During the winter, the cold air wreaks havoc on our hair by drying it out. But don’t despair. You can keep your hair in great condition by following a few simple tips.
1. Protective Styling
Tucking away those fragile ends can prevent breakage and keep hair healthy. It prevents snow, sleet and the cold air from reaching your hair directly. Styles such as crochet braids, box braids and even buns should be considered as they all mean your ends are safe from the elements.
2. Moisturize more often
Your hair will need to have moisture added to it more often in order to prevent dryness caused by the weather. Always remember to use a water based moisturizer as those are the best kinds to effectively add moisture to your hair. That means water should be the first ingredient. At the same time, listen to your hair so you know when it needs moisturizing if moisturizing on a strict schedule doesn’t work for you.
Use heavy butters and creams such as shea butter to lock in the moisture already in your hair. When the weather is cold, using light oils will not cut it because moisture is drawn out from your hair faster. Using heavy butters and creams prevents the moisture from being pulled out so quickly by forming a thicker barrier.
4. Don’t skip the pre-poo
Make sure to pre-poo your hair before every wash to make sure the hair isn’t stripped. Use oil that can penetrate the hair shaft like olive or coconut oil. These oils work their way into the shaft to moisturize hair from the inside out. Heating up the oils before use also ensures maximum penetration.
5. Use less heat
The cold air outside, combined with indoor heating already pulls a lot of moisture from your hair. Don’t suck even more moisture from your hair by heat styling. Limit uses of blow dryers, flat irons etc. or just take them out altogether. You can do styles such as flexi-rod sets or roller sets to manipulate your hair to your liking. If you use heat, ensure to use a heat protectant such as Mizani’s Thermastrength.
6. Deep condition more often
You need to replenish the moisture lost even more during the cold weather. Deep conditioning provides your hair with a chance to absorb even more moisture than just normal moisturizing. It also gives a chance for you to add more nutrients to your hair. Whether you choose to DIY or use a store bought conditioner, make sure what you use is creamy and contains a lot of nutrients for added benefits.
Indoor or outdoor, a satin scarf can help. In many places, winter means covering your head, but a lot of the materials used in hats or hoodies can actually cause your hair to break. Invest in satin lined headwear or simply put a satin scarf on underneath the hat or hoodie. Wearing a satin scarf will allow the hair to gently slide around on the fabric instead of snagging, breaking and tearing the strands.