weight. Why this happens I have no clue, but it does. Just let your locks be for a while until you get past your plateau.
On upkeep
Congratulations, you've grown your hair to Disney princess-lengths and you're ready to flaunt your mane. Or you would be, but your hair seems harder to style now, it's dry and brittle and no pin can hold it for longer than an hour. Don't worry because all of these are easy fixes!
First of all, if you like buns you might find that your bobby pins no longer seem to be able to hold the whole mass on your head nicely anymore. That's because long hair is very heavy and it will pull at them which makes your updo saggy and sad and can be painful. The best way to combat this is by switching what style of pins you use, from the usual bobby pins to the more old-fashioned opened pins. They might seem like they'd never be able to keep your hair in place but they work heaps better, which is why they're usually used for big wedding hair. Just be sure to only buy pins with little balls on the legs as pins with straight cut off ends can tug on and break your hair when inserting. If you do need to use bobby pins for something give them a spray with dry shampoo, this gives the pin more grip on the surface of your hair and will keep it from sliding as much.
A similar problem lies with heat curlers which you may find won't curl your hair as efficiently anymore. This is partly because of the sheer length that now has to go around the barrel, which means the outer layer get way less heat and thus curl less well, and partly because of the weight of the strand that pulls the curl down and flattens it when you release it. The first is easily fixed by curling each strand in two parts (top and bottom) and the second by pinning your curls up temporarily or simply holding it in your hand to let it cool. The weight of your hair will still pull at it during the day, so you better use a generous amount of hairspray if you want them to last. For a less damaging/chemically way, go for overnight curlers á la every old cartoon lady ever. You'll look silly for the night but you'll have much less work in the morning. If your hair doesn't like holding curls (like mine) you can combine the two and give each pre-curled strand a quick wrap around the iron to fixate them.
The length of your hair will get dry really easily even if you have oilier hair, because the natural oils simply won't be able to make it to the ends of your hair before it gets grimy on top and you wash it off. This can be combated with several tricks and I recommend using all of them for the best result.
- Ditch the conditioner in favor of hair masks. Regular conditioner may not be able to give the length of your hair the nourishment it needs. Hair masks are usually too rich to be used daily, but extremely long hair gets so little nutrients from the root that it will need all the help it can get. I personally like Loving Blends hair masks, they're very rich but they don't weigh your hair down.
- Go CSC. CSC means conditioner-shampoo-conditioner and it boils down to coating the length of your hair in conditioner (or mask), leave it in while shampooing up the scalp, rinse, then use conditioner again. This will make your hair stronger, healthier and softer and the reason this works is because shampoo creeps! It travels down the shaft of the hair and dries it out, even if you only shampoo the very top. Conditioner stops shampoo from doing this and it also applies some extra nutrients in the process.
- Oil up! Again, your hair length gets very little nutrients naturally so it will soak up anything you give it. Aside from conditioner/masks, you can give it a bit of oil. Not all oil will work as not all of them can penetrate the hairs, but coconut oil (cheaper) and argan oil (more expensive, super bougie) do so very well.There are several ways of applying it and you'll have to play around a bit to see what works for you and your hair. Options include applying a coin sized amount and combing it through before heading out, using it as the first C in the aforementioned CSC-method (which is what I do!) or using it to neaten up braids and buns while also giving it a health boost. You can of course buy special hair serums and oils but personally I've found a tub of coconut oil does the job perfectly fine and is way cheaper.
- Don't overwash. Coconut oil and masks and packs and whatnot of course do their job, but the single best thing you can give your hair is its own oil. I'm not suggesting you quit washing altogether, but washing it every other day instead of every day might end up giving your locks the boost they needed. There's no need to pull your hair back into a greasy onion bun either, you can wash your fringe in the sink or spray some dry shampoo in and you'll look just fine. You might even find your hair gets less greasy when you wash it less, because your scalp notices the oil isn't being rinsed away daily anymore so it tones down the production a little.
A trap that is easy to fall into when growing super long hair is seeing just how long it can get. Can you reach your waist? Your butt? Your thighs? Probably, but maybe you shouldn't want to. First there's the thing that you do need to cut it, you might not like the idea of losing a good inch off of your hair but split ends and dried out strands look unkept and can damage your hair further. Waist length and gorgeous is better than butt length and crispy! There's also the thing that if you have thin-ish hair (like me), super long hair might also look super thin even if it isn't. You could get extensions to add to the volume, or you do like me and simply decide what length you still think looks good and stick to it. I like my hair around hip length and I try not to let it get longer than that. Or maybe your hair is so crazy thick it still looks voluminous when sweeping floor length, in which case please send me a picture so I can marvel at it!
