by
Black Girl With Long Hair
Reader Jana (pictured above) says;
I had a question in regards to regimen. I believe I have caught a cold and the majority of my styling (mainly twistouts) require me to wet or dampen my hair. Being that it is now cold outside and I’m under the weather, I don’t want to wet my hair. What are some styles that I can wear that don’t require wetting?
Alright ladies; If you’re prone to a lot of wet styling in the warmer months, how do you transition your regimen in the cold winter months? Generally speaking, what are some good winter styles?
47 Responses
Nearly a century, montblanc (Mont Blanc) famous for manufacturing classical writing instruments, Mont Blanc the name represents the art of writing (the art of writing), Allen white marker pen on the top of the mount Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe overlooking the shape of the symbol of the highest mountain in Europe Mont Blanc (Mont Blanc) crown of snow mountain, the mountain peaks, the highest point to 4810 meters above sea level, and on each pen “4810” is the height of the Mont Blanc, the Numbers usually ring used for a variety of topics. And pure handmade, after 25 working procedure of written, more make the MONT BLANC writing tools as solid as MONT BLANC and noble. MontBlanc Ballpoint Outlet http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_pen.aspx
http://sharedw.org/no-strings-attached-2011-720p-bluray-x264-amiable/
It is corporeal choice to impute to you blog!
I’ve attached a pic of what my hair looks like today. I have the same issue as far as styling when wet, but I’ve found that once I do my wet style, which is just wet hair, gel, and shake-and-rake, if I just take my blow dryer to it without running my fingers through it – the blow dry process takes about 7 minutes, then my hair gets just dry enough to be able to either allow it air dry in about 45 minutes, or put on my hat and leave the house without soaking it and getting my head super cold. It also helps to add volume to my hair without it falling flat on top due to wearing my hat.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/naturalblowdry.jpg[/img]
I cannot afford braid/twisting my hair every two months or so, so I buy “natural looking” half wigs, trim them down to look more realistic, and wear them throughout the winter as a protective style during the day. I take them off, and I let my hair “breath” when I get home from work at night.
I know I’m commenting a MONTH late, but oh well!!!
I WISH I would have seen this wayyyyy back! I had the same issue! I would wake up in the early AM (before dawn) and cowash my hair. That was all well and find until the temp started to drop drastically. Serious head congestion… *duh* lol.
SOLUTION: fluff and pick josephine (my hair) out as much as possible and wear as a real afro… nice and fluffy. Intially, I used a blow dryer (super low heat and speed) to assist w/this. I was sooooo scared! But it worked out! I expirmented with clips and bows… pinning my hair back. Refused to do frohawks so I would just pin one side usually.
Then, a beautiful day came when I realized I could FINALLY do a P-U-F-F!!! Needless to say I was stoked!
PROGRESS
luv it…how did you get your hair like this…is this the result of 2 strand twists that are thick??
I’m late, but I applied water (just enough to dampen it) 2 strand twisted (yes they were chunky) and went to bed. I took it down in the morning and that was the results. 🙂
Great ideas PinkGirlFluff!
Jana, be well! It sounds like you need some TLC. Thanks for this post and reminding everybody that yes stress and many other things besides mere exposure impact immunity. Nobody knows your body better than YOU!
Take care.
My hair isn’t long enough yet to do this but I have a potential style idea that might work with your length. This is all coming straight my my imagination but how about dry twisting all of your hair and then creating and updo with the twist? Or braiding all of your hair and then setting the braids on rods? I’m not exactly sure how long either of these ideas would last but they sound good in my mind. lol.
And I thought of something else, plaiting the back in an upward direction and rocking the front out and placing a decorative flower or some pretty thing on the side to jazz it up? That way you can wrap a silk scarf around the braids to keep them looking fresh and the top part you can dry twist or braid at night and undo in the morning. Or you could even flat twist or plait the back and instead of leaving the top loose you can do a bunch of twists or braids and rod set them. At night you can twist them in bantu knots to maintain the curls and unravel in the morning.
I get so excited about hair, that I could probably go on for hours with ideas but my fingers ache. lol.
BTW, no matter how a person catches a cold, it sucks even worse when you are sick, feel a mess, and think you look a mess. I know the feeling. Your hair is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Whatever you do to it I’m sure it’ll be fierce and fly!
Maybe I should offer a bit of clarity. My intentions were not to spark a debate about how colds are transmitted, I only wanted style suggestions while having a cold. My immune system is compromised anyway due to stress, a lack of proper rest as well as a unhealthy life style in general. I’ve had a rough year between taking care of my ill mother and uncle up until their deaths, which were a week a part. I planned both funerals, graduated from college and moved so my cold was inevitable. With that, walking outside with a wet head didn’t help me. I thank you all for the style suggestions as well as the knowledge in regards to colds and virus. BGLH, has been a big help through my natural journey and I am so glad for an online community like this because I had no idea about the variety of styles and care products that I have been informed of. Team BGLH *fist pump*
Also, shallow, prolonged mouth breathing is not very healthy either.
