Whether you have springy curls, long luscious tresses, or short spikes: hair health matters. In fact, how healthy your hair is relates to your overall health. Getting enough sleep, vitamins, minerals, and sun? Your hair will grow well and have a nice healthy sheen. Short on rest, stressed to the max, dehydrated, and living on snacks? You’ll see it show up as your hair grows brittle and even loses its luster. An investment in hair health is a vote for overall health, and you are worth investing in! Here are some of our favorite lifestyle hacks for healthier hair.

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1. Healthy Hair Tip One: Wash on Schedule

So, this is one of those hair type hair tips (say that 10 times fast). If you have very dry hair, we hope you already know that daily hair washing is a no-go. If you have very oily hair, you probably should wash more often, but even then, washing too much strips your hair of natural oils, so it can’t do its restorative thing. We suggest asking your hairdresser to assess your hair type and recommend a hair washing schedule that works for you.

2. Put Shampoo Right on Your Scalp

Oils come out of your scalp. That’s also where sweat, dead skin cells (calm down), and dandruff can accumulate. So, it makes the most sense to focus shampoo right on your scalp, only using a little as you get further toward the ends. This will also keep your hair from drying out.

3. Get Swim Cap Chic

Hey, the ‘20s are back in a big way, and you can just be on trend. Swimming is a hobby or even profession we love at TEAM TIY, so we don’t want you to give it up just because the chlorine is hard on your hair. Even if you only swim recreationally, hair that is already in bad shape can get way worse if you’re dunking in chemicals. Use a swim cap.

4. Brush Your Hair Before You Bathe

Wet hair feels heavy, so you may forget that it is fragile. But the truth is, your hair is more vulnerable to breakage when it’s wet. If you brush all of the knots out before you bathe or shower, you’ll do less tugging and yanking in the shower, protecting your hair from snaps and breaks.

5. Stop Over-Conditioning

Some of us are just extra, and if you tend to think “more is better,” hang on. A nickel-size amount of conditioner is what’s recommended (go Google a nickel — see how big it is). To be fair, if you have Rapunzel-like hair like Andrea Nucete-Elliott, you may need a leeeetle more, but not much. Go easy, and remember to start midway up your hair, not at the scalp (opposite of shampoo).

6. Healthy Hair Diet 101

Remember how your overall health impacts hair health? Well, food is medicine, people, and you need to be eating the rainbow. Focus on getting the right amount of fruits and vegetables, preferably raw, and rounding it out with healthy fats. A lot of busy women who eat on the go don’t have healthy diets, and we have no judgment at all but just want you to give your body the care it needs so you can keep rocking.

7. Opt for Natural Hair Products

Most of us have graduated from old-school hair products that are chock-full of chemicals and stuff you can’t pronounce. In case you haven’t swapped these out yet, let us convince you: sulfates, a leading ingredient in traditional shampoos, strip all of the natural moisture out of your hair. Other baddies to watch out for are parabens, mineral oil, denatured alcohols, formaldehyde (yes, like junior high biology lab), coal tar, and silicones. Get label-savvy and buy accordingly.

8. Wear Protective Hairstyles

Be gentle with yourself. We’ve all tried the literal eyebrow-raising mega-high ponytail that you later rip out (along with big chunks of hair because you used a horrible elastic hair tie). Too much product and too little downtime and air drying can do damage over time. Give your hair time to recover, give it breaks from heat styling, and let it be loose from time to time. It needs a break, too, and will be healthier long-term if you cut it some slack.

Life-Changing Hair Hacks for the Busy Woman (or Man!)

We are equal-opportunity health-promoters. Also, most of us on TEAM TIY are professional athletes, lifestyle gurus, and straight-up busy all of the time. That means we understand how hard it can be for curly-haired girls, thick-haired girls, textured-hair girls, thin-haired girls (whew) to make the time to do Y-O-U well. But you must. Mental health, physical health, it’s all connected in how you treat yo’self everyday: and we hope you treat yourself well. Because even on the days you’re too busy to look in the mirror, you can make a move toward feeling and looking your best. And you should, because you deserve it.