How can I keep my long hair in good condition?

After years of patience, you have finally managed to get the hair of your dreams: locks cascading down to the bottom of your back. The only problem is, your hair is lacking in shine and texture. To help improve these minor flaws and to show off perfect-looking locks, follow our experts' advice.

If you have extra long hair, you will most likely have already noticed three main pitfalls.

• Lack of volume at the roots due to the weight of your Rapunzel-like tresses
• The ends become split and damaged before you know it
• Lack of shine due to external damaging factors

However, do not panic, there are rarely problems without solutions in the hairdressing world.

Restore your long hair's texture

If your hair is actually lovely and thick, use a volumising product at the roots before quickly drying them upside-down, using a hair dryer. This should give you instant results. Then continue blow-drying your hair in the normal way.

NB: When you start drying your hair, use your fingers to give it more movement before finishing it off with a flat brush. Brushing damp hair can be damaging for the hair fibres, especially on extra long hair, as they break more easily.

Combat dry locks

To nourish and moisturise the hair fibre, which has been weakened due to its length and external damaging factors, cut down on the frequency of your hair washes. Washing your hair once or twice a week is more than enough. But remember, always follow shampoo with a conditioner so you can detangle your locks without them breaking.

As for treatments, a nourishing mask every 2 days or once a week, depending on the condition of your hair, can restore your hair's flexibility and shine. Feel free to alternate your usual regime with restructuring keratin-based products, which will help to stimulate repair of the hair fibre.

NB: Dietary supplements specifically formulated to benefit the hair, made up of vitamins B5 and B8, can help boost the effect of all your treatments.

Boost the shine of your extra-long locks

A very small amount of hair oil applied daily can make styling easier and can help make your hair feel softer to touch and reflect the light. An effect which can be amplified by a tip that your grandmother might have given you: brush your hair twice a day for at least a minute to help stimulate micro-circulation in the scalp and to help make the hair fibres feel softer.

Finally, shine is also linked to your hair being in good condition. Therefore, go to the hairdresser roughly every two months to get 1.5 to 2 cm trimmed off. This will not impact on your hair's length and it will help give your locks a perfect appearance by removing any split ends. A phenomenon which if left unchecked, can gradually climb up the hair fibre.

NB: Use straighteners sparingly and only along with thermo-active heat protection spray.

Colouring long hair

If you want to conceal a few grey hairs or give your colour a more radiant shine, do not opt for permanent colouring. You should only get this done professionally, as it is a very tricky and long process which takes several stages to get an even colour. However, semi-permanent colouring techniques, such as the Gloss or Sunlight treatments, could very well to suit your needs. Both of these techniques will leave your hair with shiny highlights and will cover grey hairs, as long as you don't have too many.