I spoke to a haircare expert about how to beat winter hair dilemmas — here's what I learnt

The cold winter season is officially upon us and is playing havoc with our hair. I don't know about you, but there is literally no point in styling my hair at the moment. It's either pouring down with rain or the wind is so harsh that I turn up at the office looking like Mia Thermopolis. That's before her princess makeover, just to clarify. 

From frizziness to dry ends, I know I'm not the only one struggling with how to care for and manage their hair during the colder months. With this in mind, I spoke to the haircare experts at Shark Beauty who started by revealing the main hair problems people suffer with the most in the winter. These included maintaining hair growth, preventing hair from going frizzy and finally, managing hair in windy weather. We went through each problem, and the best ways to solve these winter hair dilemmas. 

Before you find out more,  have you seen the 6 tips on achieving the perfect blow dry from a celebrity hair stylist? 

1. Maintaining hair health and growth during winter

Hair oils are a great way to make your hair feel nourished during the colder, drier months of winter. Whilst this may not directly impact hair growth, it provides moisture to the scalp and a healthy scalp results in healthy hair and therefore increases he chances of hair growth. However, you must remember to dilute some essential oils before applying them to your hair. Read our advice on the which hair oils are good or bad for your scalp to find out more. 

According to Timothy Schmidt MD, a dermatologist at University of Utah Health, sleeping with or styling hair when wet can cause hair breakage. If you’re wanting to maintain your hair health, you should always aim to make sure your hair is dry before you go to bed. 

The Shark FlexStyle allows you to style while you dry without causing any heat damage. It measures heat 1000 times per second to ensure a consistent air temperature, gently drying with no heat damage. Read our full review to find out how else it can help!

2. Preventing frizziness in the cold weather 

Frizziness can be caused by many different factors, but especially due to the lack of humidity in the cold air which makes hair weak and brittle. 

One way to combat frizziness is to avoid over washing, instead using conditioners and masks to tame the frizz. Switching your usual brush for a boar bristle brush can also work wonders, especially as boar bristle brushes are rich in keratin. Using keratin on your hair helps improve its elasticity whilst smoothing and nourishing your strands. 

If you're looking to combat the frizz, the Shark SmoothStyle has two styling modes, Wet Hair and Dry Hair, which are perfect for exactly this. Wet Hair Mode is intended for wet-to-dry volumising with no heat damage and Dry Hair Mode is suitable for straightening, aligning and smoothing. We reviewed the SmoothStyle as well if you're interested!

3. Managing your hair in windy conditions

There is nothing worse than spending hours curling your hair and it dropping out as soon as you head outside. It certainly seems to be one of the most common hair dilemmas during the colder months. 

If the wind is ruining your hair, Bekah, a hairdresser on TikTok, has the perfect royal-approved hair hack. She recently went viral on TikTok, receiving over 1.8 million views after she revealed the secret to Kate Middleton’s windproof curls.

She said that Kate “uses tons of hairspray to keep her hair in place, to keep her bangs in place. If you want bangs and you are living in a windy city or a humid city, you have to use product in order to keep them still.” 

So, even when you're using your Shark FlexStyle, don't forget the hairspray!

@bekah_and_co

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Interested in more? Check out our advice on how to create the best haircare routine for your hair type!