Winter haircare

Ever considered what your hair goes through every winter? Contending with cold weather and indoor heating is a bit of a rollercoaster ride for your locks. Plus, your hands might get mittens, but your mane gets a grease or static-inducing hat. All this can create dry hair, a dried-out scalp, breakages, split ends and frizz. How to chop the chances of hapless winter hair? Just like you treat your digits to our hand cream, your haircare during winter should be tailored for the season. Help keep it looking luscious and healthy with our barnet-boosting tips.

Why should you change your haircare routine in winter?

When it’s colder, rainy, windy or snowing, your hair’s ability to hold on to moisture goes down with the thermometer gauge. That’s why you might find that your hair’s condition is drier than usual. In fact, conditions inside rattle its cage too, where artificial heaters and radiators continue to strip the hair of moisture. So, the two in tandem? Hello, dry hair. In fact, winter hair could show any and all of the signs from dry, brittle ends to a flaky scalp or greasiness. You might even see candy floss-style flyaways and static – particularly if you’ve got fine hair – meaning that strands separate and lift from your main mop.

We get it, these winter hair traits are not the end of the world, but equally we know you feel more confident, more you, when you’re having a good hair day. After all, your ‘do is part of what makes you you, and in many ways an extension of your fashion sense, a reflection of the music that soothes your soul and what you want the world to see in you. So it makes perfect sense that you’d want it to shine all year round, even when the sun’s not.

THE BODY SHOP GINGER ANTI DANDRUFF SHAMPOO

“In the winter, I get a bit of dandruff and my hair looks very dull. No more! This shampoo is incredible. It got rid of my dandruff from the first wash and my hair is so, so shiny and looks incredibly healthy.”

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Winter haircare tips

So, how to keep your hair healthy in the winter? Adapt your hair washing and styling routines for the season, of course. We make it sound easy, right? Well – there’s no reason it can’t be with our easy-to-follow tips and routine. Think of it like this – just like you pull out your winter scarfs and boots, once the winds start whipping up the leaves it’s time to start a dedicated haircare routine for winter.

Let us show you how to get rid of dry winter hair – we’ve got a whole roster of routine shifts and swaps you can make when the elements start to dry out your hair, from our best naturally derived shampoos and conditioners, to replenishing hair masks and nourishing serums, not to mention a wealth of winter haircare tips for your unruly ‘dos. Read on, and get back to enjoying the magic of winter’s wonderland.

TIP 1 - Look after your scalp

Though you might not directly see your scalp under your mop – and, er, it being on the top of your noggin – it needs just as much care as your hair. In winter the drying duo of central heating and frosty weather can strip away moisture, creating a dry, flaky scalp. In fact, as you turn the taps to hot in your shower in the colder months this extra heat can over-wash hair and strip it of its natural oils too. As these oils are what ordinarily keep your hair protected and looking healthy, taking care of them is even more crucial for your winter coiffure.

Among our best winter haircare products, our vegan Ginger range provides a terrific trio for helping your dry scalp feel soothed. Lathering to a gentle sudsy shampoo, the formula for our is made with naturally derived ingredients and helps your scalp to look healthier. Follow with the Ginger Scalp Care Conditioner to help your scalp feel calmed and rebalanced and your hair feeling fortified and softer to the touch. To make it a hattrick, add our Ginger Serum into the mix. A fast-absorbing non-greasy serum, it’s enriched with ginger essential oil from Sri Lanka and helps your scalp to feel instantly healthier. Try massaging it into dry scalps 3 times a week to soothe scalp dryness and get a sensational feeling going.

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Tip 2 - Take a break from your heated styling appliances

Heated curlers, straighteners and hairdryers are all culprits in creating or worsening dry hair in winter. Since their temperatures get hot-hot-hot they play havoc with hair’s moisture levels. Inside the hair shaft (the hair seen just above the scalp) water is part of the support system around keratin, a protein and the main part of your hair’s structure. When we apply thermal stress to our hair, the water molecules in each strand can evaporate, changing hair’s makeup. That’s what creates straw-like dryness and frizz. At its worrisome worst, this damage can lead to the cuticle AKA the protective layer on hair getting torn, leaving hair unprotected from further moisture loss and causing irreparable damage in the form of split ends and breakages, reduced elasticity and loss of shininess, curliness or your natural texture.

With all of that science in mind, you might see why already dry hair that’s been weakened due to the more extreme temperatures inside and out should dodge heated hair styling tools. So, whether you long for poker straight or springily curled hair, consider what you can do sans heat. Down tools and try twists, plaits or buns to get the desired effect. And when you’re taking that much-deserved break from heat styling, help to repair damage with our Grapeseed Glossing Serum. All you need to do is apply a small amount to your fingertips and run through towel-dried or dry hair to help prevent moisture loss and split ends.

If and when you return to using heat styling tools, consider washing hair the night before and letting your locks air-dry so you don’t need to blow dry in addition to using your heat styling gadgets the next morning. Or, at the very least let it air-dry mostly before finishing up with your hairdryer. But why not embrace your hair au naturel for a change? Trust us, your hair will thank you.

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Tip 3 - Don’t leave the house with wet hair

Your mama always told you and she, of course, was right – it’s not wise to leave the house with wet hair. When hair’s wet it’s more vulnerable and prone to break. Why’s that? The water droplets left in hair can enter the hair shaft and when the water temperature reaches freezing it can swell the shaft. This in turn means that the cuticles can move from where it should be, leaving hair exposed to the elements without its usual buffer. Wet hair plus wintry weather can also fade your hair colour faster and harden hair strands, leading to a higher likelihood of breakages and split ends.

