We all want it. We’re just not sure how to get it! Achieving younger, youthful-looking hair isn’t an easy task, especially if you’ve been damaging it for a very long time. Luckily, by adopting some specific practices every day, you can reverse the signs of older looking hair and begin to see the shiny, more youthful tresses you’ve been dreaming about.
If you’re overwhelmed by the amount of information available to you about achieving younger-looking hair, don’t sweat it! Not everyone is an expert, and not everyone is going to give you good advice, either. If you want simple ideas that are easy, both on your hair and on your regular schedule, then check out the following tips for good luck with your hair:
12 Ways to Get Younger Looking Hair
1. Go easy on wet hair.
After a shower, a lot of people tend to be rough on their wet hair. While it may seem like it’s easier to manage after a shampoo and conditioning, being gentle on your wet hair is important to keeping it strong and healthy. For older hair, this is increasingly important as the hair follicles become more fragile over time. Squeezing your hair with towels, brushing it, and blow drying it will certainly make it age faster.
To combat older looking hair, consider brushing through with a comb while your hair still has conditioner in it. This will make detangling easier and cause less breakage. You can also try using a deep conditioner a few times a week by applying essential oils to your hair to give it the moisture it’s craving.
2. Keep things cool….Avoid using heat on your hair as much as possible.
Our hair goes through a lot in one day: showering, brushing, styling, and products can be just a few of the daily treatments that a head of hair gets! To get younger looking hair, it certainly makes sense to try to avoid these kinds of things as much as possible. Specifically, hair has a really hard time with high temperatures. High levels of heat can be very damaging, resulting in things like dullness, dryness, split ends, and more.
To avoid aging hair, keep things as cool as possible. This means avoid hot irons, straighteners, and blow dryers as much as possible. If you need to use these tools frequently to manage your hair, consider models that have lower temperatures or ceramic models.
If all else fails, consider giving your hair a few spritzes of protective spray before heating. This will give it a small barrier of protection that might help it stay youthful looking longer.
3. Protect your hair from the sun.
Just like the rest of your body, your hair requires protection from the sun. Even if you can’t feel itburning, your scalp is exposed, and your hair can suffer from dullness and dryness. Instead of putting all of your attention on your skin, try to remember to always wear a hat, bring an umbrella, or use a protection spray that’s meant for both body and hair. It works like sunscreen to give your hair some protection from the harmful UV rays, thereby assisting in making it look healthier and younger over time.
4. Go au natural. Let your locks flow free without hair accessories.
We all know how good it can feel to hike our hair up for the day and keep it off of our backs and neck. Sometimes it just feels good to have a solid updo! While we rock the clips, elastics, and hair accessories with ease, these items can be very damaging to our hair.
To work toward younger looking hair, try to let your hair flow naturally as often as possible. Tight clips and elastics can break the hair and cause fly-aways, which are very hard to correct. There’s nothing wrong with adding a little product for some lift, but try to go easy on hair pieces, and give your hair a break when possible. You might consider purchasing bobby pins and twist clips, which go in place of elastics and do just as good of a job holding things in place.
5. Find the Perfect Cut and Opt for Additional Volume
You don’t have to be young to rock a long ‘do. In fact, having younger-looking hair is less about the length and more about the shapes that complement your face. To decide what younger-looking hairstyle is right for you, study your face and the direction of any lines or wrinkles.
It’s suggested that those who have horizontal lines are more likely to look good with longer hairdos, because the style lengthens the face and gives the illusion that the wrinkles are shorter. In comparison, those individuals who have vertical wrinkles will do better with shorter styles like bobs and pixie cuts, where the style rounds of the face and gives the effect that the face is lifted. There are lots of options when it comes to modern, stylish haircuts. Ask your hairdresser what kinds of styles he or she would suggest, and keep an open mind!
If you want younger-looking hair without having to invest in products or spending too much time in the bathroom, then some natural volume will suit you just fine. Volume will gift your hairstyles a youthful lift that will brighten your features as well. To achieve this, you can either do a light teasing of layers underneath, or you might consider changing your part.
A straight part causes the hair to fall straight down, whereas doing a zigzag part gives the pieces more volume around the face. Remember, some volume is good, but there’s also the chance of adding too much height. We don’t want Bride of Frankenstein, here – just enough volume to give your hair some natural pep in its step.
6. Take your vitamins. Give your hair the nutrients it needs.
And no, we don’t mean eating your vitamins (although that can also be helpful!). As mentioned before, your hair is just like your body: It needs to be protected, and it needs the proper vitamins and minerals to perform at its best. Hair that is healthy and receiving the nutrients it needs will certainly create younger looking hair.
To help your hair, look for high quality shampoos, conditioners, and masks that are high in vitamins, specifically A, B, C, and E. You might also want to look for options that are higher in calcium and magnesium, as these minerals can help with hair repair and shine. Check the labels on your shampoos and conditioners for the ingredients included. If its full of items you can’t even pronounce, then chances are it doesn’t have the kind of nutrients you’re looking for.
