The other day my friend asked me 'Mhairi-Anne, what are we going to do when we are too old for long hair?!' I was horrified. I will never be too old for long hair. My hair is my favourite thing about my appearance. It makes any outfit more glam - even jeans and a t-shirt and my minging converse! My friends always ask me how I keep it so long and so healthy - and let me tell you it can be a pain in the ass at times! So I've decided to spread the love and tell you exactly how to get the mermaid look!
Spoiler alert: less is more!
It's the obvious one and the one you already know. Use less heat on your hair and it will a) be healthier and b) grow longer. It's easier said than done though, isn't it? You don't need to go quite as extreme as I went when I was growing my hair - I wouldn't even blow-dry it! Although I do live in Scotland so there's not much point in drying your hair as it always ends up wet again anyway…
If you want to grow your hair maybe just take the heat down a notch. Try only applying heat every second day and ALWAYS use heat protection. You'll be surprised by the difference this makes to hair growth.
Right now I blow-dry my hair after washing (so like once a week…) and I use my heated rollers when I'm going on nights out. It's fuss free and it keeps my hair healthy!
2) Less Product
This one is maybe slightly less obvious, but all that product can end up being a hindrance as well. We live in a world where there is a hair product for everything you can imagine - texture, shine, volume, frizz control blah blah blah. Guess what? You don't need all of them! Just use what you need and then let your hair breathe. My hair is super long and really tuggy which is a horrible combination that makes really fun dreadlocks at the base of my skull, so I use a leave in conditioner. It can also look quite dull on day 3 or 4 (or 5…) after a wash so I sometimes use the V05 Smoothly Does It Tame & Shine Spray to brighten it up. The only other hair product I use is Batiste because - did I mention? - I never wash my hair.
Your hair has so much natural beauty - look at what you're already working with and choose a couple of things you can't live without. Your hair will thank you for it!
3) Less Washing
Shock Horror - you weren't expecting that were you...
No but seriously, if you wash your hair everyday you are going to want to get out of that habit if you are chasing the mermaid dream. Do you have any idea how long it takes to brush, shampoo, rinse, condition, rinse, brush again, blow-dry and brush long hair again? I legitimately use the excuse 'I can't come out, I'm washing my hair' more than I care to mention and I only wash it 2 (or less) times per week.
If you are the kind of girl who washes her hair every day, start slowly. Go for every second day and get a bottle of dry shampoo, shake well before use and build up to being the biggest hair slob in the country. For me, I truly fell in love with my hair when I stopped washing it all the time. It became healthier, shinier and started growing like you wouldn't believe. Now it reaches my belly button and if I have a bath I feel like a proper mermaid! Like the no sea-shells necessary kind ;).
4) And Finally…
…there's also the little matter of colouring your hair. I've not coloured my hair since I was 18 and even then it was just box dye so I don't know an awful lot about this but I will say this - naturally long hair and peroxide do not mix. Hair extensions are a thing for a reason!
Having long hair is my absolute favourite thing and I can't ever see a time when I would consider chopping it all off *shudder*. Let me know if you have any other tips for growing your hair because people ask me all the time and I want to look smart haha!
Mhairi-Anne x
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