Rather than allow your hair to get dry, frizzy and damaged from the cold weather, however, you can be proactive and protect your locks this winter. A good moisturizing routine and preventative measures can keep your hair shiny, moisturized and luscious all winter, so you have no bad hair days to worry about. Here are five hair care tips to get through the winter weather.
1. Moisturize your scalp
Hair health begins at the roots, and that means taking care of the skin of your scalp. Winter air can dry out your scalp, creating flakes that settle in your hair and can make for a nasty appearance. Additionally, a dry scalp can be itchy and uncomfortable. A dry scalp is different from dandruff, which is a fungal infection. You don’t want to treat flakey skin with dandruff medication, as it will only exacerbate the dryness. Rather than sporting flakey hair all winter, use any natural oil in your home, heated briefly in the microwave. Rubbing oils, such as olive oil or coconut oil, into your scalp can bring moisture back to your dry skin and prevent flaking. Be sure to massage oil in and then leave it for 20 minutes before rinsing with shampoo. Your flakes will be heavily remedied after one round, but you can repeat it weekly to maintain healthy, moisturized skin.
2. Get regular trims
Since most of winter will be spent battling dryness, your hair is typically more prone to split ends and breakage around time time. You can cut down on the damage by making sure you trim your ends regularly. Getting a small cut every six to eight weeks is typically recommended, based on how quickly your hair grows. This can keep your hair from terrible splitting, which leads to frizz and easy breakage.
3. Wash your hair minimally
Overwashing your hair, particularly when you use shampoo, can dry your hair out and encourage it to overproduce oils at the same time. According to the science of shine, this creates a difficult cycle that can be hard to come out of. Additionally, wet hair and cold weather are a bad combination, usually resulting in brittle and dry hair that is prone to breakage. Keeping your hair washing to once or twice a week can allow your hair to stay moisturized from its natural oils without overproducing and without drying your hair out.
4. Use deep conditioner
A deep conditioning treatment can provide intense moisture for your hair that regular conditioner cannot. Consider a weekly deep conditioner or hot oil treatment to moisturize. Like the oil treatment, you’ll want to massage a deep conditioning treatment and leave it on for 20 minutes or so, depending on the product. However, you do not want to put this on your scalp; get it on your hair, from root to tip, in order to protect and moisturize it. Be sure to coat your ends carefully so they can be moisturized and prevent splitting.
5. Protect your hair with silk scarves
Bad hair days are common in winter, as are chilly ears, which means hats and beanies tend to make a comeback around this season. However, dry hair and hats frequently result in static and breakage, and can leave you with unflattering hat hair. Use a silk scarf to wrap your hair before putting on a hat to protect it. The silk is gentle and won’t cause breakage, static or damage. Silk wraps can be used at night as well, to protect damage from the dry air as you sleep. As you go through the cold winter season, take some extra time to care for your hair. Keep it moisturized and healthy, and you’ll have the relief of knowing your hair won’t fall victim to unmanageable splits and breaks. Featured photo credit: Evil Erin via flickr.com
