Products for Dry Curly Hair in Winter

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If you’reasking yourself “why my hair is so dry?”, you’ve come to the right place! Taking care of curly hair during the cold, winter months is super important. Though it looks strong, dry curly hair is most susceptible to breakage, which prevents growth and length many of us are looking for. In the winter, my hair is dry and the curls lackluster.

Dry Curly Hair: The Struggle

Some reasons why your curly hair is so dry are if you’re running a forced-air heater which sucks up the moisture in the air and/or regularly wearing scarves, big jackets, and beanies + hats that rub on our curls too?

The hot, hard water most of us use to shampoo our curls can also be a problem. Kids are playing indoors more, meaning lots of rolling around on the floor or rubbing their healthy, super curly hair along couches and chairs. Talk about hair breakage! These best hair care products for dry curly hair are also great for your winter hair care routine.

Related: Ultimate List of Mixed Kids Hair Products

Winter Hair Care

Winter hair care is a real struggle for those of us with naturally curly hair. All of this started when I was researching how to get curly hair back. I just had a baby, my once vibrant curls were on life support and the winter hair care routine I followed was pitiful. I needed help that was easy, to the point and relied on great curly hair products. Unfortunately, the products to make your hair curly can dry it out in addition to all the environmental aspects. Here are a few curly hair tips to help with dry hair during this time of year.

Below are a few of our dry hair tips and also 6 Hair Products for Curly Hair that work great for curly and wavy hair! My wavy curly hair needs extra hydration and protectant sealant during winter, which also helps protect my daughter’s texture too.

Related: FAQ: How to Manage Curly Mixed Hair

Curly Tip! Only shampoo your scalp: Washing curly hair is so misunderstood. Apply a very small amount of shampoo on your scalp, massage into scalp making sure to remove any buildup, and rinse thoroughly. Unless the hair is very dirty, you do not need to pull the shampoo all the way through to the ends. Curly hair isn’t oily, so no need to strip the moisture away.

Frizzy Dry Hair Tips

These winter hair care tips are in addition to the regular mixed hair care routine that is linked above. Our focus is always on moisturized, healthy curls, but when dryness and frizz try to ruin our hair day, we move to the best products for curly frizzy hair and focus on moisture retention through protective styles.

Below we’ll look at parts of our normal hair routines with a few reminders for cold-weather hair care, and share 6 of our favorite products for curly hair treatment and best products for dry hair ends.

Shampoo for Frizzy Curly Hair

The best shampoos for dry curly hair are the ones that lack sulfates and ingredients acting as a detergent and strip essential oils from the hair shaft. Even some natural curly hair products can strip oils (ones containing tea tree oil), so read ingredients carefully. Generally speaking, natural hair product lines that offer a COWASH will work well as a shampoo for frizzy curly hair.

Best Conditioner for Curly Hair

Creamy conditioner for curly hair is absolutely vital! The best curly hair products are ones that penetrate the hair shaft with moisture and then seal the products in, like hair creams, hair oil and leave-in conditioners.

This is (at least) a two-step process, so making sure you understand how to best moisturize your curls is the first step to taking care of curly hair. You need to consider your hair texture, hair porosity and density selecting products. For instance, we talk a bunch about low porosity and our favorite low porosity products in the posts linked below. Check out the posts below to help you out.

Related: Low Porosity Hair 101 and Best Products for Low Porosity Hair

Curly Tip! Don’t forget the ends: The hair on your head is more healthy then the hair towards the end on the same hair shaft strand! The hair closer to the scalp retains the most moisture. The ends become frizzy and dry if you don’t tend to them diligently. Unlike with shampoo, make sure you’re pulling conditioning products all the way down and working the ends.

Why is My Hair So Dry?!

Once moisture is added to dry hair, sealing products are applied to close the hair cuticle shaft. If you just left water or conditioners on curly hair without a sealant, it quickly turns to frizz once dry. Hair oils are great for this step! Consider if your hair works best with the LOC method (liquid, oil, cream) or the LCO method.

In old days, curly girls used lots of gel and mousse for curly hair that contained tons of alcohol and drying ingredients. Products are so much better nowadays, so study your curl texture, porosity and density and choose products that work best for you. Our favorites are below

Hair Tools & Protective Styles

It’s wise to keep hair up and away from the constant rubbing on scarves, big jackets, beanies etc, but when especially so during cold months when dry hair can wreak havoc. If you’re tending to your mixed kid’s hair, the same goes for car seats. When dry hair meets abrasive material, you are prone to breakage. And that sucks! Breakage means split ends and shorter ringlets.

If and when you use a hair tie, DO NOT RIP IT OUT. Keep a pair of scissors handy and cut the hairband out. It’s better to cut the hair versus rip it out. If breakage is going to happen, reduce the damage by using sharp scissors to remove the knot.

Related: How to Sleep with Curly Hair