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Keep Your Tresses Soft and Manageable With These Cold Weather Tips

The changing of seasons is always a fun time. You get to change up your wardrobe, swap out your makeup palette, and update your hairstyle and color. One thing many people don’t consider as the weather turns colder is that the frigid air of late fall and winter can damage your tresses if you don’t take the right steps in your hair care routine to protect it. Frizziness and flyaways can quickly take over neglected strands when Jack Frost and Old Man Winter show up on the scene.

There are some easy things that you can do to ensure that your tresses stay soft and manageable throughout the colder months. Let’s take a look at some now.

Avoid Frequent Shampooing

A nice hot shower may feel great when it’s freezing outside. It warms your body, relaxes your muscles, and loosens stiff joints, but it can wreak havoc on your hair. Frequent use of hot water and shampoo is a recipe for over stripped, dry, and brittle hair. Every time you shampoo you’re stripping away the natural oils that your scalp produces to keep your hair healthy and moisturized. So try turning the heat down in the shower and skip the shampoo a few days per week to help your hair hold onto more moisture.

Never Go Out With Wet Hair

Grandma was right about not going out in the cold with wet hair, but, it’s not because it will make you sick. Your hair is at its weakest when it’s wet, and when it’s wet and cold it’s even weaker. The frigid air expands the hair shaft and can lead to breakage and color fading, and if it’s cold enough your hair could even freeze and break. So make sure your hair is completely dry before running out the door when it’s cold outside.

Learn To Control Frizz

Many people struggle with frizz and flyaways when the weather is humid, but more people struggle with frizz in the cold. Some blame the cold air, and that can definitely contribute to static, but more often than not it’s the result of friction. We always break out the beanies, hats, scarves, and hoodies to keep warm and protect our hair from the cold winds, but at the same time, we’re creating a lot of static and frizz. Look for hats with a silky satin lining to reduce frizz causing friction and static and apply anti-frizz serum to damp hair after washing and apply leave-in conditioner daily to further keep cold weather frizz at bay and keep our strands smooth and soft.

Preventatively Oil Your Hair

Start before your hair is dry and you can keep your tresses from drying out in the first place. Your hair needs oils to stay soft and healthy. That’s why your scalp produces oil, but in the colder months oil production usually declines. You can combat this by applying hair oils. Jojoba oil is very close to your body’s own sebum and argan oil is full of fatty acids, antioxidants, and other nutrients that are quickly absorbed by your hair to keep it strong, smooth, shiny, and frizz-free. You can apply warm and leave on for at least 30 minutes before you shower as a hot oil treatment or apply a very small amount evenly throughout damp hair as a leave-in treatment. You can put on a shower cap and leave it on overnight if your hair needs even more moisturization.

Stop Overheating Your Strands

Did you know that some flat irons and curling irons can heat up to 450° F and hair dryers can get up to 200° F? That’s like sticking your head in an oven. Not only is it drying to your strands but it’s quite literally cooking them. And when your hair is already contending with very dry cold air outside and arid indoor heat, it really doesn’t handle heat damage very well. So give your hair a break from the heat by washing your hair the night before and using no-heat styling methods that allow your tresses to air dry overnight. And if you must heat style apply thermal protectant and use the lowest setting possible.

If your hair is in need of professional help to deal with the cold, come see the hair care experts at  209 Salon. Whether your hair needs a trim, a professional conditioning treatment, or a keratin treatment to keep it smooth all season, we have the skill, products, and services to meet your hair’s cold-weather needs. Give us a call at 972.548.2815 to schedule your haircut appointment today. You can also book an appointment online or download our free mobile app from iTunes or Google Play to book your appointments, get appointment reminders, specials, and more. You can find us at 5801 Virginia Parkway, Suite #204 in McKinney.