How To Winter-Proof Your Hair: 20 Steps To Stay Fabuluous Sub-Zero

Spooky season has come to an end, and as we get ready to welcome Christmas (we’ve all seen those October 31st vs November 1st memes, haven’t we?), the temperature drops and the smell of pumpkin spice everything is in the air. Before you pull out that ancient bottle of mulled wine some long-lost relative gifted you, there’s something else you need to take care of: your hair.

How do cold and humidity affect the health and well-being of your tresses? And most importantly, is there anything you can do to “winter-proof” your hair and shelter it from the effects of frostbite?

The answer is yes to all of the above - let’s see together how!

How To Protect Your Hair In Winter?

Combating the effects of cold weather on your tresses has never been easier. All you need to do is follow the right hair care regime and implement the best products for your hair type and scalp conditions to help your mane get through winter safe and sound.

1. Avoid Hot Showers

This can be a little difficult - everyone loves a hot shower after a day of commuting in and out of the cold - but I can’t stress this enough: hot water can damage the cuticles of your strands, lifting its protective layers and leaving the cortex vulnerable. The result? Dry, brittle tresses that will struggle in retaining moisture, developing frizz and crinkly flyaways.

2. Use Sulphate-Free & Alcohol-Free Shampoo

Both natural hair and human hair extensions will benefit from avoiding drying agents in your hair care routine such as sulphates and alcohol denat. Even if you’re looking for a cleansing shampoo, you don’t need to go harsh on your tresses to get that detox, breathing effect on your scalp.

Carol's Daughter Goddess Strength Shampoo is a great product to implement in your washing routine in order to protect your tresses during the cold season. If breakage is your main hair woe, this castor oil-infused shampoo will gently wash away grease and product build-up, whilst treating your strands with its fortifying formula.

SheaMoisture Manuka Honey & Yogurt Hydrate + Repair Shampoo is a natural product, jam-packed with nourishing ingredients such as manuka honey and yogurt to cleanse gently, leaving a clean, warm fragrance behind. Its formula features mafura oil, meant to promote healing and soften hair as well as shea butter to revive dry, brittle strands.

Ogx Renewing + Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo is your drugstore best friend. It's definitely not in the cheapest range, but more affordable than salon products - without missing out on stunning effects. This particular formula is enriched with Argan oil, a natural oil native to Morocco

3. Invest In A Good Conditioner

Conditioning and deep conditioning are two essentials in any respectable hair care regime, but your local convenience store option might just not cut it. Invest in a rich conditioner, possibly infused with the right natural oil to condition and detangle your hair. When managing your tresses under the shower, always make sure you’re going in delicately with a specific detangling brush.

Maui Moisture Revive & Hydrate Shea Butter Conditioner is one of my favourites. This formula has its unique blend of 100% Pure Aloe Vera Juice as the first ingredient, followed by Coconut Water for optimal moisture and nourishment whilst gently cleaning your hair and scalp.

Pureology Hydrate Conditioner is an optimal choice, more on the high-end side of hair care products. Its thirst-quenching recipe is designed for color-treated hair that needs some TLC.

Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Leave-In Conditioner is a different type of conditioner: this one in fact doesn't need to be rinsed out but should be applied on towel-dried hair and combed through for an even application. Perfect for those looking for a deep-conditioning treatment.

4. Reduce Hair Washing Days

Getting your hair wet means putting it at great risk of damage and breakage. As per usual, moderation is key: you don’t need to reduce your washing days to the point you turn into a grease ball, but you can buy yourself an extra day with the aid of dry shampoo. When used correctly (and not too often), dry shampoo can be a real lifesaver! Get your Cliphair dry shampoo now - specifically created to be lightweight and gentle on Remy hair extensions.

5. Avoid Tight Ponytails

This is a great hair tip all year round: tight, sleek ponytails have been all the rage lately - and I definitely approve of a slicked-back, shiny pony of course. But (there’s always a but), you should try and avoid wearing this hairstyle too often. A tight ponytail can put a lot of tension on certain parts of your hairline and crown, pulling your hair and possibly resulting in breakage and traction alopecia.

6. Use The Right Hair Accessories

For those days in which a ponytail is mandatory, switch to a silk scrunchie instead of your average hair tie. Silk or satin scrunchies are super cute and super gentle on your tresses.

7. Tuck Your Lengths In With Protective Hairstyles To Sleep

Technically speaking, protective hairstyles are not exclusive to the bedroom: most of them also make a super-trendy day-to-day hairstyle. Plaits, buns, and braids are awesome protective hairstyles to tuck your lengths and ends in and shield them from everyday stress. Bonus points: invest in a silk or satin nightcap and pillowcase to bring breakage and frizz down to zero.

8. Learn To Air Dry Your Hair

I know that the concept of air-drying your hair in winter may seem a little crazy, but with a little bit of organisation and planning it is possible to change your washing-up schedule in order to minimise the use of heated tools such as a blow dryer. This will noticeably diminish the heat damage on your hair. Find out more in our dedicated "how to dry your hair like a pro" blog. 

9. Try Heatless Styling Techniques

You can experiment with a curling ribbon, flexirods and Velcro rollers to get the blowout of your dreams. You can use jumbo rollers to achieve a fluffy 90s blowout and play around with different sizes of curling ribbons to get a classy curly blowout in a matter of minutes. I have talked about how to use a curling ribbon more in detail in our dedicated blog.

