It's Winter! My One Lone Hair Care Tip For The Season - humidifier

[heidi w.]

Folks, can't say enough about the humidifier, or as some call it a vaporizor.

Something that adds moisture to the air.

Use the distilled or bottled water. You don't want the hard water minerals mucking up your machinery. With this care of the machine, it should last a few years.

I acquired this tip from Lady Grace who lives in hot Florida. She uses hers year round.

Makes a huge difference in snowy turf.

Also helps with static, dry mouth, dry eyes, dry nose---oh, and dry skin.

I put mine right next to my bed, near where my hair drapes down.

Can be found sometimes for as little as $20-$30, such as a sale at Walgreens or a drug store. Sometimes there's an after-Christmas sale, too.

Happy Hair Locks!
heidi w.

[morecowbell]

One word:
Yes! :)
I have one running constantly in my apartment, and static is non existent in my hair! :)

[luxepiggy]

I have one! It's great for cutting down on sore throats in the winter! I never realized they were good for hair, but now that you mention it I did have a big decrease in static.

Mine is shaped like a little panda, and was purchased for me by my very dear friend of the same nickname. She's got a piggy-shaped one, of course (^(oo)^)v

[09robiha]

thanks for the tip heidi!
This could possibly help out my curly hair....can I ask can humidifers or vapourisers help with sinuses at all??

[heidi w.]

I keep mine in the bedroom with a tray underneath to catch any waterdrops. I have hardwood floors. I have at times run 2, one in the kitchen, and the bedroom.

In the kitchen with the heat on and cooking in a stove/oven, the air in winter can get pretty dry.

My other winter tip: use a heating pad to warm up the bed before you get in it. I found 2 long ones, so I have them side-by-side so there's no surprise cold dip at first.

OH, and satin pillowcase.....helps keep away static in winter, too!
heidi w.


thanks for the tip heidi!
This could possibly help out my curly hair....can I ask can humidifers or vapourisers help with sinuses at all??

Yes, nose (I had a bleeding nose til I got mine up and running), skin, overly dry mouth after sleeping all night....makes blowing the nose in the morning easier too.

SOme curly hair types did declare to me, a number of years back, that it poofed their hair, so give it a try. Maybe you can borrow one before buying one to give it a try.

There should be different settings, high, low. If you have poof on high, you might not on low, and further away from the bed.

If you have nasal problems, the nose inside at least, you'll probably like this equipment.

Even my short-haired compadre whines when we don't have the right water and can't run it. (I refuse to use tap water as in our area it's super hard.)

heidi w.

[curlymarcia]

Hi, I had one for the dry nose/throat. Do you used all the time, I only use mine for nigth and I will try the distilled water.

[heidi w.]

Hi, I had one for the dry nose/throat. Do you used all the time, I only use mine for nigth and I will try the distilled water.

Right now I only use mine at night.

But if this air gets any drier then I will rotate it around the house....from kitchen to bedroom.

I have a problem with skin getting really dry and cracked and flaky this time of year. Adding moisture to the air is helpful for offsetting.

Coconut Oil in the skin ladies. Straight coconut oil. Excellent for those of color and suffering from ash. Your skin will glow and be so smooth! OH, and a little bit is all that's needed. Sometimes just the tracest amount. ETA: I'm thinking legs and arms, not necessarily face. I have very sensitive facial skin and I can't put just anything on it.

heidi w.


I have one! It's great for cutting down on sore throats in the winter! I never realized they were good for hair, but now that you mention it I did have a big decrease in static.

Mine is shaped like a little panda, and was purchased for me by my very dear friend of the same nickname. She's got a piggy-shaped one, of course (^(oo)^)v

how cool is THAT!! shaped like a panda and a pig. I can't even imagine. Now I have to figure out a way to get one.

Well, after I get a yob (job). Life is slim pickins right now.
heidi w.

