How do you keep your hair moisturized in the winter?

[Avis]

I'm in need of some advice. With winter on its way and the weather getting colder, I've been feeling like my hair is getting a little dry. Normally, I stretch washes to once a week and I've started washing twice a week in the hopes that the extra conditioner helps my hair stay soft.

So my routine is as follows:
-Friday is WCC day with a deep conditioning first with some NightBlooming salves. I put just a touch of salve on as a leave in.
-Monday I wash again except instead of WCC its just CC. I don't do a DC but I still put some leave in on after.

I've only started washing this way for two weeks but I've noticed some dryness (mostly on my ends) for a few weeks with the weather getting colder. I've started dampening the ends of my hair and putting the tiniest amount of mineral oil on them which helps but it doesn't last long (usually a day).

So I'm wondering what all of you do to help keep your hair moisturized and soft in the winter (and if you see anything in my washing routine that could be improved). Thanks everyone. :flowers:

[Nadine <3]

I use the LOC method, that helps hold moisture to my hair. My ends have been getting dried out to, I dampen them and rub some olive oil on the ends and stick it in a bun.I've been keeping my hair oiled for days on ends now that it's cold outside.

[mira-chan]

I soak conditioner longer and do something similar to the LOC method as well.

[calmyogi]

I just now moved to a climate that gets drier in the winter for the first time in my life. I just started using coconut oil on my ends again in the evenings and my hair drinks it up. I feel like they stay moist enough through out the day though.

[chen bao jun]

Struggling with this. I usually depend on humectants a lot and in winter I can't.
spraying my hair with rosewater and sealing with mixture of JBCO and burdock root oil, especially the ends. And trying not to manipulate very much--those ends dry out fast anyway and its much worse in winter and low dew points.

[Avis]

I've been trying to ease my hair into the LOC method since until recently I never put any kind of leave in on. I should probably start using more things to seal in moisture.

Does anyone know if there are signs of over-oiling the ends besides being oily?

[McFearless]

I use a humidifier during winters to increase moisture in my skin and hair between washes.

[Ingrid]

I use shea butter, usually on dry hair. I find coconut oil isn't usually enough. That said, unless it gets down to -30C where you live, I don't think you need such drastic measures :lol:

[Avis]

I use a humidifier during winters to increase moisture in my skin and hair between washes.

I actually live in a pretty moist place and we use a dehumidifier to get rid of extra moisture in our house otherwise mold will grow on the couch (and other places). Which makes me wonder how my hair and skin are getting dry. It definitely doesn't get -30C like Ingrid said but it can get in the low 40s and probably 30s in the middle of winter (Fahrenheit).

[hanne jensen]

I use coconut oil or shea butter and on top of that a tiny bit unperfumed baby oil.

[lapushka]

It comes as no surprise, I'm in love with WCC and then LOC, this means the hair gets 2 conditioners and leave-in, and serum whereas moisture is concerned. Plenty. It's not touched the rest of the week, though.

[Verdandi]

I'm doing some sort of LOC, I use a spray on conditioner / detangler, some oil (olive or argan) and a coney serum (water soluble, yay! ) once a week after my SC wash on saturday. I rinse my hair once a week also, and condition the length, after that wash I usually just add some oil. Works for my hair in Scandinavian atumn at least :)

My hair is also much less dry (not sure if that's how you say it...) since I started wearing a sleep cap to bed.

[clioariane]

I'm switiching to a more moisturizing shampoo & conditioner, and do more hair masks (once a week) than in spring/summer. Hats & scarves to protect from the cold too!

[SwordWomanRiona]

I usually don't need additional moisturizing during the year, my hair's more prone to oiliness than dryness, but when I do, Nightblooming's Panacea salves and Sweet Almond/Jojoba oil work really well for me. Also aloe vera clear gel, although that one is trickier depending on the weather, seeing as it's a humectant...

[Eastbound&Down]

I recntly started WCC and so far my hair loves it. HE Long Term Relationship S&C and Tresemme Naturals conditioner. The air gets really dry up here in the winter, so static is a major issue. I use EVOO on damp hair post shower and bun it. That's the best way I know to keep my ends protected from the cold, wind and static.

[Undomiel]

I oil the ends a little daily and tend to keep it mostly braided or bunned. I wash it only once per week in the winter, but I'm not a CO washer.

[Avis]

Wow, lots of great suggestions! I think I'm going to go back to washing once a week since I think what lead to my ends getting dry is that they were exposed to the cold. But I'm also going to start putting more moisturizing things on my hair after washing. Thanks everyone! :o

[Islandgrrl]

Honey and panacea. I add honey to my vinegar rinse in winter and then use panacea on the bottom couple feet of hair, concentrating on the ends.

[Flowerness]

Delurking to comment, because I was just wondering about this. (My first post ever! Hi everybody!) We went from mild weather here to overnight lows of 9 degrees F. My hair didn't like that I hadn't changed my routine. I switched up my shampoo to a more mild version ( I was using a daily clarifying shampoo 2x/week b/c my hair is going through a "transition period" and I want the greasies to go away fastert!). I also switched my conditioners to moisturizing, and revitalizing formulas (VO5, I love the smell of it) in my WCC. I also use a deep conditioner from the Dollar Tree in my wcc as needed. It has argan oil in it, and it smells divine! I follow this up with Moroccan Sleek hair oil from Garnier, and I also use a home made spray to use daily. It has my fav. cone free conditioner, hair oil, and I used Aloe during the warmer season in it. Taking the aloe out helped with the static. Does anyone else make sure to clean their brushed and hair dodads whenever they change up their hair routine? I think it might help. My fav. thing is hair oil though. That really works. I also have resorted to using a dryer sheet on static-y hair in winter for a short term "fix" in the past, though! Maybe winter = more oil the better? (Just not coconut oil for me, turns my ends crispy. Too bad, I was just reading how it had natural SPF in it!)

