5 Tips for Protecting Your Hair This Winter

If the winter season brings cold weather where you live, then you'll want to prepare to give your hair a little extra TLC. Here are 5 steps to help you keep your strands healthy and growing through the winter months.

Deep Condition I'm not the best at this step, but it's important. You know how in the summer months you can get away with using a thin lotion to keep your skin moisturized and in the winter you need to switch over to a heavier, creamier moisturizer so your skin doesn't dry out? Well much like your skin moisturizer, deep conditioning gives your hair the extra boost of moisture that it needs. Let's face it - with the harsh, cold air, the winter months can wreak havoc on our curls, kinks and coils, making them dry and brittle. And what does dry, brittle hair lead to? Tangles and breakage. No thank you! Overwhelmed by all the products out there and not sure where to start? Check out my video on my easy, inexpensive deep conditioner. Also, if your hair has permanent color in it, then deep conditioning isn't optional for you at any time of the year - it's always a must.

Puuddy's tightly coiled hair

Moisturizer There's no way around it - having a good quality moisturizer in your product arsenal is imperative to the health of your hair. Now, the type of moisturizer will largely depend on your curl pattern. Moisturizers come in a range of formulas, because no two curl patterns are alike. The tighter the curls, the more difficult it is for the natural moisturizer our scalps make - sebum - to make its way down our strands. This type of curl pattern will benefit from a heavier, creamier moisturizer (I like SheaMoisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie - beware: a little goes a loooong way). The looser the curls, the easier it is for sebum to moisturize the whole strand of hair, so this curl pattern only needs a light moisturizer, maybe one that comes in spray form. 

Seal Sealing is a step that is really important, especially for those of us with tighter, kinkier curls and coils. There are two ways you can seal: 1) with pH, and 2) with oils or butters. Back when I was setting my hair in a bijillion two-strand twists, I'd seal using the famous "Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner" (note that the original recipe calls for 2 tbsp of aloe vera leaf juice, not green tea). This conditioner acts as a sealant due to the pH of aloe vera leaf juice, one of its main ingredients. This juice is all natural and has a pH that is very close to the natural pH of the scalp and hair - between 4.5 and 5.5. Without getting too deep (let's face it, chemistry wasn't my best subject anyway) when a product falling into that pH range touches our hair, it closes the cuticles of the hair strand, locking in moisture and protecting the strand from tangling and mechanical (comb/brush) damage. So if you think about it, when you apply the Kimmaytube conditioner to your wet hair, you're sealing in the moisture from the water. The result? Soft, shiny, healthy and moisturized hair! The second way to seal is to use oil. Your curl pattern, moisture needs and personal preferences will dictate whether you use a light or heavy oil. My coils are looser than my oldest daughter's coils, so I can get away with using a lighter oil - such as jojoba - to seal. But her hair requires a heavier oil - such as extra virgin olive oil - to effectively lock in moisture, soften her hair and keep it tangle-free.

My curls in the front and back are
loose and wavy

Puuddy's hair with the yarn twist
extensions I installed this summer

Protective Styling This is a term that is talked about a lot in the natural hair community, but what does it actually mean? Protective styling is any style that requires as little manipulation as possible. Less manipulation = less opportunity to damage your strands. In my mind there are two categories of protective styles: with and without the addition of faux/human hair or yarn. But whether you're setting your hair in mini twists or Senegalese twists, you STILL need to SHAMPOO and MOISTURIZE regularly, especially if you're keeping the style in for weeks at a time. Protective styling doesn't mean set-it-and-forget-it. This is really important if you've added hair or yarn to your hair. If you don't keep your hair and scalp clean then lint and dirt will cause build-up that you'll be removing for DAYS maybe even WEEKS after you've taken down the style. Plus, dirt and product build-up on your scalp hinders growth. And if you don't moisturize, then the faux/human hair and yarn will draw all the moisture out of your hair, which can lead to breakage. 

Puuddy's hat that I lined two
winters ago

Lined Hats Lastly, if you're going to wear a hat then make sure it is lined with satin or a satin-like material such as a polyester blend. If your hat isn't lined then I wouldn't wear it at all. Seriously. You can find vendors on Etsy that sell handmade, good quality lined hats (if you need a hat for your baby then I'd recommend this Etsy shop). But it doesn't stop at hats. One winter I learned a hard lesson when I discovered that my wool coat and scarf were causing terrible tangles and matting at the nape of my neck. But should we really freeze for the sake of preserving a few strands? No worries - you don't have to choose. Here's what I do: I still wear my wool coat BUT I make sure I wear a silk/polyester scarf so that it acts as a buffer between my hair and coat. Voilà! You get to stay warm and protect your strands!



