Winterizing Your Hair Care
Experts say harsh winter weather and a change in temperatures can be hair's No. 1 enemy. Here's why -- and what to do.
Static Cling and Other Hair Styling Snafus continued...
Most importantly, limit your time under a blow dryer -- good advice all year round but essential in winter, he says. To do that and still effectively style your hair Harris says use a towel to gently blot about 20% of the moisture content out of our hair, then hit it with the heat, stopping the moment your hair is dry.
To cut down on the proverbial "hat hair," experts say pull longer locks into a pony tail high on your head, or push short hair straight back, before putting on the hat. Pushing hair against the way your style should fall, says Chavez, will help it spring out with bounce once the hat is removed.
To ensure that it does, he also suggests carrying a travel sized dry-hair texturizer that adds instant body.
Harris says if you styled your hair with a cream product, adding just a few drops of water to your hands and rubbing them through your hair can refresh the style.
Shampoos and Color Treatments: Your Best Choice for Hair Care
While conditioning and styling products may help hold your style, celebrity and fashion stylist Jamal Hammadi says choosing the right shampoo may net you perhaps the biggest winter hair payoff.
The reason: "Shampoo forms the basis of the way your hair is going to react to conditioners and styling aids, and it impacts how your hair will behave in all kinds of climates and conditions," says Hammadi. He has tamed the tresses of many hot celebs including Julianne Moore, Kirsten Dunst, Heather Graham, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Naomi Watts.
For Hammadi, the more natural a product is -- and the fewer chemicals it contains -- the better off your hair will be, winter or summer. His all-time favorite natural ingredient -- shea butter -- is now also a popular skin care treatment.
"Shea butter is the quickest, most effective way to get damaged hair into good condition, and keep healthy hair from becoming damaged," says Hammadi, who adds that he's been using this natural trick on some of the catwalk's most famous fashion heads for more than 15 years.
Not surprisingly, he recently spun his passion into a line of hair-care products he calls HamadiShea. In addition to shea butter these products also contain ginger milk and soy as well as essential oils such as ylang ylang, bergamot, and lemongrass, which he says helps open the hair cuticle so the moisture can be absorbed. And it's not a bad aromatherapy treatment for those blustery winter days when you're stuck inside!
Taking an entirely different approach to shampoo formulation is legendary New York City hair stylist Robert Craig. He pioneered a line of products designed to work with your water type -- hard, soft, or very hard -- and in this way help hair behave a whole lot better, especially in winter.
