Long Hair in Warm Weather? Do knot get all tied up!

Living in Sri Lanka, more than the lack of products and expenses concerning getting your hair done, it’s the weather that plays a major part. The hot, tropical country can ruin your beautiful masterpiece before you can take even take a selfie. High moisture levels in the air cause straight hair to frizz, gently curled hair to uncurl and thick hair to be knotted and bushy. If we were a constant hat wearing country, we’d be having a collection bigger than shoes. While everyone you meet is telling you that you are so lucky, you are thinking ‘Do you want it? You can have it’, pray to all kinds of Gods that they don’t touch it.  Why? Because palms are full of sweat and it transfers to your already limp hair.

So what can you do other than go through the agony of having hair ties for every occasion or having a styled ‘messy bun’ that could sometimes look like you have small animal nesting on top of your head?

Hydrate

Humidity will dry your hair faster than a blow dryer. Frizzing and flopping will find you and attack you.  Within seconds of stepping outside, all those hours you spent perfecting your hair will disappear like an expert magic trick. If your hair is dehydrated, it absorbs moisture quickly. So, use a really good deep conditioner that would work towards restoring and nourishing damages hairs. Drink water too. It works for the whole body.

Air Dry

As ladies of long hair would know, the trick of the trade is always shower the day before. The word ‘quick shower’ is alien to the long locks. You need to book yourself into a shower appointment at least three or four hours before the event. Blow-drying is awesome if you don’t have time and just need to be done with it, but it damages your hair more than you know. Let it dry naturally. And make that work for you – applying heat from irons or dryers is to force it to be poker straight or flick out. Instead, why not do a light braid while your hair is damp and let it spiral naturally for loose beachy waves? It’s healthier and far less exhausting.

The Last Spatter

It’s mindboggling why we still want a hot water shower when the outside temperature is the same as the water, yet we still seek the amazing warmth. After washing your hair with the shampoos and conditioners suited for your hair, blast yourself with a spray of cold water. As we all learnt in ‘History of Facials’ at school, this will close up the pores. Thus guarding your hair against moisture that’s out to get you. What’s also important is to find the right combination of shampoo and conditioner. Read the labels and ingredients. Find out what the product is meant to do. Some shampoos are great on their own, but paired with the wrong conditioner – it can seriously confuse your locks.

Two words: Style smart

Do not allow your hair to be at the mercy of your hands to be neat. With long hair, girls resort to two options – leave it down and say a prayer OR tie it up, tie it up everywhere. But constantly handling hair in humid weather causes oiliness to take root, and makes the ends flare with dryness. It’s a cruel world. A simple solution is to listen to your hair every day – maintain it well with a good shampoo and conditioner designed to ‘shape’ your hair – that’s crucial to make it manageable. Avoid conditioning your roots at all costs, but be liberal about it with your ends. Then, depending on how much volume and body your hair has – style it. Perhaps a fish-tail braid or a half-up/half-down do that keeps it in check. Don’t try to wrangle your hair into something it doesn’t want to do. Long hair is versatile in that you can try something different with it every day. Remember that when your hair does go a little flat, manually rousing your roots with fingertip massages throughout the day only serves to make your hair limper and greasy. A simple style keeps the urge to meddle at bay.

…and finally, Do Not Cut!

You are probably sick of your hair getting plastered to your neck, face, mouth and to materials with static, but cutting your hair is not the solution. We all know the story of The Great Puffiness that arrives with hot and humid hair, which gets all the ladies running to the salon to chop off those ringlets. This is not the solution. Actually, it’s a bad decision. If you love your long hair, keep it. Because of the weight of the hair, it tends to stray away from puffing. The heaviness actually keep your hair down than giving you a sphere of hair around your head, and tend to hold on to your style more than short hair. Do not cut. Having more of something is always better than having less of it. Long hair is an advantage – because it’s more forgiving and versatile, and unlike girls who are stuck doing the same two looks – long hair gives you more room to explore, and you don’t need to resort to painful extensions or hair pieces.

See? Having long hair is not the worst thing under the sun.  Of course, there’s maintenance, but they are not going to cost you your hair. Just follow the steps in your daily routine and you’ll be fine. And remember – you’ve won the hair battle by letting it grow, now let all that hard work really show. Show you off.

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