So, hair is my thing, trademark and my defining physical characteristic.  I am a long haired girl.  A REALLY long haired girl…  But now, with a child, I simply don’t have the time I once did to care for it.  So, here are some of my shortcuts and favorite products for maintaining your hair (whether you’re a long haired girl or not) when time is of the essence.

1) Don’t wash your hair every day.  I’m lucky if I get the chance to wash it every 3rd day and I think this is actually helping to keep it healthy.  Less heat on your hair means less damage.  For those who have a problem with hair looking greasy without more frequent washing – get a great dry shampoo for the in between days and where your hair up more.  You’ll touch it less when its up which means less oily transfer from your hands to your hair (also I find it so much easier to wear my hair back while playing with my child)

2) When you do wash your hair pay attention to the products you use and change up your shampoo and condition so that your hair doesn’t get to used to one.  You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on shampoo and conditioner – I’m obsessed with Neutrogena products because they’re just great quality and don’t leave build up.  Figure out what product work best for you and your hair type.  Another tip – while warm water opens up the hair follicles allowing better absorption of your shampoo and conditioners its also good to do a cold rinse on your hair before getting out of the shower to seal them back up again. Also, I confess, I’m starting to go grey but I don’t have the time to run off to the salon every month or two for a root touch up so when my grey roots start to peek out I touch them up at home and this allows me to push my salon appointment without looking like the bride of frankenstein.  Another tip – every 2 weeks or so I use a color guard conditioner to help boost and protect the color.

3) Get great styling tools – a great brush and hairdryer (although, if you can air dry and avoid heat styling all together more power to you).  As far as brushes go, the Mason Pearson is the ultimate. Every hairstylist swears by it – its pricey but that’s because its the best.  That said, the most important thing is to find out what brush works best for you and your hair texture.  A brush that I can’t live without is my beloved Tangle Teezer – with long hair knots and rats nests are inevitable and this brush literally gets out those tangles in seconds. I truly believe that this ultimately helps to prevent hair breakage while also saving me time.  Speaking of saving time, a great and powerful hair dryer is beyond important for those of us who just can’t air dry.  I am obsessed with my Super Solano hair dryer.  A hairstylist told me about it while I was on set years ago and I haven’t turned back since.  It dries my hair in half the time of other dryers and I don’t believe I could have my hair this long with out it. Again, its a bit pricey but I’ve had this blow dryer now for almost 10 years and it is still going strong… These tools seem obvious but they make getting ready faster, easier and your hair that much more beautiful.

4) Consider everything from the outside and inside.  So, one obvious thing to remember is to take your women’s one a day vitamin – healthy hair, skin and nails comes from the inside out (and don’t forget to drink a lot of water – it goes a long way).  Then remember to protect your hair from all that you and life throws at it.  This means applying products to damp hair that can protect it from all the heat styling you put it through from blow drying, curling and straightening.  And finally, use a product that can protect your hair from the sun.  We wouldn’t (or SHOULDN’T) forget to apply sunblock to our skin and the same should go for your hair…  Just one extra product can go along way to protect your hair from sun dammage and fading.