What do you do different in winter?

[blue_nant]

I am in the US northern Great Plains, and in winter, one has to cover up, hair and sometimes have to cover up everything. Normally I wear a single braid, and tuck it into my coat. But the ubiquitous fleece really gives it the static frizz, and being under so much more friction than normal makes me wonder. I'm sure I'm breaking off the old bottoms of my more-than-50-inch hair.

So, cold-climate LHC-ers, what do you do to alleviate winter's effects on your hair. Do you just treat the ends more often? Or do you have clever, everyday tricks to protect the locks?

[Mairéad]

In the winter I'm not so concerned with how my hair looks more than I am protecting it and keeping it from getting dry and damaged. I wash my hair the same way and same frequency as I did in the summer despite it getting oily and drier (trust me it's possible). I keep it lightly oiled at all times, put in a silk scarf, and into a wool hat. I do this because the only way to make it look good is by means that would eventually damage it. So in winter I focus on keeping it healthy.

[Chromis]

I spend most of my winter wearing my hair in a log roll secured by a Ficcare with a wool tam over top when outdoors. I also have a parka with a big hood I can put on over that and if it is very, very cold, I wear a calorimetry under my hat.

I never wear only a single braid loose under my coat. I know others do, but I find it very uncomfortable and prone to snagging on things or being sat on. Ow!

My routine is otherwise the same all year. No heat, wash once or twice a week. I plan my washes a little more to avoid going out with it soaking wet, but I am not too fussed if it is still damp.

[Mountaingrrl]

I bun my hair more in the winter, wrapping the hair in a silk scarf or lined hat when I'm out in the cold. I also do more deep treatments.

[Shesta]

More deep treatments and buns. They look kind of strange under my hat but who cares. :D

[Deborah]

I don't change a thing. I notice a little more static, but I don't do anything about it. The cold doesn't bother me much I guess.

[ktani]

I do not change anything either, just shampoo and catnip and as long as I thoroughly distribute the catnip through my hair as I do now in any season, 0 static.

[torrilin]

The only real change I have is I wear a beret or tam coz it's cold.

[Orangerthanred]

Nothing this winter! It's 50 degrees with no snow. If it was a normal winter- ten or less degrees and a fair amount of snow, I'd probably be wearing more hats.

[battles]

I just got some nice soft crocheted hats for Christmas, so I'm going to start wearing those whenever I'm outside and keeping my hair up and oiled.

My hair doesn't like winter, but I never paid much attention to it before.

[shikara]

To avoid getting a dry scalp I apply some essential oils and castor to my scalp before washing. Ill probably continie this regardless of season it makes such a difference. I also have my steamer going a lot in my apartment so its not so dry. I love the idea of a silk or satin scarf, THEN your toque. So simple yet. I couldnt figuee out what to do. Thanks for that advice!! It has been very unusually warm here so far this winter but still very dry. No braids for me this winter. i dont like how easily it can rub against my coat collars. Im chaning from washing twice. week to every second day so I can get good conditionings done!

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/lmarie29/th_a5642814.jpg (http://s1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/lmarie29/?action=view&current=a5642814.jpg)

[Arashi]

I use heavier conditioners, more oil, etc.

[coffinhert]

In winter, I spend more time wishing it was summer.

[RiotPrrl]

I put all my hair (except for the fringe) under some type of knitted hat and I use some leave-in conditioner, if needed, to combat the static.

[jacqueline101]

I found that I have to do cocoa nut oil full strength on the ends every three days as a leave in and my regular routine. I also found that the extra oil is needed or my hair breaks off the splits do anyways.

[christine1989]

I trim a bit more because the dry ends drive me nuts. I will also use a leave in every day rather than once in a while. Sometimes that means an oil but sometimes it's an actual store bought conditioner. So far my hair is fairing well.

[schiele]

I wear my hair up 4 or 5 times a week - mostly just because I hate being wet and cold in the winter. I also CO wash a lot more than I do at other times of the year, strangely enough. I find in winter I get an extremely itchy, dry scalp that flakes all over if I don't CO wash it every two days or so. In the summer I can get away with doing it only once a week... :( Dry scalp is actually a big problem for me. I'm considering starting to oil my scalp with coconut oil, since I use that on the length of my hair, but my hair gets greasy easily.

