Tame the Mane: ANOKHI’s Guide To South Asian Winter Hair Care

Old Man Winter has arrived and with the dreamy scenes of hot cocoa by the fireplace, there are also scenes of South Asian beauties struggling to get their legendary locks to look lustrous.  It is challenging to have a shiny mane, regardless of texture, because we are facing a trio of challenges: Artic winds, electrical heating and the tuque.  The trio means that our hair is being stripped of moisture, leaving the strands dry and prone to a wiry appearance, and to add insult to injury, our manes are then flattened.

In this blog, I explore how we can revive our locks through daily and weekly strategies, so that when spring comes, and it will return, our hair confidence will have never waned.

Shampoos, Masks And Treatments – Frequency

The fastest way to revive roughed up hair is to wash and condition but the trick is to not overdo it.  The act of washing and conditioning removes the build-up of excess oil, dirt and styling products but if you engage in this activity too frequently you strip away the hair’s natural oils, and the strands will be left rough and dry.

South Asian beauties with an oily scalp, which results in lank locks, might argue that a daily shampoo is necessary to keep the hair fresh.  The problem is that when you wash daily, you also remove the hair’s natural oils, and that stimulates the scalp to produce more oil, and thus the hamster on the wheel continues its journey to the same result.  A great alternative to washing your hair daily is to use a dry shampoo such as the Aveda Shampowder™ Dry Shampoo.

The product contains familiar ingredients such as corn starch and tapioca starch, which boost volume, while the Montmorillonite clay absorbs oil.  You just need to position the nozzle at the root, spray and then use a massaging brush such as the Fully Vital Thickening Bamboo Brush, to ßdistribute the product throughout the scalp.

An extra treat with this brush, that benefits all hair types, is that its bamboo bristles stimulate the scalp, unclog the pores, and improve circulation, which encourages hair growth.  After you have finished brushing your hair, you just need to shake it out over the sink to catch the balls of powder that have absorbed the oil.

A great rule of thumb is to aim to wash your hair twice a week, because the hair is overall drier in the winter.  If your hair is prone to breakage, then you can reduce it to a weekly exercise. I strongly recommend brushing your hair daily and carefully to ensure that the hair’s oils do not get stuck at the root.

Shampooing And Conditioning – The Steps

Given the rigours of winter, I think that it is fantastic opportunity to add a pre-shampoo ritual to ensure that the acts of washing and conditioning are optimal, and you have a chance to pamper yourself, as winter swirls outside.

A common complaint is that hair is drier and there are more flakes, if the latter occurs only in the winter, then you are dealing with the fallout from indoor heating.  If the flakiness is a year-round issue, I recommend visiting a dermatologist to assess if there is a bacterial overgrowth and/or if you need a specialised treatment shampoo to retore balance to the scalp.

The issue of balanced scalp is central to achieving great hair, regardless of texture or type, because it is the ecosystem within which the hair roots are located, and if it is oily, clogged or irritated, it will be difficult to grow healthy strong strands.  In addition to brushing your hair daily using a quality, natural brush, like the one mentioned above, it is helpful to add a quick massage ritual prior to washing hair.

I enjoy using a few drops the JVN Complete Pre-Wash Scalp Oil to massage my scalp.  It contains rosemary extract which is renowned to encourage hair growth, and neem seed extract, which in Ayurveda is recognised for its anti-fungal and hair strengthening qualities. I like to apply a few droplets to the tips of my fingers and then trace circles all over my scalp. My headaches tend to be located in the frontal lobe area, so I spend a few extra minutes gently working the oil into this area.   I then wait about 15 minutes and then engage in the shampoo and mask experience.

I have discovered some terrific duos and great combinations that address hair care needs and will make South Asian locks shine.

On a weekly basis, I use a clarifying shampoo to cleanse because I practise hot yoga and do Pilates, approximately 6 times a week.  My hair gets battered, due to my fitness routine and a regular shampoo and mask are insufficient, because my hair gets sopped in sweat.

Weekly, I use a clarifying shampoo to lift away the excess, sweat and dirt, and my favourite one is the Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt.  This white, slightly translucid, salty paste has a rough texture, and I spread it across the palms of my hands, and then massage it into my hair.  The paste becomes a foam when it mixes with the water, and I feel a sense of lightness after 3-4 minutes.

