Ultimate Guide to Winter Hair Care

Ah, the ravages of winter and the toll it takes on our hair! Ultimate Guide to Winter Hair Care provides easy, common sense techniques to ensure your hair stays happy and healthy throughout the cold weather months. Follow the tips below to ensure your hair stays beautiful and healthy despite the cold, dry air and other problems winter can bring! 1. Condition, condition, condition! Dry heat and cold weather sap hair of moisture. Because dry hair breaks easily, the most important thing you can do during the cold months is to deep condition regularly and use a more intensive daily conditioner. 2. Avoid using heated appliances as much as possible. Using a blow dryer, curling iron or flat iron dries hair out even more in winter. 3. Avoid chemicals. Don't perm or use peroxide-laden color in winter. Try having lowlights or highlights added to just a few strands of hair to give you that extra glow, or try using a no peroxide hair color or a low-peroxide color. 4. Don't clarify too often. At this time of year it's best to avoid products that build up in your hair rather than have to remove them. If your hair is sensitive to the effects of silicone build-up, now is the time to avoid products with silicone derivatives (look for ingredients with the suffix "cone"). While the initial effect of silicone is one of smoothing and shining, silicone can be very difficult to remove completely and can eventually have a drying effect on some types of hair. As wonderful as using a clarifying shampoo or rinse is at removing hair product buildup, most tend to remove the protective oils from the hair shaft... oils that are very much needed to protect hair during the harsh, cold months. It's important that when you do clarify in winter to be sure to use a gentle clarifying shampoo. 5. Cover up! If you are going to be outside, especially in extreme temperatures or wind, use a pretty silk scarf to protect your hair from the elements. Sun can also be as damaging in winter as it is in summer! 6. Remember that your hair can be more dry and brittle in winter, and thus be much more delicate. Try to avoid over-brushing your hair, Grandma wasn't right about everything. Comb hair gently with a wide-tooth comb at least a couple times a day to prevent tangles. 7. Trim often. If you are maintaining length, trim your hair about a half inch a month using a good pair of sharp styling shears that you use for nothing other than trimming your hair! If you are actively growing your hair, trim it a half inch every other month during the cold season. This will help prevent any breakage from moving up the hair shaft and causing you a boatload of trouble later! 8. Avoid excessively hot water when you wash your hair. Hot water is drying to hair. Rinse in tepid or even cold water for smooth,shiny hair all year round. 9. Try wearing your hair in some dazzling updo hairstyles during winter. Not only will this limit your hair's exposure to the elements and dry air, they are beautiful and wonderfully festive!