Its no secret that winter is upon us, and boy has it been it chilly! As I bundled myself up to hit the cold yesterday, it got me thinking as much as we care about our skincare during winter, how much of our attention do we pay to our haircare?
My daughter recently had her long hair lightened with highlights, which of course took its toll on the conditon of her hair. She was getting ready to go outside too, without wearing a hat and had her damp hair streaming out behind her. I told her "my girl, cover your hair from the cold, it will dry it out even more!"
We tend to associate summer heat and hot sunny weather with hair damage dryness, not realising that cold frigid weather will have its way with hair too. Cold weather can have some negative effects on your hair, leading to issues such as dryness, breakage, and lack of shine. It can cause your hair to lose its natural moisture just as summer sun can, leaving it even more vulnerable to the harsh elements.
These conditions can also lead to a dry and itchy scalp, which affects the health of the hair from the root at the point of growth. As well, the lack of humidity in the air which is typical of more freezing conditions, can cause your hair to become static, leading to frizzy and hard to manage hair. Lower temperatures can also cause your hair to become brittle and more susceptible to breakage. Therefore, it is a must to consider the way that cold weather impacts the condition of your hair to maintain good hair health and shine.
The good news is though, taking care of your hair need not be expensive nor a chore. There are several ways you can begin nurturing your hair health today without much fuss or effort from your part.
Here are my top ten tips keeping your hair strong, healthy and radient during the wintery months:
Always cover your hair with a scarf, hat or hood when venturing outdoors to help keep hair warm and protected.
Nourish and hydrate your hair with a conditioner after shampooing. Leave your conditioner in for a few extra minutes while in the shower. The hot steam from the running water helps open the hair follicles, allowing the conditioner to better penetrate the hair shaft. Rinse, then turn the heat down slightly to a cooler (not cold) temperate for a second rinse. This will seal and smooth the hair folicle, locking in that moisture and enhancing shine.
On that note, avoid any really hot hair rinses, it will only dry the hair out and leave it dull and coarse.
Gently pat your hair dry after washing, avoid any rough rubbing.
Avoid using hot tools if you can. If you must, use a cool setting, as well use a thermal hair protector, they really do work.
Your cupboard or fridge is laden with secret hair health remedies. You can create a simple hair mask with ingredients such as eggs, mayonaise, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil even beer! Oats and sugars mixed with oil also make an excellent scalp scrub. Take a few minutes to research homemede hair masks online and try some out!
Make sure you are eating well. Hair health, like all health, begins from the inside out. Fruits like grapefruits are known to be excellent for the hair, as well whole grains and fortified grain products, beans and lentils are all good. Protein is also critical for keeping your hair healthy. I am not a nutritionist, but if you research online you will find plenty of useful info about foods to eat for hair health.
Stay hydrated! It's no secret that hydration begins from the inside out too, make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Drinking plenty of water helps with promoting a healthy scalp, preventing itchiness and flakiness, and dry brittle hair.
Tie your hair up or back when you go outside. Braids, buns, top knots are great because they wrap the hair around itself, shielding and protecting most it from being exposed to harsh elements and temperatures.
Lastly, stay on top of your hair appointments to keep hair strong and healthy. A regular trim helps prevent damaage and split ends which can travel up the shaft of the hair when neglected. It is almost impossible to recover from this, apart chopping it all off. Why let it go that far!
I hope you have enjoyed my top ten tips to keep your hair beautiful, strong and healthy during the colder months. If you have any questions please feel free to message me, I am happy to hear from you!
Take care,
Ashleigh
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