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lajsa
November 21st, 2011, 01:54 PM
So, despite the fact that it was later than it has ever been, my Swedish Winter has attacked at last! :D Now, the thing is that the air around here gets rather dry during the winter, and now I've got some hair issues.

It's horrible to wake up the day after a shower and look in the mirror to find this huge horrible dry-looking tangle at the ends of my hair :( I think it's not ONLY the winter's fault, but I believe the dry winter air (which I love otherwise - it's so cool and fresh! :D Winter is awesome at least before I freeze my toes off) is behind some of it. When I go out with my hair down I feel like I can practically feel my ends get dryer. And this winter I'm going to be out more than usual since I've gotten into the habit of walking home from school every day... or several times a day if I have a schedule gap and need to go walk the dog during lunch... it's a 30-40 minute walk and I would like to be able to enjoy it without worrying about my hair.

So, my question now is what would be a good way to keep my hair moisturized during the winter? I remember reading somewhere around here that honey isn't a good way to go since it would somehow 'suck out' the water in the hair if the surrounding air is dry...? Is that true or should I go wild with my SMTs with honey? Is your hair affected by winter weather? What do you do about it?


What I'm planning this far is to get myself some clarifying schampoo and go back to my hardcore CO routine. I've been horribly lazy lately, and I've been slacking a lot. I've used both schampoos and conditioners with cones, and now I'm worrying that might contribute to my dry horrible ends somehow, so I'm going to get rid of it.

Oh, and I live pretty far north (quite a bit above the Polar Circle) so it gets pretty cold here in the winters. Of course, if it's -20 C I'll keep my hair all tucked up and warm inside my favourite beret, so I won't have to worry about freezing it all to death. By the way, which temperature is "too low" for healthy moisturized hair? Or does temperature even matter? I'm thinking, if there's moisture in the hair it could freeze and cause some serious damage if the temp gets too low... or is that impossible?


I really do like to bombard people with questions, why do you ask? :D:D:D

Amber_Maiden
November 21st, 2011, 01:56 PM
I'm interested in what people have to say about this, as I'm going to have the same problem in a month! :(

Arctic
November 21st, 2011, 02:02 PM
You are obviously doing lot of things right as you have such long hair already! (hi from neighbour!)

BabyRay33
November 21st, 2011, 02:17 PM
you could try using a humidifier, I've been using one and its been helping.

CO seems like it would help too though!

jacqueline101
November 21st, 2011, 03:53 PM
I have winter coming up in my area. I was wondering what would be good for my hair too. I'd like to find something for my winter hair to go along with my normal hair care routine. I use mane n tail as a leave in condish and monistat too. My hair seems to grow. I use my oil blend I was wondering if I'm missing something.

Kizuna
November 21st, 2011, 04:06 PM
Wow, even above the polar circle, then you live further north than I do (I didn't expect a lot of people from Norrland to be here, it's good to see I'm not the only one though ^^).
I know for sure that I'm not gonna do what I did last winter, which was washing my hair with schampoo (full of silicones).. and no conditioner. My hair was superdry and static all the time. I wasn't interested at all in hair care (which I'm now) but when I started with CO my hair became smooth and healthier.
For this winter I'm gonna continue with CO and maybe do oil treatments now and then. I'd love to hear the answers to your questions... anyone? Maybe I'll try to do some research!

pinupdancer
November 21st, 2011, 04:16 PM
Sorry I have no tips for you but I'm interested in knowing what others have to say, too. Great topic. :)

cmg
November 21st, 2011, 05:09 PM
Hello! Another Polar circle inhabitant signing in to this thread. I dont have any answers either, but there is something I will avoid att all costs: Going outdoors with hair that is not completely dry! Last winter I still used cones sometimes, so this time around I will see how it works for my hair thats now been without for a year and being taken care of with Co-washes. I dont get as much white-frosted hairs around the face (from the breath or from biking) as last year. So perhaps Co-wash is a good thing. :cheese:
Or perhaps its just early in the season.

cmg
November 21st, 2011, 05:18 PM
Just remembered something from the german hair forum: They have the analysis of the human hair sebum and now there is a suggestion for a homemade substitute. Nature is always the best, perhaps something I should try for the winter as a protective coating for the hair? :hmm:

hanne jensen
November 22nd, 2011, 03:39 AM
I'm in Denmark, not as far north as the OP. But, the air is very dry now. Around 40% humidity. I cover my hair with a scarf all day long. If it's freezing temperatures I wear a woolen hoodie over my scarf. I wash my hair in KMSSM (Ktani's Movie Star Shampoo Method). My hair is always dry, and this helps a lot.

talervo
November 22nd, 2011, 10:13 PM
I find that aloe based conditioners work best for me in the winter. Then using the Snowy Moon defrizz spray as well. Otherwise, I don't do anything different. But, my hair is still drying in the winter than in the summer. Year round it is very dry here anyways.

