The key rules for growing long luscious healthy hair is to practice patience and commitment.

If your hair has never grown past a certain length, is full of split ends or other breakage and never seems healthy, there are probably some very good reasons.

It takes time to diagnose the cause of your slow hair growth and ongoing damages while reversing the bad habits you may have followed.

No Magical Hair Growth Pills

There is no magical supplement you can take which will give you long, luscious healthy hair overnight.

It's just not going to happen. Yes, hair vitamins and related nutrients can help but even they require time to work and reverse long term damages.

I wish there was since I have been committed to growing and maintaining my own below-the-waist hair since 1988. Even though I have managed to grow long, beautiful healthy hair, it still requires my ongoing TLC.

How To Grow Long Luscious Healthy Hair Steps

You may not like to hear what I'm going to share about growing long healthy hair, but if you're committed and willing to be patient I promise you will see results.

Listed below are the tips you must consider adopting to achieve success in growing long tresses:

1.  Dump Hot Hair Toys

Put away all your hot hair toys. This includes hot styling tools such as flat and curling irons, hot rollers and hot air blowdryers. Hot tools used on hair is the key hair treatment which causes irreversible damages to the health of your strands.

The best method for drying hair so that it maintains minimum damages and encourages long term growth is air drying.

If you can't live without styling your hair as your hair strengthens you can experiment with wet rollers or pin sets under a hood style dryer set to less damaging temperatures.

2.  Stop Extending Your Tresses

Retire from wearing fusion or semi-permanent hair extensions. Although clip-on hair extensions can be stressful when worn regularly or improperly, they are much less damaging then fusion style hair extensions which will put pressure on the hair roots and potentially slow or stop additional growth.

If you wish to grow long and lush natural tresses you will have to stop wearing fusion style extensions to give your hair a rest.

3. Re-evaluate Chemical Use

Hair which is bleached, colored, highlighted, low lighted, straightened, relaxed or chemically smoothed is altered which ultimately compromises the strength and growth potential of any hair.

You may not be able to stop cold turkey with any current chemical hair processing. Consider your options such as switching to natural hair colors or demi-perm hues.

See a professional hairdresser and let them know you wish to grow your hair longer and ask them to suggest how to reduce and ultimately eliminate your current chemical hair treatments and processes.

4.  Commit To The Kindest Cut Of All

Undergo a plan to remove existing damages. While some long hair experts insist you have to start by removing all current damages, I personally found that too traumatic when I started growing out my own hair.

When my long hair consultant removed 8 inches from my hair, I was devastated and demoralized.

I believe you can have the current damages removed slowly over a three to nine month process. If you are truly committed to the growing the longest, strongest and healthiest hair possible. If that's the case you may wish to have all current damaged tresses trimmed off to start growing with a clean hair slate. It is definitely true that you can't grow long lush locks on top of a base of pre-existing damaged hair.

5. Amp Up Your Nutrition

Unfortunately with the current state of nutrition eating healthy is usually not enough to grow long, strong and healthy strands. Vitamins, minerals and nutrients designed to assist your hair growth plan are a key component to success.

Keep in mind that most vitamin programs designed to assist with hair growth are not miraclous plans and may require 30-60-90 days or longer to see results depending on how damaged your hair was at the beginning of the program.

6. Minimize Harmful Substances

Minimize use of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, recreational drugs and excessive amounts of sugar. All these habits generally slow down hair growth potential and can cause damaged strands.

Since alcoholic beverages impact the liver which plays a key part in hair growth, it is wise to cut back when possible.

7.  Adopt Hair Friendly Attitudes

This includes a wide range of habits from using hair friendly brushes and combs, utilizing the most friendly hair accessories which are designed not to rip, pull or tear existing or new strands and making sure to protect your hair from the environment and elements.

As you experience new hair growth and transition into a head of lush healthy shiny hair you will most likely find new motivation to research advanced methods for growing even longer tresses with even better health. If and when you reach that stage you will understand how to achieve max hair friendliness.

8.  Pamper New Healthy Growth

Yes, it's essential to have hair regularly "dusted" or trimmed by a long hair friendly hairdresser. This keeps split ends removed and allows new growth to remain healthy and strong.

9.  Develop Healthy Hair Cleansing Program

Develop a hair cleansing program designed to encourage healthy hair growth and maintenance. Ipersonally have never experienced results with shampoo products designed to "grow hair".

However, I have witnessed measurable results from pre-shampoo treatments, regular "hair friendly" scalp massages, diluted shampoo formulas applied alternatively with conditioning only rinses and washing hair less often than every day.

Be willing to experiment with a range of products and treatments to find those best for you and your hair's type, texture and ultimate needs. Unfortunately there isn't one product that works well for all types and textures of long healthy hair.

10. Undergo Regular Conditioning Treatments

It's also good to develop a regular deep conditioning treatment program designed for your hair type (thin/fine, medium, thick) and texture (straight, wavy, naturally curly) and moisture requirements (normal, oily, dry, extremely dry, damaged).

11.  Keep Long Hair Journal

Since I promise you that your hair will not grow overnight, even with hair vitamins and other related supplements and formulations, it helps to keep a daily journal so you can view your progress. Only measure your hair once a month and always use the same measuring tools applied to the same point on the scalp.

You may wish to consider blogging about your hair growing quest, tweeting about it on Twitter or posting progression photos on Facebook.

Ask others who are going through a long hair quest of their own to share their own secrets and/or tips.

12. Reward Yourself With "Hair Friendly" Hair Toys

Soft hair-friendly headbands, bandeaus, Du-rags and hair ties can instantly add a splash of fun encouragement to your hair growing lifestyle. Hair friendly hair clips, barrettes, jaws and claws can offer functional support to keep hair out of danger.

It's important to develop a series of "hair friendly" styles which protect your hair from accidental snagging and ripping. Select hairstyles you can maintain and enjoy which are good for your scalp and hair.

13. Be True To Your Own Hair Experiences.

When it comes to hair growth there are lots of opinions - both expert and non-expert - about the best way to grow healthy hair.

Some experts say you should never wear a fringe with long hair due to the integrity of the hair's ultimate growth. Others disagree.

Evaluate all the information and form your own opinions and practices to follow.

You may or may not wish to enlist the assistance of a hairdresser who appreciates and encourages long hair.

The key is to finding what works best for you and your hair.

14. Be kind to yourself. Growing long hair can be a lifetime practice. It may not be the best path for everyone.

If you decide it's too difficult to maintain the program be willing to give yourself a break and stop without feeling bad about your decision. You can always take a break and grow your hair again at some other point.