Our Squidoo 'Lenses' on Hair Care

As a member of Etsy's Team SquidEtsy, we love making new pages, known as lenses, on Squidoo. We now have a selection of hair care lenses, so check them out for more information on growing and caring for long hair!

How to Lighten your Hair - tips on how to use both natural methods and the least damaging chemical methods of lighten blonde/brown hair

How to Grow and Care for Long Hair - grow healthy long hair!

What are the Risks of Using Hair Dyes? - hair dyes have been linked to cancer, allergies, asthma and more, but what are the real risks for those dyeing their hair at home or having it colored in a salon? (blog post to come soon)

Cassia for Hair - how to strengthen and condition your hair naturally, with cassia

Honey Beauty - natural hair and skin recipes using honey

and of course, we have our Art for Hair lens about hair sticks and forks! We also have other lenses about music, holistic animal medicine, politics and more - check out our lensography for more information!

Long Hair Care: Brushing

When you have long hair, or are trying to achieve it, gentle hair handling is very important to minimize damage and strand breakage. Do the ends of your hair have split ends, or small white dots a little way up the strand? These are signs of hair damage, and lead to breakage. With too much breakage, hair will appear not to be growing.

Although popular wisdom states that you should use a brush to brush your hair, specifically 100 strokes a day, this is actually not the best idea for long hair. Most brushes damage hair as they have sharp or rough edges, and excessive brushing will literally wear away at hair strands, leaving them weakened and more prone to breakage. The '100 strokes a day' advice originated in times when women could not wash their hair as often as we do now, so the brushing was necessary to distribute scalp oils all the way down the length of the hair.

The ideal tool for long hair is a smooth, wide-tooth comb. This detangles well, and the smooth edges ensure that the hair is not damaged. 'Hair-safe' combs are available from most drug stores and beauty supply stores, and are not expensive. These combs do not have a 'seam' in the middle from being made in a mold. If you have a comb with a 'seam', you can easily sand it off.

Start gently combing from the ends upwards to reduce tension on the hair. Never comb hair when it is wet, as hair is much more elastic and vulnerable to damage when it is wet. To help prevent hair tangling at night and cut down on the combing necessary in the morning, try braiding your hair or putting it in a low bun. Satin pillow cases and sleep caps also help, as they are much more 'slippery' than regular cotton, so preventing hair from rubbing and tangling.

Using a hair-friendly wide-tooth comb and not combing excessively will help you achieve healthy, long hair.

Women and Long Hair: Does Age Matter?

Recently, my husband and I have been watching makeover shows, such as 'What Not To Wear'. It's been interesting to see that almost always, the women with long hair are given a much shorter cut, which is deemed 'more appropriate', despite their protestations that they want to keep their long hair. Although they generally love the results, the idea that short hair is somehow necessary once a woman is no longer a young girl is interesting. Why shouldn't 'older' women have long hair too?

Historically, long hair has been seen as a thing of beauty and femininity. The Bible famously states, 'If a woman has long hair, it is glory to her' (1 Corinthians, 11:15). In many cultures, a woman's hair symbolizes her power. Studies have shown that men really do find long hair more attractive than short hair. For example, a study in the journal Human Nature found that when men were shown pictures of the same women, first with short hair and then with long hair, the men rated the longer haired pictures as more attractive. Long hair slims the face and draws attention away from facial imperfections, as well as generally being associated with beauty and youth.

Why should women give this up, just because they are no longer young girls? Of course, not all long hair styles are suitable at all ages, and loose flowing hair is probably not appropriate in the boardroom. However, there are also many elegant, formal long hair styles, which while not suitable for young girls, are ideal for 'older' women in professional situations. If women realized that they had these options, and that with practice, elegant styles can be easily achieved, maybe they could preserve much-loved long hair and not feel that they have to have short hair to give a professional appearance.

Oil for long hair

Oil for hair? Initially, this seems counterintuitive; who wants greasy hair? Done correctly, however, oil conditions and is absorbed by hair and does not make it greasy. Oil benefits hair as it protects it from drying out, and nourishes it with essential fatty acids. The scalp produces oil naturally (sebum) to oil hair, but when hair is long, the sebum doesn't travel all the way down the length of the hair, so additional oiling especially helps the ends of your hair. Everyone's hair reacts differently to different methods of oiling and types of oil, so you'll probably need to experiment to find what best suits your hair.

Which oil to use?
Popular oils for hair include extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil and coconut oil. There are also specialist hair oils sold, but often cheaper, common oils do the job just as well. Extra virgin olive oil, the same as that used for cooking, is probably the most easily obtainable and a great place to start if you are new to oiling your hair. Coconut oil has traditionally been used for long hair in India. Not all oils suit everyone, so experiment with other oils if you do not get good results from the first oil you try. If you would like a scented oil, try adding a little of an essential oil. Some essential oils have additional benefits for hair growth and scalp issues, we'll be writing more about that subject soon. Be careful with essential oils if you are pregnant or have allergies, and always make sure you are using one which is safe for the skin.

