New Year’s resolutions often entail losing weight or changing hair color for a whole new look. But what if in 2024, your resolution could be to love yourself just the way you are? Embracing natural beauty can lead to a healthier body, healthier hair, and improved self-worth — and those are great things to aim for in the new year and beyond!
Start from Within
Proper nutrition is everything when it comes to your overall health. Eating a balanced diet of grains, vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats ensures you get essential vitamins and minerals needed not only for your immune system but for healthy hair, radiant skin, and strong nails.
On a mission to lose weight, a lot of people drastically reduce carbs not realizing the body needs them for energy to support hair growth. Healthy fats lock in moisture, and protein supports keratin which provides strength and elasticity for hair. Long story short, eating a restrictive diet can lead to brittle, frizzy strands and can even make hair fall out.
If you set a resolution to eat better foods rather than less food, you may be surprised at the improvements in your hair’s natural beauty. If you make those changes and don’t see a difference, it may help to take a multivitamin to supplement what you aren’t getting through your diet. Because everyone’s bodies are different, some of us have deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals and may need additional supplements. Here are some that you can try for healthier hair in the new year:
Biotin
Deficiencies in Biotin, or B7, are rare. But since it stimulates the production of keratin to increase follicle growth, anyone who isn’t getting enough through eggs, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, and sweet potatoes may need a supplement. The recommended daily intake of Biotin is 30 micrograms.
Vitamin A
When your body absorbs vitamin A, it produces sebum—an oily substance that moisturizes your scalp. Sebum is essential for keeping hair follicles healthy, so not getting enough vitamin A could cause hair loss. Beta-carotene turns into vitamin A in the body, so eating carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and kale could be enough. If not, take a supplement to reach up to 700 mcg per day.
Collagen
Collagen is the primary structural protein that strengthens cartilage, bones, muscles, skin, and hair. As we age, we lose it—leading to sagging skin and weaker hair strands. Eating foods high in vitamin C helps to create collagen naturally, so focus on citrus fruits and leafy greens. You can also get collagen from chicken, fish, bone broth, and eggs. If those aren’t in your diet or your hair still seems brittle, try taking between 3 and 15 grams of collagen daily.
Complement Your Natural Hair Color
New year, new you doesn’t require a total transformation. Your eye color and skin tone were meant to mesh with your natural hair color, so maybe it’s time to flaunt the beauty you were born with.
If you’ve been bleaching your hair to make it lighter, talk to your stylist about color correction that will bring it back to a more natural tone. Bleach can weaken strands by breaking down their natural proteins and exposing them to elements that cause breakage, so halting the bleaching process can allow new, healthy strands to grow. This process may require snipping off what’s left of your old color.
As new, healthy hair grows in, you can gauge how happy you are with your natural color. If you’d like to add subtle warmth, your stylist can add darker pigments such as copper ribbons to add texture and shine, but that won’t show growth quickly. Or for a little added dimension, you might like babylights which blend in well with the rest of your natural hair.
Don’t Be Afraid to Go Gray
Whether you simply want to embrace your age or don’t want to keep up with coloring, it’s important to know that gray is okay. Hair that turns gray is more coarse and dull due to a lack of melanin and moisture, and it easily picks up pigments from the environment which causes it to turn yellow. But with the right tools and tricks, natural gray hair can be just as beautiful as any other color.
To bring back its luster and shine and eliminate that yellow hue, we can apply an acidic-based toner to gray hair. This type of toner enhances the gray and can even add beautiful steel tones. We can also recommend a clarifying shampoo to keep the hair healthy and a conditioning treatment to make it soft and smooth.
If you’re not ready to go all the way gray, you might consider blending in ash-blonde highlights or light brown lowlights with your natural hair color for depth and contrast.
Invest in a Flattering Haircut
To show off your natural beauty, your hairstyle should accentuate your facial shape and features. Layers on oval-shaped faces reveal stunning cheekbones and defined chins. Square-shaped faces can appear longer with a center part and straight, long strands. Bangs often look striking on a round face to complement the cheeks. Your stylist will take all of this into account along with your hair’s texture.
And because you look and feel your best when you’re happy, you deserve a haircut that fits into your daily routine. Need a get-up-and-go style to eliminate morning stress? Ask for it. Feel beautiful heading out for happy hour in beach waves? Leave your hair longer. Your entire goal for the new year should be to be content with how you look and who you are.
Love Yourself in the New Year! If You Need Our Help, Feel Free to Call!
We hope you learn to embrace your beautiful self in 2024. If Vakkar Salon can help by applying a conditioning treatment, color correcting your hair, or just consulting about your next haircut, don’t hesitate to book an appointment.