SoulOfTheSea
November 22nd, 2011, 10:50 PM
Oh I have winter hair already! I loathe it! My hair is already loads more tangly and dry looking, oh how I will miss my summer hair. :(

I mean I did my first WO wash last night, so that I could still take a full warm shower, and I'm going to CO more frequently, I'm just going to miss wearing my hair down...

UltraBella
November 22nd, 2011, 10:58 PM
Our outside air only has 18% humidity at the moment - I live in a very cold, dry climate in the winter. Our indoor humidity is at 42% thanks to the humidifier built into our heating system. I highly recommend humidifiers in the winter, I can't stand the static electricity that builds up otherwise.

SoulOfTheSea
November 22nd, 2011, 11:22 PM
Our outside air only has 18% humidity at the moment - I live in a very cold, dry climate in the winter. Our indoor humidity is at 42% thanks to the humidifier built into our heating system. I highly recommend humidifiers in the winter, I can't stand the static electricity that builds up otherwise.

I don't have a humidifier, nor do I think my father will invest in one, so do you think it would be just as effective if I have a spray bottle filled with filtered water around and occasionally spritz my hair and face?

SoulOfTheSea
November 22nd, 2011, 11:35 PM
Also, I live in a Mediterranean climate, how do you all think (either in S&D form, or a serum) cones would work in the winter climate?

ETA: Sorry, I mean S&C! :o Boy this laptop likes to mess with my typing!

UltraBella
November 22nd, 2011, 11:36 PM
I don't have a humidifier, nor do I think my father will invest in one, so do you think it would be just as effective if I have a spray bottle filled with filtered water around and occasionally spritz my hair and face?

No, it won't be the same at all unfortunately. The water has to evaporate, making the air moist. In fact, spritzing your face and hair with only water in dry conditions can make them dry out even more. If I put water on my face in the winter time, I immediately rub in a few drops of my favorite oil as well.

SoulOfTheSea
November 22nd, 2011, 11:42 PM
No, it won't be the same at all unfortunately. The water has to evaporate, making the air moist. In fact, spritzing your face and hair with only water in dry conditions can make them dry out even more. If I put water on my face in the winter time, I immediately rub in a few drops of my favorite oil as well.

Oh, darn... well now I don't have any other solutions to winter hair other than to wash less, oil more, CO more, and wear my hair up more. :eek: It's hard for me because I get bored easily and I love to wear my hair down. Thanks for the help though, now I know not to repeat what I just did two seconds ago. :)

PaganPriestess
November 22nd, 2011, 11:47 PM
I don't live where it gets cold, but I do live where it is always very dry. Here in Las Vegas, it's literally a desert. I have been having good results with rubbing olive oil onto my hair the night before I plan to wash my hair. I put it up in a bun and let the olive oil work on the hair over night, then shower and wash my hair the next morning.

schweedie
November 23rd, 2011, 01:44 AM
Hi, fellow Swede! The only thing I can think of is, after I've made sure my hair is properly moisturised - usually just with regular conditioner, or an SMT - I end with something that will keep the moisture inside the hair shaft, like a coney conditioner. Maybe a cold water vinegar rinse to close the cuticle (although the 'cold water' part isn't very tempting this time of year). Oil doesn't work for my hair at all, but if if it does for yours that might be an option?

katsrevenge
November 23rd, 2011, 01:54 AM
I don't have a humidifier, nor do I think my father will invest in one, so do you think it would be just as effective if I have a spray bottle filled with filtered water around and occasionally spritz my hair and face?
No. This won't work. Try putting bowls of water on radiators (heat safe ones) to evaporate or simmer water on the stove. It helps!

naturegirl321
November 23rd, 2011, 04:33 AM
I wash my hair less, oil more. Soak a towel in water and put it on the floor. Our floors are heated and it adds water to the air that way.

SoulOfTheSea
November 23rd, 2011, 10:19 PM
No. This won't work. Try putting bowls of water on radiators (heat safe ones) to evaporate or simmer water on the stove. It helps!

