Feeling frazzled? Ways to put life in that dry winter hair

From avoiding hot water to a keratin treatment, the pros share their tips to keep you looking good

Considering the play that dry winter skin gets this time of year, it can seem that winter hair is getting short shrift. But like flaky skin, parched strands suffer in the cold. Here is practical advice from pros, along with updates on hair-hydrating technology. Treat your hair like your cashmere Hair may not be alive like, say, skin cells, but you have to treat it delicately. David Mallett, who is opening a Manhattan outpost of his Parisian salons this spring, said it helps to think of hair as a fibre. “You wouldn’t throw your cashmere in steaming hot water. Lay off the hot water and use lukewarm or even cold. Deep-condition your hairbrush It’s natural to reach for intense conditioners and hair masks when the mercury drops, but sometimes those products flatten hair. Instead, Mallett says, “get a natural bristle brush, and after you clean it, deepcondition the brush regularly with a hair serum, oil or leave-in conditioner. This way . . . it gives (hair) extra shine but without weighing it down.” Humidity is your friend The main cause of dry winter hair is not the temperature but the lack of moisture in the air. Arash Akhavan, a dermatologist in New York suggested using humidifiers, avoiding space heaters (“they particularly suck out moisture”) and switching to ionic hair dryers (“because they use less heat to get the same effect”). Coat your hair The trick is trapping moisture, which essentially is how hydrating shampoos and conditioners work. The Oribe Gold Lust Pre-Shampoo Intensive Treatment has a thick balmlike formula.

Traditional creams don’t adhere well to the hair, said Michele Burgess, the director of product development at Oribe. The coating works especially well on coarser textures.

For finer strands, a less viscous formula, like Ouai Hair Oil, may be better. It is a top seller in the Ouai line, according to its founder Jen Atkin, known for her work with the Kardashians.

“It can double as both a styling product and mask, so you can wear it while you sleep or work out.” Kick up the keratin If you think a keratin treatment means a mop of stick-straight hair, think again. Keratin has grown up. In-salon services now can hydrate and soften but leave texture intact.

“With Japanese hair straightening, and later Brazilian blowout, you stripped the keratin and broke the disulphide bonds in your hair so it became very straight, and then you replaced the keratin,” Akhavan said. “But keratin can also be used just as a long-lasting conditioner.”

At Mallett’s main Paris salon, “the Tokyo treatment,” as he calls it, has gained a cultish following among a fashionable set. Read the label There may be hidden drying agents lurking in your styling products. Arsen Gurgov, a stylist who often works with Emmy Rossum, advised “staying away from styling products with alcohol as they tend to dry out the hair even more.” If you have a favourite conditioner that contains silicones, you may want to swap it for a silicone-free version.”