The chilly winter winds are here again, caressing everything with their soothing touch. For most of us winter breeze can be calming, but do you know this coldness dries out everything, even our hair?! During the winter months, your lustrous, voluminous hair becomes brittle and starts to break. While struggling everyday with your demanding schedule – family, work, or school – your hair might become a victim to winter breakage.
Preventing your hair from the wrath of winter seems to be quite taxing. Well, the good news is this can be easily achieved, but with little care! The seemingly daunting task of keeping your hair healthy during winters can be effortlessly done by adopting some of the below-mentioned strategies:
Keep Your Hair and Scalp Hydrated
To keep your hair and scalp hydrated, you must consume plenty of water throughout the day. You can also use dry care shampoo that will deeply moisturize your dry scalp caused by the weather and temperature fluctuations occurring between inside and outside the same.
Avoid Over-Styling Your Hair
You should limit your use of styling tools like hairdryers and curling irons as heat can cause drying of your hair and scalp; thereby, increasing the chance of hair damage.
Get Your Hair Trimmed Regularly
Winter can make your hair ends dry and brittle. You should regularly trim your hair to maintain it in good condition and decrease the chance of having split ends.
Do Not Leave Home with Wet Hair
You should take extra precaution of not going outside with wet hair. You must dry your hair naturally or by using a blow-dryer. Due to low temperature, hair takes longer to dry, and if your hair freezes, you are risking breakage.
Wash Your Hair in Warm or Cool Water
During the winter months, you might be tempted to indulge in a hot water bath, but try to avoid it. Instead, use warm or cool water for rinsing your hair so as to avoid damage. Your hair and the delicate skin of your scalp may become sensitive after washing it with hot water.
Shampoo Less Often to Help with Itchy, Flaky Scalp
Skin plaques can completely cover your scalp, and cause itch, flakes and reduced growth. In order to overcome this problem, experts suggest going easy on shampooing. For people, who have severe scalp issues, scalp and dandruff care shampoo is suggested.
Use Oil-Based Moisturizer
For any type of hair, blasts of hot air are never good. You can only combat it by moisturizing your hair excessively. Natural, wavy, relaxed, curly and coiled hair is extremely sensitive to cold temperatures, and becomes more susceptible to breakage, developing split ends and getting brittle. Experts recommend using heavier-than-usual, oil-based moisturizers that evaporate less quickly, so to be used to protect textured hair.
Weekly Treatments to Keep Hair Hydrated
If you have dry hair, you must undergo weekly treatments for maintaining your hair texture. During winters, your hair dries out due to insufficient moisture being present in the indoor air, which acts as a good conditioner. Experts suggest that once a week, you should slather conditioner on your hair; let it sit for 30 minutes, so that it can penetrate inside the hair shaft and then, wash it with warm to cool water.
Use Leave-In Conditioner to Combat Static
During winter months, it is common to see floating, fine strands of hair, which is due to dryness. By hydrating your hair through regular conditioning and then, locking the moisture in by using a leave-on conditioner, you can easily avoid such situation.
Line Your Winter Hat with Silk or Satin to Avoid Split Ends
If you have curly or naturally textured hair, using a hat with a lining of wool, cotton and other coarse fabrics can lead to hair breakage and split ends. Hence, you should always try to line your wool, cotton and acrylic hat with silk or satin lining. You can also apply an oil-based hair moisturizer or use a silk scarf to cover your hair before putting on your hat.
Use Dry Shampoo for Volume If Your Hair Goes Limp
If you have oily hair, then you might find your hair getting limp, especially after using a hat. You can avoid such a situation by using a good spray or thickening tonic, which will help you in styling and adding volume to your hair. Dry shampoos are the best for achieving these results as they help in keeping the hair fuller and healthy.
Consume Healthy Fats
Consume foods that are rich in healthy mono-saturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids that help strengthen your hair. Some of the foods that you can include in your diet are nuts, fish, flax, avocados and olive oil, among others.
Include Vitamin C
Diets rich in vitamin C boost production of collagen – a protein, which maintains skin and other connective tissues – in the body. This will enhance your hair growth and make it lustrous. Therefore, include dark, leafy vegetables, citrus foods and others such items in your diet.
Use a Milder Shampoo
During winter months, try using sulphate-free shampoo to avoid dryness. If you still feel your hair is dry, you can add cleansing co-washers that are even milder and can help your hair in maintaining its moisture content.
Use Liquid, Oil, Cream (L.O.C.) Method for Moisturizing Hair
Liquid, Oil, Cream is a method which is used to moisturize the hair. In this, you begin by hydrating your hair with water or any other water-based product, which forms your liquid component of the procedure. Next, you seal the moisture with oil and thereafter, apply cream product to close the hair cuticle to prevent moisture loss.
Steam Your Hair
Winter months can leave your hair dry. You can prevent this by steaming your hair on a regular basis; by using a steamer or not wearing a shower cap while taking a shower.
