This article originally appeared on Clutch Magazine’s sister site Coco and Creme
As the year is coming to an end and 2011 approaches, it’s time for new resolutions. Along with saving money, exercising more, starting a business or finding a new job, many natural hair wearers set hair resolutions as well.
The following is my list of 2011 natural hair resolutions, some being carry-overs from this year!
10. Try more styles — For 2011 I’m going to attempt to not have a “signature” style. I’m going to try to stay away from twists, or box braids in a bun, and get more creative with my styles.
9. Exercise and take supplements — A carry-over from this year. I started taking hair vitamins and actually began to see results, but kept forgetting to take them for weeks at a time. I don’t even have an excuse for not exercising. For 2011, I plan to stay on routine with both.
8. Go to more natural hair events — There are so many meet-ups and natural hair events announced over the web, next year I’m going to plan to attend more than one or two.
7. Keep a hold on product junkism — I actually did pretty well with this one. I stuck to my $20 budget when visiting beauty suppliers, most times spending way less. I plan to continue this in 2011—I have to work on a budget for online shopping though.
6. Stay away from the scissors — At the beginning of the year I would routinely trim/dust my ends every two or three months whether they were split or not. The last half of the year, I only cut knots or when I noticed split ends on certain strands. I saw a big difference when it came to retaining length. For 2011, I’m planning to only trim my ends when necessary.
5. Keep up with natural hair social networks/blogs, YouTube videos, etc — For 2011, I plan to stay current with the online hair community — which will give me ideas for my own products, styles, routines, etc. . . .
4. Keep up with documenting my journey — I find that documenting (i.e. taking pictures, blogging, etc…) my own journey also helps me to come up with creative styles, and more DIY products and accessories. And it’s a way to “give-back” by helping others as well.
3. Continue pampering my hair — I noticed that the more pampering, the better my overall hair health. I plan to try more ayurvedic hair treatments, keep braid washing, once-a-month deep conditioning and wearing protective styles.
2. Make more products at home — This will not only ensure that what I’m putting on my hair is chemical-free, but it will help to keep the product junkie in me from arising.
1. Clean out cabinets — via using up all of my products and seeking out product swaps before purchasing more products.
That’s my countdown list of 2011 natural hair resolutions, what are yours?
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