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Hair survival 101: Preventing dry hair in winter

by Ashley|January 20, 2023
Winter Hair Woes to Avoid this Season

We all know the toll that winter can take on our skin, but the coldest months of the year can also deprive your hair of much-needed moisture, leading to breakage, static and frizzy hair. Though, with the right products and techniques, dry hair doesn't have to be such a struggle. We’re here to help you learn how to prevent hair dryness in winter and keep your locks looking smooth and frizz-free this season. Follow along to learn more about:

The best shampoo for dry hair in winter

OLAPLEX No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

OLAPLEX No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

The best shampoo for dry hair in winter is one that will effectively cleanse without stripping away your natural oils and disrupting the moisture balance at your scalp. This daily shampoo from OLAPLEX does just that while also strengthening all hair types with its proprietary ingredient, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, which is formulated to help repair the broken disulfide bonds that contribute to dry, brittle hair.

Pro tip: Hot showers can disrupt the moisture barrier and lead to issues with super-dry skin from head to toe, including dry scalp. The same goes for your locks. “While hair can be damaged from excessive dryness in the air, the scalp is the most important area to concentrate on as it is where the hair is ‘made,’ so to speak, and is essential for healthy hair,” says board-certified dermatologist and LovelySkin founder Dr. Joel Schlessinger. “Excessive heat can damage the skin, which then, in turn, leads to weaker, less healthy hair. If you keep your time in the water to a minimum and use lukewarm water instead of hot, that can go a long way to ensure your skin and hair remain properly hydrated in the winter.”

The best conditioner for dry hair in winter

Just as using the incorrect moisturizer can throw off your complexion, using a conditioner not suited for your hair can lead to unwanted side effects. Here are two conditioners that we trust to breathe some life back into dry winter hair:

OLAPLEX No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner

OLAPLEX No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner

In addition to bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate—OLAPLEX’s key ingredient to help strengthen hair—this conditioner also contains vitamin B5 to moisturize and biotin, a form of vitamin H that supports healthy hair. Hydrating glycerin and a handful of nourishing oils—avocado, apricot kernel, sunflower seed, grapeseed—round out the list of beneficial ingredients for dry winter hair. It’s also safe to use on color-treated hair with no worry about fading your salon-fresh look.

Alterna CAVIAR Anti-Aging Priming Leave-In Conditioner

Alterna CAVIAR Anti-Aging Priming Leave-In Conditioner

For dry hair in winter that’s prone to static and flyaways, a leave-in conditioner could be just the ticket. This conditioner is especially formulated to restore shine and moisture to dry, fine hair using a blend of caviar extract, seasilk and rosehip seed oil. Just spritz it onto towel-dried hair after shampooing and do not rinse. In addition to its moisturizing benefits, this conditioner will also help protect your hair from the potential damage of heat styling up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

The best moisturizing products for dry winter hair

A hair mask is an excellent option for quenching dry hair in winter. Not only will it help infuse your locks with hydration, but a hair mask can also help combat frizz, static and breakage as well.

Rene Furterer KARITE HYDRA Hydrating Shine Mask

Rene Furterer KARITE HYDRA Hydrating Shine Mask

This nourishing formula from Rene Furterer contains the brand’s exclusive Cimentrio complex—a blend of ceramides, essential fatty acids and phytosterols—to nourish your tresses while increasing strength and adding shine, all without weighing hair down. You can use this deep conditioner once or twice a week. After shampooing, apply it to damp hair and leave in for about five minutes before combing through to detangle and rinsing.

Verb Ghost Hair Mask

Verb Ghost Hair Mask

The Ghost collection from Verb is all about infusing your hair with weightless hydration and luminosity. This hair mask is a deep-conditioning treatment featuring moringa oil and glycerin that you can use once or twice weekly after shampooing. For times when your dry winter hair can use some extra repair, mix this mask with a few drops of Verb Ghost Oil and leave it on overnight before rinsing in the morning.

Ouidad Ultra Nourishing Intense Hydrating Hair Mask

Ouidad Ultra Nourishing Intense Hydrating Hair Mask

If you’re rocking curls, one of the most annoying things about dry winter hair is how easily it becomes tangled. This deep-conditioning treatment from curl-centric hair care brand Ouidad helps detangle hair instantly and restore softness and hydration to dry, curly hair. It is formulated with macadamia, sunflower seed, olive and argan oils to reduce frizz, improve brittleness and smooth flyaways and static.

The best dry hair products in winter for heat styling

Since hair tends to lean on the dryer side in the colder months, you may need to add some additional products to your regimen. Dry hair is fragile hair, meaning it is more prone to breakage and splitting, so take advantage of protective hairstyling products designed to specially help keep your hair in top form.

Kenra Professional Platinum Luxe One Leave-In

Kenra Professional Platinum Luxe One Leave-In

If you covet your blow dryer and curling iron, a heat protection spray is a must all year round and especially when you have dry hair in winter. This heat protection spray from the experts at Kenra contains colloidal gold to add shine and refresh hair between styles, but it also provides heat protection up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and promotes supreme softness.

Surface Jump Volume Mousse

Surface Jump Volume Mousse

Dry winter hair can feel static-prone and lack volume as well. We’re big fans of this styling mousse, which adds flexible volume and lift to hair that’s feeling flat. It also helps reduce your blow-dry time, all without depriving your strands of moisture.

PHYTO Phytodefrisant Anti-Frizz Blow Dry Balm

PHYTO Phytodefrisant Anti-Frizz Blow Dry Balm

Though this product is a blow dry balm by name, it will prep and protect your hair for all manner of heat styling, from perfecting your beachy waves with a flat iron to the perfect bombshell blowout using your favorite hair dryer tools. This formula also contains plant extracts, which moisturize hair while guar gum guards your main from frizz and static.

The best dry shampoo for dry hair in winter

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk

Another way to prevent hair dryness during the winter is to give your hair a breather. If you can, push washing your locks from every day to every other day and opt for a dry shampoo between washes. This fan-favorite from Klorane will help add volume and diminish unwanted debris and oil in as little as two minutes. Plus, this formula is fortified with oat milk, a naturally nourishing plant extract that works to maintain hydration in the interim.

Pro tip: To get the most of your dry shampoo, apply in small sections starting at the scalp and allow the product to penetrate before brushing through. This will give it a chance to diminish oil and debris. After a few minutes, brush until the excess powder disappears and style as desired for a second-day style that's just as good as the first.

Now that you know how to prevent hair dryness in winter, take your knowledge to th next level by learning more about what oils you can use to benefit your skin and hair.

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About the Author

Ashley is a content writer at LovelySkin and a self-declared beauty junkie. She enjoys trying out new lip products and spoiling her pets.

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