Winterizing Your Hair
There is a chill in the air and the holiday season is upon us again. Good-bye to the hot humid days of summer, which, depending on your hair type, can result in flat and limp or big and fuzzy hair days. Hello to crisp, cool days and chilly nights, or as it is also known...The Good Hair Season. Most of my clients are thrilled as we enter this time of year because they know that their hair is going to behave and style better with less effort, which is a welcome relief after the dog days of summer. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't continue to protect our hair from the elements. You've heard me preach about the evils of summer sun and surf on your hair, but what about winter? Winter months offer up their own unique brand of troubles: There's hat hair, static electricity, split ends, and dry frizz to worry about even in Birmingham's relatively moderate climate. The environment can have some of the most damaging effects on hair in both summer and winter, but in winter its often worse because people generally don't take as many precautions to protect their hair. Sun exposure (which can be as intense on a ski slope as it is on a beach) combined with a blustery winter wind (which can snarl hair) as well as snow, rain, and icy cold (which makes hair brittle and dry) can all come together to create some pretty bad winter hair days. Even if you're not the outdoorsy type, winter can still be tough on your hair. The reason is indoor heating, which can be something akin to spending an entire afternoon under a hair dryer, robbing your hair of vital moisture. To protect against the winter woes, you'll want to take a few precautions and may need a change in your hair product line up to meet your hair's winter needs.
To me the most important thing is regular use of a thick, rich, moisturizing conditioner that contains essential fatty acids and humectants--because they are best at moisturizing hair, and also help attract and hold moisture in the hair, a real challenge in winter weather. If you have thick, rough, or curly hair, in addition to your daily conditioning you'll also want to use a creamy rich masque once or twice a week and leave it on for about a half an hour, paying special attention to the ends. If your hair is fine and slick avoid the conditioning masque--it's just too heavy even if you have severely damaged hair. Instead, use a regular conditioner every time you wash your hair, supplemented with a light conditioning leave-in spray for your ends. Using a light weight silicone-based shine spray will also further protect your hair from the elements, without weighing it down. You can do this after you dry your hair, or between washings when you come in from the cold or anytime your hair looks very dry. Another tip: Every time you put on hand cream, scrunch the ends of your hair to help deposit a bit more moisture where it's needed most. Winter's dryness can also lead to static electricity and fly-away's. A fabric softener dryer sheet, such as Bounce or Snuggle, will neutralize the negative ions that cause static; simply rub it lightly over your hair or rub your hair brush over it before brushing. This tip works great but I would advise you not to let too many people see you rubbing your head with Snuggle. They may not understand. You might also find it helpful to substitute your usual styling gel with the more emollient styling cream. This will add moisture to the hair which makes it more pliable and gives it better elasticity so it's less likely to break. In fact when choosing winter hair styling products try avoiding anything with a high alcohol content which can be drying to your hair. Most importantly, limit your time under a blow-dryer--good advice all year round, but essential in winter. To do that and still effectively style your hair, use a towel to gently blot about twenty percent of the moisture content out of your hair, then hit it with the blow dryer, stopping the moment your hair is dry. To cut down on the proverbial "hat hair", pull longer locks into a ponytail high on your head, or push short hair straight back, before putting on the hat. Pushing hair in the opposite direction than the way your style normally falls will help it spring out with bounce once you take your hat off. If you styled your hair with a cream product, adding just a few drops of water to your hands and rubbing them through your hair can fluff up and refresh your style after wearing a hat.
If your hair is colored, particularly if you add highlights, winter is a good time to give it a rest. Since lightening hair does more damage to hair, the less stress your put on your tresses in winter, the better they will look when spring and summer roll around. In the meantime, however, you don't have to suffer with drab, dull hair. Winter is the time to warm up your look with a change of hue by adding less intense lowlights (highlights closer to, or darker than, your base hair color) to still give your hair shine and pizzazz with minimal damage. Regardless of the type of coloring you have, always cover your head when outdoors and always use a shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair. If you follow these guidelines for winterizing your hair, you'll be rewarded with healthy hair all season long and you'll be three steps ahead of the game when spring arrives.
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