Haircare is more than just self-care, it’s an investment in your confidence, your experience, and even your productivity.
Self-care has been a buzzword for years, and has been littered through blogs, Instagram posts, and even work emails from your superiors. And for good reason — making the conscious choice to take time for yourself positively filters down through all areas of your life. The pandemic has only exacerbated this cultural shift towards self-care and slowing down. Now, perhaps more than ever, populations have experienced mass burnout, and this is making us all question our routines and priorities. While not everyone has the luxury of taking the afternoon off for a hot bath, we can all stop and think about where we can restructure our lives for the better.
The term self-care has gradually been shifting from an overly indulgent and lofty idea to a more necessary one. With that, our ideas of what’s included in self-care should shift too. It is not simply a face mask and an iced coffee; the term can be expanded out to other uncharted territories of life. One that has yet to be widely thought of as “self-care” is haircare.
While some may see this as a luxury or some frivolous nicety that is inaccessible to them, I urge you to stop and reframe everything you think you know about self-care. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t pour from an empty cup. No matter how much you may view acts of self-care to be selfish, in actuality, it provides you with the unique opportunity to be better in your job, to better serve others, and to provide better support in your friendships and relationships — the list goes on.
So where does haircare fit in?
Taking time to care for your hair is not trivial, and it can positively affect all aspects of your life. Here are just some of the benefits of giving yourself a good wash day, trying some new products, or simply doing a nice hairstyle in the morning:
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Your confidence will increase, and thus your outlook and experiences will become more positive.
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A new and more positive routine can garner greater happiness.
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You can learn new hairstyles or find new products — this change can make you more optimistic about your hair (and make you more inclined to take time for your hair in the future).
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By taking time for yourself, you will be better positioned mentally and emotionally to be of help to others.
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By feeling confident within yourself, you will feel more inclined to compliment others (and this creates a positive loop of others also feeling more confident).
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Your increase in confidence can also make you more productive — since you believe more strongly in yourself, you’re less likely to quit and will often achieve more than you thought you could.