These nine SOS tricks help you in taming your hair and in restoring it with a lasting effect!
Full, soft and radiant hair seems to be a status symbol since the year dot, and it’s a women’s ideal of beauty that represents a good health and femininity. But sometimes winter, as well as the wrong treatment, queer our pitch. Dry indoor air and outside cold, the frequent wearing of headgear as well as dyeing damage the structure of our hair and make it look blunt and brittle.
The Right Shampoo & Conditioner
There’s no dry hair without a dry scalp! The oil glands hardly cope with winter and don’t manage to provide the hair with enough moisture during the cold season. That’s why hair care in winter should begin with a moisturizing shampoo, a lipid-replenishing shampoo for extremely dry hair. Maui Shampoo, for instance, contains as a main ingredient Aloe Vera juice providing moisture to hair and scalp. In case of dryness originating from chemical treatments (like heavy blond dyes or frequent dyeing in general), I sincerely recommend the products by Kerastase. They are extra-rich and make your hair smooth in a trice.
Cider Vinegar
Once the hair’s cuticle layer is damaged, the single cuticles stand up and can no longer reflect the light. As a result: the hair loses its shine. Only two tablespoons of cider vinegar bring back the radiance. Just apply the cider vinegar after shampoo and conditioner on the lengths, leave it on for a short time and rinse thoroughly. Then, style your hair as usual.
Silk Sheets
During the night, we toss and turn in bed. As a result, our hair structure gets roughened and, on top, the cotton sheets remove moisture from the hair. Better for your hair, as well as for your skin by the way (goodbye little creases!), are silk sheets. Silk contains natural proteins that even maintain your hair while sleeping.
Overnight Braids
In addition to silk sheets, a braid works miracles overnight! Just braid your hair loosely along the scalp and fix it with a soft scrunchie. If you’re not into braids, you can carefully twist your hair. That way, your hair doesn’t tangle and can relax. A real plus: thanks to this trick, your hair grows faster because less hair gets uprooted!
Don’t Comb When Wet
Wet hair is a lot more elastic than dry hair. Especially hair that has seen chemical treatments (e.g. dyeing, blond dye, perm) breaks off when it’s combed wet, for the simple reason that it gets overstretched. It’s better to blow-dry your hair slightly first and comb it once it’s semi-dry. Tangle Teezers, for example, are great helpers to detangle your hair.
Dry-Shampoo
A hair-wash ever day? No chance! Daily washing will not only dehydrate your hair but also unbalance your scalp’s the pH-value. Thus, when having an oily hairline or you are missing volume, dry-shampoo is the perfect solution. I love the dry-shampoo of Batiste in the scent “Blush”. It smells nice, doesn’t leave ashy residues and provides extra volume. Just part your hair step by step and give the different streaks a short blow, spray from roots to tips, let it work for a sec and then brush it out thoroughly. Perfect for updos since dry-shampoo creates texture and grip.
Highlights Instead Of Dyeing The Roots
Blonde dyes and frequent dyeing in general give your hair a hard time. The new hair trends like balayage and painting are perfect alternatives. Individual colour accents are painted on the hair by hand and maintain the natural colouring. If you opt for streaks yet, ask your hairstylist for a root touch up. This technique avoids the colour being pulled to the already-dyed tips so that they can recover.
Leave-in Conditioner
Besides a conditioner that seals the cuticle layer, leave-in care is an effective tool. My favourite product of the moment is the High-Performance Leave-in Conditioner by Newsha. It smells nice and makes the hair silky and easy to comb.
Overnight-Hair Masks
Beautiful hair while you sleep! A hair mask needs to penetrate 10 to 15 minutes at least for having an impact. If you have no time or if you feel stressed (hello… me!), overnight hair masks are made for you. Their active ingredients have enough time to penetrate overnight. The thermal effect protects your hair from drying out. The bonnet that comes with the mask avoids ugly stains on your pillow.
Translation: Danielle De Bie