I’d rather just take my sick days.
C I think you missed the point of what Adrii and others were trying to convey. No one is denying viruses cause cold and flus. Adrii’s point was about susceptibilty NOT transmission. Those are not the same construct. Everyone that is exposed does not become infected- immunity protects. Her metaphor was actually very appropriate. Body temperature MAY effect immune response. There are conflicting studies in both humans and animal models, but it’s plausible considering that’s why we get fevers. Immunocompetence has many factors, so it’s a bit presumptuous to call people “silly” if they notice that their particular system is more vulnerable after temperature change than others.
Adriii: no offense, but you are wrong. The common cold is a virus transmitted via the respiratory tract. It is not caused by cold weather and it has nothing to do with getting your hair wet. It is a completely different entity from HIV and your comparison of the transmission of the Rhinovirus (the virus that causes a “cold”) and HIV is silly.
Since you were running track with other people, someone probably had a cold and you were infected (via your respiratory tract) while in close contact with them.
The only way to protect yourself from a cold is to breathe through your mouth (not your nose) when you are in close contact with a person who has a cold. But if you live in an apartment building, dorm, anywhere where you “share air” with your neighbors you are likely to get a cold.
This whole discussion is silly. Wet hair doesn’t cause a cold.
Cold air on wet hair/scalp does not cause colds, flu, pneumonia, etc. Glad someone beat me to it.
@Kitty: If you don’t already have a microfiber towel, get one. Leave it on for at least 15 minutes or until your hair is mostly dry, THEN apply your hair cream (probably a smaller amount than usual). Do this early enough in the morning and you should be fine…and if your hair is still a little damp, a little cold air isn’t going to hurt it (or you; see above).
@Akilah that’s exactly what happened to me. I washed my hair and went out on a cold night before it was completely dry. Girl, standing outside the comedy club trying to look cute…Smh.
BRAIDS EXTENSIONS, they last at least 2 months at a time so it works well for me.
I have come up with just wearing a puff on days when I couldn’t do a twists or wet my hair at night. I went out with my hair wet a week ago, and I’m still fighting a cold.
Anybody have suggestions for TWAs? I have about 3 in of hair and I still mist my hair and use hair creme to style in the winter. If its really cold, I throw on a headwrap or a hat. But that doesn’t always work for cetain situations. My hair (fine? 3c/4a multiracial) always is easier to style when misted by the shower or a conditioner spritz followed by a little hair creme. I try to do this ahead of time so it can mostly dry. But what’s a girl with a TWA like that to do when it starts snowing?
Any suggestions?
@ Adrii My mom (a nurse) warned me about going out with wet hair, but being a bio major I though she was so old school and should know better colds and flus were caused by viruses…and ofcourse I got sick as a dog every time. 🙂
It’s like if you don’t eat right. Nutrition status impacts immunity, but yes the virus is still going to be the “cause” of the cold or flu.
Thank you, Zavi! I was just about to post that. Having wet hair in the cold can be uncomfortable but germs and viruses are what make you sick. I would suggest dry styling or using a diffuser to dry the hair before heading out into the cold.
@Zavi: Everytime I’ve gone outside with my hair wet on a sub 50 degree day, I’ve gotten a cold.
I feel the “wet hair doesn’t cause colds the cold virus does” argument is analogous to “having unprotected sex with someone who’s HIV positive doesn’t cause you to get HIV, it’s the virus.” No one would argue the second point, I suspect. Yes, the wet hair in cold weather isn’t an infecting organism, but the action makes many people more succeptable to getting infected (i.e. risk factor). As anonda said, it lowers your body temp which compromises immunity.
Basically, that argument is misleading semantically. Better stated, “Wet hair can make you more succeptable to developing a cold (be it via new infection or flare up of old).”
(Sorry so long, but that argument drives me nuts b/c my track coach used to try to use it to make me run outside while it was snowing and guess what happened? Cold.)
Wet Styling, wash n’goes, etc leave my haira dry wreck! I don’t know why…I can not explain it (CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT??), but I can not leave the house with wet hair and have it stay moisturized. Just plain water/ water saturated hair does nothing for my hair. It evaporates and leaves my hair drier than before. I just use my water based spritz and seal…this keeps my hair soft. Even when I seal and use butters and water based moisturizers on wet hair, my hair ends up really dry. For some reason very wet hair leads to super dry hair for me in about two hours. Is this because the process of wetting my hair strips it of the butter/oil/veggie glycerin build up my hair needs to stay soft?
I used to find that my hair was not even happy till like 3 days of product application after wash day. I combat this by SATURATING my hair with my water veggie glycerin spritz and hair butter then doing a HEAVY sealing with castor oil. I dunno why, but wetting my hair a lot leave it toooo naked. A little build up does this VERY porous head of hair good.