Work these tips into your regimen and wardrobe and you'll enjoy healthy, moisturized strands this winter!

~ How do you keep your hair healthy in the wintertime? ~

"What Do You Use to Deep Condition?"

                  
I know this may come as a bit of a shock, but I actually just got back to deep conditioning regularly. For the past few months I hadn’t been paying much attention to my hair and I wasn’t giving it the attention it needed. There–I said it! Phew! Now that I’ve got that off my chest, lol, I can write the rest of this post!

Admittedly, during the summer months I don’t think my hair requires that extra moisture. So fortunately for me, those few months without regular DC’s didn’t have drastically negative effects on my hair. But in the winter, I think most naturals will agree: DC’s aren’t an option if you live in colder climates. You know how in the winter you have to moisturize your hands several times a day with lotions and creams just to keep them from being dry? This is because the dry air–both indoors and outdoors–draws the moisture out of your skin. And it does the same to your hair. Without the proper amount of moisture–and the right sealing techniques–in your regimen, your tresses can become dry and brittle, leading to unhealthy hair that is vulnerable to breakage. This also makes it difficult to retain length. More on this in a later post.

I’ve tried a few store bought deep conditioners, but nothing seems to work as well for me as the formula I mix up in my kitchen. I’ve posted it before (Yummy Moisture Treatment), but I've recently changed it up. I’m less precise with the measurements now since I just eyeball it for consistency, and sometimes I use a different conditioner as the base, but I still achieve great results.

¼ cup of a moisturizing conditioner

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (“EVOO”)

1-2 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tbsp brewed green tea*

1 tbsp honey (optional)

*The green tea is something I’ve recently started adding for its smoothing properties. Yes, due to its acidity it is known for closing the cuticles on the hair shaft (hence the smooth feel of my hair), and the purpose of a DC is to bring moisture into the hair shaft. But for whatever reason this DC formula still moisturizes my hair incredibly well. I like to think the tea helps seal in the moisture. In the past few months I’ve taken to using brewed green tea in several parts of my regimen as it helps keep my thick, dense hair smooth and detangled throughout the washing and styling process.

Olive oil is a great natural conditioner that can penetrate the hair shaft, making hair soft and shiny. Its antioxidant properties are also healing and nourishing to the scalp. It is best to use extra virgin olive oil, as it is olive oil in its most pure form.

Grapeseed oil is a light moisturizing oil that is easily absorbed by the hair. The Vitamin E and linoleic acid in this oil assist in promoting hair growth and strengthening hair. 

I leave the DC in my hair under two plastic shower caps and wrap stretchy headbands around my hairline to seal down the edges. Then I top it off with a winter hat and leave this on for 2-3 hours, sometimes overnight. I take these measures to create a "greenhouse effect" on my head to help the conditioner penetrate my strands. 

Bye Bye Straight Hair!

After wearing my hair straight for 8 days, I was ready to get my curls back! I enjoyed the experience while it lasted, and I was a teeny bit sad to say good-bye to my straight hair because I knew it would be months until I saw it again, but I was sooo happy to get my hair and scalp clean! Eight days of straight hair = dirty hair! I had put so much product on it because I was so paranoid about it reverting. Yuck.

I baggied my entire head last night with my
Yummy Moisture Treatment + molasses.
The results? Today my hair is soooo soft!

But, I digress. Since my hair was loaded down with product, I whipped out a sulfate shampoo, something I hadn't used on my hair since probably early summertime. Surprisingly it felt good though. I was just so happy to have my scalp and hair CLEAN that it didn't matter how my hair felt, lol. I applied the product to my scalp and concentrated massaging it in there. Then I ran my fingers down through my hair, spreading the product through but being careful not to bunch up the hair. I was still a bit worried about my hair tangling because of the shampoo, but thankfully my method of finger-combing and braiding/twisting under the running water, which I learned from Naptural85 of YT, kept my locks from locking, lol.

Now I'm sitting here with saran wrap, 3 plastic shower caps and 2 stretchy headbands on my head, letting the moisture treatment do its thang! I plan to top off this lovely treatment with my first TnC (twist n' curl) à la hairscapades.com. :) 

My Straightening Process

The tools that I used: 2 Goody barrettes, rat tail comb, 2
clips and a tape measure. (Not pictured: wide-toothed comb.)

