Each type of weather has a different effect on our hair and skin, requiring a change in our beauty routine to avoid problems it can cause. With winter here, we all need a special hair care routine, but the important question is: are you making a hair care mistake that could damage your hair during this season? Preventing such damage shouldn’t be difficult if you understand the mistakes you’re making and change your routine.
So, one of our doctors, Dr Amrendra Kumar, Consultant Dermatologist, Hair Transplant Surgeon, and Director of DermaClinix, will help us uncover the haircare mistakes we should avoid this season. Read on to know all that he shared!
1. Avoid Washing Hair With Hot Water
We all know how relaxing a hot shower can be, but this daily ritual is far more damaging to your hair than you might think. Bathing or washing your hair in hot water removes a lot of your hair’s natural oils and nutrients. Moreover, it is possible that the deep conditioning with the use of hot water will help to avoid the penetration of the treatments. Scalp dryness could also be enhanced by hot water, causing itching as well as flaking, and the loss of hair. Using lukewarm water maintains the moisture level in the hair, maintains the natural luster, and makes the hair soft and healthy throughout the season. Minor changes to your washing habits can keep you out of the harm of the long-term effects of usual winter hair care errors. As a result, when shampooing, lower the temperature and always rinse off the conditioner with cold water, as this helps to close the cuticles and reduce frizz.
2. Avoid Over-Washing Your Hair
One of the most common winter hair care mistakes is overwashing, which makes it weaker and the strands are brittle, and thus can be easily broken. Hair becomes dry and flaky, and the only way to relieve this is to wash it, but this can cause hair and scalp damage. You may be using a conditioner to hydrate your hair, but if you’re washing it too frequently, you’re stripping it of its natural oils, which can cause or worsen dandruff. Washing once, twice, or thrice per week is used to preserve necessary scalp hair. Besides, mild shampoos that have no sulfates and a conditioner can be used to avoid dryness by ensuring that there is nourishment to the hair at the end of each wash. These tricks will make the hair healthier, shinier, and more manageable during the winter season.
3. Avoid Overusing Dry Shampoos
Dry shampoo has firmly established itself as a go-to hair product. Excessive use of dry shampoos on the head leads to too much product accumulating in your hair, which blocks the pores in your scalp and leaves your hair without its vital nutrients. The use of dry shampoo as a daily hair care is a widespread mistake we usually make in winter, as it may cause irritation of the scalp, itching, and even loss of hair over time. It also inhibits the normal distribution of oil down the shaft of hair, and the strands remain dry and fragile. While it’s convenient to quickly refresh our hair when we are in a hurry, using too much dry shampoo can be harmful. When you use too much product, too often, it builds up in your hair, clogging your scalp’s pores and depriving your hair of essential nutrients. In order to have healthy hair, sprinkle healthy shampoo sparingly, wash it often, and take good care of the scalp in terms of cleansing and mandatorily use essential oils. This will assist in making your hair hard, shiny, and safe during the colder seasons.
4. Using The Wrong Fabrics
Wearing the wrong fabrics is one of the most frequent winter hair care mistakes, as extreme materials may destroy hair cuticles and cause a static effect. When it comes to hats, you should choose your fabrics carefully. This is because fabrics like wool and cotton wick moisture from your hair, leaving it dry, dull, and frizzy. This can lead to significant hair loss and breakage. While wearing woolen hats and coats is unavoidable, choose those with a silk lining to reduce friction and moisture loss. Ridiculously tight hats should be avoided, as the hair can easily rub against your head and split when you wear it continuously, and it may make the hair strands weak. Wear loose breathable clothes and silk and satin scarves to cover hair outside. This slight modification will help to keep more moisture in my hair, prevent split ends, and have smooth, shiny and manageable hair all the way through the winter.
5. Using The Wrong Hair Products
Among the usual winter hair care mistakes, the inability to apply the right hair products can be listed as a prominent one. Light or harsh products leave the hair without any moisture or protection against dryness. Identify conditioners, styling products, and masks that are enriched with natural oils, keratin, or shea butter. Alcoholic and clarifying agents should be avoided as they can contribute to the drying of your hair. Relaxing your hair care regime according to the seasons will make sure that your hair will be well fed, healthy, and strong even during the worst of winter seasons. You should switch your hair care products the same way that you switch your skincare products every season. During winter, skip light summer haircare products in favour of creamier, hydrating formulas. This will protect, hydrate, and condition your hair, keeping it soft and lustrous throughout the cold winter months.
