Winter Hair Routines?

[rayness]

I will continue to wear my braids this winter but in past winters I keep my hair covered when I am outside.  I would still wet my hair everyday but I used more conditoner and towel blot it before going outside.  I also would tie a scarf or use  large headband to protect it.  Winters are cold here in Missouri.

[Lena]

I'm gonna do chunky fros and twistouts. 

This is what I'm going to do as well. I seem to be really bad with my hair in the winter. I also need to find a good silk scarf that I can wear underneath my winter scarf so my hair doesn't chafe at the back. I probably will also use a heavy moisturizer. Canadian winters are no joke!

[JusticeDST]

This will be my first winter with 100% natural hair.  Just a month ago, I was clueless about this subject, but through trial and error I think I have a solid plan.   I just had a breakthrough about a week ago.  I could not achieve second day hair.  I discovered that if I lay on a silk pillowcase oppose to wrapping my hair at night with a silk scarf, the next day my curls are vibrant, not mushed and frizzy.  With that being said, I do my hair the night before and get up in the morning and go. When I say do my hair, I mean: co-wash, condition, add products, style and scrunch around 6pm. When I go to bed, my hair is damp, not icky. When I wake up, I ususally don't have to add a product to it so, I just go. With this method, I am also able to acheive third and fourth day hair which is great for the weekends when I don't have any plans.       

[semperfemme]

I think this year I am going to try a different approach than my usual modified wash n' go. I'll wash, deep condition, and twist my hair for one week, wear a twist out for the next week(moisturizing every other day and finger styling), and repeat the process once two weeks have passed. I want to see if my hair will do better in protective styles. I think I'll stick with the Cantu Shea Butter Leave In both as the styling aid and daily refresher.

I might try Infusium 23 Moisturizing Formula mixed with honey as a spritz.(the cantu butter can get a little greasy if you use too much)

[Cammydoll]

This will be my 2nd winter with hair, up here in Canada wet hair will freeze in seconds, no more fros or twist outs. Last year I got so frustrated I got some braids and I wore braids on and off from december till february. I think I may do the same again. Im trying to hold off for as long as I can but they do protect my hair from my coat, scarf, the cold and hats.

[cehua]

Lately I have been conditioner washing my hair and styling it before I go to bed (making sure it is completely dry before I go to bed).  In the morning I revitalize any flat curls by running a little creamy leave-in (right now using Elucence) mixed with a splash of water.  I have a TWA so my hair does not take long to dry.   

When I had long hair I either sat under a hood dryer, blasted the heat in the car, left the house with damp hair but wrapped in a scarf, or a combination of the three.  My hood dryer broke so in the future when my hair is longer I may use one of those fans that blow heat.

[jazzi]

Lately I have been conditioner washing my hair and styling it before I go to bed (making sure it is completely dry before I go to bed).  In the morning I revitalize any flat curls by running a little creamy leave-in (right now using Elucence) mixed with a splash of water.  I have a TWA so my hair does not take long to dry.   

When I had long hair I either sat under a hood dryer, blasted the heat in the car, left the house with damp hair but wrapped in a scarf, or a combination of the three.  My hood dryer broke so in the future when my hair is longer I may use one of those fans that blow heat.

Cehua,
Does your hair still look "fresh" in the morning?  Sometimes I can get away w not co-washing in the AM b/c my hair still looks good when I take off the bonnet...but other times it doesn't look "freshly done" so I redo it, LOL!

[cehua]

Cehua,
Does your hair still look "fresh" in the morning?  Sometimes I can get away w not co-washing in the AM b/c my hair still looks good when I take off the bonnet...but other times it doesn't look "freshly done" so I redo it, LOL!

It will look fresh if I had a bonnet but I lost mine and am using a scarf and the squishes the hair a little. 

To refresh it, I rub a little Elucene in my hands, run my hands under the faucet and the massage the mixture into each curl (basically pulling the curl from the matted mess that happened overnight).  It takes about 5-10 minutes tops.  This looks like freshly washed hair.  I can only do this if my hair was all of the way dry before I went to bed.  One night I went to bed with damp hair and my hair looked bad in the morning.  I had to start all over.  LOL

Side note, I figured out that Elucence only works for me when my hair is almost dry.  It does nothing on wet hair.   

[jazzi]

It will look fresh if I had a bonnet but I lost mine and am using a scarf and the squishes the hair a little. 

To refresh it, I rub a little Elucene in my hands, run my hands under the faucet and the massage the mixture into each curl (basically pulling the curl from the matted mess that happened overnight).  It takes about 5-10 minutes tops.  This looks like freshly washed hair.  I can only do this if my hair was all of the way dry before I went to bed.  One night I went to bed with damp hair and my hair looked bad in the morning.  I had to start all over.  LOL

Side note, I figured out that Elucence only works for me when my hair is almost dry.  It does nothing on wet hair.   

Thank you!  I'm gonna try this when my Elucence gets here.  I've never tried it on almost dry hair, thats something I'll check out too.  You know something, when I first tried Elucence last year, it didn't work at all.  Then I kept trying and it became the best thing ever.  I really think it makes your hair healthy over time.

[TroDous]

I think my routine is gonna be the same as last year's. I'm gonna do more twists now that I can do them faster (Hallelujah!) and other than that I do the same as cehua only I use abba nourishing. When I'm not wearing twists, I'm wearing puffs so I either spritz or mix water into it and apply at the same time. I add a little gel for my edges then go.

[Wildchild453]

I plan on wearing twists/braids for a week then wash and start over, using avocado butter as a moisturizer

[curlycovrgirl]

The last couple of winters I would leave with wet or damp hair in the morning or diffuse in the morning.  Those options don't seem appealing at all to me this winter, so I came up with a new plan. I'm putting the curls on hiatus for the winter. I'm not even going to try and wear it curly.

Its been pretty cool here and this is what I've done. Wash my hair once a week and braid it to dry. I've been using coconut oil and carrot creme (new discovery) and just combing and brushing my hair everyday and wearing it in a puff or a bun.  It has sort of a puffy-wavy look to it and I like it. Its a different look from curls. (I need to take a pic)

I just don't want to diffuse my hair everyday and damage it. I will probably straighten it 1-2 times this winter, so that is enough heat!!

FYI-- Carrot creme is the shiznit! Its very heavy and creamy which is good for my dry winter hair.  And it was only $3 at walgreens.

[JusticeDST]

Rewind,  I have discovered that IC Gel and KCCC is not working for me during the cold months. I was shocked! Those products are making my hair very heavy and kind of stiff. During the summer, those products were the complete opposite. I tried my lighter creams and they seem to work. Funny because those are the products that i did not like during the summer. 

[martina]

I usually do sort of like cehua. I condwash at night but I do loose twists with curl activator. In the morning, I spritz only the ends with water and release the twists and shake.  My hair is dry before I leave the house.

[~Ani~]

That's an interesting option martina I just feel like my hair wouldn't be dry in the morning and that wetting every night my set me up to get sick....but I'll give it a try and see what happens. Maybe I will plop at night and then partially blow dry to make sure my hair is dry in the morning.

More likely, I will just end up wearing my hair pulled back in a bun a lot this winter.