[Diamond.Eyes]

I don't really focus on styling my hair all that much in the winter. I try my best to protect it from the dry, cold air. I also avoid humectants as they suck moisture out of my hair rather than the air. I also try to avoid going outside with my hair wet as much as possible; that drys it out immensely. :p

[Mommyof4]

Unfortunately, even in winter, it is barely chilly where I live... :/ But it is less humid, so I've noticed that I have to oil my scalp once a week...

[MonaLisa]

Deep conditioning once a week, and using cones without hesitation! :)

[Loreley]

In summer I use only a cone- and sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner +coconut oil. In winter I change my routine and I use heavy coney stuff. Shampoo, conditioner, leave-ins, sprays, etc. Lots of products. I also need to trim less in winter (maybe all this stuff helps to prevent breakage?). I wear it the same way (up in a bun) during the year, I don't change that.

[lw8666]

I do some serious oiling! Coconut oil helps protect my hair from extreme weather. I oil my ends lightly every day and I do heavy leave-ins as well before washing.

[Amber_Maiden]

wear my hear down more- because of my hood + not wash my hair as much + oil more.

[HintOfMint]

Hard to say since I didn't really have to do anything different until I moved to New York last year and found out what real cold is like (example: when I say it's freezing, it is no longer considered hyperbole and people wonder if it is actually icy outside).

I tried near everything and my scalp freaked out, my ends dried up and I ended up having to chop off 2 inches. Silicones helped, but by then, the damage had been done.

I just discovered shea butter, and I found a shampoo that allows me to shampoo every 4 days instead of every other day. I also have a proper wide tooth comb and I know not to use humectants in a leave-in for winter. So, fingers crossed for a better winter!

[owlathena]

I haven't changed anything...

My ends are quite dry atm though, when I get home from break (visiting my parents now) I'll get back into my routine of weekly SMTs

[Qadupae]

Keep my head covered constantly due to the extreme changes between my humid and warm inside of the house and the dry and cold outside. I also switch to a regime of WO for 6 days with a diluted poo on the 7th, sometimes even longer depending on how dry the air gets.

[BlueberryGnome]

I wear my hair up at all times and oil+hydrate a lot more than during the summer. I don't wear winter hats, my scalp doesn't like :/

[Pierre]

Sometimes I make earmuffs out of my hair or wrap a braid around my ear and cover it with a Buff.

[Gothchiq]

More oiling and if things look really staticky sometimes I will add a silicone hair cream.

[embee]

I wear a hat or calorimetry indoors and out, pretty much 24x7 - although not really when I'm sleeping, then I have on a hood.

It's not so much for my hair as it is for my ears and neck.... brrrr. The downside of being old is the cold drafts *hurt* and that's no fun.

Also I will make a point this winter to stay with NW/SO so I don't freeze to death in my own chilly house from long wet hair dripping down my back! :D

[bunzfan]

I wash my hair less because my hair takes over 4 hours to dry and sitting with damp hair up makes me very cold:( i have also dried my hair slightly with the blow fryer because i just cant stand being cold...

[naturegirl321]

Oil more. Over oiling is more like it.

[Anje]

I wash a bit more frequently, since my scalp seems to produce more oil in the winter. Possibly, I wear more braids, to fit under hats.

I also tend to pick up more lint. Blame the warm clothing, or perhaps the cats' winter coats!

[Liesbeth]

I tend to blow-dry my hair more in the winter (usually using the cool setting), because having wet hair makes me super cold. And I wear my hair down almost every day, because it keeps my neck warm. :D

[UltraBella]

I bun my hair constantly in the winter, the static drives me crazy. One thing that has helped tremendously with the static issue at home is having a humidifying system built into our heating system. This drastically raised the humidity level in our home, so no more hair static, no more getting shocked touching each other or light switches. It's so very nice. Going outside into the extreme wind and dry air still makes my hair unhappy, so I just bun it and I do more moisture treatments in the winter.

[white.chocolate]

I'm still improving my hair-care routine during winter. So far, a humidifier helps immensely. I also wear my hair up all the time, finger-comb, otherwise use a wooden comb, and oil my ends more often.