10. Use A Heat Protectant Spray

If you have to resort to certain styling techniques featuring the use of heat-based styling tools such as hair straighteners, curling wands, and curling irons, make sure you get a good heat-protectant spray. Need to stock up? Get your Cliphair heat protectant spray - designed to protect both your natural hair and human hair extensions - for maximum defence from heat damage, with an enticing flowery fragrance.

11. Cover Your Hair Up

Another great way to protect your hair from any external damaging agents (such as wind and rain) is to use an accessory to cover your hair up. A silk hair scarf will channel your inner Gucci model, but there are countless other pieces you can use to protect your hair and look fabulous whilst at it. Hats, beanies and berets are only a few!

12. Oil Your Hair

Choosing the best hair oil for you can be tough. Did you know there are dozens of essential oils and natural oils, each of them with different uses and perks for your mane? From growth to smoothness, nourishment and robustness, every hair oil is different. Regularly oiling your tresses is an important step to never skip!

Castor Oil: extracted from the Ricinus communis plant, castor oil is a popular natural treatment and more often than not a guest star in many natural beauty products. As it’s extremely rich in ricinoleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid), castor oil is naturally humectant and useful in retaining moisture. Castor oil has a naturally thick texture, and it’s best paired with a lighter carrier oil such as olive oil or the aforementioned coconut oil. For optimal scalp treatment, try using this mixture on your roots, put on a shower cap, and leave it on overnight. Wash and rinse as usual the next morning and make this your weekly routine for long-term results! 

Argan Oil: Argan oil helps control frizz, adds shine, favours elasticity and prevents breakage. It works well combined with other oils, and it’s safe to use every day. It is rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and vitamin E – all the good stuff to add vitality to hair and skin, and finally: argan oil can generally be used on most hair types. Full-strength pure argan oil is good for thick, curly hair and overly processed hair; for fine hair and/or oily scalp, a diluted version would be a better option as you want to avoid weighing your hair down. Argan oil is recommended as a conditioner and spread on the mid-length of your hair when styling for a shiny, frizz-free finish.

Almond Oil: Sweet almond oil smooths out your hair texture and will make it easier to brush and comb; nut oils in general are widely known for their emollient properties and minimizing friction during the styling process, meaning that your hair will be less prone to breakage. If vitamin E is what you could use more of in your self-care, then rest assured sweet almond oil is the friend you’ve been looking for: with its high amount of vitamin E, a natural antioxidant, almond oil will have your hair looking strong, young and healthy just by massaging a few drops on your hair shaft and ends.

13. Eat The Best Foods For Hair

I’ve talked about this more in detail in our dedicated blog: #Healthyhair Foods To Eat For Healthy Hair. Beauty starts from within, so it’s only natural that implementing the right foods in your diet will bring immense benefits to your hair’s shine and strength. Healthy fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants are a gorgeous mane’s best friends! 

14. Get Your Hair Trimmed

Trimming your hair is something you should do regularly, regardless of the weather. Ideally, chopping 1 cm of hair from your ends every three months or so can help keep your hair healthy and strong, getting rid of dry, brittle ends.

15. Try Hair Dusting

If an even trim isn’t what you’re looking for, you may want to try hair dusting. Hair dusting is a fairly new technique that gets rid of single damaged hairs, and focuses on tackling frizz and annoying flyaways instead of evenly cutting all of your ends.

16. Give Your Hair A Spa Treatment

The right hair oil, an infusion of Vitamin E and a nice scalp massage can go a long way. This treatment will not only feel amazing on your head, but they will also stimulate your blood circulation around the follicles and promote hair growth!

17. Detox Your Hair Monthly

Once every three or four weeks, you should give your scalp a nice detox treatment. This cleansing process is designed to get rid of dead skin cells and product build-up (such as poorly rinsed conditioner, dry shampoo, and hair oil residues). You can find out more about this technique in our dedicated blog: Hair Detox 101.

18. Learn To Give Your Hair Deep Conditioning Weekly

Some hair types may require this treatment twice in a week, but usually once is enough. Deep conditioning involves the use of a nourishing hair mask. This can be bought at a salon, your local drugstore, or even be homemade! If you’re feeling experimental, you can treat your hair to a nice DIY deep conditioning! Find out your recipe in our blog: DIY Hair Mask Recipes For All Hair Types.

19. Use Hair Extensions For Volume

Some people are subject to seasonal hormonal changes and temporary hair loss. Whilst this isn’t usually a health concern, it can make you feel conscious about your mane. Adding hair extensions to your hair can be an awesome seasonal game changer, and it also allows you to switch things up for the festivity season.

You can go for discreet clip-in options such as our seamless hair extensions, for a temporary makeover; whilst some strategically placed nano hair extensions or micro ring hair extensions (if your hair leans more towards the thick side) are a long-term commitment to fill out those thinning areas and give natural volume and flow to your hair.

Last but not least, tape-in hair extensions are a 6 to 8 weeks long hair transformation that lays flat against your head; the ideal semi-permanent hair makeover for those who prefer to wear their tresses down, and would like to add length and volume.

20. Speak To A Hairdresser

If you’re trying your best to maintain a healthy hair regimen but your tresses seem to be giving up to the rigours of winter, you may want to speak to a professional to identify what the possible causes can be. In some cases, your hairdresser won’t be enough, and you’ll need to consult a trichologist - as your hair might be showing the symptoms of an underlying condition.

Conclusion:

Hair is our natural crown, and seasons with extreme weather such as winter and summer can get a little harsh on our beautiful tresses. This year, make sure you protect your hair with these 20 steps!