Protecting Your Hair from Cold Weather - Tips & Tricks

[capillus]

I thought I would dedicate a thread to hair tips and tricks for cold weather! I live in Michigan and I feel like the cold, windy, dry weather can sometimes take a toll on my hair (and my self-esteem). Together we can think of things that will help our hair (and ourselves) feel better in these freezing temperatures!

Here are a few of my own

1. Always secure your hair before going outside. I like to braid mine in the morning before going out. Then I double wrap a big scarf around my whole head. Finally I put on my coat (see #2) and pull my hood up over the whole mess. I look silly but its so cold and windy that I don't care! And my hair is safe from the cold wind. I get around by using the bus and walking, so its essential!

2. Make sure to be careful your hair is not in the way when zipping up your coat.

3. Have a spa day! Oil treatments can help deep condition your hair to protect it from dry weather and also feel really good :) While you're at it you could do a classic avocado face mask with cucumber slices over your eyes or soak your feet and hands in warm soapy water for the ultimate spa treatment!

4. Keep your hair in a wet bun. I love doing this because it makes my hair feel smooth and moist even after it dries. I usually rewet the bun a couple times.

5. I love using this guide <http://www.longlocks.com/how-to-grow-long-hair.htm> to detangle my hair. I pour myself a big glass of wine, put on some smooth jazz, and light a few candles. Then I get to work with my comb, shears, and coconut oil. I cover all the ends of each lock with the oil to help moisturize and seal in the moisture. Then I detangle, clip back, and repeat.

[Decemberrose]

Good points :)
I use a good leave in conditioner before going outside, keeping my hair inside the scarf :)

[woodswanderer]

I don't usually feel the need to protect my hair from the cold, but it was SO cold here the last time I washed my hair that I put it in a gentle twist and piled it on top of my head and put a stocking hat over it to keep it from freezing while walking out to my car in the morning and scraping the windows. The heat of my head kept the hair nice and warm until I could get in the car and remove the hat.

[SkyChild]

I always wear a hat when it's cold, especially if my hair is wet. Another thing to note though is that coming back into central-heating doesn't help, so don't turn the heat up too high!

[Migranny]

I live in Michigan also! It has been very cold here! Shoveling, snow blowing and putting hats on and off really tangle my hair!

[AmyBeth]

I will never go out in winter without covering my hair. I also keep a humidifier in my bedroom running 24/7.

[tlover]

Here it's normal to wear a cap in the Winter, and I Always do that (but for other reasons), if it's really Cold or id my hair havn't had time to dry i keep it under my jacket/coat too.

But I don't know anything "extra"

(around here it can go down to -30F)

[ManeSqueeze]

I may sound silly, but if hair is already dry, how does cold weather affect hair? I know that my mom has always yelled at me for going outside with wet hair when it's cold (I used to be a Michigan Yooper, but I'm still in cold climate areas now), but I haven't really noticed anything when I walk the half hour to and from work in the negative degrees with my hair out. I do try to wash my hair less and use more oils in the winter in general because of how dry it gets, though.

[Johannah]

Great points (I got goosebumps when I read about the zipper, yak!). Until now I just wear it up (it hasn't really been freezing inhere until now).

[tlover]

atleast around here its really dry when its Cold out so the hair gets static and dry

[Madora]

I may sound silly, but if hair is already dry, how does cold weather affect hair? I know that my mom has always yelled at me for going outside with wet hair when it's cold (I used to be a Michigan Yooper, but I'm still in cold climate areas now), but I haven't really noticed anything when I walk the half hour to and from work in the negative degrees with my hair out. I do try to wash my hair less and use more oils in the winter in general because of how dry it gets, though.

[COLOR="#A52A2A"]In his book, "George Michael's Secrets for Beautiful Hair" he explained: You rush out to Bloomingdale's, you can't get a bus or a subway, so you walk for 15 minutes in 15 degree weather. Your cheeks get njice and rosy from the cold (of course your hair doesn't feel the cold--it's dead--but your scalp is freezing. Then at Bloomingdale's, the thermostat is set at 65 degrees, but it seems like 100 degrees because you are wearing a heavy coat and boots and gloves. This sounds so very normal to you--but it is disasterous for your hair. That change from hot to cold to even hotter makes your hair expand and shrink and expand violently."

So it seems to boil down to your hair expanding from wildly different temperatures...going from cold to warm..and then back into the cold again.

