I won’t be found complaining about winter.

I love my sweaters, my boots, my leg-warmers and my kid-couch cuddling. After all, it feels like people complain all summer about the heat and then just move into their next “problematic” season.

That said, I simply cannot stand staticky hair. At all. It is, perhaps, my archnemesis of all weather-related problems.

So I’ve decided to share with you the few environmentally-friendly remedies I’ve discovered that truly help tame flyaway hair.

1. Moisturize.

Essentially, static-infested hair comes about during winter because the air tends to be cold…and dry. Personally, I’m not really into store-bought conditioner so my preferred method is to apply a light oil like argan to my wet hair after my shower. The key is to apply lightly. Put less than a pea-sized amount of the oil onto your palm, rub your palms together and pat your hair—lightly.

Or, if you must condition, put the oil on your hair before you shampoo (yes, before). Let it sink in and then shampoo it out.

2. Skip shampoos.

If possible, skip shampoos. (Bonus: this saves some water too.)  Consider washing every other day, or use a hydrating shampoo. Additionally, try out these tips for dry shampoo if you want to get rid of oil at the roots so that you can skip a day.

3. Don’t use plastic.

Plastic combs and brushes create static. Ditch them—and use other materials instead (like wood or metal).

5. Don’t blow dry.

I let my hair air-dry. I know that limited time and cold weather can mean not wanting to leave the house with wet hair, but, whenever possible, let your hair dry naturally. Or wash your hair at night. Or skip a shampoo. Moving on.

6. Lotion.

If fighting staticky hair is a problem, I’m guessing that dry hands are also problematic. If so, use a favorite lotion (or, ahem, oil) on your hands and then lightly pat your hair too.

7. Water.

While this isn’t the best method, it does work. When in a pinch—say, about to walk into an appointment with hair sticking up on end—find a bathroom, find a faucet and sprinkle some water on your hair.

8. Put it up.

When I’m completely fed up with my static hair, I put it up into a bun. Problem (temporarily) solved.

 9. Humidify.

Since the problem is dry air, humidifying your house will help loads. Additionally, when the air isn’t so dry, it feels warmer in the house, which helps to keep the thermostat set a little bit lower.

There are definitely other things I could have added in, like using an ionic hair dryer if blow drying is necessary or limiting use of products containing drying alcohol or using scent-free dryer sheets (for real), but I didn’t because when the static monster really strikes, I find some tips like this completely ineffective (or ecologically wasteful).

Lastly, if you have any tips you’d like to share, please write a note in the comments section below!

And cheers to a happy (static-limited) winter!

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Author: Vironika Tugaleva

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Mitya Ku/Flickr