My hair is right at APL stretched.
1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?
Last year I grew my hair to a little past BSL and it was getting very difficult to maintain so I cut it to ear length (I had some damage from heat and using too many product with "cones"). Since then my hair has grown a lot and so far, with the method I'm using now to keep it tangle free it's been working.
I flat-twist my hair just about everyday, and when I let it out I either put it in a loose ponytail or wear it loose. This has cut down on shedding that use to come when I'd try to comb it all back in a ponytail and it would get matted.
When I wash my hair, I am careful about not disturbing the hair to much so as not to cause tangles and let the water from the shower run through my hair. I do my detangling after I get out of the shower, and will section my hair for more flat twists (about 12 for the whole head).
2. Do you go through a ton of products?
I use to go through lots of products, but not any more. I wash my hair once a week, and I use a small amount of shampoo just to cleanse the scalp, and for the length of my hair, I use a couple of large dollops, scrunch it in really good, then rinse.
I use 5 products faithfully - shampoo (any kind as long as there are on "cone"), conditioner (Sauve, always), and for styling Long Aid Curl Activator gel, or Aloe Vera Gel mixed with glycerin, and I sometimes use a leave-in Biotera.