Advice on taking care of long-ish hair?

I have long hair. When it comes to washing it, I focus mainly on my scalp and the top to make sure I get the oil out. I wash the rest of it too, but focus on those two areas the most. The key to washing long hair is to get a good lather going. As for the amount of showers someone has to take to control the oil, that’s going to be entirely dependent on each individual. Some people have naturally dry or oily hair, regardless of length. I myself have oily hair, so I like to wash it at least once a day. When it comes to conditioning, I only use a little more than a dime-sized amount and I apply it mostly to the ends – because my hair is naturally oily and the ends tend to be the most damaged.

It does seems as if more hair falls out the longer it gets, but you hit it on the head. It only seems that way because it’s harder for short hair to get stuck in fingers, brushes, etc. However, if you truly think you’re losing quite a bit more hair than is usual for you, see a doctor. It can be a symptom for a few different things. Most likely though, you’re just not used to longer hair yet.

I always brush my hair – combing it is out of the question. I have thick hair, as in a lot of it, but the strands are extremely thin. If I try to use a comb it results in horrifying knots. As for putting it up or leaving it down, it depends on my mood. Putting it up can be a little more difficult because it’s heavier and there’s more of it, but if you use the right kind of band, no damage to hair should result.

I have very long (below waist), very thick, curly hair. By the way, I’m a 55+ year old man. You can see a photo in the blog interview, if you want an idea of my hair type.
Washing: concentrate on cleaning the scalp and work lather out. Definitely need to repeat shampoo.
Condition: while conditioner in, I run my fingers through my hair to locate any knots and remove. It only looks like you are losing more hair because of the length.
Comb/brush: never, for me. Combing my thick hair results in knots and brushing removes the curl, makes it wavy and frizzy. I run my fingers through it to shape it some. I used to pick it out into an afro and got it out to my shoulders so you have an idea how thick it is.
Around the house, I usually keep it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way plus its much cooler. Sherry will put about six bands along the length of the tail, or braid it with one band at the end. When I go out, it’s usually down and flowing, unless its windy, in which case it will end up in my face and in the faces of everyone within arms length! I nearly always have it tied up when I sleep to keep it from getting tangles/knots.
I’ve worn my hair long for most of my life, but because of my disability, it’s really becoming difficult to maintain so I’ll probably be cutting much of it off before long. Altho I’d hate to lose my peace flag, I know my parents would love it!
See ya….Gary/wtf

And make sure it is not tangled before you get in the shower. Takes longer to comb out afterwards. I use a pick when mine is wet because it seems less invasive, won’t tear my hair out as easy.

When my hair is longer, I shampoo it twice per shower, and do what @DrasticDreamer mentioned and concentrate on the scalp. The ends of your hair don’t need to be squeaky clean like near the scalp. Trimming 2–3 times a year can help with dry ends and tangling.

I think it’s an illusion that your hair falls out more. I think there’s just more length in the tub drain rather than more hairs.

I love my hair when it’s long but it’s so much trouble that I always end up cutting it short-ish.

Trim it once a month, or else all your hair would be sharp.

I don’t wash my hair each shower, I don’t believe that’s good for hair.

When I was it, I just put the shampoo/conditioner all over my hair and wash it out.

I usually use a pick to comb it, but if I can’t find it I use a brush.

And like @ubersiren said, it’s just an illusion that you are losing more hair. It’s just more noticable now.

I wash my hair three to four times a week.
I massage the shampoo through my hair, in the same time untangling it.
Occasionally put some conditioner in the ends, not on the scalp.
I never comb or bruh it (only use my fingers for a comb).
Once a year i go for a trimming and to get rid of split ends.

My hair is pretty long. It’s been long and short off and on for probably 6 years, and I haven’t brushed it for probably 5 years. It just looks ten times better without being brushed.

The most important part to wash is the scalp, which makes sense because that’s where all the oils and grease and stuff builds up. Of course you still need to wash the rest, but focus on the scalp.

But I agree with you, now that my hair is longer I notice it falling out a lot more. But I think that’s simply because it’s longer and more noticeable. No worries :)

“Firstly, how do you people with longish hair manage to wash it all?”

I didn’t, I just shampooed the scalp, and whatever bubbles came in contact with the rest of my hair while I was rinsing the shampoo off my scalp were good enough. Similarly, I only conditioned the hair about 4 inches from my scalp and down. If you condition the scalp, you have to wash your hair a lot more often, which is a pain in the ass.

