Winter and wet hair

[PinkyCat]

I air dry - How do I protect it from freezing, yet still have it be presentable after activities? I shovel, X-country ski, hike, etc. in the winter. Hats are bad sweaty frizz factories. What other options are there?

[Amber_Maiden]

Not much... You could braid it and put it under a hat which is not made out of fleece or wool. That might help. or use a hood?

[ladonna]

Wash at night or in the afternoon? I wash my hair in the kitchen sink at times.

[PinkyCat]

Look what I found - hats for big hair!

http://www.hatsome.com/categories/Hats-For-Big-Hair/?sort=featured&page=1

I think those Harfs (hood scarfs) are just what I need!

[Yozhik]

I wash in the evenings.

If I happen to have wet hair during the day and need to go out during the winter, I put my hair up in a bun and wear a hood. Haven't had it freeze yet. :)

[Tsopana]

I have another question: When we're air drying in winter, aren't we risking to catch cold or sth? I remember my parents always warning me on that, when I was younger and went to sleep with wet hair.

[ladonna]

^^old wives tale.

[nobeltonya]

I've started leaving it loose for about an hour or so to dry almost all the way, then braid or bun it..

[Cainwen]

I have another question: When we're air drying in winter, aren't we risking to catch cold or sth? I remember my parents always warning me on that, when I was younger and went to sleep with wet hair.

While its true that being excessively cold can lower immune response(and thus leave you open to catching more colds), unless you are wandering outside and letting your hair freeze into hair-scicles I wouldn't worry about it. Assuming you are air drying in a modern heated house I don't know why it would be different from air drying on a nice spring day. I've air dried my whole life without catching cold. Just try not to go out with it dripping in sub zero. I can't imagine being frozen solid is any too good for the hair itself, actually.

[PinkyCat]

The reason I'm worried about my hair freezing is because water expands when it freezes. If there's water in the hair shaft that freezes, it will expand and possibly damage the hair shaft, ripping it apart. SCARY.

[Madora]

I air dry - How do I protect it from freezing, yet still have it be presentable after activities? I shovel, X-country ski, hike, etc. in the winter. Hats are bad sweaty frizz factories. What other options are there?

You can wear a wool scarf to protect your hair. To keep it from massive tangling, part the hair from forehead to nape so that you have two sections.

Cross the sections at the back of the head, then bring one section forward so that it lays on the right side of your chest. Repeat with the other on the left side of your chest. Securing your hair this way (in front of you and not down your back) keeps it relatively free of tangles while sitting under your jacket or coat.

[jojo]

I have another question: When we're air drying in winter, aren't we risking to catch cold or sth? I remember my parents always warning me on that, when I was younger and went to sleep with wet hair.

a cold is a virus and not caused by wet hair!


to the op's question I wash in the evening and when I am out I always wear a hat with my hair bunned underneath, I get no frizz this way.

[misspurdy06]

silk scarves.

[Snippety]

My nan used to say if you went to bed with wet hair you'd get neuralgia, but I haven't yet ! I always have a single plait that I pull round down my front and button under my coat if it is raining or excessively cold. I can't stop the shorter hair at the nape of my neck getting tangled by a scarf or coat collar though. Also extremely full of static in the colder months despite my wooden comb.

[KwaveT]

I conditioner my hair in the evening so I can let it air dry indoors. If I did it in the morning then I would have the exact same issue. I have seen single digit temperatures where I live even though nothing colder than this.

[FrozenBritannia]

I'm so glad someone asked this!! I'm in single digit temps now, another few weeks and we'll be dipping as low as -50 and my hair takes a fair while to dry! I have a silk lined hood but I'm worried it won't be enough. I guess maybe I'll braid and wear an extra silk scarf under the hood!

And I'm really not looking forward to the shovelling. :(

[newbeginning]

I've washed at night as long as I can remember. Sometimes it's still damp in the morning but it's dry enough that I don't freeze in the winter. I wear a hat/hood too.

[WaitingSoLong]

Some serums applied to wet hair speed drying time but they are all coney, so if you are not a cone user...

I just dry my hair in the winter. My hair takes DAYS to dry in winter and I cannot walk around wet-headed for so long (I am always cold anyway, let alone with wet hair). At least my scalp hair gets dried. I have had my hair freeze before when we were sledding and it was wet from beig in the snow (my hair was MUCH shorter then).

I only wash my hair twice a week so it is not a daily issue anyway. But I also wash in the evening most the time so it can dry overnight (mostly).

[torrilin]

The reason I'm worried about my hair freezing is because water expands when it freezes. If there's water in the hair shaft that freezes, it will expand and possibly damage the hair shaft, ripping it apart. SCARY.

There's always water in your hair shaft. I mean, it's the *point* of it being hair.

Anyway, we lose a pretty hefty share of our body heat through our heads. Our bodies run at 98-99F or around 37C. If you wear a hat, your body heat will keep your hair from freezing solid down to around 0F/-18C. At that point, your hair may be able to freeze if you stand around outside for an hour or more. Not work outside, just stand. Walking briskly warms me up enough that the majority of my hair doesn't freeze no matter how long I'm outside at 0F. At temperatures above 0F, the issue is not freezing hair, but not getting so sweaty that I get hypothermia.