That sounds like a good idea! Thanks. :)

alyanna
November 24th, 2011, 01:43 AM
I need advice about this too.

We need to sticky a thread about winter hair care. It would be a valuable resource over the next coming months.

misspurdy06
November 24th, 2011, 02:07 AM
This will be my first winter doing water only. I assume if my hair is somewhat humidity proof now that it will be somewhat dryness proof too. My sebum has become a barrier between my hair and the elements.

Safira
November 24th, 2011, 05:18 AM
At summer and winter I try to avoid humectants. I use SMT, but I avoid all humectants in leave-ins, because they draw moisture out from my hair.
Especially glycerin makes my hair tangled, frizzy and dry.

Shea Butter melted with coconut oil and olive oil, honey and conditioner makes my hair happy, I use it as pre-wash treatment at winter (at summer I can´t use this, my hair goes crazy at summer), after that CO, or shampoo, conditioning with no humectants and hair is happy.

SoulOfTheSea
November 24th, 2011, 09:03 AM
At summer and winter I try to avoid humectants. I use SMT, but I avoid all humectants in leave-ins, because they draw moisture out from my hair.
Especially glycerin makes my hair tangled, frizzy and dry.

Shea Butter melted with coconut oil and olive oil, honey and conditioner makes my hair happy, I use it as pre-wash treatment at winter (at summer I can´t use this, my hair goes crazy at summer), after that CO, or shampoo, conditioning with no humectants and hair is happy.

That sounds like an amazing combination jam-packed with moisture! Now I just need to get my hands on some shea butter and coconut oil... Also, isn't honey a humectant?

CAPA7
November 24th, 2011, 12:20 PM
On the topic of leave-ins, I gather aloe vera is a humectant and therefore might do more harm that good in a dry weather, but what if you mix it with a few drops of oil (I'm thinking camellia oil specifically)? Would it help with moisture?

lajsa
November 24th, 2011, 01:47 PM
So, I've just clarified my hair, and now I'm hoping that some of the dryness and yuckiness might go away. Also, I drenched it in conditioner. I bought this huge 900 ml bottle of some Tresemmé natural stuff without cones, so I think I might use A LOT of conditioner for a while now... :p

Nice to see that there's more people with winter hair / dry air problems! :) I will probably try to start up on the coconut oil again to keep the moisture in.

Shea butter, huh? You know, I've always liked the sound of it (the mere name sounds all gooey and warm and nice like melting butter on warm toast! :D) but I've never managed to find it anywhere. Where do you get yours?

SoulOfTheSea
November 24th, 2011, 02:00 PM
So, I've just clarified my hair, and now I'm hoping that some of the dryness and yuckiness might go away. Also, I drenched it in conditioner. I bought this huge 900 ml bottle of some Tresemmé natural stuff without cones, so I think I might use A LOT of conditioner for a while now... :p

Nice to see that there's more people with winter hair / dry air problems! :) I will probably try to start up on the coconut oil again to keep the moisture in.

Shea butter, huh? You know, I've always liked the sound of it (the mere name sounds all gooey and warm and nice like melting butter on warm toast! :D) but I've never managed to find it anywhere. Where do you get yours?

I was going to clarify my hair, but I decided not to. The reason being that my younger sister had bought Garnier Fructis Volume Boost, and I used that about 4 days ago, and it must have been the harsh shampoo that got my hair dry. So I used some of my old Pantene Beautiful Lengths S&C. Then I put a little bit of jojoba oil on the damp ends... We'll see how this goes too.

BlazingHeart
November 24th, 2011, 04:23 PM
I've bought shea butter in person (I live in a US metro with a fairly large African-American population, including relatively recent immigrants), and it can be ordered off of Amazon.com. If you want it pre-mixed with other stuff, you can buy it off of etsy. I also know of a shop called the Sheabutter Cottage that I read about in a natural hair webzine I was flipping through last week, their addy is http://www.akuawood.co.uk/ and they ship internationally (I don't know anything about them other than that they got a positive review in the mag - I've never bought anything from them).

~Blaze

edited to add: apparently, Sheabutter Cottage is doing a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale tomorrow and Monday, so if you're looking to pick stuff up, it appears now is the time!