The shampoo rinses out quickly, and then I apply a quarter-sized amount of the Ranavat Glossing Hair Masque, starting 3 centimetres from the tip down to the root, to avoid clogging. The roots. The mask contains hyaluronic acid which attracts moisture, and vitamin E which softens the strands. I like this type of mask because when you rinse your hair and style it, the hair catches the light and looks glamourous.

If your hair is coarse and you want to both soften its texture and have the effect for 2-3 days, I wholeheartedly recommend that Joico Defy Damage Protective Shampoo and the Joico Defy Damage Power Masque.  The white, creamy shampoo, lathers in a soft mass of lather and it feels like silk.  I love that this product sloughs away dirt and does not rough up the cuticle – which is what creates the rough haired looked.

I only need to apply the mask for 5 minutes, and it rinses out quickly.  I can tell as I am rinsing my hair, that it is softer and it feels lighter.  The mask contains moringa seed oil, which delivers vitamins A and E to the strands.  After having dried my hair (see below for detail), I noticed that while I was blow drying it straight, my hair had sway and looked shiny.  My hair did not frizz for 2-3 days even though I attended hot yoga and Pilates classes.  This duo is impactful and worth it!

Curly-haired queens need extra hydration, and Good Juju has specialised shampoo and conditioning bars that will spoil each millimetre of wave and coil.  The Dry/Curly (Hydrating) Hair Shampoo Bar, contains power oils such as coconut, jojoba, sacha inchi oils and shea and cocos butters. Each ingredient is renowned for its positive impact on hair, as they add lustre, vitamins and moisture to the strands.

The shampoo’s effect is complemented by the Dry/Curly (Hydrating) Hair Conditioner Bar which also contains coconut and sacha inchi oils, for lustre and moisture, and shea and cocoa butters that protect hair from damage.  The conditioning bar also contains avocado and olive oils, strengthen and nourish hair.  These bars plump the strands and ensure that it is softly oiled from root to tip.

Drying The Hair

One common error is that people use a regular towel to roughly pass it through the hair to remove droplets of water.  The more you touch and manipulate the hair roughly, the drier and frizzier it will look, because the rough gestures lift the cuticles of the strands, rather than allowing them to remain flat.  The flatness of the cuticles is what allows light to bounce off the hair, thus making it look shinier.  I recommend using a special, hair drying towel such as the Aquis Wrap; I use mine every time.  This power towel is a hair drying tool, whose fibres wick away water without heat.  I wrap my hair, lift the towel as if I was doing a French twist, and then attach the ponytail to the front of head by looping it the button.  I note that within 11 minutes the towel goes from bone dry to damp, veering to outright wetness.  I know that the towel is sopped because it starts to slide down.  I unfasten the button, and my hair is always at least 50-60 % drier.  It makes the subsequent blow-drying faster and less damaging to the strands.

Silk And Satin

The above steps are easy to master and take mere minutes to execute, and in the end, you will have softer, silkier hair that shines.  To maintain the effect of deeply conditioned hair, it is important to envelope it in satiny, silky love.  This means, using hair ties that are wrapped in such materials, because when you slide them off the mane, they will not lift the cuticles.  I love the Kitsch Assorted Satin Sleep Scrunchies because they come in a variety of colours; stay in place when I sleep and exercise; and are affordable.

The biggest game changer that ensures that my hair looks deeply conditioned between washing sessions is sleeping on a satin pillowcase.  The smoothness of the material ensures that my hair is not dealing with friction while I sleep.  I do not have knots when I wake up and my hair is easier to style in the morning. I recommend the JVN Vegan Satin Pillowcase because it is soft, fits easily over a standard sized pillow and I wake up with smooth hair.

Mane Thoughts

Given our DNA, South Asian beauties of all hair textures and types are destined for hair greatness.  The variety of colours and textures are outstanding!  As we trudge through winter it is essential to adopt habits that encourage smoothness and shine.  The building block is a strong shampoo and mask duo complemented with easy steps that boost the impact of the shampoo and mask.