Fall is finally upon us. As it gets colder, the air is also increasingly getting dryer, especially indoors where some people might have their heaters on already. This is of course bad news for your hair, but if you follow these tips, your tresses should be just fine.
As you already know, moisture is one of the most important things for a curly or coily girl’s hair. Even as the seasons change, our hair still has the same needs. This is a time to look into co-washing if you are not already doing it. Where I shampooed my hair weekly during summer, I will now co-wash instead, and shampoo my hair once or twice a month at most. Co-washing will ensure that your hair is not stripped of its natural oils thus retaining more moisture. After a good co-wash don’t forget to follow it up with a leave- in conditioner.
(Tip: Use thicker and creamier conditioners as your leave-in for extra moisture, I use Nubian Heritage Indian Hemp & Tamanu Grow & Strengthen Treatment Masque)
I feel that the lighter leave-ins just don’t cut it for me in the colder and dryer months. Of course this is just a personal preference of mine.
After you moisturize your hair with a conditioner, you then need to seal in all that goodness in your hair. There are many choices, shea butter being one of the heavy weights in this category. However any natural oil should do. Avoid products containing mineral oils, petrolatum and glycerin, as these will contribute to your hair drying out.
Make sure that your hair is well moisturized and sealed before you walk out the door. When you decide to wear a wool cap, be sure to use a silk cap or sew in a silk lining in your cap, this will prevent your hair from drying out too much and will also minimize friction between the strands thus reducing tangling and eventually breakage.
This is the best time to do protective styles as your hair will be well tucked away and hidden from the elements. Your hair does not need to be at shoulder length to benefit from protective styles. Any style that will minimize manipulation of your hair is a protective style e.g twists, braids or plaits, finger coils, cornrows, weaves etc. I sometimes even wear silk scarves which further help to keep moisture in the hair and also keeps my fingers out of my hair.
How do you plan to protect your hair during the colder months?
