Healthy Hair Tips | How I Keep My Long Hair Healthy • The Dapper Dahlia

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These healthy hair tips will help keep your locks in tip-top shape between cuts. I think I’m not alone when I admit I haven’t had a professional haircut since the start of the pandemic, so now it’s especially important to take good care of my hair. I’ve had long hair for most of my life, so if you’re new to the club, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned about how to take care of long hair. Read on for my tips for maintaining shiny, healthy hair, the products I use regularly and the ones I avoid.

Please keep in mind my hair is naturally straight and these tips and products may not work for every hair type. And if you’re looking for long hairstyle inspiration, follow me on Instagram (@thedapperdahlia) where I share video tutorials for vintage hairstyles.

My healthy hair tips and favorite products for long hair

I don’t wash my hair every day

I don’t wash my hair every day. On average, I wash it every three or four days. Mostly, this is because I spend a lot of time styling it with foam rollers or pin curl clips. Once that style is set, I want to get as much out of it as I can. I also want to avoid overusing styling tools and product that may cause breakage on my hair. (Visit my post on how to use foam rollers for a video tutorial on the retro styling method.)

To keep my dirty hair looking fresh, I use dry shampoo. I’ve used a handful of different dry shampoos but my favorite is Eva NYC Freshen Up Dry Shampoo. I learned a good tip for using dry shampoo from my hairstylist. She told me to spray dry shampoo on roots and brush through the day after washing hair to prevent oil buildup. In the following days, apply more as needed.

If my hair is still too dirty to be seen in public, there are a few solutions that don’t require washing. Look, it takes a lot of time and arm strength to wash and dry long hair, ok? I often pull it up and hide it under a tall vintage 1960s hat, or I may draw attention away from my oily locks with a vintage hair scarf style that looks pretty and pulled-together.

I use a gentle shampoo and conditioner

When I do wash my hair, I try to use products that don’t contain harsh chemicals that will dry out my hair. I’ve become a big fan of Not Your Mother’s Naturals shampoo and conditioner. The Matcha Green Tea & Wild Apple Blossom Nutrient Rich Shampoo and matching conditioner smell so good and do a great job at cleaning and conditioning my hair. I’ve also used the Blue Sea Kale & Pure Coconut Water Sea Minerals Shampoo and matching conditioner and really like them.

I let my hair air dry

Usually, I let my hair air dry instead of using a hair dryer. If I am going to use a hair dryer, I prep my hair first with a spray that offers heat protection, like Drybar Prep Rally Prime & Prep Detangler or R+Co One Prep Spray.

Some days I let my hair do its own thing and air dry, but often I put in foam rollers or pin curl clips after washing and wait until my hair is dry before taking out the rollers or clips. This gives me bouncy retro curls without having to blow dry my hair and use a curling wand or hot rollers.

I don’t use heat tools often

As I mentioned, I prefer to use foam rollers or pin curl clips to curl my hair instead of a curling wand since hair be can damaged from heat. To get the 1940s-inspired hairstyles I love, I put in foam rollers on damp hair and sleep in them; when I take them out in the morning and brush through my hair I have bouncy curls.

Pin curl clips take a little more time to put in; I use them in the morning and then wrap a scarf around my head and wear during the day. I remove the clips at night before bed, pull my hair toward the top of my head and loosely pin into place, then secure with a scarf. In the morning, I remove the scarf and pins and brush the curls. This gets the same effect as foam rollers but is a bit more comfortable to sleep in.

I brush my hair every night with a good hairbrush

Every night before bed I brush my hair to smooth any tangles and distribute my hair’s natural oils (I read somewhere that this is something French women do religiously so it can only help). A good hair brush is important for maintaining healthy hair and I recently learned it’s best to replace your brush every six months. Well, I had definitely used my last hair brush for much longer than that. It was the gold Olivia Garden Ceramic + Ion Combo Brush with both boar and nylon bristles. It could gently brush through tangles and smooth my hair. I absolutely loved it, so when it came time to buy a hair brush, I went with the same one, only in pink. Now I use the Olivia Garden Pink Collection Supreme Combo Brush every day and highly recommend it for anyone with straight or wavy long hair.

Additionally, after I brush through my hair I sometimes braid it and secure the end with a gentle hair elastic like these Kitsch Hair Ties. This helps prevent waking up with a head full of tangles.