If I can be unguarded for a moment (and I feel like this is a place of honesty), I’d like to admit that I spend a lot of time thinking about my hair. I always have. It’s naturally curly, fine and thin, but I come from a region where a woman’s hair should be her perfectly coiffed crowning glory, so I’ve spent my entire life changing its color and learning how to make it do whatever I want. That’s resulted in some damage, but also in a lot of knowledge about how to keep hair moisturized.
Cold, dry winter weather is a well-known hazard to skin, but it tends to deplete hair’s moisture as well, which is doubly hard on someone like me whose hair is bleached and still recovering from years of blowouts to its natural curliness. Winter hats don’t help. Below, I’ve revealed my person secrets to keeping your hair healthy and soft during the winter, gleaned from 15 years of product trial-and-error.
Davines Nounou Conditioner
$28 via Barneys
I was first introduced to this Italian hair care brand in college, but because it can be a little difficult to find in stores, I lost track of it for a few years. Now that it’s back in my life, this super-moisturizing-but-not-greasy conditioner is a permanent fixture in my hair routine. The wide-mouthed packaging is a nice bonus; you never take out more product than you intended and you can reach every last drop.
Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk
$9 via Net-a-Porter
Washing strips natural oils from your hair and scalp, and that leads to straw-like hair and breakage. If you’re an everyday washer, stop that right now. Use a little dry shampoo, like this vitamin-rich formula from Klorane, to let your natural oils do their job. And if you’ve found dry shampoos frustrating in the past, keep searching–you’ll eventually find the formula that works for you.
Moroccanoil Treatment
$43 via Nordstrom
Other than a little hairspray, this is the only product that I use in my hair when I get out of the shower. It smooths, moisturizes, fights frizz and smells wonderful. My hair is both fine and thin, but I’ve never found the classic Moroccanoil too heavy for it. If you have, the company also makes a lighter version.
Phyto Specific Ultra Repair Night Treatment
$38 via Sephora
If your hair is color-treated, regularly heat-styled or otherwise damaged, you’ll need to make some sort of overnight treatment a weekly thing if you want the best results. This hair mask is full of good stuff for your hair, but if you want to save a few bucks, a tub of coconut oil from the grocery store is also a solid bet. Plus, it’ll make you smell like a human macaroon.
Sephora Collection Tidy Detangling Comb
$8 via Sephora
A wide-toothed comb like this one won’t add moisture back into your hair, but they’re essential for detangling without damage and spreading product evenly through wet hair. It’s the tool that makes all the products work.