Yozhik
November 24th, 2011, 05:40 PM
Oh, darn... well now I don't have any other solutions to winter hair other than to wash less, oil more, CO more, and wear my hair up more. :eek: It's hard for me because I get bored easily and I love to wear my hair down. Thanks for the help though, now I know not to repeat what I just did two seconds ago. :)

You could also mix oils into a spritzer bottle with water and spray that on your hair, too! :flower:

***

So do moisturizing things like coconut oil counteract humectants such as honey and aloe vera? I was under the impression that humectants should be completely avoided in dry air conditions.

TIA to anyone who could clarify this for me. :)

As for winter, I try to stretch my washes more and oil more. I also try to always wear a scarf or hood over my head outdoors. :)

SoulOfTheSea
November 24th, 2011, 05:45 PM
You could also mix oils into a spritzer bottle with water and spray that on your hair, too! :flower:

***

So do moisturizing things like coconut oil counteract humectants such as honey and aloe vera? I was under the impression that humectants should be completely avoided in dry air conditions.

TIA to anyone who could clarify this for me. :)

As for winter, I try to stretch my washes more and oil more. I also try to always wear a scarf or hood over my head outdoors. :)

Thanks for the idea hair twin. :) Also, now I'm wondering the same thing about those products counteracting humectants... someone with more knowledge about this needs to inform us. :D

alfaro123
November 24th, 2011, 06:23 PM
Deep conditioning treatments help my hair a lot when it gets dry and leave in conditioners are great also.")

lajsa
November 24th, 2011, 10:41 PM
I've bought shea butter in person (I live in a US metro with a fairly large African-American population, including relatively recent immigrants), and it can be ordered off of Amazon.com. If you want it pre-mixed with other stuff, you can buy it off of etsy. I also know of a shop called the Sheabutter Cottage that I read about in a natural hair webzine I was flipping through last week, their addy is http://www.akuawood.co.uk/ and they ship internationally (I don't know anything about them other than that they got a positive review in the mag - I've never bought anything from them).

~Blaze

edited to add: apparently, Sheabutter Cottage is doing a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale tomorrow and Monday, so if you're looking to pick stuff up, it appears now is the time!

Ah, great, thanks! :D I'll check it out after school today.

Oh, and my hair actually felt lovely this morning. The ends are still a little bit crunchy but I guess that's to be expected, but honestly it feels loads better already. Then again, I haven't been out yet so I guess it'll get worse again. But at least the clarifying helped. :D It feels almost like it used to when I did full-time CO. Now that I'm going back to that routine, we'll see if it helps with the winter dryness. :p

CAPA7
November 26th, 2011, 06:45 AM
So do moisturizing things like coconut oil counteract humectants such as honey and aloe vera? I was under the impression that humectants should be completely avoided in dry air conditions.

TIA to anyone who could clarify this for me.


Bumping the thread because I would like to know the answer to that question too!

layla<33
November 26th, 2011, 07:18 AM
I was not aware that aloe vera was a humacant :(

ktani
November 26th, 2011, 07:35 AM
Aloe vera has humcetant properties and builds-up on hair. Anything with mucilage in large amounts does that.

What I have seen about winter hair here and elsewhere is this.

The air is drier inside and in some places outside as well.

Hair can get drier than in other seasons.

People immediately start looking to conditioners and treatments to remedy the situation and tend to overuse products. The ends of the hair tend to get more product applied, especially if the hair is long because hair tangles more when dry.

The result? The hair can become even drier.

The remedy? If the hair is overloaded with product, clarify it or stop using the products in question and eventually they will wash out, provided the cleansing choice does not add more build-up causing ingredients.

Choose products wisely by reading all ingredients lists and looking up which ones are humectants if one needs to avoid them.

Using heavy or more product on drier areas of the hair can be fine, provided the product is removed properly, or does not build-up, and can be removed simply by washing it out, like most oils.

layla<33
November 26th, 2011, 07:48 AM
Thank You very much for clearing that up and also for the tips ktani! :flower:

ktani
November 26th, 2011, 07:58 AM
Thank You very much for clearing that up and also for the tips ktani! :flower:

You are very welcome.

talervo
November 30th, 2011, 08:30 PM
Lots of good info here.
I wonder why my hair does better with the aloe based shampoos and conditioners in the winter then? We really don't have much humidity at all here.

lajsa
December 4th, 2011, 10:49 AM
Thanks for the info, ktani! You're always good for a more scientific approach :)

About my winter hair: it's working out pretty okay now. I'd forgotten how much I love CO. It helps greatly with my tangles, and I like how soft and nice my hair gets :D
Then again, I've started keeping my mane up more again (I'm thinking I'll give it a break and keep it up until Christmas or so, to spare my ends for a while) so if it IS dry sometimes it's not as noticeable :p

Lamb
December 4th, 2011, 11:02 AM
In my neck of the woods, winter is not that harsh yet, but it sure is here.

