Hair

Hair styles: Winter hair care tips

Texture, volume and shine: winter prescriptions for perfect hair.

by : Sarah Daniel Dolphin- Jan 14th, 2010

Cold Fx
Hair doctor Philip Kingsley on how to winter-proof your hair.

• An iron-deficient diet can thin hair, making it more vulnerable to freezing temps. Fortify your locks by loading up on iron-rich foods like lean red meats, whole grains and spinach.

• Add a moisturizing treatment to your routine to restore shine and elasticity to hair. This will also help control static.

• If your scalp is flaky and itchy in the cold weather, it’s often oily, not dry. Make sure to use products suited to your hair type or problem. Hair doctor Philip Kingsley on how to winter-proof your hair.

Performance Bonus
Our favourite hair products work hard for us, but they don’t always score top marks when it comes to scent. (Grape, vanilla, we’re talking to you.) Frédéric Fekkai enlisted top noses from Grasse, France, to create a special blend of neroli, lemon leaf, jasmine and warm musk for his limited-edition Femme Fekkai Sensuelle line. The shampoo, conditioner and hairspray are also infused with silk proteins to soften and strengthen hair.

Products to try: Femme Fekkai Sensuelle Eau de Parfum Spray ($115); Femme Fekkai Sensuelle Hairspray ($36)

Thick Accent
Body without crunch? Believe it. Thanks to some new technology, the latest crop of hair products promises to pump up the volume but leave your style soft instead of stiff. Sebastian’s Volupt line fuses two particles that work together: One creates friction to lift the hair, and the other smooths the shaft. And, after conquering frizz, the MIT profs behind the Living Proof line turned their focus to flat hair. Full Thickening Cream uses Poly Beta Amino Ester-1, a polymer that makes hair look and feel thicker but stay flexible, unlike the brittle resins found in most volumizers.

Products to try: Sebastian Volupt Spray Volume- Building Spray-Gel ($20); Living Proof Full Thickening Cream ($26)

Field Research
Drawing from its skincare science and affinity for natural ingredients, Aveeno’s new hair-care collection harvests the benefits of wheat to toughen up hair and repair it. The eight-piece line of cleansers and conditioners elevates the humble grain to healer status. The wheat protein complex has a positive electrical charge that is naturally attracted to negatively charged damaged hair, so it deposits the conditioning agents where they’re needed most.

Product to try: Aveeno Positively Nourishing Conditioning Leave-In Treatment ($9)