Hello my new LongLocks friends!

I am so glad I found this place!  For the first time since high school (which was just a little while ago!) I am trying to grow my hair out to a length of about mid-back (around 28" for me.  I am a tall girl.) and it is at the tops of my shoulderblades right now (about 21").  I was wondering if any or all of you might give me some feedback on my current haircare routine:

I am a reformed blow-fryer and a product junkie.  I am currently washing daily (because my scalp gets greasy quickly), towel and air drying, and using a comb to detangle my hair throughout the day.  I use a boar/nylon brush to get loose hairs out before washing.  I am currently using Garnier Length and Strength shampoo and conditioner.  I use a clarifying shampoo weekly and deep condition every couple of weeks or so by using an entire (3 oz.) bottle of Jojoba Oil.  

Does anyone have suggestions about changes or additions needed?  Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!  Growing_TL

Hello, Growing TL  :)

Your routine sounds pretty decent to me, actually. Haircare is such a personal thing, anyway. The only things I could suggest are 1.) having lots of patience, and 2.) doing deep conditioning treatments more often. There are lots of great recipes for such a thing on this site and many great deep conditioners on the market. Of course, if the jojoba oil every few weeks is enough, then by all means, keep doing it that way.

Oh yes, and one more little thing...regular trims! Fresh ends are important to the overall health of your hair.

Anyway, best of luck and happy growing.  :)

Your routine sounds pretty good.  I might suggest you take a look at your brush and combs to make sure they do not have any ridges on them that might cause breakage (a sharp ridge on a comb can be like a razor scraping along the hair shaft!).

Patience is always necessary when trying to grow out your hair.  Be sure to visit here often to get a boost of confidence to stay on your goal path!

Thanks to all for the advice!  Do either of you know of a certain brand of comb that is good?  I typically purchase wide-toothed "anti-static" combs from stores like Ulta or maybe even CVS.  I don't think they have rough seams on the teeth, but is plastic OK to use?  I have heard about wooden or bone combs but I don't know where to look for something like that.  Any suggestions?  What do each of you use?

I love my horn comb from Heavenly Harvest.  I also have wooden combs from Ric the combmaker.

For wet detangling, I have the #45 wide-tooth comb made by Rachael Stephens, which I ordered through uncommonscents.com. Unfortunately, I don't think this comb is made any longer (which really sucks, because mine is missing a tooth).  :(

For dry detangling throughout the day, I use a seamless acrylic wide-tooth comb made by Conair, which I bought for about $6 or $7 at Target. I actually own 2 of these and keep 1 at home and the other in my purse.

Also, I have the Rachael Stephens #36 handle comb, which I only use to evenly distribute oil through the very ends of my hair. This, I also ordered from uncommonscents.com. I'm not sure if it is made anymore, either.  :(

In any case, you're pretty likely to find something you love at any of the sites that BB and I have recommended.

Plastic combs are machine made and have seams, which is something that we longhairs generally try to avoid due to its abrasion on the hair's surface. It's pretty rare to find a high quality, seamless comb or brush in a drug or chain store. Granted, it can happen...

Anyway, hope this answers your questions.  :)

HI!

You can get a really cheep tree comb from the bodyshop.I also recommend their honeyproducts for hair. Many of us here use Jason products that you find in healthstores.Over all Aloevera-products and tee-trea oil products are great for your hair.Also try to vinegar rinse your hair after applying shampoo. It gives shine, takes away chemical build up from hair and scalp and prevents dandruff.

To avoid greasy hair, try not to schampoo everyday. Your scalp will get use to this and produce less amount of sebum. You can simply wash it with water or just try to schampoo your scalp instead of your whole hair.

You can learn a lot about haircare just by reading old posts in this forum.

Swedish hugs

Thank you all so much!  I will take your advice to heart and search for some new combs.  I also appreciate the advice about shampooing.

I appreciate you all being so helpful.

Tracy

Hello everyone.

I wanted to say thanks again for the advice on combs.  Today, I ordered a horn comb and also a hardwood comb from Ric the Combmaker.  I can't wait to try them out and see the difference in my hair.  

I think this is the last "missing piece" of the puzzle I need to achieve stronger, longer, healthier hair.  Thanks for the great advice!

Good luck, all.