“Before, when my hair was super short, I just sort of lathered up a tonne and smeared it around…how do you handle longer hair?”

I do a small dollop of shampoo on the front of my hair, then I flip my head over and do two more dollops, one right on the back of my crown, then one on the nape of my neck. Then I rub all those around. (I still have to do it this way, even though my hair is relatively short, because it’s so thick).

“Do you have to take more showers or fewer or about the same amount to control grease/dirt in your hair?”

I only washed my hair about half of the times that I shower, basically I washed it as seldom as I could get away with. I found that with long hair, I didn’t even need a shower cap, I just put it in a bun, and I was good to go.

“Secondly, when your hair is growing after having been shorter, do you notice more hair falling out? (Or is this an illusion, helped by the fact that my hair is much longer than it used to be?) I have about half as much hair as I used to.”

I think it’s just because each hair that falls out is so much longer, but it’s hard to tell. The added weight can definitely stress hair follicles, I know mine grew a lot slower.

Thirdly, do you brush or comb it, and why? Do you put it up or leave it down?

I always combed it after I got out of the shower, to prevent tangles from drying that way. Other than that, never. I usually did something to get it out of my face, at least a half-ponytail, but usually a full one, very low, or a bun.

It also depends on how oily your hair is. I see many people replying that they don’t wash every shower, but if I did that, I’d look like a giant grease ball.

I was my hair every other day. I massage a little less than a palmful of shampoo into my scalp. Then I twist the rest of my hair up and spread the lather down from there. All of my hair is sudsy by the end, but I take special care on the scalp. Once I wash it out, I put a palmful of conditioner in. I spread it evenly over my hair—top to bottom, with special care to get the tips nicely conditioned. I comb through my hair with my fingers to make sure it is all getting conditioned. I leave the conditioner in for a few minutes (usually while I finish my other shower activities). Then I wash it out.

After that, I brush my hair with a paddle brush (this style). Rather a lot of my hair comes out—it is more noticeable than when I had short hair because it is so long. I generally have to clean my brushes once a week each (I have two that I use randomly according to whatever is nearest when I want to brush). I will also say that rather a lot of my hair comes out in the shower, even if I brush it before getting in. It’s nothing to be concerned about—humans lose a lot of hair, I think, it’s just much more obvious when your hair is a few feet long.

I used to braid my hair every day in a french braid. This, it turns out, it horrible for your hair and encourages split ends. Now, I pull it back in a barrette at the top of my head. I very, very rarely do a ponytail or anything like that as my hair is quite heavy at this point and that always ends the day with a headache. My entire head sometimes goes into sharp relief after a bad day when I unclip my hair.

As ridiculous as this might sound, I would suggest paying attention to what your conditioner says it is for. I use Pantene Pro-V smooth or curly hair to control mine and it really does work better than the times I’ve gotten something else. (Not something else brand wise, but “hair type” wise.) Also on the days you don’t wash your hair, definitely brush it deeply with a good hairbrush. That’s key. Combing is not good enough for moving the oils around in my opinion.

I’ve had pretty long hair for a while now. My hair is very thick and I shed a lot. I mean, every time I shower, I have handfuls coming out. My hairdresser said this can be worsened by stress and diet also.

As far as washing your hair, don’t wash it any more often than you have to. My hair isn’t super oily, so I wash it every other day and sometimes I go two days. I use more conditioner than I do shampoo just to make sure it’s nice and moisturized. I shampoo first, then put in my conditioner, then put my hair up in a hair band on top of my head while I do the rest of my showering activities. This gives the conditioner time to really soak in. Lastly, I rinse with cooler water.

I’m really bad about throwing my hair up in a ponytail. It’s mostly a laziness thing and a lack of creativity. Sometimes I’ll just pin back my bangs with bobby pins or put a headband on, but more often than not, it’s the ponytail.

I cut my hair short about 15 years ago after having it long all my life. It looked more professional for a woman over 40. Now that I am leaving the workplace, I am happily letting it grow out again.

Combing out after a shampoo: start from the ends. Assuming you have hair that you can comb with a comb, use a coarse one first and start about an inch from the ends and just comb that much. Then bring the comb higher and comb the last few inches, and then higher, and so on. (It doesn’t take much longer to do it than it does to describe it.) This way you’re not creating snarls and tightening them as you comb down—you’re keeping it loose from the bottom up.