Your mom is right about the hat when you go outdoors. Heat escapes through your head. Far better to keep it warm, especially if you have a wet head! Brrrrr!!!

A way of wearing hair in cold weather is to detangle it, then create a center part. Cross the sections in the back (X), then bring one section down so that it lays flat against your chest. Then take the other section and do the same thing. Then put on your coat, hat or scarf and gloves.

[jacqueline101]

[COLOR="#A52A2A"]In his book, "George Michael's Secrets for Beautiful Hair" he explained: You rush out to Bloomingdale's, you can't get a bus or a subway, so you walk for 15 minutes in 15 degree weather. Your cheeks get njice and rosy from the cold (of course your hair doesn't feel the cold--it's dead--but your scalp is freezing. Then at Bloomingdale's, the thermostat is set at 65 degrees, but it seems like 100 degrees because you are wearing a heavy coat and boots and gloves. This sounds so very normal to you--but it is disasterous for your hair. That change from hot to cold to even hotter makes your hair expand and shrink and expand violently."

So it seems to boil down to your hair expanding from wildly different temperatures...going from cold to warm..and then back into the cold again.

Your mom is right about the hat when you go outdoors. Heat escapes through your head. Far better to keep it warm, especially if you have a wet head! Brrrrr!!!

A way of wearing hair in cold weather is to detangle it, then create a center part. Cross the sections in the back (X), then bring one section down so that it lays flat against your chest. Then take the other section and do the same thing. Then put on your coat, hat or scarf and gloves.
I've always believed heat escapes through your head I'm glad I have proof of it. I tried doing the center part making an x and bringing the hair across my chest mine won't stay. Is there certain lengths that works for?

[LadyLongLocks]

I just wear my hair in a bun. If I have too, I put up my hood on my coat. I never wear a hat. I look bad in hats. My hair has survived so far and I live in Chicago. I just deep condition more in winter.

[LAG93]

I think fine hair is especially prone to weather damage. Mine gets so tangled in the wind and cold weather, because its drier and sticks to itself more easily and then the wind whips around. It never seems to want to go in just one direction where I am at. I hate wearing hats because then I get overheated in class and hat head is no fun. I do wear my hood when its really cold, like -15F or colder. It has been that or colder here more days than not lately. But I think I should wear it more, I am noticing a lot of damage on my ends. I try to do updos, but they just look so bad and I am so sick of them, I want to enjoy my long hair....but I also want to protect it. I tend to put my hair on both sides of my chest and cover it with my coat when I am walking outside. My coat is pretty silky on the inside but still I know there is friction. Still better than the whipping winds and far below zero temps...

I would avoid trying to do moisture treatments with honey..I would be scared that the air is drier than my hair at this time of year, I have been sticking to oils, even cones, anything to prevent tangles from the cold wind

[LaReineJaguar]

I think a good leave in conditioner for the winter would be a good idea for the drying heaters!

[Agnes Hannah]

If its cold and I want to wear a hat, I put on a silk sleep cap under the hat. It helps stop hat hair and also protects it.

[capillus]

atleast around here its really dry when its Cold out so the hair gets static and dry

The way i think about it is that in the summer its very hot so water evaporates and makes the air humid. However in the winter since it is cold, the water in the air freezes into solid and gets stuck to the ground and other things as ice and snow. So in the summer the air is hydrating to your hair, but in the winter it sucks the moisture out. Keep a humidifier running! I like to put essential oils in mine to make the room smell nice.


I may sound silly, but if hair is already dry, how does cold weather affect hair? I know that my mom has always yelled at me for going outside with wet hair when it's cold (I used to be a Michigan Yooper, but I'm still in cold climate areas now), but I haven't really noticed anything when I walk the half hour to and from work in the negative degrees with my hair out. I do try to wash my hair less and use more oils in the winter in general because of how dry it gets, though.

[capillus]

atleast around here its really dry when its Cold out so the hair gets static and dry
Wow this is a really good idea! I am definitely going to look into this. Do you have any recommendations for caps?


If its cold and I want to wear a hat, I put on a silk sleep cap under the hat. It helps stop hat hair and also protects it.

[Misschilly]

I also use my old sleep cap under my hats and never go out without one on! It's my firt LHC winter so I don't have much to compare with when it comes to the amount of oiling..

[Mizumi]

I always put my hair in bun or braid and I put all my hair into loose soft cap. It looks silly but it's comfortable and my hair won't tangle :)