If you’ve had a short hairstyle for the longest time, maybe it’s time to consider growing your hair long. Ask yourself if you’re ready for a change and know if growing long hair would really work out for you.

Having long hair looks and feels great, especially among women. But long hair is sometimes difficult to maintain and you must be committed to growing strong, healthy locks which requires much time and effort. On the average, hair on most people grows at a maximum of 6 inches a year. So if you’re planning to grow thrice your usual hairstyle, then you have years to wait to experience that length.

After asking yourself how long you want to grow your hair and if you can handle maintaining proper hair care for your long locks, then it’s time to get that long, beautiful hair growing! Follow these tips to get luxurious, healthy hair in no time.

Know your hair

Before anything else, you must understand your hair type in order to keep it healthy for the growing process. Recognize the obvious, meaning know if your hair is thick or thin, straight or curly, dry, oily or fine and normal.

Knowing if you have strong or weak hair is important because not everyone can have gorgeous, flowing hair. To do this, you can perform an elasticity test on a single hair strand to know the strength of your hair.

Get a proper, growth start

Go to your hairdresser, get a trim to get rid of all the damaged hair and split ends. Make your stylist supportive of your goal of having longer tresses.

Cutting may not always be the option because you can go with a protein conditioning program to give your hair a fresh, healthy start. This can also reverse the damages that your hair has incurred from the chemicals of various hair products you may have used.

Keep it trimmed

Make sure that you visit your hairdresser on a regular basis, once every six to eight weeks to have a slight trim. This will keep your hair in great shape and preserve the right amount of hair for growing.

If not, your hair would most likely be prone to split ends therefore reversing the growing out process by having more hair cuts to remove the splits. You will also avoid the bad hair phase by having transitional hairstyles that would get you through the stages of hair growth.

Invest on hair products

To maintain healthy hair through out the growth process, having the best hair care products at hand is a must. These include shampoos, conditioners, gels, mousse, detanglers, hair lotion or hairspray.

Be selective in finding which products best suit your hair type. Consult your hairdresser to help you out on the proper usage and right application of these products.

Brush properly

Excessive brushing leads to split ends or ripped hair. Follow proper techniques in hair brushing. First allow your hair to fall over your face, then carefully brush your hair from the nape of your head and down to the hair strands.

Use your hands to smoothen your hair after each brush stroke. Brush your hair in this position and remember to do this when your hair is 100% dry. Hair is at its weakest position when it is wet. Using a wooden comb is also the best choice for maintaining healthy hair.