HEALTH RELATED PRACTICES FOR A HEALTHY HAIR JOURNEY

There is more to a healthy hair journey than what we do on our wash days, the hair products we use (DIYs, organic and such) or how long we are able to stretch our relaxers. Here are a few healthy practices - related to hair or our overall health – that I adopted for the past couple of years that can contribute to a healthy hair journey:

Clean eating: Eating home cooked meals has become a huge deal to me,  because of sanitary reasons and it's budget friendly. Fresh vegetables and fish, turkey, duck, grains and fruits are part of my diet. I indulge in ice cream and cake and such once in a while. I don’t drink sodas, mainly water. I drink juice once or twice a week.

Drink a lot of water: I don't drink 8 glasses of water a day, but I drink enough water to keep me hydrated. If you find water to be too bland, especially in warm weather, you can add your own taste to the water by adding some lemon juice and honey, or some baking soda or use this item if you fancy a sparkling drink.

Shower filter: Instead of buying a chelating hair product (to remove minerals from hard water), I use this filter in my shower. It’s easy to install and I get to replace the filter only every 9 months. I don’t have as much shedding and my hair is becoming fuller.

Exercise! I’ve stopped going to the sauna for a while now; I don’t zumba as much as I would like either. The alternative right now is walking instead of taking the car. For example, if the distance is only 5 mns by car, I’ll walk. Walking 15 minutes a day is plenty of exercise without putting too much stress on the body. Or take your bike if you don't want to walk!

Sleep/rest: Give your body the rest it needs in order to rejuvenate. I’m guilty of not getting enough sleep and I can feel it in my body and daily routine. I’m currently working on sleeping schedule and hopefully it works.

Multi-vitamins: I don’t use a particular brand, but I make sure the brand I use have vitamins A, B, C and E because those vitamins promote hair growth.

Keeping hair tools and head scarves clean: I wash my combs every wash day, and my head scarves whenever I do the laundry, which could be once or twice a month.

Detangling horizontally, not downward: I noticed when detangling by pulling my hair down, I create more tension on the hair when the comb is caught in knotted and tangled spots, causing unnecessary breakage. But when I’m detangling horizontally and keeping the section of hair parallel to my shoulder, it detangles better thus reduces breakage.

Assuring nails are filed before hair manipulation so that you don’t pull and break your hair.

Keep a box of extra gloves at home: It is recommended to ALWAYS wear gloves during a relaxer application. But the gloves that come with the relaxer box may not fit at times, and you may have a cut on your finger and you need the gloves. Having a box of gloves at home will come in handy.

If you earnestly desire healthy hair, you need to adopt a healthy lifestyle because they go hand in hand. Set up small goals for yourself until you reach where you need to be. Until then, happy hair journey!