Research suggests that winter brings the most trouble for your hair. We must be aware of what this season brings to ensure we prevent unnecessary damage. Here we worked with Dr Shahmalak at Crown Clinic to discuss the things you might be doing wrong this winter and how to avoid them:
Excessive use of electric heaters: Electric heaters won’t only affect your wallet this winter, they will also damage your hair if used in excess. To avoid this and be able to retain the moisture in your hair, decrease the amount of time you spend next to electric heaters or decrease the power setting your equipment is usually set at.
Going on strict diets before/after Christmas: Whilst these can help you feel and look amazing after all the food you eat at Christmas, they can also cause great damage to your hair. By being strict with what you eat and cutting out specific foods that provide vitamins for your hair, you may cause it to become dull, dry, and breakable.
Overindulging in comfort food: Winter is the season of comfort foods, and with that, comes plenty of carbohydrates. Overindulgence in carbs could cause your scalp to produce extra sebum. Whilst sebum isn’t exactly damaging to your hair, the build-up of it can cause dandruff and itchiness which could be damaging to your scalp.
Not taking your vitamin supplements: Your body will use all the extra energy it can get to warm you up as the temperatures decline. This will leave no energy left to maintain your hair. Make sure to take extra vitamins to help your body help you.
Bleaching your hair: This isn’t to say you can’t bleach your hair in the winter at all, but do try to minimise the amount you do it as your hair is already plenty dry from the use of artificial heat sources and wearing hats. If you do decide to bleach your hair, make sure to keep it extra hydrated.
Hair health depends on various factors, some of which we cannot control, the different seasons of the year being some of them. Spring is in fact the time of the year your hair will be at its healthiest, due to several reasons:
- Blood flow is at its most efficient as the weather gets warmer, which increases hair growth rate. Whilst this is great news for the length of your hair, blood flow also increases the production of sebum. Increased blood flow does help but it can also increase sebum which can affect the hair growth if the hair and scalp are not cleaned by washing.
- Hair receives a break from harsh weather conditions that the rest of the year can provide.
- The chocolate that we consume at Easter gives us an excellent potassium boost that is essential for promoting hair growth.
- Spring brings many seasonal foods and fruits full of vitamins that give our hair a boost.
Now that the winter is here and the days much colder, it’s time to start thinking about ways to protect our hair from the damage that the winter elements can cause. During the winter months, it’s a great idea to treat your hair once a week to a deep conditioning treatment. This will help to replenish the moisture, which tends to get depleted from things such as the dry heat in your apartment and the cold winter air.
Also, keep washing your hair to a minimum, say two to three times a week, as this will prevent your hair from drying out too much.
Regular trims are a great way to keep your hair in good health during the winter months as well.
