5 winter hair struggles and how to overcome them
If there's one part of our beauty regime that the winter season complicates, it's hair care.
While slathering on more moisture on our parched skin is easy, it takes an entirely revamped hair care routine to rescue our dry scalp and hair from total wreckage during the cold months.
Here's how you can overcome 5 common winter hair struggles:
1- Static
Dry climate gives your hair wings. Electrons build up in the hair and repel each other, causing strands to literally 'fly away' from one another.
One of the easiest ways to fight hair static is actually a winter hair care staple: don't shampoo so much!
Your scalp doesn't produce as much oil in the winter, so you don't have to shampoo as frequently as you do in the humid summer. Sticking to your summer shampoo routine will deprive your hair of its natural oils, and make it more vulnerable to static. Swap your regular shampoo for a moisturising one for bonus hydration.
Another winter hair care staple: use wooden brushes with natural bristles. Tools like plastic combs or brushes produce a positive charge, and make your hair more staticky.
Keep a couple of dryer sheets handy to counter a static attack during the day. Rub your hand on the dryer sheet, then run your fingers through your hair to tame frizz and flyaways while you're out and about.
2- A snowy scalp
It's not just your face and body that gets parched in the winter; your scalp suffers the same fate and falls away in white flakes that resembles dandruff (which it's not!*).
The best way to battle dry scalp is to amp up its moisture with a weekly hydration mask. A no-excuses, totally doable solution is an olive oil massage. Warm the oil for a few seconds for better absorption, massage all over your head and towel-wrap it for 20 minutes before you rinse well.
**Dandruff is actually yellow and clumpy, and a fungal condition that needs to be treated with anti-fungal treatments such as tea tree oil.*
3- Dull hair
Air-drying your hair in the winter is unthinkable, but hot tools can do even more damage when your hair is moisture-starved.
So, before you reach for the hairdryer, apply a heat-protecting product. Its lightweight oils shield your hair from high temperatures and also add shine!
A few drops of shine serum can add even more gloss to gloomy locks.
4- Flat hair
Winter sucks all the volume out of your hair, so spare your roots the conditioner.
Your roots are just a few weeks old and receive enough hydration from your scalp's oils. The added weight of the conditioner will only weigh them down.
Apply conditioner just from your mid-shaft to your ends.
5- Split ends
While the only way to deal with split ends is to trim your hair, there are ways to care for your hair tips between trips to the hairdresser.
Conditioners that you rinse out in the shower don't mend your split ends, but a leave-in conditioner will add extra protection that stays on strands as you style them and go about your day.