I decided to grow my hair out for my wedding with is in July just so that I have a nice updo, but as it's been growing, I have been enjoying long hair so much that I think I want to growit out very long even after my wedding. My hair is medium brown, fine and straight and currently about 20 inches long.

After reading up on long hair care, I realize that if I want to continue to grow my hair beyond my wedding, I need to change the way I treat my hair.  One of the things I've been reading is not to wash my hair everyday.  How often do you guys wash your hair?  My roots are greasy every morning and I don't know how I'd survive without a hair wash.  Sometimes I even shower twice a day if I go to the gym!  My hair is brown, so baby powder on my roots looks silly.  I've heard of Bumble and Bumble colored hair powder...would anyone recomend it?  Could it damage my hair?  

Also, I noticed that blow drying is is bad.  I am going to try air drying more often, but I find my hair has a funny texture when air dried, not straight, not wavy, just messy.  I like how smooth and silky my hair is when I blow dry it.

I don't have many bad habits as far as using hairsprays or damaging hair accesories.  I want to get a natural paddle brush (are the body shop's brushes any good?).  Also, I've heard alot about wooden combs - are they important.  I currently use a pick to untangle before brushing, is that ok?

Wow, sorry there are so many questions in this one post!  I look forard to getting to know you all.

Hello, welcome, and congratulations on your up coming wedding!

You have some good questions, let's see if I can answer most of them (and the ones I forget to answer, I'm sure someone else will jump in with help!).

1.  Washing frequency.  Extending the time between washes is not something you can change overnight.  Your scalp is producing sebum (what we usually refer to as oil but is really a wax) based on what it thinks your needs are.  The more you wash your hair, the more you strip the oil from your hair and scalp, so more is produced.  If you gradually try to increase the time between washings, the scalp will adjust accordingly.  I used to wash my hair daily, now I wash it about once every 6 - 7 days.  I do wash more frequently during the summer when I am biking a lot and sweating.  However, frequently just a rinsing of the head and hair is all that is necessary.

2.  Any heated appliances can damage your hair.  They cause the moisture that is IN the hair shaft to boil which then causes the hair to split and break.  It also removes the protective oils and moisture from the hair.  Allowing it to air dry is much better.  To get the smooth, sleek hair, you can use a boar bristle brush to smooth the hair after it has dried.  Oiling the hair very slightly can also help.

3.  Wood combs are very nice, so are bone combs.  The main thing to watch for on a comb is sharp edges.  Most plastic combs have ridges on the teeth which are the result of the manufacturing process.  These edges can be like razors on your hair.  You can (and should) file them to be smooth so they don't damage your hair.  Typically wood and bone combs have been hand cut and do not have the ridges.

Be gentle with your hair and it will grow to be beautiful and long.

Hi and Welcome! :)

Thanks for the warm welcome!  I bought an absorbant hair towel yesterday, so I'm hoping that will help with the airdrying.  I let my hair air dry yesterday, but it looked terrible, part straight, part wavy and more fuzzy than when I blow dry.  I especially hate these little curls I have just at my temples - air drying seems to make them worse.  I also found that brushing my hair after it was dry didn't really straighten it out at all, but I didn't use a boar bristle brush, so maybe I need to get one of those. I'll keep trying.  

I also have an oily scalp and I've noticed that increasing your water intake really helps.  If I decrease my fluid intake, my scalp gets oily-er.  Not sure why.  I've gotten to being able to wash only every 3-4 days.  

Oh, for a good horn comb check out Heavenly Harvest Inc.
http://heavenlyharvestinc.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/61?osCsid=0643ee1d0f77cc42ab75d27de550c836

IF that link doesn't work, go to http://heavenlyharvestinc.com/catalog/index.php/
and check for combs and hair accessories on the left hand side menu.

They have some really cute hair sticks, but not as pretty as the ones at the boutique of course!

And you can find really good wood combs at  http://www.combmaker.com/html/home.html

I need to replace my wood comb.  I left it in the car, during that warm week and then that cold snap.  It cracked bad, the 'body' part cracked, even some of the teeth have tiny little cracks.  I guess I shouldn't have left it in the car.  Darned!

;D/
BEM

I love my Heavenly Harvest horn combs.  :D