How do I keep my hair long and healthy? It is a formula that is both simple and takes some attention to detail. First and foremost, I avoid shampoos with sulfates as a general rule. I look for shampoos that cleanse my hair and leave my scalp feeling balanced. My rule of thumb is that I always shampoo and condition and then use a small amount of product (mostly in the ends) before I blow dry or let my hair air dry.

The next most important key is finding a hairdresser that you can trust and will have your hair health in mind and can communicate well with you. Having a fun haircut that is out of your routine can seem liberating (go for it if that is what you really want!), but to maintain my hair’s length and thickness, I need to be sure my hairdresser keeps my hair health in mind; this includes never adding too many layers and not thinning out my hair. These concepts are anchored in the interests of how I love to keep my hair and it’s always worked out for me when keeping that golden rule in mind. I have found that my neighborhood hairdresser across the street understands my hair and respects exactly how I want her to cut it, and she charges me barely more than the price of a latte… (You read right, it’s true!).

My hair can get pretty dirty due to my lengthy commute on BART, so I do tend to wash my hair every night. By removing dust and pollen from my hair every night, I reduce allergies as well. If my hair is feeling on the cleaner side on a particular evening, I won’t wash it, but that is less often than not. On the weekends, I will do a leave in conditioner, which is either an oil that I leave in for about an hour or use a hair mask after washing my hair and then washing that out (serving as my conditioner). This process always leaves my hair soft, smooth, and gives added bounce to my curls.

For my styling routine, I like to blow out the front portion of my hair, but sometimes I take a break from the heat and will let my hair air dry in the evening and then style small parts of it while getting ready in the morning to get rid of any lingering frizz.

I have tried many different hair products and while I won’t list out a bunch of different product suggestions here, I will give this piece of advice that has always kept my hair in great shape: try to find products with primarily pure and natural ingredients. That does not mean that you need to buy-in to a luxury brand that states all of their products are all-natural; you can find affordable products with the key ingredients to keep hair healthy.

Finding products that are all-natural and pure can be a somewhat tall order when there are countless products in the drugstore and at beauty stores that are not even close to all-natural or pure. This is worth investing your time in though. I think keeping my haircare products on the pure and natural side is so important in maintaining my healthy hair and ultimately leads me to never be frustrated and cut my hair shorter than necessary.