My solution is to use lots of leave-in every day, concentrating on the ends, but sometimes even my roots are grateful for a bit of "stuff". (What surprises me is how much my hair loves protein-rich leave-ins these days.) I do think hair benefits from all-day protection provided by a leave-in conditioner. Oils are all very well (provided you have read ktani's article on the drying capacity of oils: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=190 ), but a good leave-in can be a hair-saver.

ktani
December 4th, 2011, 11:30 AM
Thanks for the info, ktani! You're always good for a more scientific approach :)

About my winter hair: it's working out pretty okay now. I'd forgotten how much I love CO. It helps greatly with my tangles, and I like how soft and nice my hair gets :D
Then again, I've started keeping my mane up more again (I'm thinking I'll give it a break and keep it up until Christmas or so, to spare my ends for a while) so if it IS dry sometimes it's not as noticeable :p

You are very welcome.

cmg
December 4th, 2011, 01:02 PM
I think the clue as to how to treat winter hair is though it seems contradictory, pretty similar to what people in humid climates have to do. Seal the hair. First moisturize then seal it off, so the moisture doesnt escape. In moderately moist climate the gels, aloe, humectants and so on create a layer that draws humidity to the hair, but since it is sealed underneath, it wont frizz as much. In a dry climate a humectant will draw moisture from the hair itself instead of from the air, which makes the hair frizz out. So there will be none of those products, as well as products said to give "body" etc in winter for me at least. I will moistuize, use sour rinses and seal it off with oils or butters. I will do SMT:s as usual but choose the occasions very carefully. If I walk outside right after and the hair isn't completely dry, this could be a disaster (some minus 40-50 degrees C here at times). I have experienced wet hair go crunchy because of cold temperatures once as a child. It just broke off at half length :cry: Took weeks before my mom could comb it all out.

iszolda111
December 4th, 2011, 01:14 PM
You know, I think of this as odd, Winter is a part of nature. Cold, dry, winter air is a natural thing. You'd think our hair would be better equipped to handle the winter air.

cmg
December 4th, 2011, 03:09 PM
I'm sure it would, if we were neanderthals and not modern urbanized people with the genes and hygiene regime that comes with that. If we allowed ourselves to have lots of natural hair sebum on the hair it would make the perfect insulator. We cinda lost this down the road.

Miss Catrina
December 4th, 2011, 03:43 PM
Not winter specific, but let's not forget that cotton pillowcases sap hair of moisture. You could switch to silk/satin. Every little bit helps.

ktani
December 4th, 2011, 03:58 PM
I'm sure it would, if we were neanderthals and not modern urbanized people with the genes and hygiene regime that comes with that. If we allowed ourselves to have lots of natural hair sebum on the hair it would make the perfect insulator. We cinda lost this down the road.

Actually, it turns out that natural lipids do not prevent water loss from skin very well, http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1975/cc026n05/p00227-p00234.pdf and sebum probably does not prevent it well from hair either.

I have no doubt that our early ancestors used grease of some sort from plants or most likely animals to help that.

Native populations have used everything from bear fat to jojoba oil and more for hair conditioning, depending on what was available. No part of any animals killed went to waste.

mneh
December 5th, 2011, 05:41 AM
I'm finding this topic very interesting, but I'm afraid I can't offer any real advice as I live in Ireland and the air is never dry here (I'm actually running a de-humidifier, as I type this, to prevent moisture from building up in my house and causing black mould).

Irish winters are more humid than our summers, which caused me problems last year when I first tried to follow standard advice for winter hair - my hair didn't behave well for me at all last winter because the Irish climate is not the same as most other European climates in wintertime. I suppose my point is, think carefully before you try something new for wintertime and try to work out if it will suit the daily conditions your hair will encounter. Best of luck to you :)

maria_tasha
December 5th, 2011, 05:49 AM
I never used to care for my hair different during winter but now I just ordered my first coconut and jojoba oil to use.

ladyshep
December 5th, 2011, 06:53 AM
You could try Awapuhi shampoo and use the Awapuhi moisture mist by Paul Mitchell.Personally, here in Wisconsin, it keeps my tangles and static in check in the winter. I would have suggested Moisture Maniac, but they took that off the market.:( Using moisturizers aren't going to freeze your hair.