Hair (for lack of a better title) I, like many other humans have hair. I happen to have very long, tush-length, straight-as-an-arrow hair. It's not really an actual colour; sort of in-between dark blonde and light brown and in the sunlight looks golden with a sometimes visible slight undertone of auburn. I have had it long for many many years; as soon as my mother got tired of arguing with me and let me grow it. My hair is pretty independant and I am blessed with really shiny, pretty manageble (though a bit thin) hair. I didn't pay much attention to it while I was growing it out, and didn't trim it very often due to some life-scarring experiences with sadists disguised as hair dressers with half a brain. (This is in no way an attack on all hairdressers, I am just stating my personal experience and I am aware that there does exist a few rare specimens of decent hairdressers who actually give you what you ask for and do not make your head look like a post-apocalyptic mess) I have recently decided to make more of a commitment to my hair, especially after being inspired by some great hair websites. Reviews of hair products: Goody's Ouchless hair elastics Infusium's Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner Articles: Homemade hot oil treatment Apple cider vinegar hair rinse Chamomile Fields shampoo recipe Soapwart shampoo recipe Here are links to hair pages I have bookmarked and regularly visit, may they inspire you too. None of these pages are mine, I merely recommend them and appreciate them. General: The Hair Boutique (absolutely excellent, for all hair types and lengths and genders) The International Long Hair Club Hair Growing Tips Fine Solutions Hair Colouring Tips Styling: Elegant Styles Nape Knot Dressy Hair Styles Dressy Updo Three Winter Styles Tied updo Long Hairstyles you can dress up instantly Italian Rennaisance Hair Taping Braiding: Braiding Instructions More Braiding Instructions Overlap Braid Fishtail braid Inverted Fishtail Braids Interesting Hair Pictures: A book review with interesting pictures Beautiful Renaissance style braids If you have any links to helpful hair sites or preferably websites with braiding instuctions and great hair pictures, I would be grateful if you could e-mail them to me. My hair routine: (for those who are interested) Being a long-haired female means you develop certain routines for your hair care. My routine is this: I try to remember to brush my hair before I wash it. This untangles the hair to prevent breakage and tangles while wet, and stimulates the scalp to distribute the oil so it can be better washed out. Then in the shower I use about one or two quarter-sized dollops of shampoo. Despite the amount of hair I have, I don't require a lot of shampoo because the only place that needs shampooing are the roots and scalp since the oil only comes from the scalp. I massage the shampoo on my scalp and work the suds down the ends of my hair as the ends don't require a lot of shampoo. I only put shampoo on the ends of my hair when I have used styling products (which I rarely ever do). After I wash the shampoo out I apply conditioner only to the ends of my hair, (the dryest and oldest part) and not on the roots as they recieve oil from the scalp and are newer and don't require it. I use about twice as much conditioner as shampoo because of the length of my hair. I fully saturate the hair shafts and make sure that they are thouroughly covered in the conditioner. Then I twist my hair into a bun (which tends to stay up since it's wet) and leave it to soak in the conditioner for a while. After I'm all done I let my hair down and make sure the conditioner is rinsed out so that it doesn't weigh the hair down. Then I wrap my hair up in a towel and after the excess water is absorbed by the towel, I carefully comb it out with a wide-toothed flexible pick comb that I found, or my wonderful brush. The pick comb is very flexible soft plastic, so instead of yanking on my hair when it finds a tangle, it bends and I can find out there is a tangle there before ripping any hair. The comb also have waved teeth. The teeth scoop up and down so that when the comb comes across a tangle I just wiggle the comb a bit and it will work through the tangle without breaking the hair. I also use my brush sometimes. I love my brush. I got it at The Body Shop. It's designed for thin hair and is made of a white oak wooden handle with a very soft flexible bristle cushion (the flexibility is the key for finding snags before it's too late). The bristles are metal and have rounded ends that are gentle on my scalp. I know that many long-haired ladies rave about natural boar bristle brushes, but I find that they give my hair lots of static, especially in the winter. My brush is gentle enough to comb through even wet hair without breaking it. After my wet hair is combed out I use my blowdryer. I know a lot of people who cherish their long hair have sworn off hairdyers, but if I don't use one, because of the thin, baby fine texture of my hair, it sits very flat on my head without a dryer. With the length of my hair it is rather heavy, so it will never have much volume and body to it anyways, but the blowdryer really does make a difference. I use a blow dryer attachment that looks sort of like a brush on the end of the dryer. I forget what the actual name for the attachment is, but it is desinged to add volume. I also find that the teeth on the attachment doesn't require me to use a comb or brush when drying it, so I just use my fingers. The attachment also diffuses the hot air from the dryer. I flip my head over and use the dryer on the roots mostly because that's where I need it and since the roots are younger and stronger they can take the heat better. After the roots are dry I let the ends air dry and curl my long bangs with my dryer (with an air-focusing dryer attachment) and my brush. That's about it. I wear my hair in a braided bun several times a week for my dance classes but for other stuff I tend to usually wear it down; I love the way it feels. I don't use styling products unless necessary because they aren't very good for the hair and I also love to have soft, touchable hair. Free counters provided by Honesty.com.