For me, haircare is self-care, and taking good care of your locks should be a priority. We all know how it feels to have a bad hair day, to feel like no matter what we do with our hair, it doesn’t look right or it doesn’t look its best. So, I’m urging all of you to charge of the situation, and adopt these habits for the new year, to wave goodbye to bad hair days and make 2019 the year of your best-ever locks.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
For various reasons, this might well be on your list of resolutions already, but for me, a healthy diet is the core foundation to healthy hair. You should make sure that you’re getting plenty of protein, which is what hair is primarily made from, so include plenty of chicken, turkey, fish, green vegetables and nuts in your meal plans. Add in healthy fats like avocados and eggs, some dairy if you can, and top up with vitamin supplements daily to make sure that your hair is strong and shiny.
Switch up your style
If you’re guilty of wearing your hair in the same style every day, you could be harming your hair. Specifically, if you wear your hair tied up or back, the tension applied to the strands could cause long-term damage, causing the hair to split or snap off. Mix it up and wear your hair in different styles throughout the week, and if you must tie it back, opt for a silk-covered hair tie to limit the damage.
Learn how to brush your hair properly
You’d be surprised at how many people don’t brush their hair correctly. It sounds like a simple thing to do, and it is, but only if you take the right steps. My top tips include brushing from the bottom up, working up towards the roots gradually rather than starting there and pulling straight down; avoiding brushing when wet; using the wrong brush – you should a few varieties for different requirements; and using dirty brushes clogged with loose hairs and product build-up. A bit of careful thought and preparation can really help protect and care for your hair on a daily basis.
Limit your heat styling
You probably write this one down every year, but make 2019 the year that you mean it. Heat styling is sometimes essential, but there are ways to limit how often you use heat on your hair, therefore limiting the stress placed on your strands. Blow-dry your hair when it’s wet (using a heat protecting spray, of course) and after this, try to use heatless styling techniques until your next shampoo. A smooth blow-dry should last two days, but if you’re looking for soft waves and texture, try plaiting dry hair overnight, with a spritz of salt spray to add volume and grit, without the scorching temperatures.
Book in for regular trims
This is a must for a reason! Whilst it might not make much sense to cut your hair if you’re trying to grow it, think about it like this: you’re dreaming of mermaid locks, so you leave your hair to grow and grow without so much as a glance at a hairdresser. Without trims, your tiny split ends get bigger and bigger, travelling up the hair shaft at a pace. So, at your next trim, your stylist sadly has no option but to chop off the damaged sections, leaving you with a lob rather than waist-length locks. The moral of the story? Regular trims, taking off tiny amounts each time, will limit the damage that split ends can do, and will allow you to be able to grow your hair longer, and keep it healthy and strong.
Wash less often
Make 2019 the year that you train your hair into washing less often. I think of hair like a cashmere jumper – you wouldn’t simply throw that in the washing machine every day and expect it to still look its best, would you? Hair is exactly the same. If you can limit your shampooing to twice or three times a week at the most, your hair will be in far better condition. You’re limiting the damage water and soap suds can do, and you’re also limiting exposure to heat at the same time.
Deep condition once a week
Deep conditioning doesn’t have to be a luxury; I see many clients that believe they ‘don’t have time’ to deep-condition their hair on a regular basis, so their hair goes without. But a deep conditioning treatment can be done in the shower, and some only require as little as three minutes to get to work. You could also try an overnight treatment; simply massage in the mask and pop on a shower cap before you go to sleep, then rinse it out and wash as normal in the morning. Making time for a conditioning treatment will make all the difference to your hair, so buy yourself a tub of something indulgent and effective, and make sure you apply once a week, especially during the winter!