There’s no reason why it should come to all that with your dry winter haircare. Simply make sure that you always fully dry your hair before heading out – whether naturally air-drying or blow drying. You may need to build in some extra time to make sure it’s dry before you go outside, yes, but you could also simply switch your hair washing schedule up. Wash and dry at night so you know by morning it’s ready to go. Oh, and one other thing – try to avoid brushing your hair when it’s soaking wet. Even in the comfort of your own post-shower steamy bathroom, wet hair is weaker. Take care of it by squeezing the water out of it with a towel (not rough-drying) and using a wide-tooth comb to gently brush from the ends moving upwards. Your mum would be proud.

Tip 4 - Treat your hair to a mask

When it’s time to embrace all things cosy, or hygge as the Danes say, you might set up a warming log fire or ramp up the radiators. Meanwhile outside, a storm could be raging or snow could be coming down. As romantic as a blanket of untouched white snow might look from the comfort of your home, in both of these situations, inside and out, air loses its normal levels of H20 and becomes dry, and so that means drying on hair. This is when a true treat of a hair routine comes into play – using a weekly hair mask (not unlike how you treat your face to a weekly face mask) will help to keep your hair feeling and looking so lustrous you won’t be able to help but run your fingers through it. Regardless of what condition your hair is in, or your natural hair texture, this applies. We’re all in need of a moisture boost to help combat winter hair, and if you’re not looking after damaged hair, you should help take preventive measures.

If you have normal to dry hair, try out our Banana Truly Nourishing Hair Mask, enriched with organic banana puree from Ecuador and Community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil from Peru. Massage it into damp, clean hair (so, post-shampoo and conditioner), gently comb your wet hair with our Detangling Comb and leave for 10 minutes. After using this tropical-smelling treat, hair feels instantly and truly nourished from root to tip, not to mention softer to the touch, with frizz looking tamed. On the other hand, for targeted curly hair winter care, pick up our Shea Butter Richly Replenishing Hair Mask. It’s particularly pleasing for dry and damage-prone hair. Rinse thoroughly and see how it helps to detangle and condition hair without weighing it down or stripping moisture. Your hair will look less frizzy and dry – result!

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Tip 5 - Don’t shower too hot or too cold

Your bathroom is your sanctuary, particularly when you’re in the mood for a restorative bath and a book in the cooler months. There’s nothing more relaxing to help get you in the mood for sleep or take care of tired limbs. But the conditions that you wash in might be contributing to your winter hair.

In short, take our advice – step back from that hot tap. Though it might be tempting to dial up the temperature when it’s a bit nippy out there, extreme water temperatures aren’t going to do your hair any favours. Extra hot water temperatures can strip those all-important natural oils from your scalp and create sensitivity on your dome. And when we say extreme temperatures, that means extra cold water, too – take note in case you’re a fan of a refreshing blast from the cold tap in the mornings. So when washing your hair in winter, make sure that, like Goldilocks, you get it just right. Your water temperature should be lukewarm and comfortable, helping your dry hair to remain its luscious-looking, swish-ready best in the winter months.

You might also consider cutting back on the number of hair washes you’re getting in any one week, scaling back to help limit your hair and scalp’s chances of getting vexed by differing temperatures. If you normally leave a day between hair washes, try extending it to every other day and so on.

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THE BODY SHOP FUJI GREEN TEA REFRESHING PURIFYING SHAMPOO

Tip 6 - Take a break from hats so now and then

While you might be a fan of wearing a trilby, bucket or woolly hat, your hair might not be. When hair is covered, it can help create winter hair signs such as greasiness and static. Under the hat your head warms up, making your natural waxy oils become more fluid, and so creating greasy-looking hair. That grease in turn might cause you to wash your hair more regularly, over-washing and stripping out your natural oils. Oops – now you’re seeing dryness too.

Equally, some fabrics can create static winter hair, where you see strands lifting from the head as if you’re unwittingly taking part in a science experiment. This is down to two differing textures being in close contact, causing electrons to transfer from one to the other, creating that dreaded hat hair. This can even happen whether you’re wearing a hat or not due to lack of humidity. When your hair’s lacking moisture, like in wintry conditions, the odds are it’ll create friction between the strands, increasing the transfer of electrons and making your hair strands repel each other.

Don’t let your fashionable headgear worsen your winter hair. To help prevent static hair in cold weather make sure your hair is hydrated and that you’re helping to replenish it with moisture. Case in point for our weekly hair mask and nourishing oils, then. You also might want to replace your usual woolly hat with a silk-lined one to help your hair not be roughed up by textured fabrics. Meanwhile, to help purify your hair and scalp, look to our double-down duo of the Fuji Green Tea™ Refreshingly Purifying Shampoo and Fuji Green Tea™ Refreshingly Hydrating Conditioner. They’re enriched with Japanese green tea extract and honey and help to cleanse and help leave your hair feeling invigorated and fresh. If your coiffure is feeling particularly greasy, swap the shampoo out once a week for our Fuji Green Tea™ Refreshingly Purifying Cleansing Hair Scrub. It feels gentle on the scalp and helps your hair to feel purified, reducing oil build-up without drying or leaving any residue behind.

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