[HintOfMint]

Struggling with this. I usually depend on humectants a lot and in winter I can't.
spraying my hair with rosewater and sealing with mixture of JBCO and burdock root oil, especially the ends. And trying not to manipulate very much--those ends dry out fast anyway and its much worse in winter and low dew points.

Chen, I'm a heavy humectant user (honey is a favorite of mine), but I'll just apply SMTs in the shower as I would apply a regular conditioner. The steam from the shower helps avoid the problem of humectants in super dry air, so it's still quite effective. I just make sure to use some sort of sealant once I'm out of the shower, an oil or serum.

[annaceciliia]

Coconut oil is my lifesaver when my hair is dry :) I usually put it in a night or so before I wash my hair.

[Avis]

Welcome Flowerness. :flower:

So far mineral oil on the ends every night is reeeally helping. I'm going to get some coconut oil eventually but it's kind of expensive and I need to be more careful with my money as the semester is almost over (and Christmas). But it's definitely on my radar. It would probably also help if I lived in a house with a working heater. Our heater sucks and is under SO's piano, so we can't really use it (or move the piano) and our space heater broke about a week ago and we haven't gotten a new one yet. So it's pretty cold inside the house and out.

[MadPirateBippy]

Hey Avis, the mineral oil might be part of the problem. Since it's not a real oil (it's petrolium based, not from any living thing) it does not do some of the beneficial things for hair that oils do. I get my coconut oil for feet, hair, and body stuff at Walmart, it's like $3.00 for a little bottle, and that might help, but try switching out the mineral oil (which conducts electricity and makes things staticky, iirc), for a natural oil, even grapeseed, jojoba, shea, or olive oil, which you can get in the grocery store for cheap- all in the oils isle, except for shea butter, which I always find in the ethnic hair care section.

Real oils will penetrate the hair shaft, and coconut oil binds to broken proteins, making hair stronger and less likely to split. Mineral oil does not do either of those things, so you're not getting the full bang for your buck on it.

[lapushka]

That's odd, because mineral oil does great things for my hair. YMMV.

[MsPharaohMoan]

For me I don't think it is the cold that hurts my hair but the wind! Harsh and unforgiving on skin as well... Since it's snowed here I haven't washed my hair and bbbed to spread oils down. If I feel it needs it I'll mist my hair (maybe a dollop of honey in here would help) and put my leave in and then shea butter on my ends. Other than that I like to wear a scarf over my head when I go out. Since it's thin I can see through it if it falls over my face and it blocks the wind from harming my skin and hair.

[veryhairyfairy]

Winter is my heavy oiling season. I slather my ends in lots (15-20 drops) of whatever I have on hand. (favorites include sunflower, safflower, jojoba, and coconut oils)

That is the way I keep things moisturized, but I also never wear my hair down so clumpy shiny oily strands are not a problem for me. :)

[Lis]

I've been doing nw/so for a few months now and it has definitely made a difference to my ends even with the colder weather upon us.

[RachelRose]

I second the mineral oil ! I dampen my ends pretty well and rub a small squirt of dove dry oil in my hands (has mineral oil and macadamia and some others and smells great) and rub it on the ends and it soaks it up . After that my ends feel like new . I do it almost daily between washes or as needed . Winter is cruel :/ my skin is dry too boo hoo ;(

[FrostedLoki]

My hair is naturally very oily so I'm actually happy it's actually a bit dryer in the winter.

Granted, I do exchange my conditioner for a deep moisturizing mask once a week and that seems to be me a whole world of good. Also, if it's super cold outside (like -10C or colder) I always keep my hair all tucked inside a hat when I'm outside.

[CremeTron]

After reading this I must get some coconut oil. That may help strengthen my hair. Especially at the poor ends.

[RachelRose]

Coconut oil made my ends crunchyyyy lol and I still don't know why I've heard protein theories and things but I'm still not sure . Having said that I know a lot of people love it on here and my best friend loves it on her hair . I hope it goes well for you :)

[MINAKO]

actually i think it helps o icrease the mineral oil in the winter because it stays liquid at lower temperatures. i dont heat my house like crazy and of course i need to go outside where its really cold, coconut oil, cocoa butter and shea butter makes my hair feel stiff due to that, i feel like it just solidifies and sits on my hair but kind of still works if i add more mineral oil on top of that. does that make sense? i never actually tried if the two of these mix well in a bottle, but that would explain my idea if they do.

[meteor]

I like this article on Science-yhairblog http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2011/11/autumn-to-winter-hair-and-humidity.html
where she explains why when it is cold and the air is dry, your hair breaks more readily than when it is warm and humid.

To prevent hair breakage in cold, dry weather, it's important to make hair more elastic, pliable and flexible: use occlusives/anti-humectants like oils, butters, fatty alcohols, silicones, cationic surfactants, waxes.

In winter, I avoid solid products like coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, unless I dilute them heavily in liquid oils. If I use coconut oil as leave-in in my winter, it immediately turns to white dandruff-like flakes and makes hair very stiff, crunchy until I wash it out. It's my favorite summer oil, though.

[jacqueline101]

I wcc then follow leave in and serum then leave in and serum three times a week after that. I don't bother my hair a lot braid and leave it unless nature undone it. Then I detangle redo it.

[Johannah]

I'm going to heavy oil my hair again and leave it overnight.

[AdaClare]

I've been using coconut oil as well, and it seems to be doing the trick for my hair so far!