Before the ball drops on Jan. 1 at midnight, many people will have resolutions for how to make the most out of the upcoming year. Whether it includes finding love, career advancement or simply shedding a few pounds, New Year’s celebrations often serve as a time of reflection and planning for a future of good habits. But who says your wallet, heart, and waistline should be the only things to benefit from your new lease on life and the year ahead?

The New Year is also an excellent time for natural, healthy hair goal setting from length retention, to trying new styles or even just recommitting yourself to a healthy hair journey. Here are five New Year’s resolutions to help you get a jump on revitalizing your locks for 2018.

Trim Regularly

How to trim your own hair | Natural hair – Naptural85

“Trim” has erroneously been labeled a dirty word in the natural hair zeitgeist. Far from being the enemy of length, regularly getting rid of dead ends can help with length retention in the long run. This is because once ends begin to split, they continue splitting up the full length of the hair shaft, which can ultimately lead to breakage and hair loss. Hair Rules lists four methods for ridding your hair of pesky split ends:

• The straight hair trim – possibly the least work intensive, straighten your hair or have your hair professionally straightened and trim off the frayed ends at the end of your hair. A great way to do this is to place a paper towel or another piece of white cloth under your hair, so you can clearly see where your ends split.

• Individual strands a.k.a “Search and Destroy” – CurlyNikki also sings the praises of this method, which can keep you from losing too much length and also allows you to head off split ends before they can cause too much damage by simply snipping them as you find them. According to Black Girl with Long Hair, you can also stretch out your hair after it has been parted and sectioned off and cut away the areas that are split.

• The “two-strand twist” method – Simply twist your hair into individual two strand twists and clip away any ragged or frizzy ends.

If You Don’t Use it, Toss it

Anti Product Junkie Collection | Minimalist Hair Care

Probably one of the cardinal sins of being natural, over-collection of hair products, also known as being a “Product Junkie,” can waste money and is often not helpful.

Constantly trying new products that you then forget about may seem like a good way to find a cocktail of conditioners, shampoos, and creams that are wonderful for your healthy hair. But naturalistas everywhere should beware of “Product Limbo,” where you get stuck trying new products and never settle on an arsenal of go-tos.

As you purge your hair cabinet during the new year, a great way to rid yourself of unused, would-be faves is to have a product give away party. Invite a group of your besties over, pop open a bottle of bubbly and swap products. You may stumble upon your new fave!

Deep Conditioner is Your Friend

For hair to be at its best at all times, weekly deep conditioning is necessary. A few of my personal favorites are:

• Mielle Organics’ Babbasu Oil and Mint conditioner
• Cantu Shea Butter Deep Conditioner
• Carol’s Daughter’s Black Vanilla Deep Conditioning Smoothie

Deep conditioning moisturizes the hair and protects it from damage as a result of heat-styling or color-treating. It also adds needed proteins to your healthy hair, so if you’re not serious about your deep conditioning routine already, 2018 might be the perfect time to buckle down.

Try Something New

This may be especially useful for people who’ve been natural for a while and found themselves in a rut. Trying out new hairstyles from updos to braids may inspire you after years of simply throwing your curls in a puff or cycling through the same twistouts and wash and god.

Feeling like your hair is too long to style but not ready to cut it? Maybe it’s time to try locs. Or, if you’re looking for a drastic change or want to give your hair a healthy start for the new year, it may be time to have another big chop and start all over. The possibilities are endless so let the sky be your limit in the new year.

Accept Where You are in Your Natural Healthy Hair Journey

Comparison is the thief of joy and when it comes to natural hair it can also be the thief of a successful year for your hair. How we feel about our hair, whether we realize it or not, affects the way we treat our hair and how kind we are to our tresses.

Whether you’ve just started transitioning or have achieved the elusive middle back length benchmark, your hair is your hair, and no one has it.

Take pride in your hair’s uniqueness and if you don’t make any resolutions this New Year, make it your goal to love on your hair no matter what, because self-love is the first step to a prosperous head of healthy hair, and a prosperous life!