With the change of season comes the natural desire to switch things up above the neck. For those rebelling against the ubiquitous bob, looking for easy hairstyles for long hair becomes more and more appealing as the temperature drops.
Forever synonymous with untamed beauty, long hair is simply an iconic look. Just ask Stevie Nicks, the good witch of rock ’n’ roll, who entered the collective consciousness in 1975, dressed like a modern-day Lady of Shalott—her draping, heavily fringed blonde hair cutting an image as striking as her draping, heavily fringed dresses. Although, if we’ve learned anything from Botticelli’s Venus or Irving Penn’s 1999 portrait of Gisele Bündchen, a woman with hip-grazing waves need never be fully undressed anyway. And surely Yoko Ono and John Lennon, who famously posed nude together on the cover of their 1968 album Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins and expressed their love by growing out matching manes, would echo that sentiment. But regardless of how you wear your long hair, the most important thing is to keep it strands healthy.
How to Care for Long Hair
According to celebrity hairstylist and founder of Roz Haircare Mara Roszak, who counts Zoe Saldana and Anne Hathaway as regular clients, hair health is the number one thing to consider when you think about growing out your hair super long. “This will ensure your hair looks beautiful and strands don’t break or split,” says Roszak. “The key is to keep your hair healthy, shiny, and looking its best self.”
There are a couple of easy options for you to give your hair some needed T.L.C. and protection to do that. She recommends using deep treatment oils or masks regularly to provide moisture and fortify your strands. Something like her RŌZ Willow Glen Treatment Oil Mask works great as a weekly overnight deep treatment to hydrate and treat damage in the hair cuticle.
Andrew Fitzsimons, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Andrew Fitzsimons, agrees and adds that you’ll want to get regular trims to keep long hair looking fresh. “While it sounds totally counterintuitive, regular trims will actually help you grow longer, healthier hair,” Fitzsimons says yes. “Because your hair at the end is the oldest [part], it’s the most prone to breakage and split ends, which can work its way and actually impede your maximum hair length.”