Irrespective of your hair kind or texture, there are just a few common truths in hair care: rinse and repeat, don’t moist your hair for at the least 24 hours post-perm, and, for some purpose, your hair by no means appears nearly as good within the winter. Nevertheless it’s not simply you. Winter is tough on hair (and infrequently results in dry, damaged locks). Your hair lays flatter, your types don’t final as lengthy, and your strands are vulnerable to breakage. However there’s hope to revitalize your drained tresses. By studying just a few tried and true winter hair care ideas, you possibly can count on loads of good hair days come 2023.
Featured picture by Michelle Nash.

Subscribe
Get Respiratory House
A twice-monthly observe from me to you. What’s at present on my thoughts, in my cart, on my plate, and extra. Drop your e mail to subscribe.
Thanks for Signing Up!
Oops!
Seems such as you’re already signed up or your e mail deal with is invalid.
Oops!
Seems such as you unsubscribed earlier than click here to resubscribe.
The Skinny on Dry Winter Hair
There’s a purpose your hair is more durable to type within the winter. It’s within the air, says Boris Oak, clear magnificence knowledgeable and founding father of EVOLVh. “Cooler climate is often drier climate, compounded with indoor warmth, which can also be usually dry.”
Dry air equals dry hair. And dry hair is unattainable to handle—however not unattainable to repair. Hydration is the important thing to every thing: glowing skin, a healthy body, and glossy, wholesome hair. Whereas upping your winter water consumption and taking hair vitamins can go a great distance, a number of the greatest winter hair care ideas advocate just some topical switches. Investing in a good shampoo and conditioner, a hair oil, and a hydrating hair masks may be all it takes to counteract winter dryness.
I spoke with Oak to get his hair secrets and techniques and to find one of the best winter hair care ideas for wholesome strands all yr lengthy.
How Winter Climate Impacts Hair Well being
Dry air and colder temperatures aren’t simply purple flags in your hair well being—dry hair is a styling nightmare. “Drier hair is uninteresting, it doesn’t maintain its form properly, and it general appears lackluster,” says Oak. “Dry hair can also be extra susceptible to break because the hair turns into extra brittle. That may result in extra cut up ends or extra injury to hair while you mix using heated styling merchandise with dry hair.”
Ought to we swap out our hair care merchandise within the winter?
To forestall broken and “lackluster” locks, Oak recommends taking your hair hydration severely. Hydration is crucial in your total physique, inside and outside. Hydrating merchandise are must-haves in your routine. Particularly for winter hair care.
“If you’re not utilizing merchandise designed to hydrate your hair, the winter marks a great time to swap out your shampoo, conditioner, and styling merchandise to ones that may present an extra increase of moisture to account for harsher environmental situations.”
The Finest and Worst Winter Hair Care Elements
Your shampoos may be sabotaging you. When you’re not utilizing the suitable components, you’ll fall sufferer to a nasty case of dry winter woes. Oak recommends:
- Pure oils like sunflower, rosehip, candy almond, and kiwi seed oil so as to add moisture.
- Humectants, components that draw moisture in from the air to spice up hydration.
And irrespective of the season, Oak additionally suggests avoiding:
- Any merchandise with alcohol, which additional dry out hair.
- Elements like parabens, sulfates, phthalates, panthenol, and artificial fragrances.
Does hair oiling work?
When you’ve by no means tried hair oiling, then you definately’ve seemingly come throughout it on the web. It even turned a TikTok pattern for some time, however as we all know, these could be hit and miss. Seems although, hair oiling might be the treatment to dry winter strands.
In response to Oak, “there’s analysis from the final decade that reveals the advantages of hair oiling. Its historical past dates again hundreds of years.” However the query stays: ought to everybody attempt it?
“Hair oiling is the method of making use of an oil to the scalp and roots and massaging them down the hair shaft or just making use of oils to the guidelines of the hair to stop cut up ends,” explains Oak. “Hair oiling is protected for most individuals, however if in case you have eczema, extra dandruff, or some other pores and skin situation, you wish to converse together with your dermatologist to find out if hair oiling is acceptable.”
Strive scalp serums if you happen to’re nervous to attempt a full oiling routine. Mix this observe with scalp massages for the entire Ayurvedic treatment.
Winter Hair Care Ideas: It All Begins With the Scalp
Scalp care is essential while you’re attempting to take care of wholesome, hydrated hair. To maintain it from drying out, Oak shares the next winter hair care ideas:
- Maintain your hair protected anytime you go exterior, with a hat, hood, or scarf.
- At residence, while you bathe or bathe, achieve this in heat (not scorching) water. Scorching water can strip your scalp of pure oils important for scalp well being.
- Attempt to cut back the variety of instances you wash your hair every week. Even only one much less time per week may help hold a number of the pure oil in your hair to assist with moisture.
- Incorporate a scalp oil into your routine that’s formulated with antioxidants, ceramides, and pure extracts to stimulate hair follicles for the looks of thicker, fuller hair, soothes the scalp, and protects hair from breakage.
And since hat hair is usually a priority within the winter, Oak has just a few phrases of knowledge to share. “Dry your hair totally earlier than carrying a hat, in order that your hair doesn’t tackle the form of your hat whereas it dries,” says Oak. “Take away your hat as quickly as potential. Use merchandise that may assist increase the well being of your hair so it withstands the friction out of your hat every day.”
Ideas for Combating Frizz and Static
“Static is infamous within the winter because of the lack of humidity within the air, which will increase the static electrical energy within the air. You’ll be able to fight static and frizz through the use of a moisturizing shampoo while you wash your hair and a moisturizing conditioner each time you moist your hair.”
Strive silk equipment like silk scrunchies, pillows, and head wraps to scale back friction when you sleep.
For further safety, Oak recommends utilizing “a hair masks as soon as per week, or each different week, to assist increase hydration and hair well being. Depart-in conditioners are additionally nice choices if you happen to don’t have time for a hair masks however need an additional increase.”
The Finest Merchandise to Maintain Winter Hair Wholesome
Each product is curated with care by our editors. When you purchase one thing by way of our hyperlinks, we could earn a small fee without charge to you.