Every natural needs to be familiar with the ten top tips to care for their hair in winter to avoid experiencing setbacks in their hair journey.
This is because winter is harsh on hair, and without the little regime tweaks to add or retain moisture, you can come off a few inches shorter.
Winter is especially harsh on hair because since cold air has less moisture than warm air, it tends to dry out hair, especially afro-textured hair. It is a well-known fact that with less humidity in the air, one tends to lose moisture from their hair (and skin).
Also, indoor heating, such as heaters and fireplaces, is very drying and does not help introduce moisture. It is not uncommon to find natural heads complaining about experiencing hair challenges during the colder months.
To shed more light on the issue, NaHaZo unpacks our top ten tips for caring for your natural hair in winter:-
*Pssst, for a comprehensive list of all the natural hair lingo to know when you embark on your exciting Journey, NaturalHairZone.com’s Natural Hair Glossary can bring you up to speed on the top 50 natural hair buzz words.
1. Protect your hair
Winter is the month for protective styling, and you can style your hair to your heart’s content with vibrant styles that allow you to tuck your ends away and let your hair rest. Just make sure that you are clued up on the friendly and not-so-friendly protective styles for winter.
Braids, weaves, and even wigs are great styles to try for the winter months, and you can even pop on a colorful winter hat for added style. Line the inside of your winter go-to woolly hat with a silk lining so that moisture is not absorbed from your hair, making it prone to dryness.
Huge disclaimer about protective styling though, do not place your hair in a protective style and then forget about it. You still need to care for it, moisturize consistently, and introduce some of the steps listed below to allow you to better care for your natural hair in winter.
2. Co-wash or use Sulphate-free Shampoo
Introduce co-washing or a sulfate-free shampoo into your regime, at least for the duration of the winter period.
This will allow less stripping of moisture from your hair which would likely happen if you used harsh shampoos. Co-washing also helps your hair to retain more moisture.
3. Deep condition your hair regularly
To do away with the drying effects of winter on your hair, it is a good idea to do more deep conditioning treatments that allow you to introduce moisture into your hair.
Use a DIY deep conditioning hair mask treatment with leftovers from your pantry/kitchen, or you can use an over-the-counter deep conditioning hair mask.
4. Use a humidifier
Humidifiers are a great way to introduce moisture into your environment. Your hair (and skin) will thank you for this, during those particularly cold winter months.
While you are at it, you can even pop in some eucalyptus drops and clear your chest/airways – a win-win situation when caring for your hair.
5. Drink more water
This is a tough one, especially when during cold weather, as people tend to gravitate away from water.
To help with this, drinking warm water with lemon is a good way to up your water intake. Alternatively, you can up your water intake by drinking more teas and other warm beverages. Adding ginger, mint leaves or cinnamon sticks to your teas can add flavour and also vary the taste, allowing you to stick to this goal of drinking more water in winter.
6. Minimise direct heat on your hair
Minimise the use of direct heat to your hair in winter. This is especially true if you often use a dryer or curling iron to style your hair.
Rather use other non-heat stretching methods like flexi-rods or tight plaits, and lay off the heat for when the months are warmer. You will see a marked improvement in your hair if you do this.
Also, when you wash your hair, be sure to air dry it, rather than use heat. If you do use heat, do so using the low heat setting.
The bottom line is that reducing the effects of too much direct heat on your hair is a great way to care for your natural hair in winter.
Check out more Natural Hair growth tips for length.
7. LOC or LCO frequently
As there is less moisture in the air in winter, this is a great time to be more consistent with your LOC or LCO regime (depending on what works for your hair).
As always, make sure that you are aware of whether you have high porosity or low porosity hair.
Also, make sure that you cover your head with a silk scarf at night to avoid losing any additional moisture. You can experience dryness and make frizz worse by rubbing your hair strands on your bedding without any protection.
8. Be sensitive to how your hair behaves
Most times our hair tells us when it needs more TLC and it is a good idea to take note of how your hair feels, acts, and looks, and then care for it accordingly.
Take pictures of where your hair is, in terms of your goals, and also take note of the products it does and does not favour. Do this in both winter and summer, as your hair needs change with the seasons.
Your scalp (and skin) behave differently in the different seasons and make sure you switch up your skincare routine in winter and summer. Also make sure you add heavier butters and oils to your regime, as well as other extra treatments that your hair may benefit from, in the harsher months.
9. Watch your diet
This is a big one for afro-textured hair, especially as women of colour are two times more likely to suffer from iron deficiency and this almost, always shows up in one’s hair.
It is therefore important to be mindful of your diet, all year round, but most specifically in winter.
Introduce some Iron-rich foods into your diet such as frozen berries, avocado, nuts, eggs, potato, greek yoghurt, Iron-fortified bread (to eat with those yummy soups), dark leafy green vegetables and legumes.
Eating protein, iron and other nutrient-dense foods is a natural remedy for thinning hair, as well as dry and lifeless strands.
10. Find some Sun
It is not enough to simply up your Iron content. It is also important to be mindful of how much sun you are exposed to, MOST especially in winter when there is less Vitamin D.
Why, you may ask – well Vitamin D is essential to absorb Iron and these two essential nutrients go together like moisture and afro-textured hair.
So make sure that you get as much sun as you can in the cold months. Also regularly test your Vitamin D levels, so that you can seek professional advice from your health care professional should your levels be low.
The last word
Hair, like your skin, needs special attention in winter.
The holy grail of length retention is knowing how to care for your natural hair in winter. As an afro-textured natural, it is important to be familiar with the way your hair acts in different seasons and take proactive steps to ensure the health and length of your coils and curls.
You will find that when you are more present in how your hair behaves in the different seasons, there will be fewer surprises in caring for your gorgeous mane.
Till then, keep your hair hydrated and sound off in the comments on how you care for your hair in winter.
