How to Care for Dry Hair in Winter
When the air turns dry, start at the ends.
Winter air can leave your ends feeling dry and staticky. Keep shampoo on your scalp, and add softness from the ears down.
What to Do
- Shampoo your scalp, not your lengths. The rinse cleans the rest.
- Conditioner from the ears down, every wash.
- Leave-in from the ears down, so your lengths stay soft until your next wash.
- Oil last: two drops, ears down, on dry ends.
- Ends dry while your roots look fine? You could wash less often.
Many weather apps show the dew point. Low means dry air.
Dry or Damaged?
They feel alike but need different care. Soft after conditioner, rough again by tomorrow? That can point to damage.
On straight or wavy hair, the two usually come together. Curls and hair stripped by a harsh shampoo can feel dry with no damage at all.
Sources: Draelos ZD. International Journal of Trichology 2010;2(1) (checked 17 Oct 2026) · Gavazzoni Dias MF. International Journal of Trichology 2015;7(1) (checked 17 Oct 2026) · D’Souza P, Rathi SK. Indian Journal of Dermatology 2015;60(3) (checked 17 Oct 2026) · Westgate GE, Grohmann D, Sáez Moya M. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2025;14(6):1894 (checked 17 Oct 2026) · American Academy of Dermatology, Tips for healthy hair (updated 12 Aug 2024, checked 17 Oct 2026) · American Academy of Dermatology, 6 curly hair tips from dermatologists (30 Jun 2022, checked 17 Oct 2026)
Spot something we got wrong? Tell us and we’ll fix it.