Dry Winter Hair Is the Worst

Here are some helpful tips to help prep your hair for winter
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Dry Winter Hair Is the Worst

Temperatures are dropping and the cold temperatures of winter will soon be upon us, which can really throw a kink in your hair routine. Colder weather can make tresses brittle and dry, often forcing us to make a simple ponytail our new standard ‘do. (Boring!)

Combat your winter hair woes even before the season starts to keep your mane in tip-top shape all the way to New Year’s. Fernando Salas, hair stylist and creator of White Sands Hair Products, shares his tips for prepping your hair for cold-weather gorgeousness.

Amp up your hair’s moisture level

To achieve a frizz-free texture with any hair type, balanced moisture in the inner structure of each strand is needed. When the hair shaft is balanced with the proper amount of moisture, the environment—in this case, winter—will not cause your strands to frizz. To achieve the perfect moisture balance, first repair any damage caused from color processing, perming, and natural UV and UVB stress with a shampoo and conditioner that can penetrate proteins deep inside the hair shaft, rather than just packing them on top.

Humidity Is Your Friend (unless you’re a curly)

The main cause of dry winter hair is not the temperature but the lack of moisture in the air. “You don’t have to be a living thing to feel it,” said Arash Akhavan, a dermatologist in New York. “Think of how your door may not fit as well in the jamb. You have to exert some control over your environment.” Dr. Akhavan suggested using humidifiers, avoiding space heaters (“they particularly suck out moisture”) and switching to ionic hair dryers (“because they use less heat to get the same effect”).

Stop static at the start

Once your hair is strong enough to withstand the winter elements, focus your cleansing routine on retaining that moisture, which will help prevent those cold-weather flyways. Products with wheat amino acids promote moisture when applying hot tools, while those with silk amino acids have properties that create a positive charge to damaged hair fibers and will keep your tresses polished.

Deep condition the right way

It’s important to close the cuticle layer to define color, texture and shine all season long. Deep conditioners, like White Sands ER Fusion Deep Reconstructive Conditioning Treatment, can bring you some serious hair help. The formula contains amino cystines to repair damage and lemongrass extract to enhance color. The product shows results lasting up to 30 days and takes just 20 minutes to apply and heat-set.

Coat Your Hair

The trick is trapping moisture, which is essentially how hydrating shampoos and conditioners work. The Oribe Gold Lust Pre-Shampoo Intensive Treatment ($68) has a thick balmlike formula. Traditional creams don’t adhere well to the hair, said Michele Burgess, the director of product development at Oribe. The coating works especially well on coarser textures.

For finer strands, a less viscous formula, like Ouai Hair Oil ($28), may be better. It is a top seller in the Ouai line, according to its founder Jen Atkin, known for her work with the Kardashians. “It can double as a both styling product and mask so you can wear it while you sleep or work out,” she said.

Boost limp locks

Since dry winter air can leave hair flat against the scalp, products with style memory are a must to create—and maintain—your favorite hairstyle throughout the day. If you tend to wear hats during winter, a style memory spray can also ensure that deflated hair is a problem of the past. Try White Sands Liquid Texture Styling Spray line, which boasts long-lasting staying power, no matter what the weather’s like. The sprays are actually “thermal intelligent” (as in, they make your locks look even shiner and stronger when you use your hot styling tools) and they’ll help your hair bounce back right into place—even after wearing a beanie.

Schedule that trim

Dry air means more split ends. A simple trip to your stylist is a must as you prepare for the deep freeze. After all, split ends and damaged cuticles will cause your hair to appear thinner and give it that unwanted stringy look. Hair that’s weakened toward the ends is in need of a quick chop.

Treat Your Hair Like Your Cashmere

Hair may not be alive like, say, skin cells, but you still have to treat it delicately. David Mallett, who is opening a Manhattan outpost of his Parisian salons this spring, said it helps to think of hair as a fiber. “You wouldn’t throw your cashmere in steaming hot water, so look after your hair and love it the same way,” he said. Mr. Mallet has noticed that clients often show up at his salons in the winter with dry, itchy scalps because they use hotter water when it’s cold outside. “Lay off the hot water and use lukewarm or even cold,” he said.

Deep Condition Your Hairbrush

It’s natural to reach for intense conditioners and hair masks when the mercury drops, but sometimes those products flatten hair. Instead, Mr. Mallett offers this genius tip: “Get a natural bristle brush, and after you clean it, deep condition the brush regularly with a hair serum, oil or leave-in conditioner. This way, when you brush through your hair, it gives it extra shine but without weighing it down.”

Kick Up the Keratin

If you think a keratin treatment means a mop of stick-straight hair, think again. Keratin has grown up. In-salon services can now hydrate and soften but leave texture intact. “With Japanese hair straightening, and later Brazilian blowout, you stripped the keratin and broke the disulfide bonds in your hair so it became very straight, and then you replaced the keratin,” Dr. Akhavan said. “But keratin can also be used just as a long-lasting conditioner.”

More accessible: Virtue’s keratin-infused shampoos and conditioners, which can be used at home. Adir Abergel, Virtue’s creative director, who works with Rooney Mara, Reese Witherspoon and Saoirse Ronan, particularly likes the company’s Smooth Conditioner ($38) and Perfect Ending Split End Serum ($40).

“In the winter, you’ll want to leave your product on your hair a little longer to really let it penetrate,” Mr. Abergel said, adding that getting ends trimmed more often than usual can also help maintain hair health.

Read the Label

Read up! There may be hidden drying agents lurking in your styling products. Arsen Gurgov, a stylist who often works with Emmy Rossum, advised “staying away from styling products with alcohol as they tend to dry out the hair even more.” If you have a favorite conditioner that contains silicones, you may want to swap it for a silicone-free version.

“Silicones can build up with repeated use and coat the hair too much, making it dull and lifeless,” Mr. Gurgov said. His simple solution: Use pure argan oil before blow-drying to prep the hair and again afterward to finish the style.

This information is from articles that appeared on StyleCaster and The New York Times