Weather/ Season confusion...

[Careeredcrunchi]

Hello LHC!

I am a newbie and I am slowly accumulating knowledge, and tools and products to help my damaged hair. One of the main confusions that I have and major source of damage is due to weather/season conditions.

I live in the Pacific North West with a high amount of humidity and wanted some more information on what causes hair issues with season or weather/climate change.

I have fine hair that I have major issues with matting and tangling. This has caused a lot of damage along with an ignorance of how to handle it. Where I am confused is that this damage seems to be way more frequent in the winter, which is the most humid part of the year here because it rains constantly.

So far the changes I have been making include adding more moisture to my hair and this has stopped a lot of the matting and tangling. What I don't understand is that most damage happens in the winter due to lack of moisture, but where does that come from? Electric heaters? Linty sweaters? If the humidity is the highest in winter, doesn't that mean more moisture?

Is it an issue of locking it in properly with the ROO or LOC methods?

Thank you lovely people! Hoping that I can be prepared with things to try once winter rolls around and not be devastated that I finally found a working routine, just in time for it to stop working this winter... Haha

[Margarita]

Season affects my hair, winter or summer, it affects my hair in high points. Keep moisturizing your hair with high quality products. It depends on how you care your hair, do you use heat tools? If you're not using any hot tools or tight hairstyles, then your hair doesnt sound "actually" damaged, humidity is horrible for hair. Im a curly girl, and my curls are fickle. Sometimes well and moisturized, sometimes frizzy and very loose curls which i dislike it at top. Find what works good for your hair, cremes? oils? serums? Also keep hydrating! =)

[MusicalSpoons]

I'm not sure quite how our humidity compares with yours, but here in the UK I find my skin especially dries out from the dry air from indoor heating, and having more hair knowledge this time around I also realised my hair was suffering. The rinse-out oil method worked well for me, though my hair is pretty much always bunned and it's straight with I think normal porosity, so if you have more thirsty hair you might need something else a bit more heavy-duty. Also ROO for me gives the benefits of oiling but without attracting All The Lint :)

And yes, jumpers, scarves, hats etc. do all contribute too (another reason I live in buns :grin: )

[TreesOfEternity]

For me, during winter my hair got dry, frizzy and static at work due to the air conditioners/ heaters, that’s the only place where it happened. Plus cold and wind didn’t make hair happy either.

[lapushka]

I do my routine year round, and I never get matting or tangling issues; maybe that is due to double conditioning.

The CWC or WCC washing methods might be things to try, if you haven't already?

[AutobotsAttack]

Where does the lack of moisture come from?

Anything really. Evaporation outside, and from your hair to the outside weather. Espeacially if your hair is more moisturized than it is humid outside. Sweaters, if your hair is down. Going into places that are more arid, even indoors.

Just because it’s more humid outside doesn’t mean your hairs chemistry is guaranteed to move over to the more moisturized side. Not to mention cold water vapor (humidity) is bound to behave differently than warm water vapor (humidity), concerning your hair. I’m also certain the water vapor in any given weather setting isn’t garuanteed to be large enough to permeate into or out of the hair shaft. Really just going to depend on nature and the elements.

If you’re mitigating damage more and more, and adding more moisture in, and seeing how LOC or LCO methods go for you, I wouldn’t trip too much over the weather. Maybe just protect it while you’re outside, or have a head covering with a satin overlay on the inside. And keep it bunned and whatnot.

[Reyn127]

I also live in the pacific northwest, and I personally think it may have something to do with the humidity changing so much between going inside and outside. Indoors are almost always going to be drier from heaters or dehumidifiers, and going back and forth a few times a day might be enough to make your hair upset. I know that my own hair definitely does better during summer.

This may not be the answer, but have you tried oiling your hair before you go out to try and keep the moisture in?

[MusicalSpoons]

I finally understand! This article (http://www.curlynikki.com/2010/06/summer-curls-understanding-dew-points.html) linked on another thread (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=121564&p=2681784&viewfull=1#post2681784) explained relative humidity:


When many curlies talk about humidity and their hair, they often look at relative humidity. While this makes some sense in a humid summer, it really doesn’t give a clear picture. Once winter hits, it can still be 100% humidity, but your curls will not spring out like they will on a summer day that is 100% humidity.

That is because there is a difference between relative humidity and actual humidity, or how much water really is in the air.
:scissors:

How much water the air can hold all depends on the air temperature. Think of a cold day as a shot glass. It can only hold a little bit of water. Now, think of a hot day as a keg. It can hold a lot more water. So, even if your cold day/shot glass is 100% full of water, it still isn’t that much water compared to a 1/4 full keg/hot day.


That last paragraph is what made it click for me - a humid winter still has drier air than a moderate/humid summer. [Which explains why my Polish friends complain the humid cold in a mild UK winter is harder to cope with than a usual (utterly freezing) Polish winter, but my skin still cracks :lol: ]

So actually, although drier air inside is a signi factor, the outside air does not escape its share of the blame.

I hope that made sense :)