When it comes to hair, the climate really sets the tone—humidity can be quite ‘frizz-ky, so does your healthy hair! Have you ever felt that your hair felt frizzy when the weather is hot? The weather can really change how your hair looks and feels. If it’s sunny, windy, or cold, your hair might get dry, fragile, and not so lively.
This happens because the sun’s rays, wind, and temperature can damage your hair. The sun’s UV rays can hurt the outer layer of your hair, making it dry, break easily, and lose its color, thus the frizz. Because your hair retains some moisture even after it is dried, frizz occurs when the air’s humidity level is higher than the water content of your hair. Humidity penetrates your hair and causes the links inside each hair fiber to reorganize, giving your hair a disorganized appearance.
Here are some of the specific ways how climate affects your hair:
- Sun – Dryness, breakage, and discolouration can result from UV radiation damage to the hair cuticles. Dandruff and itching might result from the sun’s increased production of oil on the scalp.
- Wind – Hair strands might become dry and brittle due to wind-induced dehydration. In addition to curling hair, wind can also cause styling challenges.
- Water – Hair strands can become dry from water, particularly if the water is extremely hot. Also, water can split up hair cuticles, harming the individual strands.
- Temperature – Variations in temperature can also impact the hair. In the winter, hair can get dry and brittle, and in the summer, it can get greasy and thick.
Tips on Hair Care in Humid Climates
- Selecting Correct Hair Products
Selecting the appropriate hair products is the first step towards taming frizz in humid weather. Choose leave-in treatments, conditioners, and shampoos with anti-frizz properties to keep your hair hydrated and healthy while controlling flyaways. To help nourish and shield your hair from the harmful effects of humidity, look for products that contain natural ingredients like argan oil, coconut oil, and shea butter.
Apart from choosing appropriate products, it’s crucial to refrain from over-shampooing your hair, since this can deplete its natural oils and increase the likelihood of frizz. To keep your hair appearing clean and fresh, try washing it every other day or using dry shampoo in between washes.
- Managing Frizz and Tangles
To keep your hair from getting frizzy, don’t use heavy products that make it heavy. Use light hair serums and a wide-tooth comb to brush your hair without breaking it. When blow-drying, use a diffuser to spread the heat evenly and stop frizzing.
If your hair tangles easily, try using a leave-in conditioner or a spray that helps untangle it. You can also use a silk or satin pillowcase to stop your hair from getting tangled while you sleep.
How about the effect of cold weather on your healthy hair?
In fall and winter, it gets less humid and colder. Remember how your hair gets big and puffy in warm, humid weather? Well, in cold weather, it’s the opposite. The air is dry, so your hair can become dry, flat, and easy to break.
During summer, your hair gets more moisture, but in winter, it loses moisture. Also, in cold weather, we often wear scarves, hats, and layers, which can make our already damaged hair even drier and more likely to break.
Living in a warm and humid place helps keep your hair moist, but too much moisture can be bad.
Too much humidity can affect your hair differently depending on its type. It can make your hair soak up too much water from the air.
For example, if your hair is naturally thin, the extra moisture in the air might make it too bulky, and you might lose the volume or shape you had before.
The sun’s rays, UVA and UVB, can also affect your hair without you knowing. They can make your hair lighter and weaker. Melanin, a pigment in dark hair, helps protect hair from the sun. But if you have blond, gray, or white hair, you’re more at risk from the sun.
UV light can cause stress to cells by changing their DNA. This damage breaks down melanin in hair, reduces oils that moisturize it, and changes some amino acids in the hair.
Fret not though, there are always two sides of the coin. Here are some tips for taking caere of your hair depending on the climate.
Tips for healthy hair in dry climates:
- Deep Conditioning
Using deep conditioning treatments is important, especially if you live in a dry place. They give your hair extra moisture and make it look shiny and soft. Try using a hydrating hair mask once a week to keep your hair healthy and shiny.
Another way to add moisture is to use a leave-in conditioner. You can put it on after you wash your hair and leave it in all day to keep your hair hydrated.
- Avoid Breakage and Split Ends
Dry weather can make your hair brittle and likely to break. To protect it, don’t use heat styling tools like straighteners or curling irons. Try styles that don’t need heat, like braids or buns.
Getting regular trims is also important to stop breakage and split ends. Trim your hair every 6-8 weeks to keep it healthy and strong.
Using a silk or satin pillowcase can help too. They’re softer on your hair and stop it from breaking while you sleep.
- Protect Hair from the Sun
The sun can harm your hair, especially in dry places. To keep it safe, wear a hat or scarf when you’re outside.
Using hair products with UV protection can also help. They block the sun’s rays and stop damage.
Try not to spend too long in chlorinated or salty water. They can dry out your hair and damage it.
In the condition of tropical places in India, maintaining healthy hair can become easy with these tips. From shielding your strands from the sun’s rays to giving them a moisture boost in the humidity, cold, as well as dry climate.