Winter can be such a challenging season for hair.
From cold and dry weather conditions to constant indoor heating, hot showers and heat styling — your client’s hair will experience harsh conditions before they get to their next salon appointment. Luckily for us hairdressers, it’s our job to transform dry, dull, frizzy winter hair into a beautiful head of hydrated, vibrant and healthy hair (from scalp to ends).
At Haircare Group, we’ve got winter hair care covered; discover our winter hair care tips, salon treatments and at-home hair care maintenance. But first, some hair science.
What Happens to Hair in Winter?
A typical winter will draw out the moisture and humidity in the air leaving hair with no additional hydration from its natural environment. This lack of moisture results in dry hair, leaving it prone to dullness and breakage, and even an overproduction of oils.
- Dry Weather leads to Dehydrated, Brittle Hair
- Indoor Heating leads to Dry, Itchy Scalp
- Hot Showers lead to Oil Overproduction (stripping natural oil from hair)
- Static Electricity leads to Frizz and Flyaways
- Lack of Vitamin D (sunshine) leads to Dull, thinning hair
Signs of Dry Hair
- Dry, rough and brittle
- Lacks softness
- Frizzy, easily tangled
- Breakage and split ends
- Stiff (not bouncy)
- Itchy, flaky scalp (dandruff)
- Hard to style
How to hydrate hair
To achieve soft, shiny hair that’s full of moisture — you need to start from within.
Step 1: Hydrate (inside and out)
To effectively hydrate your hair, you need to add water by drinking it (adding more water to your diet) and add a water-based hydration product to your hair care routine. Discover our range of top performing hydrating shampoos from industry-leading brands.
Step 2: Lock it in with a Moisturiser
Using a moisturiser (cream, emollient) prevents and delays water escaping from your hair. By locking in the moisture, you will slow down the drying-out process caused by cold, hot and humid weather conditions. Discover some of our favourite hydrating masks for locking in moisture.
Back Bar Must-Haves for Winter Hydration
The right shampoos, salon treatments, and colour care services are crucial for great hair results in the winter months.
Here are our must-have salon products and key ingredients for your basin:
- Hydrating shampoo with Glycerin, Panthenol, Argan Oil, Jojoba, or Coconut Oils
- Hydrating conditioner with Hyaluronic Acid, Shea Butter, and bond multipliers
- Deep repair scalp treatments with fortifying ingredients that hydrate, repair, and restore
- Bonding Treatments to nourish and fortify hair
- Weightless hair masks that leave hair silky and hydrated
- Gloss and toners that boost colour and moisture
- Protective styling sprays, oils, and serums that lock-in moisture
How to Winterproof Different Hair Types
Thick Hair
For clients with thick hair, use a shampoo and conditioner that contains ingredients like Glycerin, Argan Oil, and Shea Butter to prevent dryness. Use deep conditioning treatments and masks that nourish and repair hair (in addition to restoring scalp health). Use preventative heat styling products and lock-in moisturising bonding oils for added protection.
Curly Hair
Needing an extra boost of manageability, clients with curly hair will need added moisture and styling protection to combat frizz and breakage in winter. Cleanse, treat and protect curls with ‘lock-in-hydration’ ingredients like Argan Oil, Jojoba Oil, and Shea Butter. Deep condition curls with intensive masks designed to define and de-frizz.
Fine Hair
Fine hair can become oilier and lack definition during winter. To help clients with fine hair, cleanse and condition hair with products that strengthen the hair from scalp to ends — use bond-building treatments to add strength and volume.
Winterproof your client’s hair colour
Due to the lack of sunlight, hair colour tends to fade and become dull in winter. For the best colour protection, we recommend adding bonding treatments to salon services to fortify and enhance colour. To maintain vibrancy, take-home colour care shampoos and colour-boosting toners are a great idea to send home with your clients.
Winter Styling
Due to the lack of moisture in the air, heat styling can take its toll on winter hair more than any other season. To prevent further damage from styling, use a protecting and hydrating spray, serum, or oil that infuses essential moisture into hair.
Communicate and Educate
To recap, great service is tailoring your approach for each client and their winter hair care needs, and it’s also excellent business. If you can educate your team and clientele on the importance of hydration and winter hair care — you’ll hopefully see a bump in productivity and loyalty!
Key Winter Hair Care Tips
- Update your basin/back bar with winter-specific products
- Incorporate bonding products and treatments into colour services
- Hydrate first, moisturise second
- Use hydrating styling sprays/oils for added shine and protection
- Educate clients on the importance of hydration products
- Use high gloss colour products for added vibrancy and hydration through winter
- Encourage high-quality take-home hair care products for an extra boost of hydration
- Prioritise scalp health via in-salon treatments
Keep your clients’ hair healthy with Haircare Group. Shop our range of hydration heroes or shop by hair concern for more tailored solutions.
