Healthy hair

We've all done it. We've started growing out our hair with high hopes of having those luscious locks that match the ones we see on magazine covers and in movies. And then it gets a few inches past our shoulders, and it starts to bug us. The ends are splitting, it looks dead and lifeless, and we put it up in a ponytail half the time because we can't think of anything else to do with it. So after all that time spent growing it out so that it will be long, we have the sudden urge to chop it off so our hair just feels healthy again. Of course once we do, we instantly miss our long hair, thus restarting the viscous cycle.

I have been growing my hair out for about a year now, and it's starting to get to the length that I want it. Over the past few months I've noticed that while I have oily hair, my ends were getting really dried out causing breakage and split ends. And I don't even do a whole lot of heat styling. I have done 2 things to remedy this, and by golly, it seems to be working!

1. Not washing my hair every day. I have read so many articles (here's one) recently on how damaging it is to your hair to continually wash it and strip it from the natural oils your scalp produces to protect and hydrate it. If you have super oily hair, I understand this may not be an option for you. But just do an experiment to see. If you currently wash your hair every day, your scalp is used to producing a lot of oil to keep up with the shampoo that's constantly drying it out. Try going a few days without washing it and the next time you wash it, see how long it takes to get oily. Do this a few times if you really want to be sure your scalp has gotten used to the change. If it's sticking to your face by the end of that day you washed it, you may just need to wash it every day and use a very hydrating conditioner. But, chances are your scalp will not be as oily once it gets used to being washed every other day (or even less) and your hair will be healthier.

2. Using Moroccanoil. I got this tip from Colleen at Ordinary Tales and I'm so thankful she shared it! Every time I wash my hair, when it's damp I smooth about a nickel-sized glob of this Moroccanoil throughout, mainly on the ends. It feels greasy at first, but it is all natural oils so your hair will absorb it and I promise you won't even notice in your hair. This is totally different than a smoothing gel, which merely coats your hair. Your dried-out ends will literally drink this stuff up and thank you for it by shining beautifully! My hair has felt so much healthier since using it and while it's a tad pricey, I could never go back!