Lastly, the single most important part of having long hair is to have fun with it! Yes, super complicated styles and tight buns and braids are bad for your hair, but you can still do them. Just give it a nice treatment in the evening and it will forgive you. As inspiration, here are some awesome hairstyles you can do with long hair!
(Girl in Moitié can be found here, all others are either from brand ads or had a source I couldn't find. If you know, please leave a comment so I can add them here!)
(by the way, I'll be using the words "super long" a lot in this post, obviously that's not a real unit of measurement. The length I mean with that is roughly my own length aka waist/hip length)
Something I want to say straight away is that having super long hair also requires a LOT of care. I spend about 20-30 minutes on it in the shower every single day. I also can't shower in the morning, because it takes up to eight hours to air dry, and I've been straight up refused dyes at the hairdressers because the damage would be far too much on the sheer length of it. If you love the idea of having long luscious hair but don't want that kind of upkeep, want a candy colour but have naturally dark hair, or simply love morning showers too much, consider investing in a nice wig instead. Growing long hair requires dedication and upkeep, but there's no reason you can't simply take a shortcut instead! If you're still interested, then by all means keep reading.
On growing
When you start looking online for tips on growing out your hair, sooner or later (most likely sooner) you will stumble upon hair growth supplements which claim to give your system a boost of vitamins and make your hair stronger/grow faster as a result. AVOID THEM. Your hair indeed needs vitamins to work, but there is absolutely zero evidence overloading your system with extra does anything for it. Plus, you can in fact get a vitamin overdose! Vitamin A, which is in many of them, is especially well known for this. Early polar explorers often died from acute vitamin A overdose due to their love of polar bear liver, which is where the bear stores its excess vitamins. Admittedly you're very unlikely to straight up die just from taking some vitamin pills, but you could still end up getting some nasty symptoms like nausea and diarrhea (vitamin C), dehydration, fatigue and muscle weakness (vitamin D) or blurred vision, headaches and hair loss(!!) (vitamin A). In short, best case you spend a lot of money on some products with no proven effects, worst case they can actually make you sick. If you still want to try fortifying your diet for your hair, try simply eating more food with naturally occurring vitamins. Your body will let you know when you're having too much- there's only so many oranges you can eat before you get sick of them!
A common myth is that haircuts make your hair grow faster. Unfortunately this isn't true, just think about it: if your hair were to increase its growth speed after a cut it would need to know it just lost some length, and the only way for that to happen were if your hair contained some kind of nerve which would make haircuts a VERY painful ordeal. The reason why your hair looks like it grows faster after a cut is simply because you notice it quicker when your hair is freshly cut and you're keeping an eye on your nice new 'do. However that doesn't mean going for regular haircuts isn't a good idea! Yes it will make your hair shorter, but long fried straw is hardly a good look. If it's long and dead, it will just look bad, and you're not growing out your hair to look terrible. Keep it looking fresh, keep those split ends from tearing further, you'll look so much better even with half an inch less.
The most important tip on growing your hair out is to mess with it as little as possible. That means no blowdrying, no bleaching or dyes, no brushing when wet etcetera. All of that will take a toll on your hair and cause it to die sooner and you'll end up having to cut off more than you would otherwise. Of course you can indulge once in a while and do a big teased updo or some tight heat-curled ringlets, but if you want to get long and nice hair you might want to switch from blowdrying to airdrying overnight and switch out those hard plastic brushes for some softer ones or a wide-toothed comb. The little things add up after all! If your hair turns frizzy when airdrying, try gently (gently!!) combing it through after showering and putting your hair into a loose bun or a ponytail with several elastics down the hair (like princess Jasmine).
Something you will most likely encounter in your hair journey is your hair plateau, aka the point where your hair length stagnates and apparently refuses to go past. This plateau can be at any length, mine is around my waist but a friend of mine has hers around shoulder length. Fret not! Your hair is in fact still growing, albeit slowly, and once it gets past the plateau it will likely start growing normally again. It's a bit like losing weight. Why this happens I have no clue, but it does. Just let your locks be for a while until you get past your plateau.
On upkeep
Congratulations, you've grown your hair to Disney princess-lengths and you're ready to flaunt your mane. Or you would be, but your hair seems harder to style now, it's dry and brittle and no pin can hold it for longer than an hour. Don't worry because all of these are easy fixes!
