It's no secret that cold winter weather is a season pass to dry locks, split ends, chapped lips and cracked hands. Forever fighting the battle against icy-winds, raging rains and unseasonably dry, indoor air, thanks to central heating!
So, this is your notice period! Well, hopefully. With the notoriously unpredictable British weather we could be basking in a heatwave or shovelling snow this time next week!
Get your bathroom shelf ready and prepare to adapt your hair and beauty routine at a moments notice.
The first thing you’ll need to run to the shops to buy is gloves. All the gloves!
Cotton gloves from your nearest beauty store. These are great to wear overnight after slathering your hands in your favourite moisturising mask, locking in all that goodness whilst you sleep. Any good hand & nail lotion will do but a deeply hydrating hand mask will be your best friend.
This also works brilliantly for your feet, just wear a pair of cotton socks – you’ll already have plenty of those in your underwear drawer but feel free to treat yourself to a special bedtime pair… any excuse for a shopping trip, eh!
Winter gloves. Wear them every time you head outside to face the elements. Not only will your gloves keep your hands warm, they’ll also be a much needed barrier from the wind, rain and ice!
Washing-up Gloves. I mean, you should be wearing these any time you’re washing up or using cleaning products but it’s all the more important during the winter when your skin is at its most vulnerable.
Washing up liquid and cleaning chemicals (yes, even lemon juice and vinegar) are astringent. They are formulated to break down grease, dirt and stubborn residues – sure, your hands will be clean, but they will also be stripped of your body’s natural oils and protective layers. Many chemicals will break down layers of your skin too. Let’s not do that, wear gloves!
Whilst we are on the topic of hands here are a few extra tips for keeping your hands and body healthy, hydrated and free from dry, cracked, sore skin.
Pop a bottle of your favourite hand lotion next to the soap dispenser everywhere you wash your hands, around the house and at work. That way it’ll easily become a habit as part of your usual handwashing – you won’t have to remember where you left it last, or worse, misplace it at the bottom of your handbag never to be seen again!
Take it a step further by having a bottle of body cream next to the bath or shower, and make it a habit to hydrate your entire body every time you’ve washed to replace all those lost
Wash your hands in warm water. It can be tempting to warm your cockles by holding your hands under an only-just-bearable hot blast of water, but that heat is going to cause additional loss of your natural oils and dry out your skin! This is true for hot baths and showers too.
Pat don’t rub when towel drying your hands and body. Your skin is more delicate after washing, especially after a long soak. Handle with care! Vigorous rubbing with a towel can feel super satisfying but it’s likely to rough up the top layer of your skin and make it more prone to dryness. Towels are designed to absorb water. Patting your skin dry won’t slow down the process.
Now let’s talk about your hair. Did you know your haircare needs are ever changing? It’s more obvious if we’re talking about physical changes to your hair – artificial colouring or lightening, hairstyles which require more (or less) use of styling products, medication which changes the structure of your hair etc. But, you’re haircare needs also need to be adapted with environmental changes – in the case of this post, the weather!
Washing your hair. During the warmer months we typically need to wash our hair more frequently. Sweating, swimming and sunscreen are just a few of the reasons we find our hair becoming greasier or unclean, quicker.
As the autumn and winter draw in, you’ll find you need to wash your hair less often. After being in the habit of frequent washing over summer it may take a conscious effort to remember not to wash your hair so often.
Washing your hair unnecessarily can lead to dry strands and a dry scalp – Leading to split ends and a flaky scalp, so reducing the frequency has obvious benefits.
Avoid washing your hair in very hot water. We all love a hot shower on a chilly day, but that hot water is going to further strip your hair and scalp of your body’s natural protecting oils. If you can’t resist the comfort of a hot shower the following point is going to be all the more important for you...
Use the right products. You may begin to notice the hair products you’re using aren’t giving you the same results through the winter as they did earlier in the year.
Generally speaking and much like your skin, your hair is going to need an extra boost of hydration through the colder months. It may be as simple as introducing a weekly conditioning treatment or mask into your regular routine, or you may need to overhaul your shampoo and conditioning regime altogether.
Everyone’s hair is different so it’s difficult to recommend a regime right for you in a blog. Speak to your stylist and ask for their recommendations, personalised to you.
Take Cover! Wind, rain and big changes between indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity can really put your hair to the test.
Wearing a hat will help prevent the wind from whipping your hair, which causes tangling and stress on your locks, leading to split ends. It’ll also help a little with the shock of indoor-to-outdoor temperature changes.
A hood or umbrella will protect your hair from getting wet, that’s obvious. Thinking back to reducing the frequency of washing it’ll also help protect your hair from being stripped of the good stuff!
Start off strong. Literally. Make sure your hair is in tip top condition before anything.
Our hair is more prone to split ends at this time of year and if your hair is already damaged it’s a lot harder to protect it. Split hairs will travel further and further up the hair shaft until they’re snipped off, so by ensuring you’re hair is free from the blighters before winter sets in, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of work – and inches!
Lastly, let’s talk about that beautiful face of yours! You can’t cover it up all day. For one, that’s not a good look and for two, it’s entirely impracticable. So what can you do to protect your face from the brutal winter elements?
Lip balm. Our lips are notoriously the first body part to succumb to the wintery conditions. Dryness, chaffing, splitting and bleeding. It’s sore and its unsightly. You need to immediately get into the habit of regularly applying lip balm. Pop one in your purse and every pocket!
Prevention is better than cure. Balms will help fix and hydrate sore lips, but better than that, they act as a barrier, preventing the elements from ever getting to them in the first place. If you start with regular application before things get rough you’ll be able to enjoy those salt and vinegar crisps all winter!
Use the right products. It’s the same story for your face as it is for your hair. With the change in environmental stressors as the weather changes, you’ll need to adapt your skincare regime to match.
Hydration is key throughout the winter, but again, it’s really hard to recommend a personalised skincare kit on a blog. No two faces are the same. Speak to your beauty therapist for truly personalised skincare recommendations. Heck, book yourself a facial whilst you’re at it and start off strong!
Nighttime masks. Make seeking your ideal night cream or mask your top priority. Whilst I can’t make a personal recommendation to you here and now, I can tell you that overnight hydration will be your best friend. What better place to look after your face than snuggled up in the warmth and comfort of your bed!
If you’d like to talk more about protecting your hair and skin this winter, you can book your free consultation with us online or over the phone by calling 01993 835 650.
We can’t wait to see you soon!
Meaders Hair & Beauty
9 Corn Street, Witney, Oxfordshire,
OX28 6DB
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