Winter Woes: The Ultimate Cold Weather Hair Care Routine

If you are living in a place where winter conditions exist, then chances are you are all too familiar with the effects that dry and cold winter air conditions can have on your hair. The Christmas season is filled with social occasions from gatherings with family and friends to the office party – all requiring your hair to be on point, and in today’s blog we are going to arm you with the best tips from hair professionals to get you through this festive season.

It all starts with awareness of the fact that the exposure to the harsh cold elements and constant transition to heated indoors can void our hair of its moisture, leading to dull hair that's more prone to damage. Not only are your precious hair strands susceptible to breakage because of the dry, cold winter air, but scalp dryness, dandruff, can pay you an unwanted visit during these drier months.

So, how do you take care of your hair, minimize these harsh winter effects and prevent damage? We've put together our favourite winter hair care tips and tricks below so you can achieve healthy hair this winter. Let’s jump right in!

Moisturise your hair and scalp with hair oil

During the winter months, indoor heating can deplete moisture and dry the hair out, occasionally leaving a dry, flaky scalp. We recommend using a leave-in conditioner or add hair oil to your winter hair care routine to combat dryness effectively.

Apply few drops of a nourishing hair oil at the end of every day to help replenish your hair during this winter with the moisture that it requires, preventing it from breakage, and leaving it soft and bright. A few of our most favourite hair oils are Argan oil and jojoba oil.

If you are struggling with dandruff due to a dry, flaky scalp during the winter months, we recommend applying a heavier oil treatment such as coconut oil or castor oil directly onto the scalp. Let the oil soak in between 20-30 minutes to deeply moisturize the scalp, then wash your hair out as usual. 

Use OLAPLEX Nº.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask

This is one of our favourite tips because of the guaranteed results it offers. An OLAPLEX bond repair treatment is just as effective in the winter as any time of the year. When hair lacks moisture, it becomes more susceptible to damage and breakage and a quick and easy fix for the winter season is to book an appointment at an OLAPLEX treatment salon.

Using OLAPLEX Nº.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask is vital to keeping your hair healthy and hydrated. Nº.8 is infused with patented OLAPLEX Bond Building technology. It’s a highly concentrated reparative mask that adds shine, smoothness, and body while providing intense moisture to damaged hair. 

Based on clinical results, Nº.8 provided 2x more shine, 4x more moisture, 6x smoother hair, and 94% of users saw more body. Unlike many moisture masks that coat and weigh the hair down, OLAPLEX Bond Intense Moisture Mask is safe to use as needed especially during the winter months. The great thing about it is you can do it yourself at home after getting some from a trusted OLAPLEX stockists.

Here’s how you mask up:

1. Apply to clean, damp hair and work through with your fingers or a comb to ensure even saturation. 
2. Wait ten minutes, then rinse and style as you usually would

Give your hair a break

When you don’t need to style your hair between your social occasions, give it a change to rest and relax. Your hair will thank you for giving it that much needed rest. During rest days, you can avoid styling it and leave it to simply breath and relax. If you still prefer to do your hair up use stretchy rubber hair bands that minimize friction and won’t restrict or break the hair.

Once the festive period is over you may wish to give your hair a good trim, to do away with any split ends and dead or damaged hair. If you do use hair extensions this season, you may also wish to have your hair extensions removed to relieve pressure of your locks or rejuvenate your hair with a deep conditioning hair mask.

Avoid heat styling

You hear it all the time that heat styling is a major cause of dry and damaged hair, now imagine putting your hair through those conditions while it already lacks moisture because of the weather conditions. The outcome isn’t pretty. When your hair is already in a fragile state during the colder months, heat styling simply amplifies the problem, sucking moisture from hair strands. Try your best to embrace your natural hair texture and resort to air drying instead of hair dry whenever possible. Using a few drops of hair oil to tame frizz will go a long way this season. To avoid temptation, store your curling iron away for the winter, and get a set of heatless curls and waves or you can even use these colder months as the perfect opportunity to experiment with twists, buns, and ponytails. 

Stay Hydrated

True fact, a single strand of hair is composed of 25% water! Knowing that a fourth of its composition is made of H20, it goes without saying that drinking a lot of water will revitalise your hair. Drinking optimal amounts of water also stimulates a healthier scalp, preventing scalp problems like dryness, itchiness, or dandruff during the winter. Have you ever noticed that your skin looks dull and tired when you haven't drank enough water? Your hair is the same way! Staying hydrated helps prevent split ends and brittle hair, fostering shiny, radiant hair, so  be sure to drink up this season.