These are the steps I took to prepare my hair for and protect it from the heat.

Straightening Prep

• Detangled with olive oil then shampooed with KCCC
• Deep conditioned with my Yummy Moisture Treatment (I also added some Shea Moisture CE Smoothie to it for an extra boost). Put on 2 disposable shower caps plus my thick shower cap and left it in for 35-40 minutes. Afterwards, following Shelli's tip of hairscapades.com, I took off the shower caps and let my hair cool for 10 minutes before rinsing it out (this closes the cuticles).
• Diluted my detangling conditioner with water and poured it over each section before rinsing out the deep conditioner completely with lukewarm water (I was supposed to use cool water but I was already so cold in the shower! lol). Detangled a bit again then twisted up each section.
• (Note: I do not dry my hair at all after washes - not with a towel, t-shirt or anything.) Applied the Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner (my hair's favorite!) to each section then braided each section up for bedtime. 

By morning (actually only a few hours later because I went to bed late and woke up pretty early) my hair was still very damp, which I expected. This actually worked out great though because the heat protectant directions indicate to apply it to wet hair.

Straightening Process

• Starting from the back, I parted my hair in long, narrow sections straight across and applied the heat protectant thoroughly from root to tip, focusing on my new growth and ends. (Note: I researched heat protectants for weeks before deciding on and purchasing one. I am very picky about what I put in my hair. I might post later on how I chose the heat protectant.)
• My blow dryer has the following settings: Cool, Warm, Hot, Very Hot. After applying HP to each small section, I combed it with my wide-toothed comb then I blow dried each section on Warm (I have a comb attachment on the end, too). The only time I turned it up to Hot a couple times was for the crown, which is thicker and curlier. I figured if I had to use more heat, I'd rather have it come from the blow dryer than the flat iron. I repeated these steps for my entire head.
• When I was about halfway through blow drying, I turned on the flat iron (courtesy of my sister, thank you, Trelle! :) if you ever need an event planner then you absolutely must call her - she's AH-mazing! partiesbylu.com). The temperature range is 140 - 410 degrees. I wanted to use the least amount of heat possible to achieve straight hair, so I turned it down to somewhere around 300 degrees, probably less, much closer to 140 degrees than 410 degrees (I couldn't tell because the degrees aren't marked off in the middle). I was surprised to discover that I had to turn down the temperature several times during the process. The few times I saw smoke I turned it down. Anyway, to flat iron I started from the back and once again parted my hair in long, narrow sections. I applied a little more HP to each section, took small (maybe 1"x 1"?) sections, gently combed them from tip to root, then ran the flat iron over them. (I know in my post on flat ironing I said it's best to hold the rat tail comb in front of the flat iron for each pass in order to avoid tangles, but I tried that and it was just too awkward for me. I could probably do it on someone else's hair, but not on my own, especially at my length.) I repeated this process for my entire head.

After flat ironing, I smoothed a little more heat protectant over my ends, roots and edges. Later, I got a hold of some a "Texture Balm" (similar to a pomade) and smoothed it over my hair. I will continue to use this throughout the week to keep my hair smooth.* Each night I plan on wrapping my hair, although I haven't done this forever so hope I haven't lost my touch!

* Starting November 25 I replaced the texture balm with an anti-breakage serum.

Yummy Moisture Treatment

I'm calling this moisture treatment "yummy" because that is how it leaves my hair feeling - YUMMY! Soft, manageable and full of moisture, I can easily style my hair after this treatment. I think I'm going to use this mix either every time or every other time I wash now that we're approaching wintertime.

Would you like to treat your hair to something yummy? Try this recipe:

• 1/2 cup your favorite detangling conditioner (I <3 mine!!)
• 1/4 cup honey (I've also used organic blue agave nectar with success)
• 1/4 cup EVOO

Mix with a plastic spoon until blended. Apply to each section of wet hair then detangle. Twist or braid, then repeat on the other sections. Put on a plastic cap and leave in for at least 30 minutes. Rinse then apply my favorite leave-in conditioner and style as usual.

I have a lot of hair, lol, so I use all of this up each time. If your hair is above, I'd say, shoulder length, then you'll probably have leftovers for later use.

Enjoy, ladies! :)