[Toadstool]

LOL at this time of year I have to regularly use a dehumidifier. I don't have central heating. When I go to my grandmother's at Christmas, her central heating makes my nose bleed.

[IcarusBride]

Oh, I really need one! I have been having terrible dry nose every day when I wake up, and of course my hair is dryer than ever :(
I don't have a humidifier, I should shop around for one, but in the meantime, I have an improvisation... My rice cooker! Haha, if I fill it to the top with water (and obviously don't put any rice...) it will run all night, pumping steam into the air. Probably not as efficient as a humidifier, but it does the trick.

[heidi w.]

For those interested in animal shaped humidifiers....apparently Bed Bath and Beyond carries them? REally. Who knew! I never saw one. Maybe I just don't get out enough. LOL

http://gadgets.elliottback.com/animal-shaped-humidifiers/
Adorable

WOAW! look at all the choices...bed bath & beyond
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/search/search.aspx/humidifier/?sstr=humidifier&dim=1&nty=1&
The duck is cute, but the red dragon.

OH, I find I use almost a gallon a night if I run on the high setting. A gallon every other night if I run on the low setting, to give an idea of your investment in bottled or distilled water.



heidi w.


Oh, I really need one! I have been having terrible dry nose every day when I wake up, and of course my hair is dryer than ever :(
I don't have a humidifier, I should shop around for one, but in the meantime, I have an improvisation... My rice cooker! Haha, if I fill it to the top with water (and obviously don't put any rice...) it will run all night, pumping steam into the air. Probably not as efficient as a humidifier, but it does the trick.

I believe the old method was to set a mason jar of water in a tray and atop a radiator of some sort, so the heat caused a kind of steaming.....

Clever: rice cooker. ETA: Then perhaps a workaround is a crock pot cooker? too.....

heidi w.

[luxepiggy]

For those interested in animal shaped humidifiers....apparently Bed Bath and Beyond carries them? REally. Who knew! I never saw one. Maybe I just don't get out enough. LOL

http://gadgets.elliottback.com/animal-shaped-humidifiers/
Adorable

WOAW! look at all the choices...bed bath & beyond
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/search/search.aspx/humidifier/?sstr=humidifier&dim=1&nty=1&
The duck is cute, but the red dragon.

OH, I find I use almost a gallon a night if I run on the high setting. A gallon every other night if I run on the low setting, to give an idea of your investment in bottled or distilled water.



heidi w.

Oh the dragon is ADORABLE!! (^(oo)^) I should really have another one for the living room anyway, right? Right? :p

PS: In case anyone was concerned, the steam does NOT come out of the noses! I was a little worried that, in keeping with the piggy theme, the humidifier would be snorting steam out the nostrils, but Miss Panda assures me that the steam issues out of the tops of the ears :D

[HoneyJubilee]

The elephant is cuter than it looks in the Bed Bath & Beyond photo. Boyfriend got the elephant to increase humidity when he was trying to grow mini palm trees. I think we found his at Target.

I've been wanting an animal shaped one, but I can't choose one. I think I've narrowed it down to the elephant or the dragon, though.

[Kaijah]

They also carry various animal shapes and characters at Target! They have some listed online (http://www.target.com/s?keywords=humidifier&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0).

I don't have a humidifier, but I have something that works just as well - lots of large fish tanks! I heat them all in the winter, and run the tanks topless, so there's tons of evaporation. I just consider the extra air moisture a rarely mentioned bonus.

[Nae]

Oh I love my humidifier! I run it all night every night during the winter, it helps immensely. I couldn't do without it. My skin thanks me, my hair thanks me, my nose and throat thank me. It is indispensible. DH thinks I am crazy and he doesn't notice a difference but nevertheless, he gets a good dose of humidified air every night regardless.

[Alexannee10]

Mmm lucky you ! I live in Quebec, Canada. So the winter are very cold, very snowy and very windy. I wish I could lay under a palm tree somtimes :)

[luxepiggy]

They also carry various animal shapes and characters at Target! They have some listed online (http://www.target.com/s?keywords=humidifier&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0).

