Winter Hair Care

Just like your skin, hair needs special care during winter months.

Cold weather combined with dry indoor heat can leave you with split ends and a dehydrated scalp. On top of that, there are some everyday habits which make things worse. Find out which mistakes to avoid and how to nurture your hair no matter how cold it gets.

It may come as a surprise, but many still go out with wet hair, even when it’s freezing. Yes, you may catch a cold or worse, but even if you stay healthy, your hair won’t. Water turns to ice, physically breaking the hair. It’s best to wash your hair the evening before, but if you didn’t have the time, use dry shampoo. It’s not an ideal solution, and you shouldn’t overuse it, but it is better than the alternative.

Hydrating masks, nourishing oils, and serums for your hair type are what you need. Moisturized hair and proper hats are the best ways to fight the winter hair.

Speaking of hats, some still believe these accessories can cause further damage to the hair. However, that’s not the case, unless you aren’t planning to take off your hat during the whole day. To be on the safe side, try to find the ones lined with silk or satin. Even better, line those babies yourself!

Use heat protection, including leave-in conditioners, to prevent breakage. It’s almost impossible not to use your hairdryer during winters, but you should wait until hair is approximately 80% dry to start the blow-drying process. The extra heat combined with extremely hot water will leave your hair dry and damaged unless you make some changes in your hair treatments.

How do you choose products for the perfect winter hair? First of all, it’s more about the scalp than the hair. Choosing more natural and organic products will help, but only if you pick the ones for your hair type. You can always ask a professional for some extra tips. Keep one thing in mind: not all alcohols are bad – cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl, myristyl, behenyl, and lauryl alcohols help with hydration. On the other hand, ethanol (or ethyl alcohol), propanol, isopropyl alcohol (or isopropanol), denatured alcohol (or alcohol denat), and benzyl alcohol can strip moisture from your hair.

Make masks at home with some well-known ingredients like yogurt, avocado, coconut oil, or apple cider vinegar. There’s no universal mask for every hair type, so you might want to mix and match until you find what’s right for your hair.