At -10F/-23C, I have not found an activity level that will keep my hair from freezing with a single hat layer. It takes about 10-20 minutes for hair on my scalp to freeze if I just wear one hat, so even someone with a wet pixie cut would have their hair freeze at least sometimes at this temperature. Wearing more layers on my head helps somewhat, and using hairstyles that are close to my head helps somewhat. But I still haven't found a solution that never permits my hair to freeze.

Please note that a wind chill of -10F is not going to freeze your hair. It has to actually be -10F.

In my experience, using a hair dryer is far more damaging to my hair than letting it freeze. And at this point, my ends will be on winter #5 of freezing solid. If I were on winter #5 of blow drying, I'd be around the same length, but planning on a 3-4" chop come spring.

The exact temperature ranges for your own personal body might not be the same as mine. But I'd count it as pretty unusual to have hair freeze above 10F.

[WaitingSoLong]

There are safe ways to blow dry your hair...low or no heat, held at arms length away from hair, low setting. Really, it is not damaging just to have air flowing across your hair.

[SunnyRainStorm]

I blow dry mine sometimes in the winter. I just blow dry for a while and then stop and let it rest and then tackle it again. I do not use the high heat setting.

[FrozenBritannia]

There's always water in your hair shaft. I mean, it's the *point* of it being hair.

Anyway, we lose a pretty hefty share of our body heat through our heads. Our bodies run at 98-99F or around 37C. If you wear a hat, your body heat will keep your hair from freezing solid down to around 0F/-18C. At that point, your hair may be able to freeze if you stand around outside for an hour or more. Not work outside, just stand. Walking briskly warms me up enough that the majority of my hair doesn't freeze no matter how long I'm outside at 0F. At temperatures above 0F, the issue is not freezing hair, but not getting so sweaty that I get hypothermia.

At -10F/-23C, I have not found an activity level that will keep my hair from freezing with a single hat layer. It takes about 10-20 minutes for hair on my scalp to freeze if I just wear one hat, so even someone with a wet pixie cut would have their hair freeze at least sometimes at this temperature. Wearing more layers on my head helps somewhat, and using hairstyles that are close to my head helps somewhat. But I still haven't found a solution that never permits my hair to freeze.

Please note that a wind chill of -10F is not going to freeze your hair. It has to actually be -10F.

In my experience, using a hair dryer is far more damaging to my hair than letting it freeze. And at this point, my ends will be on winter #5 of freezing solid. If I were on winter #5 of blow drying, I'd be around the same length, but planning on a 3-4" chop come spring.

The exact temperature ranges for your own personal body might not be the same as mine. But I'd count it as pretty unusual to have hair freeze above 10F.

I've had my hair freeze at -15C while walking to school, but granted it wasn't solid just crunchy and stiff. And I can definately say that at -50C (or -50F since they even out at 40 below) wet hair will freeze rock solid in the distance from the house to the truck, about 15 feet or one minute (by the time you get the door to open). But dry hair will just feel cold and a bit stiff. I really think dry hair is better at least at those temps.

[PinkyCat]

There's always water in your hair shaft. I mean, it's the *point* of it being hair.

Anyway, we lose a pretty hefty share of our body heat through our heads. Our bodies run at 98-99F or around 37C. If you wear a hat, your body heat will keep your hair from freezing solid down to around 0F/-18C. At that point, your hair may be able to freeze if you stand around outside for an hour or more. Not work outside, just stand. Walking briskly warms me up enough that the majority of my hair doesn't freeze no matter how long I'm outside at 0F. At temperatures above 0F, the issue is not freezing hair, but not getting so sweaty that I get hypothermia.

At -10F/-23C, I have not found an activity level that will keep my hair from freezing with a single hat layer. It takes about 10-20 minutes for hair on my scalp to freeze if I just wear one hat, so even someone with a wet pixie cut would have their hair freeze at least sometimes at this temperature. Wearing more layers on my head helps somewhat, and using hairstyles that are close to my head helps somewhat. But I still haven't found a solution that never permits my hair to freeze.

Please note that a wind chill of -10F is not going to freeze your hair. It has to actually be -10F.

In my experience, using a hair dryer is far more damaging to my hair than letting it freeze. And at this point, my ends will be on winter #5 of freezing solid. If I were on winter #5 of blow drying, I'd be around the same length, but planning on a 3-4" chop come spring.

The exact temperature ranges for your own personal body might not be the same as mine. But I'd count it as pretty unusual to have hair freeze above 10F.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear with my original post. I'm not asking if my hair will freeze - I'm telling you my wet hair freezes when I do outdoor winter activities when it is 30 degrees or below.

Thanks for all the responses - I think I found my solution with the silk-lined hood-scarf. :)

[celebriangel]

I just wash my hair when I know I'll be at home for as long as it takes to dry.

[Tsopana]

While its true that being excessively cold can lower immune response(and thus leave you open to catching more colds), unless you are wandering outside and letting your hair freeze into hair-scicles I wouldn't worry about it. Assuming you are air drying in a modern heated house I don't know why it would be different from air drying on a nice spring day. I've air dried my whole life without catching cold. Just try not to go out with it dripping in sub zero. I can't imagine being frozen solid is any too good for the hair itself, actually.


I see..! thanks!!