The Best Winter Curly Hair Routine

Try these great winter curly hair products & curly girl routine to keep curly hair moisturized and frizz-free in the winter.

Do you lose your curls or does your curly hair go flat and straight in the winter?

These winter curly hair tips will help you care for your curls and keep your hair hydrated in winter.

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curly hair winter routine and curly hair winter products

What Happens To Curly Hair In The Winter?

In winter, when the temperature and dew points are low, the air is dryer and humidity is lower.

The result is dryer than usual curls or waves. This also causes your hair to be frizzier and possibly even flatter (less volume).

As a curly or wavy girl, your main aim is to keep your hair well moisturized in these colder temps.

Winter Curly Hair Products

Before we take a look at a good winter curly hair routine, let’s check out some awesome winter curly hair products to help with caring for your curls on colder days. 

Glycerin is a humectant that you want to avoid in extreme temperatures – either too hot or too cold.

For this reason, when styling your winter curls and waves, it’s best to look for glycerin free or low glycerin products.

Glycerin in your shampoos and conditioners are generally still good, as you’re washing your hair in a moisturizing environment.

When choosing curly girl styling products, remember to assess your hair before you wash and style to prevent moisture overload or protein overload.

If you closely follow the curly girl method, please check the product ingredients on a site like Is it CG, to ensure that it’s a curly girl method safe product.

Click on any product below to easily purchase on Amazon.

Curly Girl Sulfate Free Shampoos For Winter

Winter Curly Hair Scalp Exfoliating Cleansers

Winter Curly Girl Co Wash

Curly Girl Silicone Free Conditioner For Winter

Winter Curly Hair Deep Conditioners

Check this post for more curly girl method deep conditioners.

Leave In Conditioners For Winter Curly Girl Routine

Winter Curly Hair Curl Creams

Curly Girl Approved Glycerin Free Gels For Winter

Winter Curly hair Sealing Oils

curly hair winter routine and curly hair winter products

Best Winter Curly Hair Routine

Your winter curly routine steps will look similar to your regular routine. The main differences will be:

  1. Frequency of your wash days
    • fewer wash days mean less chance of drying out your curls
  2. The styling products you use (more moisture, with little to no glycerin)
  3. Hair Drying method (if you don’t normally diffuse).
    • During the winter, diffusing is best because the temperature is so low you run the risk of your hair freezing and then frizzing.

Your winter curly hair routine should start with a fantastic, long hold winter wash day routine.

The more hold you have on wash day, the less often you would need to wash your hair.

A good winter curly hair routine continues throughout the week with your curly hair sleep habits and winter refresh day routines.

Winter Curly Hair Routine

  1. Pre Poo treatment
  2. Wash your hair with sulfate free shampoo
  3. Condition, detangle and rinse
  4. Deep condition to nourish dry and frizzy curls
  5. To fight frizz, style with winter curly hair products
  6. Dry your curls with a diffuser on low or no heat after the gel cast forms
  7. Srunch out the crunch (SOTC) with a sealing oil
  8. Protect your curls while you sleep
  9. Refresh curls in the morning

Pre Poo Curly hair Treatment

Start off your winter curly hair wash day with a pre poo treatment. A hot oil treatment or pre poo treatment, like coconut oil is fantastic for your curly hair in the winter months. It helps with hydrating your curls before clarifying.

Winter Curly Hair Wash Day

Then, wash your hair with a hydrating, sulfate free shampoo.

A good curly girl tip when clarifying hair is to apply the sulfate free shampoo to your scalp, then use a scalp massager or brush to exfoliate.

When rinsing, the shampoo will move down the length of your hair and that’s usually enough to cleanse the length of your curls.

If you’re experiencing a flaky, dry scalp, try an exfoliating cleanser to help with clarifying your scalp.

If your scalp and hair are extremely dry and doesn’t need much cleansing then a co wash may be your best option.

Condition, detangle and rinse

Apply your conditioner from bottom to top and detangle with your fingers or a detangling brush like a tangle teezer.

Deep condition to nourish dry and frizzy curls

Deep conditioning is important for every curly girl but more so during winter.

A great way to hydrate your curls more is to add heat with a steam cap. This allows for deeper penetration of the deep condition, enabling your curls to get maximum benefits and moisture.

Remember to only leave in your deep conditioner for the recommended length of time as per the product directions.

Try these amazing curly girl method deep conditioners

Style With Winter Curly Girl Products

To fight frizz and get moisturized, defined curly hair, style with:

  1. Leave in conditioner
  2. Curl cream
  3. Curly girl gel

You will love these product recommendations:

Diffuse Curls

Dry your curls with a diffuser on low or no heat after the gel cast forms.

During winter days, air drying and going out with wet hair is a terrible idea for your curls as your hair can freeze! This, of course, if damaging to your hair and will result in dry, frizzy hair.

To prevent that, diffusing is the best way to dry your curls in the winter months.

Some curly girls prefer high heat and high speed – this way they get the job done faster and they don’t experience any heat damage.

Other curly girls recommend going in with low heat and low speed to reduce the amount of heat used while drying their defined curly hair.

This method takes a little longer but the results are similar.

If you’re unsure, try out both ways to see which one works best for you.

Srunch out the crunch (SOTC) with a sealing oil

SOTC and seal your winter curly hair wash day results with an oil will lock in the moisture from all the products you styled with.

Using a sealing oil also reduces damage from the harsh winter temperature and environment (including heating in your home).

Read more about scrunching out the crunch

Protect your curls while you sleep

Remember to protect your curls while you sleep to preserve your curly hair wash day results.

Check out these tips to add to your night time curly hair routine.

Refresh curls in the morning

Also, refresh your curls during the week to reduce the number of wash days during the week.

Check out these other curly hair routines:

How To Keep Your Hair Hydrated In Winter

To recap, keep in mind these 7 tips for your winter curly hair routine and products:

  1. Use sulfate free shampoo and wash less often – once a week is great!
  2. Deep condition every week
  3. Choose glycerin free or low glycerin, moisturizing styling products
  4. Diffuse using low or no heat – Don’t go out with wet curly or wavy hair
  5. Use sealing oil to scrunch out the crunch
  6. Maintain a good night time routine to protect your curls
  7. Use protective styles like braids or curly buns to reduce friction and frizz

Before You Go, You Will Love These Other Posts For Curly Hair:

Wavy & Curly Hair Routines & hairstyles
Product recommendations
Product Reviews
Important Information To Care For Curls & Waves
Dyeing Textured Hair At Home Without Damaging It

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