Natural hair is exciting since it’s so versatile. From textures, to styling options and regimens, there’s so much you can do with it. When it comes to routines, you’ll need to switch them up depending on the seasons. Cold weather requires a slightly different approach from warmer months.
Styling
Cold conditions dry out hair just as much as hot weather does. Especially when it’s cold but not raining, the air is dry. As such, try to keep your hair plaited or covered. Wearing it ‘out’ often will leave it dry. Use protective/ low-manipulation styles to limit the area of your strands exposed to the elements. Headwraps and hats are an amazing alternative as well, since they cover your hair even more. Just make sure they have soft linings to cut out friction with your strands.
Hydration
Monitor your hair to see how often it needs hydration. Pump up your spritz mix with a humectant such as vegetable glycerine. Humectants draw water from the atmosphere onto your hair. Heavier oils/ butters are needed to moisturise natural hair in cold weather. Jojoba and avocado oils are good options. Butters should be thick.
Deep Conditioning
Since we’re trying to keep our hair as hydrated as possible, deep conditioning is paramount. If your texture is on the coily side of things you can’t afford to skip deep conditioning. Do this after shampooing and detangling. Leave the deep conditioner in for 30 minutes to an hour. Sitting under a dryer helps the product penetrate the strands better as the cuticles aer lifted. For ladies with 4c natural hair, you might need to DC twice a week depending on how your strands respond to the cold.
You can enrich your DC with aloe vera juice, honey, glycerine, eucalyptus oil, coconut oil and jojoba oil. These provide extra hydration and nutrients to help your strands handle the cold.
