Transforming Your Hair Routine Into a Habit
- Changing the perception to create a habit consciously
- Identifying the elements that create a habit
- Steps to create a habit
- How to apply it to your hair routine
Getting your best hair
Creating a habit out of your hair care routine will help you achieve your healthiest hair. The way we create habits is usually subconsciously, but once it’s tattooed in the brain, habits influence a big part of how we carry ourselves through life. The secret to consciously creating a habit lies in the way we perceive our actions.
Changing the perception to create a habit consciously
The best way to start is by identifying the most familiar elements about the action that you want to transform into a habit. It’s easy to adopt a new behaviour if there’s something about it that you already feel comfortable with.
Identifying the elements that create a habit
According to Charles Duhigg, author of the bestselling book "The Power of Habit", habits are formed by combining three elements: a cue, a routine, and a reward. The cue is something outside of the action that activates the brain to let it know that you are about to perform that action. The routine is the action that will be performed. The reward is the instantaneous feeling that gives you satisfaction. These three elements, together, create a habit out of an action. There’s an extra element in this process and that’s the craving. The craving is the desire to avoid an unpleasant feeling or the expectation of a positive feeling, it varies depending on the action.
Steps to create a habit
1. Select a simple cue, something that triggers the craving. The craving drives the habit, and one must figure out what their spark is as it’s different for everybody. “The craving must fuel joy.” A good example of this is the fresh feeling after taking a shower. This feeling can be triggered by the sound of the water, or pumping the shampoo in your hands, or simply the smell of the hair care products. All the above are examples of the cue. Do you know what your cue is?
2. Identify the reward. The reward could be something immediate like the feeling of soft, clean hair after washing it or using a hair treatment. Look for that sense of accomplishment, that’s your reward.
3. Once the cue and the reward have been identified, make sure you are fully aware of them every time you realize the action. With time, you won’t need to put an effort into being aware of your cue and your reward. Only when your brain starts expecting that reward, on its own, will it become an automatic thing. Cultivate that craving consciously, and you’ll have a habit.
Self-care is anything and everything we do on a regular basis that helps us feel accomplished, healthy (in mind and body), and happy. It occupies a big part of our daily actions, and most of the time we ignore how essential it is for our well being. Forming a self-care action into a habit reflects how important this action is for you and it will definitely have a positive impact.
Following a hair care routine is a good example of placing importance on a self-care action. Having a routine for your hair is more than just making sure it’s clean, it’s about taking conscious actions that you know will bring positive, long lasting results. Hair needs to be clean, nourished, and balanced with three key elements: water, oil and protein. Begin a new journey to get your healthiest hair by completing this online test. You will receive a personalized schedule that allows you to know what your hair needs and how often. Make it a habit to follow your hair care routine and become aware of the overall changes not only for your hair but overall for yourself.