7. Monitor your diet.
Your diet can have a bigger effect on the health of your hair than you think. Watching what you eat and making healthy choices can show in the youthfulness of your hair, so if you don’t have a lot of beneficial foods in your system, consider these options that help with hair health:
- Spinach: Full of vitamin A and iron, and it helps to prevent brittleness and dryness.
- Salmon, sardines, and other fish: Packed with omega 3-fatty acids that are very important to disease prevention. They also help to keep hair shiny and strong, so it’s a win-win.
- Lean chicken: Protein is important to hair growth, and a lack of protein can result in hair loss.
- Sweet potatoes: Can help protect against dry, dull hair with antioxidants, and they also help to keep the scalp moisturized.
- Eggs: Supply the hair with much needed protein, vitamin B, and iron.
8. Consider highlighting instead of all over color.
If your grays are ruining your chances of having younger-looking hair, you might want to consider highlighting your hair. Highlighting your hair with shades that complement your natural or childhood colors is a much more effective way to combat grays, as opposed to doing an “all over” color that screams dye job.
Younger looking hair can be attained by adding a few light highlights around grays, known as a “gray blending” or herringbone highlights. Another great reason to try this instead of a full dye job is that it’s much more cost-friendly and much easier to take care of. Instead of spending all of your time trying to treat a new color, you can spend your time deep conditioning, de-tangling, and styling in ways that help your hair look more youthful.
Thinking of coloring at home? Here are some reasons why you should stick with the professional hair color instead.
9. Ease up on shampoo…Avoid Overwashing
Washing hair too frequently can strip it of natural oils. Aim for 2-3 times a week unless your hair type requires more frequent washing. Your hair has natural lipids that work to make your hair look shinier and grow stronger. While a small amount of shampoo is certainly important, over-using shampoo can strip these lipids and cause your hair to become vulnerable to damage.
For many people, older age results in a drop in your lipid count, which is why protecting it becomes that much more important. To help combat these problems, remember that it is not necessary to overload on shampoo- a quarter size will be enough.
If you want younger-looking hair, consider trying out a moisturizing shampoo or one that protects your color. These are usually less damaging to hair. It might also help to wash hair at the root and allow the shampoo to trickle down the rest of the strands naturally. This way the hair still becomes clean, but it’s less harsh on your tresses.
If you’re not sure what products are best, consider high-end products that are usually available at your salon. Your hair stylists should be able to direct you toward hair products that are most helpful for your specific situation.
10. Re-evaluate Your Current Haircare Routine
You may have gotten comfortable with using certain products and shampoos over time, but sometimes switching up your routine is a good thing. If you’re looking for younger looking hair, look to your products and see if your hair could use a change in the regimen.
As we get older and our hormone levels change, we notice that there are also changes going on physically. In terms of our hair, some people will notice that hair growth is stimulated even more, while others will notice that hormones tend to halt the growth. Your hair can become coarser or more thin over time, and these changes should not go overlooked. It might be time for you to consider a new kind of brand or shampoo that caters to your new hair, and that will help it to look much younger.
If it helps, ask for a few samples of different kinds of shampoos to try out. You can record how your hair responds after a week of use and determine what is best for you that way.
11. Avoid Heavy Product
Adding too much product to your hair can age your face, and you’re not doing your hair any favors, either! Soaking your hair in gels and sprays looks stiff and unnatural, so it’s best to try to stay low key with products and give your hair more space to breathe.
If you swear by hairspray, consider standing at more of a distance from the nozzle so that the hair gets a light misting as opposed to a full soak. Consider lighter gels if you want things to stay in place, and go for hairstyles that complement and flow around your face as opposed to being stuck in one position.
Explore salon treatments like keratin treatments or hair spa therapies to rejuvenate your hair.
12. Avoid Harsh Chemicals
Limit the use of harsh chemical treatments like perms, relaxers, and excessive hair dyeing. Avoiding harsh chemicals in your hair care routine helps maintain the health, texture, and color of your hair, preventing damage and preserving a more youthful appearance. Opting for gentler, natural hair care alternatives can contribute to hair that looks and feels younger and healthier over time.
Our hair is important to us, and why wouldn’t it be? We deal with it every day, and it can reflect how we feel and help us to express ourselves in creative ways. If you’re longing for your teenage years to get back that strong shiny hair, don’t stress! These suggestions are some of the simplest ways to get back on track to healthy hair.
You can try one of the options, or you can do them all! Whatever you decide to do, try to keep a journal of the results you see in your hair to determine what tricks work for you. Everyone’s hair is different, and just because someone has similar hair to yours does not mean that your hair will react in the same way! Treat your hair well, and you’ll certainly notice younger-looking tresses in no time.
Consult a Professional
If you have specific hair concerns or issues, consult a professional hairstylist for personalized advice and treatments.
Remember that achieving younger-looking hair is a combination of both external care and overall health and wellness. Consistency in your hair care routine and a healthy lifestyle will contribute to the best results.
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