The 9-Step Recovery Routine Your Hair Is Crying Out For In The Winter Weather

We don’t mean to make hurtful accusations about any particular seasons, but in the movie of our hair’s life, winter is definitely the bad guy. It’s as if the plummeting temperatures and gale-force winds have been specifically sent to rob our manes of moisture and leave them looking chaotic at all hours of the day. Winter haircare woes, y’know?

But while we’d love to continue whinging (we’re good at it!), we’re going to swap into solution mode, because we’d guess that we’re not alone in this seasonal struggle.

So to serve everyone’s need for stronger, smoother, better behaved hair in the depths of winter (including our own), we’ve rounded up a chilly season haircare routine that’ll handle everything from hydration to colour.

Here are the nine steps you need in your winter haircare routine to leave your hair equipped to face winter’s worst sabotage strategies…

Winter haircare routine recommendations

Choose a… scalp-exfoliating scrub

Winter and dry skin are unfortunately bonded for life, but we see no reason why we have to let the stuff continue to sit on our scalps all season long! It’s dry, it’s dead, and hell, it’s probably causing you a fair bit of discomfort! Bid it a (less than) fond farewell by reaching for a refreshing, exfoliating and stimulating scalp scrub pre-wash. It’ll help you clear away congestion, product build-up and that dreaded dead, flaky skin, leaving both your scalp and hair refreshed and ready to take in the abundance of moisture coming its way next.

bh recommends:

GROW Longer Stronger Stimulating Scalp Scrub ($16.99 at Priceline)

Scalp scrubbed and feeling fresh? Great; onto your wash. There are a myriad of hair concerns that crop up during the cool weather, but just like it tends to steal our skin’s glow, winter rudely leaves our hair looking a little lacklustre too. For that very reason, we’d suggest searching for a shampoo and conditioner combo that offers salon-grade gloss (from your own cosy shower), as well as serious smoothing – the wind’s doing all it can to rough up the hair’s cuticles, so a duo able to seal and smooth them back into place is bound to be a winner.

bh recommends:

TRESemmé Lamellar Shine Shampoo ($15 at Big W)
TRESemmé Lamellar Shine Conditioner ($15 at Big W)

Choose a… warming repair mask

A hair mask is a must for your hair’s moisture stocks at any time of year, but when the winter weather hits, it’s time to up the ante even further. And how do you do that, you ask? Heat! This is a different kind of heat than the five unnecessary hair tools you’re trying to avoid, though. This ‘miracle’ mask offers a warming sensation that’s both a delight in the icy weather, and great for allowing the ingredients in the formula to do their best damage repairing and elasticity-enhancing work once they hit hair. It also only takes ten seconds, so no shower is too short.

bh recommends:

JUSTICE Professional 10 Second Hair Miracle ($22.95 at Justice Professional)

Choose a… full-bodied volume-building spray

We may not want the type of hair ‘lift’ the wind is determined to create for us (like, the type where your face is completely covered by your hair and you can’t see a single thing in your path), but we do want lift in the form of covetable volume. To build the latter type, prep hair with a blowout spray before styling. Full-bodied volume that still feels soft to the touch (and moves as one ‘mane’ in the wind rather than becoming a piecey mess) is the precise goal.

bh recommends:

John Frieda Volume Lift Fine To Full Blow Out Spray Styler ($20.99 at Priceline)

Choose a… bag-sized taming brush

Despite our best prep efforts, sometimes the breeze simply gets the best of us. And whilst a good brush is of course an essential at home, we’d recommend selecting one for the winter season that’ll fit neatly into your bag for touchups, too. Compact, travel-sized options with snag-free bristles are your best bet for dealing with touchy tangles while you’re on the go.

bh recommends:

TONI&GUY Cushion Brush ($17 at Woolworths)

Choose a… daily repairing balm

Moisturising can’t begin and end with wash day in winter; every time you step out into the harsh wind (or stay in with the equally harsh heater), your hair’s hydration levels are (unfortunately) dropping. And as we bonafide beauty experts well know, dehydration leads to damage. Fight back against both with a hydrating, repairing hair balm; ingredients like keratin are brilliant for building the hair’s strength back up, while adding a little softness, smoothness and shine with every application.

bh recommends:

Goldwell Kerasilk Reconstruct Restorative Balm ($38.90 at AMR Hair & Beauty)

Choose a… hair-strengthening tonic

Just like you have to muster the strength to get out of the warm shower and face the shiver-heavy horrors of a winter towel dry, your hair needs a little extra strength to get through winter as well. You want to keep your mane as strong, thick and swishy as possible, after all! A daily strengthening tonic is a smart option for boosting your hair’s resilience against the many elements trying to toy with it.

bh recommends:

Plantur 39 Phyto-Caffeine Tonic ($16.99 at Chemist Warehouse)

Choose a… gentle dry shampoo

Nobody understands the need to skip an early morning wash for the sake of an extra hour in a warm bed more than us! And so we totally get that a can of dry shampoo is a must in any haircare routine, season be damned. But you can still make a gentler choice to avoid causing the added dryness that can come from harsher ingredients. A plant-powered option featuring natural extracts is just the ticket!

bh recommends:

Batiste Bamboo Fibre & Gardenia Dry Shampoo ($17.10 at Priceline)

Choose a… shine-boosting colour

A fresh colour is always going to help you hit reset on your hair’s look and feel, but if you’re determined not to break your budget for a salon trip, or would simply rather stay in your slippers while giving your tone a top-up, an at-home hair colour could be the right call. Select your shade (and type: permanent, semi-permanent or demi-permanent) based on your seasonal craving! But hey, if you’re asking us for our opinion, a rich, all-over chocolate brunette is consistently a great option for winter (especially if you’re down to DIY).

bh recommends:

Color & Soin Permanent Hair Dye with Vegetal Extracts ($19.95 at Color & Soin)

Goldwell Professional Colorance Soft Color reviews ($27.50 at Hairhouse)


Main image credit: @sofiatilbury

Have you tried any of these products? Do you have any trusty winter haircare tips?