Winter’s a time when your skin and hair take quite a beating. In winter, hair care needs to be given a little extra attention, as dry air, and low temperatures, can steal the moisture and shine from your locks. Your hair starts getting brittle, looks limp, and has numerous split ends, and so, you try getting rid of these problems but don’t seem to be able to. Well, that’s probably because you’re making a couple of errors while you’re trying to look after your hair.
So, what are these errors? Read on to know more about this hair faux pas most of us make in the winter, and end up with those unwanted split ends hair.
Before we get started
Before getting into the mistakes we make, it’s important to understand some basics about split ends. Let us take you through important facts you must know about before reading further.
What causes split ends?
Split ends are the tips of your hair which have split due to various reasons like lack of moisture, excessive heat and ill treatment. Not all split ends are identical each one tells its own story. While there are a couple of different kinds of split ends. The 3 most common ones are:
The basic split: This is most commonly seen among women, Condition and treat your hair to heal it and bring your tresses back to life.
The tiny split: Again a usual, this split is a mini version of the basic split. This is a warning to start taking care of your otherwise dry hair they are in need of some serious repair.
The knot: This is very common among women with curly hair. It causes the hair to break right from the knot while brushing. Be extra careful the next time you’re combing your hair.
1. Using the wrong shampoo
In winter, you do have to wash your hair at some point or the other, right? But when you do, you should use the right shampoo. You don’t want to be using the shampoos you usually do in the summer, as in winter, due to dry air, your hair will dry out and you’ll be left with split ends. Our go-to for the colder months is the Dove Hair Therapy Split End shampoo which has a special formula with fiber actives that treats your hair from deep within, giving you 4x lesser split ends!
2. Washing your hair too often
There’s no fixed number of times you should be washing your hair, but the more you wash it, the more brittle your hair will get. Why is this? Well, water and shampoo tend to dry your hair out, and an excess of both will make your hair as brittle as ever, and may lead to split ends. So, in winter, it’s best to keep hair washes to a minimum. However we do understand that hygiene and sanitation is super important. Use a homemade DIY hair mask to nourish and retain the moisture your hair might lose due to excessive washing. Here is what you can do. Mix 2 eggs and some extra virgin olive oil. Whisk till blended well. Apply the mask all over your hair and let it stay for around an hour. Wash your hair after. The eggs are rich in protein and fatty acids which help reduce dryness, while the olive oil acts as a great conditioner. The moisturizing properties help seal the hair cuticle, giving them both moisture and repair.
3. Not conditioning your ends well
While you may want to give the conditioner a miss, you better not do that. Take a coin size amount of product on your palm and apply it to the ends of your hair. Wash after.
4. Not trimming your hair
When it’s cold and dry outside, your trips to the salon need to become a little more frequent. By trimming your hair every 8 weeks or so, you’ll have hair that’s bouncy and looks healthy—not limp and full of split ends. If you don’t want to lose the length of your beautiful locks, simply chop an inch or two off. This will not only get rid of those dry ends that resemble a broom, but will also keep the length intact.
5. Going outside with wet hair
Because of the cold, and dry air, going outside with hair that’s wet, or even slightly damp, can cause it to become stiff, which will increase the risk of having split ends leave aside the dirt and dust it will catch! The best way to avoid this is to not washing your hair right before you’re to go out. Just wash it the night before, and you’ll be good to go!
6. Exposure to extreme temperatures
We’ve all been guilty about using a burning hot hairdryer to dry our hair right after we’ve washed it in the winter because we can’t stand the cold. But we don’t seem to gauge how much damage we’re doing to our locks. The best way to dry our hair in the winter is by wrapping a microfiber towel around it. This way, we won’t have to use a hairdryer, nor will our hair be exposed to dry hair. If you’re worried about your hair looking like a complete mess the next morning, simply plait your dry hair in a loose braid and sleep with it overnight. The next morning you can simply open the braid and brush your hair. This will give your tresses a beautiful wavy texture and will help making it look voluminous and full.
7. Exposing it to certain fabrics
Winters are made for beanies. When else can we were them? However, did you know fabrics such as wool aren’t exactly the best for your hair? It’s a heavy fabric, and so, can tug on your strands and make them brittle, and cause split ends.
8. Not brushing your hair
Brushing plays a very important role in regard to split ends. Make sure to choose the right brush, a wide paddle brush with flexible bristles works perfectly to detangle and brush and your hair daily. Plastic and wide toothed combs will cause breakage and split ends if used on a regular basis. Use your brush correctly – Instead of running it right through your hair from roots to ends that will instantly cause breakage and damage. Start by combing out your ends and then slowly move to the mid-section and give the final few brush strokes from the roots.
Written by Cassandra Pereira on Nov 22, 2017