As it’s getting colder and windier, our scalp, hair and skin inevitably react to the changes happening around us. Strands tend to get dryer, and our skin may start to feel unpleasantly tighter due to the dropping temperatures. Cold, wind, humidity; all these factors can cause your hair or hair extensions to feel unruly, frizzy, dry, or brittle. If you feel like it’s time to switch things up in your hair care routine, here’s how to do it in an all-natural way!
Understanding the Impact of Winter on Your Hair and Extensions
The cold temperatures can affect your hair and impact your strands’ ability to retain moisture. This may be due to different factors, such as;
- Cuticles lifting due to windy weather
- Going in and out from a heated home to the cold outside
- Scalp dryness, impacting the production of natural hair oils.
All these hair problems are quite common and can be easily prevented or tackled with the right changes in your hair care routine. Let’s find out together how!
Building Your Winter Hair Care Regimen
First things first, analyse your tresses and see what’s wrong: does your scalp feel tighter than usual? Are you experiencing issues with flakiness and dandruff? Is your hair dull, lifeless, and lacking shine? Or again, is your mane prone to tangling, difficult to manage, puffy, and frizzy? Are you experiencing any breakage?
Find out which ones of these questions have “yes” as an answer, so that you can find the perfect solution. Depending on the problem, you may need to cook up protein-packed hair masks, implement a new hair oil, or invest in a bond-rebuilding product such as Olaplex.
Let’s start with your routine: how are you treating your hair?
If you’re experiencing dryness, breakage, brittleness, and other ailments of the sort – perhaps it’s worth starting from your washing days. Washing your hair too often may cause more damage than good to your hair. Stick to these simple tips to protect your hair and real hair extensions:
- Wash only when necessary. Overwashing your hair can strip your scalp and tresses of their natural oils, further drying your strands out. Instead, invest in a good dry shampoo for those in-between days (you can find some good recommendations in this blog: Top 10 Best Dry Shampoos And Why We Love Them).
- Invest in a Wrap Around Ponytail hair extensions set. Hair extensions won’t necessarily improve the quality of your hair, but between a slicked-back super trendy ponytail hairstyle and a dry shampoo day, you just bought yourself two days of looking good without overwashing your tresses. Available in three versatile lengths, the wrap around ponytail hair extensions can be curled, braided, and straightened to your liking!
Now, let’s talk about products. As mentioned before, some hair may need the benefits provided by protein-focused hair recipes or bond-rebuilding products.
But if you’d prefer to stay on the natural home remedies side of things, let’s find you a good homemade recipe for hair that you’ll be able to recreate in the comfort of your own kitchen!
Natural Remedies for Winter Hair Care
Many people don’t know that the ingredients in your pantry can be mixed into an incredibly powerful hair-salvaging ointment. I’m personally a huge fan of homemade recipes for hair, and natural ingredients in general are always encouraged – depending on the problem.
Here’s some of my favourite recipes:
Avocado And Coconut Oil Hair Mask
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- Optional: a few drops of your favourite essential oil
Preparation:
- Mash the avocado and mix it with two tablespoons of melted coconut oil and one of honey.
- If you’ve picked an essential oil for fragrance, add a few drops to the mix.
- Apply the mixture to thoroughly damp hair, covering your tresses from roots to tips.
- Leave on for 30-60 minutes. You can cover it with a shower cap or wrap your hair in cling film to help the mixture penetrate the hair!
- Rinse with lukewarm water, then shampoo, and condition as you would normally.
Banana and Yogurt Hair Mask:
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/2 cup of white, plain yoghurt
- 1 tbsp honey
- Optional: a few drops of a calming lavender essential oil
Instructions:
- Mash the ripe banana in a bowl, making sure the mixture is as creamy as possible.
- Add the yoghurt and the honey, then keep on mixing until you’ve obtained a smooth texture.
- Optional: if you’ve picked some lavender essential oil, this is the time to add a few drops to the mix.
- Apply the mask to damp hair, making sure you evenly cover your hair with it. Once again, you can use a shower cap or cling film to give it a boost and prevent it from leaking on your neck, face, and clothes.
- Leave on for around 30 minutes.
- Last but not least, rinse thoroughly and wash and condition your hair as you normally would.
Olive Oil and Egg Hair Mask:
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of EVO
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of honey
- Optional: a few drops of rosemary oil
Instructions:
- Crack the egg open and beat it in a bowl until you get a smooth, runny, even mix.
- Add the olive oil and honey, then thoroughly mix again.
- Optional: if you’ve decided to add rosemary oil (I personally recommend it, as it’s just oh so good for your hair and scalp!) you can now add a few drops to the mix.
- Apply the final product to dry hair, evenly covering from roots to ends.
- Leave on for 30-45 minutes. Again, shower cap or cling film are optional, but I genuinely recommend wrapping your head up to avoid any leakage!
- Rinse with cool water (this is extremely important, as you don’t want to “cook” the egg on your hair!) then shampoo thoroughly, and condition.
Protective Hairstyles for Winter
Another thing that can help you shelter your tresses from the cold and the wind outside is a good protective hairstyle. I have talked more in detail about this topic in our dedicated blog: 10 Protective Hairstyles For Sleeping (Straight To Loose Curls Edition). If you have a different pattern of curly hair, check out this post instead: 10 Protective Hairstyles For Curly Hair: 3B To 4C Edition.
Protective hairstyles for winter can help you significantly reduce the damage to your hair or permanent hair extensions, becoming a life-saving practice over the season.
Winter Hair Extension Tips
Winter-proofing your hair extensions has never been easier! Remember these key points to ensure that your precious investment stays protected throughout the coldest season of the year.
First of all, make sure you store your clip in hair extensions correctly after every use. Playing in the snow with clip ins in your tresses is a no-no, as this can potentially lead to tangling and matting.
Whether it’s a cutesy low chignon or a pair of trendy Dutch braids, be sure to tuck in your hair and hair extensions in a protective hairstyle when going out. Wearing a beanie or a headscarf is also a good way to protect your hair extensions when you’re out!
Frequently – yet gently – brush your tresses with a detangling brush to avoid knots, keep your lengths and ends oiled and moisturised to avoid dryness and brittleness, and last but not least: don’t overwash your hair.
Conclusion:
Products such as the Moisturising Silky Spray can help you protect your natural hair and human hair extensions during winter, sealing the cuticles and keeping that moisture on lock in your tresses. Explore our hair care collection and find all the tools to ensure a smooth and luscious winter for your hairstyle.
