10 Hair-Care Resolutions to Ring in the New Year
The new year is the perfect time to reevaluate everything you’ve got going in your life, and your hair should absolutely be a part of that. New year, new hair!
That’s why we want you to put new year hair resolutions at the top of your list for how you’ll make the most of 2024. And your resolutions shouldn’t just be about what you can add to your life but what bad habits you can leave behind. It’s time for a transformation and it starts with your hair!
Here are five healthy hair habits to add to your routine and five bad habits to leave in 2023, so you can truly embrace the new year, new hair state of mind.
5 Healthy Hair Habits to Start in 2024
Eat at Least One Hair-Healthy Food Every Day
A simple and effective new year hair resolution is your diet. Start adding foods into your daily routine that’ll benefit your tresses. For hydrated hair, opt for foods that have a high water content, like cucumbers and watermelon. This is especially beneficial for aging hair that’s a bit dry. For fuller, thicker hair, try foods like avocados, leafy greens, salmon and nuts. All of these have vitamins, minerals and fats that promote longer, stronger hair—making this one of the best hair-care habits you can adopt for your delicate strands.
Give a Heat-Free Hairstyle a Whirl
If you’re someone who uses a blow-dryer day in and day out, along with a curling iron or flat iron, let’s try some good hair-care habits in the new year. Find yourself a new hairstyle that leaves the heat styling behind. Too much heat can cause damage to your hair, so luckily there are plenty of no-heat styles that you can try instead. Braids are great for long hair and an effortless air-dry is great for short hair. Maybe it’s time for a new haircut that will make this easier, too.
Be Disciplined About Self-Care
Self-care is always a wonderful thing to incorporate into your life. It’s good for managing stress and bringing a bit of relaxation to your day—and it can also help with your hair’s health. Being disciplined about making self-care a priority can not only soothe some of your daily frustrations with life, but it can also improve your hair to make it one less thing you have to worry about.
Take a cue from Better Not Younger’s founder and CEO, Sonsoles Gonzalez: “It took me a while to become disciplined about using our Superpower Fortifying Hair and Scalp Serum. Even as I began to see how age and menopause were affecting my hair—like a thinner ponytail—it was challenging at first to stick to a daily hair-care regimen.” But Sonsoles made self-care and her hair a priority by keeping the serum in a place she would see it every day, making it easier to remember to use it!
Always Have Your Fave Hair Products on Hand
You never want to be without your favorite shampoo and conditioner, and not only that, you never want to be without the right shampoo and conditioner. Using the proper hair-care products for your hair type is the key to healthy hair. This means using nourishing products for damaged hair, curly hair products to boost your curls and moisturizing products for dry hair. To make sure you’re never without your besties, take advantage of Better Not Younger’s “subscribe and save 15%” option. This will ensure your products show up at your doorstep on a schedule, plus you’ll save some money, too!
Embrace (and Love!) Your Natural Hair Texture
Fighting against your natural hair will only lead to damage. So if your hair is naturally curly, it’s time to fall back in love with your curls! This requires the proper products for curls, like our Bounce Back Super Moisturizing Shampoo for Curly Hair, Bounce Back Super Moisturizing Conditioner for Curly Hair and License to Curl: Curl Revival Boost Spray. Each of these products is specially formulated to let your curls thrive and shine in all their bouncy glory. They will also nourish your scalp and encourage hair health and good hair-care habits.
Similarly, if you have thin or fine hair that you’re constantly trying to wrangle into waves, curls or thicker hair, try embracing your straight strands and show off their sleekness. When you let your hair be what it truly is, it’ll inevitably look and feel healthier, and you’ll have better hair than ever.
5 Bad Hair Habits to Leave in 2023
Twirling Your Tresses
Sometimes your new year hair resolutions are about creating healthy habits and sometimes your new year hair resolutions are about stopping the bad ones, like playing with your hair. This may not seem like something that would hurt your tresses, but guess what? It is. Do you ever find yourself wrapping strands of hair around a finger while you’re stressed, anxious or restless? Maybe it’s simply a mindless habit? This little action can actually cause breakage if you’re not careful. So keep your hands off your hair, and if nervous energy is behind your hair twirling, channel it elsewhere—anywhere but your hair! We suggest some breathing exercises to bring yourself back to center.
Hitting the Hay with Wet Hair
We know how tempting it can be to hop in the shower and then head straight to sleep, but going to bed with wet hair can be really harmful to your strands. When your hair is wet, it’s more prone to breakage, and rolling around on your pillows while asleep is absolutely going to damage your hair. Instead, either let your hair completely dry before you catch some ZZZs or rearrange your schedule so that washing time is earlier in the day.
Sweating the Small Stuff
This is easier said than done, but in 2024, let’s try to stop sweating the little things in life. While this is a great tip for your overall wellness, it can also benefit your hair. When you’re stressed, your hair is stressed. It’s true! When the body is stressed out, your hair follicles actually go into a resting phase, which means stunted hair growth. While you can use hair-healthy products to counterbalance some of this, your better bet is to stop the stress where it starts so your tresses won’t pay the price. Try eliminating stressors where possible and slowing yourself down before you get to the point of being too stressed out to manage.
Being Glued to Your Cell Phone
Live in the now in the new year and put your phone down once in a while. The blue light from your phone can be harsh on your eyes, but guess what? Your phone usage can also lead to problems with your hair. A lot of it comes back to the added stress that too much phone time adds to your life, and we just covered what stress does to your hair. Plus, if you’re using your phone before bed, it makes it harder to sleep, and your body needs plenty of quality sleep to recharge—and that includes your hair. Make an effort to put your phone down more often, and who knows, you might realize there’s plenty to keep you entertained in the world around you.
Overdoing It … with Everything, Especially Your Hair
Be chill in 2024. Really, though. We’ve all been through a lot in the past couple years, and it’s taken a toll on our minds and bodies. So in this new year, let’s just be. Stop overdoing it with the stress, with people-pleasing and even with your hair—because there is such a thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to your tresses. Ease up on the washing, with all the products and even with brushing—these things can lead to damaged hair, and we don’t want that in the new year. In fact, we don’t want that ever! Follow our healthy hair checklist to ensure you’re not overdoing it with your hair in the new year, and make this one of your top new year hair resolutions for better hair.
Tell Us: What are some new year hair resolutions you’re making for 2024? Share in the comments below!
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Better Not Younger offers a wide range of hair products to help you embrace your best hair-care habits in the new year and beyond. Make our sulfate-free and cruelty-free shampoos, conditioners and styling products part of your new year hair resolutions!