i went through a multi-year phase where my hair just didn’t grow. at all. it was still pretty thick, but it never grew. ever since i made a lifestyle change [i know, eyeroll, because how cliche is that] my hair has drastically improved and started to grow. i’ve talked about it all over the place before, but i wanted to compile all of my best hair health tips in one post for ease.
eat good foods
i know i know, “eat good foods for your outward health” — it’s become such a marketing gimmick. but for real, once i started actually feeding my body the foods it needed instead of eating processed and packaged foods all the time, i noticed a real improvement in my hair AND my nails. here are some of the key things i make sure are in heavy rotation in my diet that impact your hair health:
- avocado: duh, it’s also on half the shampoo bottle marketing out there. but i know that healthy fats help with hair growth and maintenance, so i’ll take yet another excuse to eat them!
- salmon: i can’t get enough, and it has so many health benefits, including being good for your hair/skin.
- eggs: protein and biotin! i love eggs, so this one isn’t hard to do.
- nuts and seeds: specifically sunflower seeds for me. i have a re-found love for them, since i overdid it with sunflower seeds back in my high school softball days. i’m now going the easy route and buying them pre-shelled, and having them for a snack or putting them on salads.
- plants in general: back to why you should eat more veggies — plants are full of all kinds of micronutrients and other elements that are great for your overall health, hair/skin/nails included.
take probiotics
it’s not obvious the connection between probiotics and healthy hair, but i definitely saw a difference once i started taking the tula probiotics i talk about all the time. that prompted me to do some basic research, and turns out i wasn’t crazy. your gut helps produce biotin, which in turn supports hair growth. the research runs the gamut of studies showing that mice have shinier fur when they are eating their probiotic-rich foods, to the purely anecdotal (my experience!), but either way, i am still taking my probiotics on the daily.
skip the wash
it took me a LONG time to coming around to using dry shampoo and not washing my hair everynight. i had to learn to deal with the feel of second day hair because, tbh, i hated the slight grit that goes along with skipping a wash. the real reason i started to train myself to not wash my hair everyday is because when i was pregnant with logan, i just knew that it wouldn’t be sustainable for me to spend the extra fifteen – twenty minutes a morning styling. it was a learning curve, but i know love the feel and look of my second (or third or fourth) day hair. i have it down to a science of when i know i’ll need an extra ten minutes in the morning to curl fresh hair. i plan my hair around my work schedule (no joke!). while this was borne out of self-preservation and time savings, it has become a lifesaver on my already damaged hair. i highlight it every 6-10 weeks and use heat on it a fair enough amount, so not washing it everyday has helped it to start growing again instead of my ends constantly breaking and it staying the same length. right now i use the not your mother’s dry shampoo, and i’ve found that it’s effective. it’s also great for covering up my roots a little bit, so in that sense it might not be the best for those of you with dark hair, since it sprays on kind of light. i asked around, and this was the best dry shampoo for darker hair.
switch it up
i’m a firm believer in tried-and-true staples that you always use, but in some cases you need to switch things up. your shampoo and conditioner are part of that category. i actually have three different sets in my shower (much to my husband’s dismay) so that i am not using the same shampoo/conditioner combo all the time. here’s what i’m using right now:
to get rid of the brassiness: the kristin ess purple shampoo and conditioner. word of warning: do NOT leave the shampoo on your hair too long, or it’ll pick up a purple hue that will have people going “i really like what you did with your hair! kind of funky!” i’ve done this a couple of times, and while it washes out again after one wash, it just goes a leeeeetle to far on the icy spectrum (you blondes know exactly what i’m talking about!).
to cleanse and clarify: after using dry shampoo all week, i like to use this kristin ess bubble mask on dry hair right before i get in the shower (i just spray it into my scalp in sections and massage my scalp like i’m shampoo-ing) and then follow up with the purifying shampoo. can you tell i love kristin ess? end with the kristin ess cleansing conditioner, which smells AMAZING.
once a week: they were handing out samples of this shampoo and conditioner at work one day when it first launched, and i’ve been hooked ever since! not to mention the branding is beautiful, so it looks great in my shower, i find that it conditions my hair nicely and smells great. it’s also a brand that’s trying to have a smaller carbon footprint, so i can get behind that. the formula itself is sulfate free, cruelty free, dye free … works for me!
there you have it! i’m a firm believer that health starts on the inside, and when you feel good, you look good. and when it comes to healthy hair, science proves it.