How to have beautiful, long hair

Hey everyone!  It's Caroline.

I was emailed by my cousin with a very good question.  She says:

Do you have any tips on growing your hair long? I think I want to grow mine pretty long, at least long enough to put in a pony tail...

Why yes, I do have tips! :)

Last summer was a very, very hot summer.  My hair was pretty long; it reached past the middle of my back and was very wavy and textured.  I loved it!  And yet, out of the blue, I decided to cut it to a bit above my shoulders.

I mourned it.  At first I was practically intoxicated with the swingy-ness and the lightness, but then I realized I could barely do anything to it.  Now, I'm growing out my hair, and I must be doing something right because it's rapidly getting longer.

Here's my advice:

• Get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks.  This sound counter-intuitive, but it helps your hair grow healthier.  Healthy hair is key!  Trimming often reduces the amount of split ends.  If you have a lot of split ends, your hair will break and will become fragile and fried.
• Drink tons of water, take your vitamins, and eat healthily.  What you put into your body effects the outside.  I take Active Teen Health vitamins, and they clear my skin very well and make my hair softer and shinier.
• Before you shower, take a boar-bristle brush or a round brush and gently brush through your roots.  This increases circulation, which accelerates hair growth.  Don't take the brush down through your ends though, because that can be damaging.
• Along the same lines, massage your scalp.  Preferably do this before you shower, because it can increase oiliness because of your fingers.
• Don't sleep with your hair in a rubberband, if possible.  This can cause breakage.  If you must, put it in a soft scrunchie.  The best way, though, is to leave it down while you sleep.
• Use conditioner on your ends only, and shampoo with a vigorous massaging motion.
• Give it a shape.  This is purely aesthetic... please don't let your hair be all one length and don't let it go un-trimmed.  At the very least, get one long layer so that it's not a blunt cut.  When your hair is one length and isn't kept up, it looks shabby.
• Only use heat products when you absolutely must.  And if you do have to use heat, use thermal protection before you blow dry, and again before you use another heat tool.  I recommend Got 2b Guardian Angel or the slightly cheaper Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer.
• Don't ever trim your own hair.  I beg you.
• I know this sounds un-helpful, but TRY to relax.  Stress can cause slight to heavy hair loss.  So... grab a piece of chocolate and a bubble bath once in a while.
• Don't shower with extremely hot water.  You can use hot water, just not too hot.  You don't want to damage your hair.  

And that's all I've got for you today!  No pictures... Just some product references.