7 Habits for Healthier Hair

This content is sponsored by KEVIN.MURPHY. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hey — I am so happy that beautiful genetics and diversity has given us all unique features to offer and share with the world. Personally, I was gifted with a massive ball of curly fuzzy hair that I have come to love and learn to take care of and appreciate. My hair is naturally prone to frizz and dryness so it definitely needs a ritual to stay healthy and looking its best! In this blog I am sharing my top 7 tips I use for maintaining healthy hair and helping my curly locks “behave”.

1. Eat Protein

   According to WebMD, one of the key ingredients to having great hair is a balanced diet. You may be rolling your eyes at this point because you've been fed that line, or one similar to it, repeatedly. And if you're as impatient as I am, you want those immediate results. But for this remember these two words: protein and patience. As Paradi Mirmirani, MD, of the Permanente Medical Group in Vallejo, California and a member of the North American Hair Research Society told WebMD, since a strand of hair is composed primarily of protein, it needs protein to grow. Some of the greatest sources of protein can be found in chicken, turkey, fish, dairy products, legumes, and nuts, according to BBC Good Food. I personally add collagen protein to my coffee each day as a quick easy fix, love this brand.

2. Vitamins and Minerals

   Aside from stocking up on the protein, there are other vitamins you should make sure you're taking, whether through food or supplements. Dr. Melissa Piliang, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic, told The Huffington Post that a daily intake of iron, vitamin D, zinc, and B-complex vitamins will improve the health of your hair. I am also personally using a new hair supplement by Thique and loving the results so far.

3. Avoid Tying Your Hair

   Wearing your hair back consistently over time causes constant tension that will damage the follicle of your hair, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Hair Room Service Michael Duenas told SheKnows. But sometimes you just have no choice. Duenas suggested tying your looser, and never while it's wet, as that's when your hair is weakest. Beauty expert Alexis Wolfer also suggested using metal-free elastics to help prevent breakage.

4. Stay Natural Whenever You Can

   This is a pretty simple, generic rule to follow that is definitely easier said than done, but incredibly important to remember. Avoid using heat styling products as often as you can, as this strips the moisture.

5. Shampoo Sparingly

   According to Real Simple, over-washing will remove too much oil from the scalp and dry out strands, despite how gentle of a shampoo you could be using. Stylist and creative consultant for John Frieda, Harry Josh, told Real Simple that most women need to shampoo only three times a week — and less often if their hair is on the dry side. Less frequent washing also means not as much blow-drying, another culprit of parching and destroying your hair. Another option that I have come to love is a conditioning shampoo. Try RESTORE is one of my favorites as it cleanses, conditions are repairs the hair all in one! I love how clean my hair feels after using RESTORE and at the same time well conditioned and moisturized all in one.

6. Always Use Protection

   This should just be the general rule for life, to be honest. For those times when you absolutely can't resist the frying flat irons and curling irons, prepping your hair with a good heat protector like HEATED.DEFENSE which protects against heated tools and mechanical damage up to 232℃ / 450℉ degrees should become second nature before laying a finger on any styling tool.

7. Condition
   When working to have healthy hair, its so important to use a great conditioner on the regular. My current favorite is SMOOTH.AGAIN which is amazing at not only conditioning the hair, but also smoothing the little frizzes on curly or wavy hair.