After hibernating all winter, it's time for your long hair to see some spring sun! But the longer your hair, the more likely you are to have split ends--especially if you color or heat style your hair. Hair grows approximately six inches every year, so the lengths of hair past your shoulders are at least a few years old! Here are tips from celebrity haircolorist Rona O'Connor of Lukaro salon in Beverly Hills on how to keep your long hair healthy. She should know--she tends to Blake Lively and Brooke Shields' amazing manes! Brooke Shields was even at the Lukaro salon while we were there--and her hair is just as thick, lustrous, and gorgeous in person!
HOW TO Get Healthy, Long Hair and Say Goodbye to Split Ends!
- Sitting under sunlight (or any bright light so you can see your hair strands clearly), take a small section of hair and twist it around your fingers.
- Look at the ends of the hairs that stick out--are they split? frizzed out? knotted? fried into permanent kinks?
- Using a sharp pair of scissors (manicure scissors are great for this), snip the bad ends. The sharpness of the scissors is important because dull blades will just tear your hair and cause more splitting.
- Repeat with another section of hair. Keep in mind that you don't have to examine your whole head at once. And if you just snip a little of the ends, it shouldn't affect your overall hairstyle.
Tip: To help seal your split ends together and make your blowout look smoother and your hairstyle sleeker (split ends are especially prone to frizzing and flyaways), rub a couple of pumps of Nexxus ProMend Leave-In Treatment Creme between your palms and sandwich the ends of your hair between your hands, pressing down to smooth the split ends. You can use this treatment before or after you blowdry.
By Ning Chao
