Humans are particularly sensitive to humidity and its changes. The drier the air becomes, the more moisture it pulls from whatever sources are available to it -- and that includes your body. During cold winter months, using heaters inside lowers humidity even more, causing more moisture to evaporate from your skin into the air and leave your skin even drier. As a result, your lips and hands may crack, peel, become irritated, and even become infected, reports the National Health Museum. Additionally, as moisture leaves your body due to low humidity during cold months, you perceive lower than actual temperatures and feel even colder that it actually is, which also drives up energy costs from using heaters to feel more comfortable indoors.

What does this have to do with hair care, you might be asking? A lot. 

I often wondered why hair and scalp health practices are not taken into account during the changing seasons. For instance, in summer months, excessive humidity can cause frizz. Therefore, you need to employ treatments and styles that will help defend against the Frizz Season. We're now entering the dry and cold seasons. So, hair care treatments must be adjusted to help maintain healthy hair during this time of year. 

As mentioned by the National Health Museum, colder temperatures and lower humidity rooms can wreck havoc on the body. While it is rarely talked about, both hair and scalp can be sapped of its hydration and moisture due to the inside and outside temperatures. To help avoid the affects of changing temperatures and drier months, I recommend the following 5 tips:

1. Proper hydration always starts from the inside out. Drink half your weight in ounces. In other words, if you weigh 140 pounds you should be consuming 70 ounces of water per day. For a low-calorie twist on water, trying sparkling water or club soda with a few drops fresh fruit juice. It makes consuming water more enjoyable AND you can avoid the calorie laden juices sold in grocery and convenient stores. 

2. Use a humidifier. You can keep your room and body better hydrated during the low humidity and colder months with a good humidifier. 

3. Use the Huetiful Hair Steamer each week or every other week as part of your conditioning and hydration regimen. Even if you aren't using heat on your hair, your hair can become dry during this time of year and a weekly infusion of hydration will help keep the dryness away. 

4. Other methods of providing additional moisture to the air around you is to fill bathtubs with water, place containers of water in your rooms, or boil water on the stove to provide the air with additional sources of moisture when humidity is low.

5. To help protect dry and flaky scalp, gently massage a healthy oil or oil blend into your scalp. Many times we misdiagnose "flaky scalp" and we think that it is dandruff. The flaky scalp can come from a lack of hydration and/or oil naturally secreted by the scalp. We make a 100% certified organic blend of Moringa Oil and Coconut Oil called Huetiful de la Moringa Oil. We like it because moringa oil is loaded with biotin and other healthy hair promoting nutrients. 

It is possible to maintain healthy hair throughout the year with a few tweaks and changes to your hair care regimen. Understanding how to incorporate these changes throughout the year will significantly improve your hair care journey.