First of all, if you like buns you might find that your bobby pins no longer seem to be able to hold the whole mass on your head nicely anymore. That's because long hair is very heavy and it will pull at them which makes your updo saggy and sad and can be painful. The best way to combat this is by switching what style of pins you use, from the usual bobby pins to the more old-fashioned opened pins. They might seem like they'd never be able to keep your hair in place but they work heaps better, which is why they're usually used for big wedding hair. Just be sure to only buy pins with little balls on the legs as pins with straight cut off ends can tug on and break your hair when inserting. If you do need to use bobby pins for something give them a spray with dry shampoo, this gives the pin more grip on the surface of your hair and will keep it from sliding as much.
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| Your new best friends! |
A similar problem lies with heat curlers which you may find won't curl your hair as efficiently anymore. This is partly because of the sheer length that now has to go around the barrel, which means the outer layer get way less heat and thus curl less well, and partly because of the weight of the strand that pulls the curl down and flattens it when you release it. The first is easily fixed by curling each strand in two parts (top and bottom) and the second by pinning your curls up temporarily or simply holding it in your hand to let it cool. The weight of your hair will still pull at it during the day, so you better use a generous amount of hairspray if you want them to last. For a less damaging/chemically way, go for overnight curlers á la every old cartoon lady ever. You'll look silly for the night but you'll have much less work in the morning. If your hair doesn't like holding curls (like mine) you can combine the two and give each pre-curled strand a quick wrap around the iron to fixate them.
The length of your hair will get dry really easily even if you have oilier hair, because the natural oils simply won't be able to make it to the ends of your hair before it gets grimy on top and you wash it off. This can be combated with several tricks and I recommend using all of them for the best result.
- Ditch the conditioner in favor of hair masks. Regular conditioner may not be able to give the length of your hair the nourishment it needs. Hair masks are usually too rich to be used daily, but extremely long hair gets so little nutrients from the root that it will need all the help it can get. I personally like Loving Blends hair masks, they're very rich but they don't weigh your hair down.
- Go CSC. CSC means conditioner-shampoo-conditioner and it boils down to coating the length of your hair in conditioner (or mask), leave it in while shampooing up the scalp, rinse, then use conditioner again. This will make your hair stronger, healthier and softer and the reason this works is because shampoo creeps! It travels down the shaft of the hair and dries it out, even if you only shampoo the very top. Conditioner stops shampoo from doing this and it also applies some extra nutrients in the process.
- Oil up! Again, your hair length gets very little nutrients naturally so it will soak up anything you give it. Aside from conditioner/masks, you can give it a bit of oil. Not all oil will work as not all of them can penetrate the hairs, but coconut oil (cheaper) and argan oil (more expensive, super bougie) do so very well.There are several ways of applying it and you'll have to play around a bit to see what works for you and your hair. Options include applying a coin sized amount and combing it through before heading out, using it as the first C in the aforementioned CSC-method (which is what I do!) or using it to neaten up braids and buns while also giving it a health boost. You can of course buy special hair serums and oils but personally I've found a tub of coconut oil does the job perfectly fine and is way cheaper.
- Don't overwash. Coconut oil and masks and packs and whatnot of course do their job, but the single best thing you can give your hair is its own oil. I'm not suggesting you quit washing altogether, but washing it every other day instead of every day might end up giving your locks the boost they needed. There's no need to pull your hair back into a greasy onion bun either, you can wash your fringe in the sink or spray some dry shampoo in and you'll look just fine. You might even find your hair gets less greasy when you wash it less, because your scalp notices the oil isn't being rinsed away daily anymore so it tones down the production a little.
A trap that is easy to fall into when growing super long hair is seeing just how long it can get. Can you reach your waist? Your butt? Your thighs? Probably, but maybe you shouldn't want to. First there's the thing that you do need to cut it, you might not like the idea of losing a good inch off of your hair but split ends and dried out strands look unkept and can damage your hair further. Waist length and gorgeous is better than butt length and crispy! There's also the thing that if you have thin-ish hair (like me), super long hair might also look super thin even if it isn't. You could get extensions to add to the volume, or you do like me and simply decide what length you still think looks good and stick to it. I like my hair around hip length and I try not to let it get longer than that. Or maybe your hair is so crazy thick it still looks voluminous when sweeping floor length, in which case please send me a picture so I can marvel at it!
Lastly, the single most important part of having long hair is to have fun with it! Yes, super complicated styles and tight buns and braids are bad for your hair, but you can still do them. Just give it a nice treatment in the evening and it will forgive you. As inspiration, here are some awesome hairstyles you can do with long hair!
(Girl in Moitié can be found here, all others are either from brand ads or had a source I couldn't find. If you know, please leave a comment so I can add them here!)
"No dyes" if only... I've been greying since 24 and by now I'd be mainly silver if I didn't dye it. Although it's always black so at least no bleaching needed.
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