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abcnews.com
Maintaining perfectly coifed curls is challenging on a good day. During winter, relentless dry air and the smoosh of the average hat can mean whole months of bad hair.
"My city is drier then the Sahara desert. My hair is left feeling like sandpaper," says Christina Smith, a part-time model, former beauty queen and general manager of an investment firm in frigid Calgary, Alberta.
Like many people with curls — by some counts 60 percent of the world's population — Smith has a long list of hair horrors and an even longer list of failed products.
"I'm talking everything from the $5 local drug store brand to the high-end $40 for two drops of stuff," she says. "I actually went as far as putting olive oil in my hair. It's an old Italian trick which really wasn't so bad, minus the smelling like a salad part."
People with straight hair, or who straighten or chemically relax curly hair, face no less of a bother in cold weather. Either way, stylists say tweaking tools, technique, product and even clothing can help during the moisture-sapping season and fight other winter hair enemies like static electricity.
Salon owner Ouidad, who wrote the guide "Curl Talk," suggests deep conditioning treatments every two weeks. Throw a spray conditioner into your bag to refresh and rejuvenate hair during the day when bombarded by indoor heat, she says. Switch to a moisture quenching shampoo and a leave-in conditioner for the season.
"Try to let hair dry naturally so you don't have to diffuse and dry it out," Ouidad advises.
Hat head is a little trickier.
"If you wear a hat, the fabric absorbs the moisture out of the hair and body heat molds everything down, leaving hair flat and lifeless," says Ouidad, who has curly hair herself, along with signature salons in New York and Santa Monica, Calif.
Try using bobby pins to secure hair in sections following the natural curl pattern before putting on a hat, she says. "When you arrive at your destination, simply remove your hat and bobby pins and, if necessary, put some refreshing spray on and let your hair flow naturally."
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