How To Enter The New Year With Healthy Hair

What’s your word for 2023?

Resolutions can be a sticky subject. On the one hand, it’s good to set goals and to check in with yourself about what you’d like to improve in your life. The start of a new year is a natural time to do that. On the other hand, resolutions can be caught up in a cycle of shame. Often that shame gets worse when we slip up and miss a gym session, forget to journal, or stay out too late.

So instead we like to ask: what’s your word for 2023?

What’s that intention that you want to remember and carry with you, throughout all the highs and lows that this upcoming year will bring? In 2023, our word is share. We want to share more transformative results to more people, as well as share more information about hair and skin health. Hair care is often misunderstood and frustrating, and we see it as a responsibility to spread science and empathy with those struggling to feel their best selves.

If you’re looking down the new year with an intention to build, care, or support then this is the post for you. We’ll be sharing healthy hair tips for how you can build a hair care routine that both works and works for you.

Set Your Intentions for Wellness

Beautiful hair is a goal and it’s a pretty common one. We’re all familiar with the experience of seeing someone’s healthy, full hair and feeling some jealousy. But while healthier hair is a valid goal, you might need some reframing on the subject to get there.

Our advice? Rather than focusing on the outside, focus on the inside. Hair health truly starts from within.

Bring Vitamins and Natural Ingredients into Your Daily Routine

That’s why the best thing you can do for your hair is to take a look at the vitamins and minerals you’re ingesting and processing, whether through your diet or a daily supplement.

B vitamins, iron, vitamin D, zinc, and vitamin A all play essential roles in the generation of new, healthy hair and the delivery of fresh nutrients to hair follicles. If you’re experiencing a deficiency in any, it’s entirely possible that you’ll fall short of optimal hair health. No matter what hair type you have, these vitamins are essential to hair health.

Ensuring you’re getting enough of these vitamins and minerals can be tricky, though, and a balanced diet can be hard to measure, especially when we’re short on time and mental bandwidth. That’s where Wellbel comes in. Our clean and vegan formula ensures you’re ingesting everything your hair and scalp craves, to maintain hair growth and hair strength.

Prioritize Your Wellbeing

On the same note, one of the best tips for healthy hair we have is to also prioritize your mental wellbeing. The mind-body connection is real and we can see it play out in the appearance and feel of our skin and hair.

Make rest a priority for this new year, protecting your sleep schedule, drinking lots of water, and taking efforts to destress every single day. It’s hard to calculate just how much damage stress can do to the body, especially when it’s a chronic issue. Stress is highly correlated with hair loss so if you need yet another reason to build a mindfulness routine, let your hair’s health be it.

Focusing on within can truly make all the difference when it comes to achieving soft, shiny hair.

Upgrade Your Product Regimen

While internal nourishment is our best recommendation for how to support healthy hair, there are a number of topical changes you can make that can help bolster that interior wellness

The first is to take a look at the hair products you’re using, in the shower and outside of it. Seek out products that include natural ingredients and ditch the ones that include sulfates, which cause dry hair. This also applies to hair dye, leave in treatment, and hair masks.

Sulfates aren’t inherently bad for your body, but that doesn’t mean they should be found in your hair care products. In fact, the reason we think you should opt for a sulfate-free shampoo is because sulfates are actually too effective. The purpose of shampoo is to wash away build up, dirt, and oil, and sulfates certainly help to do that. The issue is that they leave your hair and scalp without its natural oils. The result? Hair breakage, brittle hair strands, and an itchy scalp. Enough said.

Give Your Hair a Break

We know this next tip can be tough, if you and your hair dryer have a close, personal relationship, but trust us, it will help. Even with all the heat protectant in the world, regular use of heat styling tools can wreak havoc on your hair health, leaving you with damaged hair.

Protect your hair. Let it air dry and try not to brush it when it’s wet. Wet hair is more vulnerable to breakage than dry hair. Try to bring down the number of times a week you’re using heat style tools. As a bonus, many people find that once they embrace their natural hair texture, they feel less of a draw toward these tools anyways. We think that’s called a win win.

Rework Your Wash Cycle

Our last tip for healthy hair growth is to assess your washing schedule. This can be a sensitive subject, especially for people with oily hair, but overwashing hair can do damage. It’s also possible that underwashing hair is causing an imbalance of your scalp’s microbiome.

Figuring out the right hair care routine for strong hair generally involves some guess work. Try washing less often and see how your hair reacts. On wash days, use a scalp brush ahead of your shower on dry hair to lift away stubborn build up and increase blood circulation to hair follicles, empowering healthy hair growth.

We also recommend giving your hair a cold water flush after washing and conditioning, so your hair’s cuticle closes and locks in all that hydration you just gave it.

In 2023, Make Confidence Your Resolution

There’s no one secret trick for how to get healthy hair. Everyone’s hair is different — your hair type, your genetics, and your lifestyle all play a role in how fast your hair grows and what it looks and feels like.

Density and volume can also be difficult to qualify and achieving thicker hair can feel impossible. The good news? It’s not, but it may take some time.

No matter what your goals are for this next year, we can say with confidence that if you stay consistent, take care of yourself, and leave lots of grace room for missteps and setbacks, your body will pay you back in kind.

Confidence is about more than just luscious locks. It’s a feeling that comes from within, with the assurance that you are doing everything you can to be your best self, including making mistakes.

So if you still need a word for 2023, might we suggest one? Rise. Confidence and self-assurance aren’t permanent. When life gets hard, and we're sure 2023 will have its struggles, rise to the occasion, take care, and have faith. When all else fails, turn your phone on airplane mode, do a hair mask, and relax. You’ve earned it.