6. Avoid Walking Around With Wet Hair
It is one of the crucial winter hair care mistakes that one should avoid, since wet hair is weaker and more prone to environmental damage. Although wash-and-go hair-care mornings save time, they aren’t exactly beneficial for your hair, especially during the cold winter months. Cold air can cause the water in your hair to freeze, separating strands and increasing hair breakage, split ends, and frizz, among other issues. In addition, the issue of walking around with damp hair can result in augmentation of the scale of dryness to the head. So to restrain excessive hair loss during winter, you must dry it, with or without a blow dryer, with the least heat. The breakage and friction can be reduced by wiping the excess water with a microfibre towel, which can also be done without haste. These measures will make hair strong, smooth, and healthy, even in the winter season.
Some Additional Mistakes You Should Avoid
1. Skipping Moisturizing Treatments
We tend to ignore doing moisturising treatments during winter, leading to dry and damaged hair. When it is cold, the hair is prone to drying up and thus is easily broken. It is possible to do it with deep conditioning masks, leave-in conditioners, or natural oils that replace the lost moisture and act as a barrier to the hostile weather, e.g., coconut or argan oil. Lack of attention to such treatments can cause the hair to be frizzy, brittle, and lifeless. Using a nourishing mask should become a habit to do at least once a week. In addition, the moisturizing products could be made with such ingredients as shea butter or glycerin that are able to hold the moisture longer. Spraying your hair all the time will reduce the damage, improve the hair texture, and make it soft and manageable in winter.
2. Avoiding UV Protection
Most individuals believe that the risk of UV damage is only a summer problem, but the sun in winter is equally as detrimental to hair. Excessive exposure to UV rays causes the cuticles of hair to become weak, leading to dryness, loss of shine, and color fading. This is more of an occurrence in colder seasons, where hair is already dry. A protective layer is generated with the help of leave-in conditioners, serums, or sprays that contain UV filters to prevent sun damage. Hats or scarves are also worn outside to protect the hair against the harmful rays. Wearing UV protection in winter in your hairstyle makes hair strong, moist, and healthy throughout the difficulties of the seasons.
3. Using Heat Styling Excessively
Overusing heat-styling appliances has also gained enough points to be a notable winter hair care mistake. Straighteners, curlers, and blow dryers remove the natural moisture of winter hair, which is already dry. Excess heat leads to weak, brittle, and split-end hair. In styling, one should use a heat protectant spray in order to create a barrier against abuse. Whenever possible, air-dry or use the minimum amount of heat in the event that blow-drying must be used. Reduce the heat styling to special occasions and not daily. Also, protective hairstyles (braid or bun) can be used to minimize exposure to environmental stressors. The less exposure to heat you have, the more you can preserve the natural shine, avoid breakages and make your hair manageable during the dry winter seasons.
4. Neglecting Hair Oil
Another important winter hair care mistakes is avoiding hair oiling. Scalp and hair require extra food in winter seasons, and a lack of oil treatments would leave the hair dry and split, leaving it susceptible to breakage. The oils (coconut, almond, or argan oils) are absorbed by the hair shaft, and the hair strand is stronger and more hydrated. Oiling also will improve scalp circulation, and therefore, the flakiness and dandruff will be reduced. Rub hair oil at least once or twice a week, leave it for a few hours or even overnight, then wash it off using a soft shampoo. This basic procedure can result in a visible difference in feel, shine, and the health of the hair in general. One of the most useful tips in order to prevent hair care errors in winter and ensure that your hair is not hard, weak, and frizzy is the addition of hair oil to the routine.
Follow @dramrendrakumar_md on Instagram for more tips like this or Ask your queries to expert directly.
Exclusive by Dr Amrendra Kumar, Founder DERMACLINIX. All images & content published credit to Miss Malini i.e 6 Hair Care Mistakes To Avoid This Winter