If you do get a tangle, work it loose with your fingers first instead of just ripping through it.

Once you’re all combed through, then you can use a finer comb and get to all of it from the scalp down.

I would never use a brush on wet hair. It just tears and breaks it all over the place,

Using a conditioner after you shampoo will make comb-out easier.

The traditional hundred brushstrokes a day for long hair (but dry, not wet) is still good advice for keeping it shiny and healthy.

I thought about including a note about combing, but Jeruba has it. When I said I combed my wet hair, I meant in exactly the manner she describes. The key is to use a wide-tooth comb, especially if you have thick hair.

“Firstly, how do you people with longish hair manage to wash it all?”

As others have said, I concentrate on the scalp and make sure to get it clean and well-massaged. Also, I work the suds down through the hair and pile the sudsy hair on top of my head and gently work the suds through. Generally the oil stays mostly near the top anyway, although I have been known to get maple syrup or other sticky things in the tips of my hair at times.

“Do you have to take more showers or fewer or about the same amount to control grease/dirt in your hair?”

As long as I brush my hair well (mine is board-straight with not even a hint of curl) to distribute the oil all along the hair shafts I can wash my long hair once or twice a week. When I had short hair there was nowhere for the oil to go so I had to wash it every day. However, if I go for a marathon, super-sweaty work-out in the gym, I also need to wash my hair afterward.

“When your hair is growing after having been shorter, do you notice more hair falling out? (Or is this an illusion, helped by the fact that my hair is much longer than it used to be?)”

Long hair is heavier than short hair, so it will not “poof” up as much as short hair. It will pull itself relatively straight, which is why curls sometimes disappear as long as your hair is long (except for my daughter’s hair – it is terminally curly all the way down). Thus, there is an element of illusion involved.

However, your hair could be actually thinner because how you brush or comb it may be causing more breakage or more tugging on individual hairs. There are also some conditions that can lead to thinning hair, such as hypothyroidism. Try using one of the volumizing conditioners to see if your hair looks more like its old self.

“Do you brush or comb it, and why?”

I brush my hair daily and also before I wash it. After I have washed it I may comb it gently with a wide-toothed comb, but you need to be careful because wet hair sometimes stretches and then snaps and breaks more easily than dry hair.

“Do you put it up or leave it down?”

Depends on my mood, and how windy or hot it is. I hate it when hair blows into my eyes and I also hate having to take all those knots out. Where I live it gets very hot so I also like it up when I am outside for coolness’ sake. However, certain headbands and visors make it possible for my hair to stay down but held off my neck by the band. When I do put it up I generally twist it a few times and use one of those spring-loaded hair clamps, so I don’t pull on the hair much.

Dang! My comment was removed. 

My hair is just past my shoulders and I am letting it grow.

I wash my hair at least once a day… if I don’t, it looks grungy a few hours into day two. Plus I hate the smell of unwashed hair.
• I apply the shampoo to the roots and massage it in, and the lather works its way down to the roots. I color my hair, so I use products to protect my color and choose formulas designed moisturize, smooth, or strengthen hair. I leave the shampoo in for a couple minutes while I wash my face, then I rinse and squeeze out the excess water.
• I apply conditioner to the ends of the hair and then work it up, but avoid the roots, and comb it through with a wide-toothed comb. I leave the conditioner in for a few minutes while I wash my body, then lower the temperature of the water and rinse off quickly (the cool rinse constricts the hair shat like it does the pores on your skin, so your hair is smoother and shinier).
• I wrap a towel around my head for a few minutes while I brush my teeth, put in contact lenses and apply moisturizer to my face, etc. Then I apply leave-in conditioner with color protection to the ends, and a little mousse to the roots at the top of my head to help give it body and manageability. Then I use a wide-toothed comb to put in a part, I comb it into place and I allow it to air dry. The only time styling gadgets get near me is when my hairstylist dries it after a cut, which I get it trimmed every 8 weeks to remove split ends.

I shed a lot whether my hair is short or long, but you definitely notice it more when your hair is longer. When I showed an old college photo with the big 80s hair to an ex-bf, he said, “You must have clogged drains just walking past!”

My hair has long layers, so I mostly leave it down, and will use a brush or a comb a few times during the day. I put it up in a headband or ponytail for going to the gym or other activities.