Make these 5 promises to your hair in 2020 and watch them bloom like never before

From losing weight to focusing on your professional life and adopting a healthier lifestyle—the start of a new year is incomplete without making new resolutions for becoming a better version of yourself.

However, have you ever thought that you end up missing out a very important part of your body from this list of promises? Well, we’re talking about your hair and believe it or not, it deserves more attention than you know.

So, how about kick-starting the year with these five promises to your precious mane and swearing never to take them for granted again?

Stop skipping trimming
Your hair needs to be trimmed—at least once a month or once in 40 days—period. Read that again and stick to this resolve—even if you’re trying to grow your hair longer. 

After all, you don’t want to live with weak strands breaking off from the middle or split-ends and damaged hair taking away from your beauty, right? Hence, in order to flaunt that healthy, surakshit, kale baal, you’ve got to get regular trims, okay?

Shampoo smartly
There’s no denying the fact that a bad hair day can make an otherwise-great day terrible. There’s also no denying the fact that we end up torturing our hair by washing them more frequently, or worse still—everyday—in a bid to flaunt non-oily, wonderful-smelling, bouncy hair. 

Sulphates or no sulphates, the cleansing properties of ALL shampoos have been proven to strip our scalp of its natural oils. This, in turn, makes the hair less flexible and obviously, more prone to breakage. 

Also, read: Is there a right way to wash your hair? Take this quiz to find out

Nourish your hair—but conditions (and conditioners) apply
Apart from nourishing your hair with conditioners post shampooing it, it’s also important to condition them with regular oil massages as the resulting blood circulation can make your hair healthy. 

Also, read: 6 completely-natural DIY hair masques to give you the hair of your dreams

But remember to be gentle with the massage as doing it rigorously can lead to nothing but breakage and you really don’t want that.

Switch to silk pillow covers
Cotton pillow covers are sure as hell super-duper comfy. However, this comfort can be quite a pain for your hair as the friction caused between cotton and your hair while you’re in your deep sleep and changing sides in your slumber can lead to split-ends as well as hair breakage. 

Also, read: Hair breakage got you down? Break-up with your pillowcase for the hair of your dreams

A slippery, soft silk pillowcase, on the other hand can minimise this friction and the resulting damage. What more do you want from life?

Style smartly
A power blow-dry or beachy waves or curtain-straight hair can amp up your look like no other. But you know what? These styles can also damage your hair like no other—thanks to the heat from the iron machine/blow dryer/curling rod or whatever it is that you use to get that look. 

Also, read: Love getting a blow-dry? Here’s a cheat sheet to tame all that resultant hair damage

Not to mention, the chemical-laden hair sprays/gels/mousses that you so generously use to tame your tresses can add to this damage by sucking out the moisture from your hair, causing split-ends, and even irritating your scalp.

So, the first step to healthier, better hair is to simply steer clear of styling appliances and products as much as you can. Come on, girl! It’s time to rock that ponytail and your natural waves with full confidence.

In fact, you can even take your hair styles a notch up with the help of fancy headbands, statement hair pins, and pretty braids. What say?

Although, if there’s no option at all and you’ve got to use heated appliances to style your hair, don’t forget to use a hair conditioner as well as a heat-protectant spray to reduce the damage.