How to take care of your hair in the winter months

During my teenage years and even early 20s, I would consistently decide to chop off a large chunk of my hair in the winter.

I always knew I was going against the norm when I made this decision as all of my friends would do the same things to their hair in the summer – until one day I mentioned it to my hairdresser, who actually said it was better to go shorter in the winter instead of the summer.

Her reasoning was that people tend to use more heat in the winter to avoid going outside with wet hair in the colder temperatures, which means more blow drying and using other forms of heat, while in the summer wet hair is more of a method to cool down and people are more likely to avoid heat if they’re swimming at the beach or simply throwing their hair in a ponytail.

I stuck with that mindset for years thinking this was the key to having healthy hair. But, according to experts, there’s no best – or worst – time to chop your hair. The Independent spoke with Tukia Allen, educator coach at Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, who teaches cosmetology students.

She explained that it doesn’t matter whether you decide to cut your hair short in the winter or summer. “There really isn’t a better time to cut your hair off,” Allen said.

The only real thing people need to pay attention to is how to treat your hair per season because it does vary. In the winter, the number one hair tip to pay attention to is hydration, as the air gets colder and can dry out your scalp.