Of all the blog posts I have written, the all time most viewed is “How To Grow Long Healthy Hair”. I guess a lot of people want to know how do that, but what about those of us that have already gotten there? What happens then?

My hair has been long for quite some time and I have discovered over time that there is a definite learning curve when it comes to maintaining it. It’s a little bit of a balancing act between keeping the ends from getting dry without weighing it down . You are always walking the fine line between Morticia Addams and The Scarecrow.

At first I was hesitant to write this based on my own preferences because I have very straight thick hair naturally, and not everyone has that texture. But the same balancing act applies to long hair of all types, really. It always gets tends to get heavy because the amount of hair, and it usually tends to get dry because the natural oils never make it all the way to the ends.

So here are five products that I always fall back on because I know they work with my hair.

1. Wen

I know some people HATE this stuff, but if you tried it and had a bad experience then I recommend trying it again. The first time I tried it was years ago, and I was one of those people who HATED it. But now I can’t live without it.

Turns out the first time I used it I was doing it all wrong, and I definitely wasn’t scrubbing enough so it just ended up greasy and gross. If you follow the directions you’ll end up with clean bouncy hair, I swear.

What is great about Wen is that it cleans the hair but doesn’t strip it, which is great for very long hair because you never want to strip all of the moisture out of the ends.

My favorite Wen ever is the “613” formula, It’s extra hydrating which I need, but my hair never feels heavy after using it. Perfect balance.

And come on, lemon, rosemary and vanilla scent? Can I just hook my shower up to a barrel of this stuff and have it pour down on me instead of water? Someone find out if that’s possible for me please.

2. KMS Free Shape Spray

Ok beauty intervention time. My name is Nicole, and I am addicted to forgetting about heat protection spray. Until now.

I got a sample of KMS Free Shape Spray, and now I’m all about the heat protectant. To be fair I haven’t changed my ways, it’s just that this products kicks all sorts of ass. It’s a heat spray but it also has a flexible hold and it helps keep your hair in place in humidity, so I just use it as I’m heat styling in place of other “holding” type products and I get the best of both worlds.

It also holds your heat style in place but still seems like nothing is in your hair. Like you can run your fingers through it and stuff, which is awesome because again it doesn’t weigh the hair down. Seeing a pattern here?

3. Phyto Phytodensium Mask

For the most part I use home made masks on my hair, but when it gets really long I like to have something a little more potent on hand to make sure I can really care for the ends like the tender little babies they are.

This is where I reach for Phytodensium Mask. I have been using this stuff on and off for a really long time. I started using it right out of college when I had basically burned all of my hair off with dye and bleach (but that’s a story for another day) and I have honestly not yet found a more effective mask.

I apply a small amount of it to only the ends of my hair while it is soaking wet and let it sit while I do my makeup or eat a burrito whatever it is I do before I dry my hair. For me that means I apply it from the boobies down, because my hair is almost waist length at this point. Sh*ts getting out of control. But you can use your judgement and determine where to start according to how long your hair is.

Then I just rinse it out with cold water, and my hair is soft and glossy.

Putting it on only the ends means that it won’t make the rest of the hair heavy and greasy and it also means that this stuff will last you a really long time, which is awesome because its not cheap.

4. Macadamia Healing Oil Spray.

I had mentioned in a previous post that Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment is the hair oil love of my life. Well turns out it was just puppy love and Macadamia Healing Oil SPRAY is the true love of my life. What can I say, I’m a heartbreaker.

All joking aside, both of them are amazing, and they are essentially the same, but the spray version is much thinner and lighter so you don’t have to worry about it making your hair greasy and heavy.

I just spray some into the ends of my hair while it’s wet and then style it as usual, and it makes my hair light and bouncy, but super moisturized. It also gets bonus points for smelling like sexy man cologne.

5. L’oreal Elnett Satin Hair Spray

Everyone and their momma was blogging about this stuff for a while which lead me to believe that they were all being sponsored, or it was just a fad. I really held out on buying it, until I noticed that on every photo shoot I went on the hairstylist really did have a can ( or 10) of it on hand. That wasn’t just a line they use to sell their product, it really is what they use behind the scenes.

So I finally got some, and you know what? It’s good. It’s not like you spray it on and you instantly have Kardashian hair, but it’s better than a lot of other hairsprays for sure.

For those of you with really long hair, do you ever style it, spray it, and then it gets messed up, or you want to change it a little and the hairspray you put in just turns it into a tangled mess? When your hair is long that mess can get very complicated.

This product brushes out and it’s as if it was never there. Thats the draw here. Not to mention it’s really light in spite of having a serious amount of hold. For styling purposes, this is a long hair must have.

So for now, those are my long hair must haves for styling and maintenance, but of course I will keep you posted as more come along, and if you have any products you love for your long hair, let me know!