[HAIR & BEAUTY]: Winter Hair Care Tips For Natural Hair

With the winter season in full swing in South Africa, we thought we’d share some of the best tried and tested winter hair care tips for natural hair to reduce/prevent hair damage & breakage.

Taking care of your hair should be part of your self care routine and below are some tips to help you along the way:

Retain Moisture. The most important key to combating dryness during the winter is to protect your hair by retaining moisture. Add water to your diet and regimen by drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day and enjoying water-rich fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and peaches.

Use a moisturizer daily or leave-in conditioner. A leave-in conditioner can do great things for dry and brittle hair.

Try to use leave-in conditioners with natural ingredients. Some ingredients such as sodium laurel sulfate, mineral oil, and petrolatum cause more dryness, so avoid using products with these ingredients.

Pamper your hair naturally at least once a week. Natural, intensive moisturizers like aloe, shea butter, jojoba or avocado oils can hydrate and revitalize the driest hair.

Prepare Your Hair. If you decide to use a heating tool, use a hair product to protect your hair from heat. In addition, you can also use a leave-in conditioner accompanied by a heat-protecting hair serum to replenish moisture.

Air Dry. Try letting your hair air dry instead of using a blow dryer.

Limit Combing. If you choose to comb your hair while it’s dry, try finger combing instead of using a comb. This will reduce breakage. If you do use a comb, be sure to use a wide-tooth shower comb.

Use A Cooler Setting. When using a blow dryer, try using a cooler temperature setting. Your hair may take longer to dry, but it will minimize heat damage.

Deep condition. If your hair becomes persistently dry during the winter, use a deep conditioner or a hot oil treatment.

Wear protective styles (i.e. buns, braids, cornrows, etc). If you’re going to wear your hair in a bun, try to avoid pulling your hair, thus adding stress to your hairline. Wearing protective styles helps preserve your hair throughout the winter.