Winter means deliciously cozy time by the fireplace, adorable pink cheeks when you rush in from the cold and an excuse to buy that scarf that exactly matches your gloves. Sadly, it also means lots of time indoors with heaters, outside with dry, cold air and, inevitably, unmanageable hair. Whether you are tasked with taming the heights of your frizzed out mane or fighting the battle against fly-aways, winter weather can be a real challenge for your hair.
In the same way that your skin gets dry and your lips get chapped during the chilling winter months, your hair suffers from the lack of humidity as well. You know to moisturize your skin with lotion, and everyone has a serious stash of lip balm to get them through the winter, but how do you combat dry hair when your standard conditioner simply isn’t up to the task?
Fly-away nightmare hair
For those with fine or thin hair, dealing with static-electric hair that sticks straight up in the air, clings to your face or just makes that crackling sound whenever it brushes against your clothing is only funny for a hot minute. After that, it is endlessly annoying and rather uncomfortable. This kind of hair is in desperate need of moisture that will stay through the day. A leave-in conditioner is often a convenient choice for those whose hair does not tend to have oily build up throughout the day. If you need something lighter but that will still lock in moisture, a coconut-oil-based hair serum is a perfectly suited option. You can experiment with extra virgin coconut oil as well, as many people have great success when using it in place of a leave-in conditioner.
Frizzy frustrations
Frizzy hair is an annoyance of epic proportions. Just when you’ve mastered your favorite hairstyle, you take a ride to work in a cab with the heater on full blast and then sit in your office where the building temperature is only mildly below a Bikram yoga class. By the time you head home, you wonder if you will even be able to fit your massive mane through the front door of your apartment. This, again, is a time when anti-frizz hair serum will be your very best beauty asset. While virgin coconut oil can be of a great deal of help for frizzy hair, you may find even better success at controlling your unruly locks with something specifically formulated to fight frizz. Of course, using a rich moisturizing conditioner is a helpful follow-up whenever you shampoo your hair, but in the dryer months it can be helpful to shampoo less if possible, and consider rotating in a dry shampoo to preserve the moisture in your hair and prevent breakage.
Forget the old wives tales
Avoid some of the wackier recommendations floating around the beauty world. Sure, you can coat your hair in mayonnaise, but you will end up with oily, weighed down, limp hair and possibly more annoying problems than you had before. The same goes for unconventional methods of prevention such as rubbing dyer sheets on your head. Sure, it might keep your clothes from sticking together but you better love the scent if you are about to rub it all over yourself. Stick to products with a proven track record and the science to back up their claims. You will have better results and prolong the health of your hair through the offensive dry winter months.