Hit Refresh: Update Your Hair Care for Fall
Fall is a season of change. In New York, enjoying the cooler weather and beautiful fall colors is a must—especially since it doesn’t last long. We also see fall as an opportunity to begin updating your hair care routine for the bigger change just on the horizon: winter. Utilizing fall as a chance to prep your texture for dry air and dropping temps makes the seasonal shift easier for your hair to handle. Incorporating the tips and considerations below will transform your cold-weather hair game forever.
Your Hair Feels the Pressure
For a lot of us, winter means dehydrated texture, saying goodbye to air drying, and busting out your winter bestie: a blow dryer or hooded dryer. With short days and seemingly never-ending cold, there’s no time to wait for your hair to do it’s thing on its own, but helping it along its way can lead to even more dryness. But why is it dry to begin with?
During the summer, higher levels of humidity mean lower atmospheric pressure. As the seasons change and the air’s pressure begins to rise, the levels of humidity drop practically overnight (or so it feels). The sudden shift can zap your texture’s health, marking summer’s end and leading to concerns such as dryness, lack of shine, and static, aka chaos. All of the hydration and moisture you had been nourishing your texture with, gone—or is it?
Taking Care of Your Hair for the Winter
No matter your texture, we all want one thing during winter and that’s a speedy get-ready routine. There’s too little warmth and daylight to be wasting time waiting for hair to dry and we know it. When you’re rushing to complete your routine, you may cut corners by using more heat or less product. Reduce some of the most common winter hair concerns caused by cutting corners with these time-saving tips.
Before you put products on…
Consider where you’re putting them on. Sounds weird? Hear us out. If you’re normally in the shower when applying products, especially during the colder months, you may turn up the heat to stay warm. While it feels great, the hot water, combined with the cold weather, can actually dry your hair and skin out and cause winter dryness. Avoid dehydrating your hair by lowering the temperature to warm or room temperature.
Take your showering routine up a notch.
The ultimate time-saver is also the key to added moisture, a wash-n-go. A wash-n-go is when you add your styling products and steps to your shower routine, saving both time and your texture’s health. The more you do them, the better the results. When your hair is wet, it acts as a sponge, so the new layers will absorb faster and deeper into the hair, creating a barrier of defense against most winter concerns, including damage from heat styling. Save even more time in the morning by doing your wash-n-go routine at night. You can quickly refresh your style using Hydrating Finishing Balm and a bit of heat when you’re crunched for time. New to wash-n-go’s? Learn more with our wash-n-go guide!
Apply more of your product.
A common misconception we see in the salon is that using a little bit of product can go a long way. While this can be true from some, for those with naturally dry hair, especially in the midst of winter, more is better. Your hair can and will handle the extra product—if not love it—so there’s no need to shy away from using more of your favorite conditioner or styler.
Something to consider: the closer your hair is to the kinky end of the texture spectrum, the more of your product you’ll want to apply. If you apply products during your shower routine, because water works as a vessel to deliver nutrients and hydration deeper into your hair, you won’t have to worry about your texture being weighed down. To see how much product Dickey applies, check out this in-salon video for kinky hair (note: your hair will thank us).
From thin products to thick.
Where summer is all about simplicity and lightweight products, winter is about thick products and layering. Take your hair’s hydration to the next level by enveloping it with new, thicker products that boost your hair’s health. Here’s an example for curly textures:
Summer Routine
Aloe-Grapefruit Purifying Shampoo
Quench Ultra Rich Conditioner
Curly Whip
Volumizing Hair Spray
Winter Prep Routine
No Suds Cleansing Cream
Quench Ultra Rich Conditioner
Nourishment Leave-in Conditioner
Kinky Curling Cream
Hydrating Finish Balm
Don’t be afraid of mixing and matching products from your summer routine as well. Hair Rules products work synergistically, meaning combining them in new ways, such as Wavy Mousse and Kinky Curling Cream for Wavy to Kinky textures, or Curly Whip and Kinky Curling Cream for Curly to Kinky textures, can help you achieve new results with your favorite products.
Fall and Winter Bring New Color
Fall is a great time to update your hairstyle with a new color. Anytime you lift or add color, your hair is affected and needs extra love. On top of that, caring for your color and elongating the pigment of it begins with gentle, color-safe products. The core of your regimen if you have bleached or dyed hair is moisturizing cleanser that you can use as often as you need, and a rich conditioner.
Protective Cold Weather Styling
There’s never a bad season to do a protective style (braid, weave, twists, etc), it just comes down to which season you’re doing your style. For wavy to kinky textures during the winter time, protective styles do it all: nurtures your hair and scalp, and saves you time. Get the most out of your twists, braids, weaves, and more by nourishing your hair with the right product(s) beforehand, like Nourishment Leave-In Conditioner. Layering on Nourishment before putting your style in will ensure your hair is moisturized for the multi-day to week look. Lastly, always make sure to take out your protective style to keep your hair safe. Going beyond six weeks can add unnecessary stress and damage to your scalp. Keep learning with Dickey’s protective styling tips video!
We love any chance to try something new, so naturally autumn is one of our favorite seasons. We hope these tips take your fall routine to the next level. Remember, this season is an opportunity to try that product, style, or look you’ve had your eye on—so have fun with it! Share how you used these tips or your fall go-to’s by tagging us on social media.