How to apply oil to your long hair
This is a basic method to try if you are new to oiling your hair. First, feel the length of your hair when it is dry. Does it feel uniform the whole length, or do the ends feel drier, brittle or 'crunchy'? If so, this is the area of your hair which most needs oil. Wash your hair as usual, and wait until it is about 70% dry. Rub a little oil onto your fingertips, and comb your fingers through your hair, concentrating on where your hair felt different. Allow your hair to finish airdrying. Your ends should feel much less dry and damaged. If your hair seems greasy, you have applied too much. You may find that initially, your hair needs more oil, but as you take care of your hair better and oil regularly, you need less and less. If your hair naturally tends towards greasy, this may be the only oiling you need.

Oil on wet hair
Oil on wet hair helps seal in moisture, keeping your hair hydrated, as well as nourishing it with essential fats. After washing, take a little oil and apply it to the length of your hair. It's generally better to stay away from your scalp, as the natural oils from your skin will probably provide enough oil in this area. How much you need will, of course, depend on whether your hair tends towards dryness or greasiness, if you typically have greasy hair, a simple oiling of the very ends may be sufficient. Experiment with different quantities of oil and different oils if necessary.

Oil on dry hair
If you have problems with hair dryness, this could really benefit your hair. If it tends towards greasy, however, this is probably best avoided! Put a little oil on dry hair, and if your hair is very dry or porous, it will absorb and protect your hair. For a deep conditioning treatment, try applying a larger amount of oil at night, and washing it out in the morning.

Have fun experimenting with oil for your hair!

Washing long hair

Given how slowly hair grows, the ends of long hair are years old, and will inevitably accumulate some damage. Long hair therefore needs special care to protect it and prevent further damage. If you have short hair, damage is constantly trimmed away, so health of the hair is not so much of a concern. Although a simple regimen of shampoo and conditioner may work well, many with long hair find that their hair really benefits from something different.

Long hair often benefits from dilution of shampoo. The detergents in most shampoos do do some damage to hair, so dilution makes the shampoo much more gentle on your hair. There are also concerns about the effect of certain chemicals on the body, for example some may contribute to cancer, so decreasing your exposure is good. Try diluting your shampoo with a little water - it'll still lather, and you'll probably find that your hair actually looks better for it. I have also found that diluting shampoo with honey gives good results. Honey dissolves in water, so it's not hard to wash out of hair. It is a humectant, holding water, so helps keep your hair hydrated. A 50:50 shampoo:honey dilution makes my hair soft and shiny, with more 'body'.

Everyone's hair reacts to different regimens differently, and when trying something different, a short period of adjustment is generally required, so try to commit to at least a couple of weeks trying something different before you decide if it's for you or not. Remember, you can always mix and match the different methods once you learn about how your hair reacts - for example, you could do conditioner only with the odd shampooing if that's what suits your hair.

Condition, wash, condition
This is fairly similar to the familiar shampoo and condition, but pays more attention to conditioning the ends of the hair. First, apply conditioner to the lengths of your hair, from your ears down. Then apply a little shampoo to your head, and wash from your ears up. This hair is really the main part of your hair which gets 'dirty' and oily, and the conditioner should be sufficient to cleanse the ends. The surfactants in shampoo do damage hair, so it's better to keep it away from the ends of your hair, which are important to protect as they will have more years of accumulated damage. Gently massage your head with the shampoo and rinse. Finally, apply conditioner to all your hair. This method should help protect your delicate ends much more than simply shampoo-conditioner only.

Conditioner only
This method uses only conditioner. Most conditioners contain mild detergents so they can be easily rinsed out, and these are generally enough to clean your hair too. Apply a generous amount of conditioner to your wet hair as soon as you get in the shower, then leave it on your hair for a few minutes while you get on with whatever else you need to do in the shower. When you are otherwise ready to get out of the shower, rinse out the conditioner. You may need to experiment with different conditioners to see which suits your hair. Blondes may find that conditioner only makes hair darker, so regular shampooings may be necessary.

Help, my hair hates conditioner!
Sometimes, conditioner just seems to make hair lank and dull. This could be because it is the wrong conditioner for your hair, so experiment with different ones before ruling conditioner out (we'll be writing soon about ingredients in shampoo and conditioner). However, some people find that their hair just does not like conditioner. If you decide to just use shampoo on your hair, try to dilute it, as described above, as preventing damage is even more important if a conditioner is not used. A quick, simple way to condition hair without conditioner is to use a honey rinse. Dissolve a little honey (try half a teaspoon initially) in a cup of water, pour over your hair and leave it on. You'll probably need to experiment with the concentration of honey (too much will make your hair 'crunchy' - just shampoo again and it will be removed), but it should make your hair soft and shiny. We'll be writing more about other, natural conditioning methods soon.