I don't have a humidifier, but I have something that works just as well - lots of large fish tanks! I heat them all in the winter, and run the tanks topless, so there's tons of evaporation. I just consider the extra air moisture a rarely mentioned bonus.


Why oh why did I click on that link??

The steam on this one really DOES come out the nostrils!
http://www.target.com/Sunpentown-Ultrasonic-Humidifier-Pink-SU3751/dp/B000O3GCEQ/ref=sr_1_27/192-0007773-8356013?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=humidifier&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-27&qid=1292558887&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Sunpentown%20Ultrasonic%20Humidifier%20Pink%20S U3751&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_ primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

Great, I'm going to end up with 3 or 4 humidifiers, I just know it . . . maybe I'll put them on a rotational system or something :p

[Rivanariko]

I bought one but haven't used it yet... our water is FAR too hard to use tap water, and I can't bring myself to use up the distilled water that we buy for drinking (because the tap water here is... yellow. And tastes like licking a metal pole. Not that I'd know what that tastes like...) to fill it. I know it would help me with a lot though. Maybe I'll have to grab a few more jugs of water at the store tomorrow. Why must EVERYTHING cost money? [/rant]

I had one in my room as a kid though. Always really helped me through the winter.

[Rini]

Interesting! We've just bought a de-humidifier. I've recently moved to Italy and live in the mountains where the air is very damp. We have a mould problem and condensation is always running down the doors/windows. It's a damp place! My hair is constantly HUGE here because of it. Our de-humidifier works well (get's soooo much water out of the air), but I think it works a little too well and makes things a bit dry. I'd like a happy balance, but I don't know this climate at all well yet (being from the other side of the world originally).

I owned a humidifier in Australia, and used it for my husband's sinuses and my occasional respiratory problems. They do work well! I don't think I ever noticed any hair effects with it though (but probably wasn't paying attention to that).

I've been having dry hands here and have been putting coconut oil on them before bed, that tip is gold Heidi :D

[eezepeeze]

I ran out and bought a humidifier the very next day after reading this thread and have used it the last 3 nights! I already notice a difference in my sinus problems and dry skin on my face. I hoping to see an improvement in the dry skin on my hands as well. I don't know if I will see a difference in my hair or not, but it's already been well worth the 15 bucks I spent on it.

I don't know why it never occured to me before to get one. I always used one as a kid and it helped me a lot.

Boy, they sure are a lot smaller now, than they were back then. I remember mine as a kid was huge and had to sit on a chair. My new one is about the size of a tape dispenser and is soooo easy to use.

Great tip, Heidi!!

[Lianna]

It's not winter where I live. :p

[Nae]

Just had to add this picture of my doggie Baxter, who definately needs me to buy him a humidifier for the downstairs. This is what happens to me when I don't have my humidifier going in the bedroom at night lol.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/5276694109_98d6b6fe12_z.jpg

[CrisDee]

AWWWWWWW, Baxter is so CUTE!!

I have a whole-house humidifier on my heater. It doesn't humidify as well as the room vaporizers you've linked, but it sure cuts down on the "zots" - those lightening bolts of electricity you get when you don't quite pick your feet up when you walk, then you touch something else. I just HATE those! They're not good for electronic equipment, either, I've heard of people frying their computers with a zot of static electricity.

Hmmm, a rice cooker, you say? I've been wanting to get one of those for rice, maybe now I'll have a double-duty use for it! :eyebrows:

[eternalvoyageur]

I believe the old method was to set a mason jar of water in a tray and atop a radiator of some sort, so the heat caused a kind of steaming.....

.

In Germany they use something like this: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTVJOhzhto-yNMRYqd5hiMIn7G6G4i8BGnNee9sxXUS2201W1_o

It´s basically a water container on a wire, that you hang on top of the radiator. It´s cheap and doesn´t use extra energy.