Agreed Zavi BUT we lose a lot of heat through the head. Body temperature plays a role in immunity. Plus I find wet hair just makes you feel icky when you are sick 🙂
I have been doing twists/twistouts and braidouts, and I did tiny little box braids all last winter. When it gets colder I”ll likely go back to that style (I was styling them just like my loose hair, with Bantu knots, braid outs, updos, etc. They were so versatile and my hair grew lots!) But I recently tried a style I had been hearing about, but had never done. I was missing the look of my wash and go’s since the weather had gotten colder, so I “shingled/rake and combed” gel through my hair when it was totally dry (I had been washed and moisturized the day before). My hair looked just like a wash and go, but with less shrinkage and no water wetness (I let the gel air dry) or dripping! The next day I just fluffed and put some water on my hands to reactivate the gel. I’ll defintely be revisiting this style during the colder months ahead!
Hi all, great suggestions, but FYI going outside with wet hair DOES NOT cause colds, or any other virus based illnesses, something else is making you sick.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cold-and-flu/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100231689
Thanks for asking this question, Jana! I was wondering the same thing. My hair is too long for the twist out to be as cute as it was after my chop, but it’s not long enough for a ponytail. I have tried putting the top in a ponytail and the bottom “down” but that doesn’t look professional so I was wondering how I will survive the winter! Will hit up YouTube for some ideas. Thanks ladies!
I LOVE YOUR HAIR..OUR HAIR LOOKS SO SIMILAR!! DRY TWIST OUTS SEEM TO THRIVE ON THE HAIR TYPE WE BOTH SEEM TO HAVE. YES TO CUCUMBERS AND AUSSIE MOIST AND A COMBINATION OF ESSENTIAL OILS WILL KEEP YOUR HAIR MOISTURIZED IN BETWEEN YOUR WEEKLY WASHES OR CO WASHES!! STAY HEALTHY 🙂
Good call, Jada07! I started doing that too sometimes.
And you’re so welcome, Jana. 😀
I style only on wash day (once a week) and if you don’t mind a little heat a hood dryer will save your life when you don’t want to sleep on wet hair. If I try go two weeks then I will bun the second week.
i still do wash and gos, but i use butters/creams instead of gels. since i use a diffuser, i never leave the house with wet hair.
I would love to see these protective styles everyone wears (most of the style icons have twist outs or wash and gos)! I’ve been trying to wear protective styles this fall but besides finally being able to wear a hat, I see no benefit. I’ve mostly been putting my hair in small twist which makes me feel a young and a little bummy. So I started doing french braids which look nice but I still have to do them over every 2 days because its gets frizzy even when I wear a scarf. With all the manipulation I don’t see whats the difference. (wigs and weaves aren’t for me)
sorry was that off topic…
I was never a wet n go type cause i can catch a cold whenever. DMV weather is funny however for this being my first winter with my natty hair, i’ve noticed that my scalp is dryer than normal. For protective styling i think weaves should be my way out and mohawky type styles. I always suggest wetting ur hair in the evening before bed would be better to prevent colds and flus…
I air dry the night before. I live in Southern CA; so, sometimes I can get away with wet styling during the day.
I have gotten on the kick of dry twists outs and I absolutely love them. I wet my hands and rub each small section of dry hair, then add product and twist. Let set overnight and unravel in the morning. The result is beautiful, fluffy, stretched but still defined hair.
Thank you guys so much! This is very helpful. Thanks for the compliment @ b
Oh yes, I also meant to tell you…
Your hair is so super cute in the photo! It looks a lot like mine. I love your style.
I agree w/ vonnie about the twists/twist-out combo. I also dampen my ends and finger detangle/fluff without wetting my entire head if my hair is out and loose. If for some reason you do have to wash your hair in the morning, use a microtowel to blot a lot of the water out. That cuts down a lot of drying time.
I agree with those that mentioned dry braid/twist outs. Wear it out day 1. Days 2, 3, 4, and 5, you can experiment with various updos and buns.
http://adventuresinbayarealand.blogspot.com/
individual mini twist or braids. If you go on youtube there are tons up vids of people that have this style.it does take a very long time to do. Mine usually take 5hrs+ but you can keep the style for 2 weeks or more. KinkyKurlyQueen has a vid out now where she shows you all the styles that you can wear with the mini -twist.
You can also try nubian (or bantu) knots. A somewhat simple style that consists of several individual coils wrapped unto themselves. To achieve this look, you can:
1) Section off your hair (width is dependent on your preference) and in each section, two strand or comb twist your hair.
2) Wrap each twist around itself until it forms a ball.
3) Tuck twists under themselves or wrap a small rubber-band around each coil to prevent them from unravelling (I prefer the former, as rubber-bands tend to break off hair upon removal).
Hope that helps.
My hair is always dry by morning. So if I do wet my hair on a day other than wash day, it’s at night and I twist or braid out.
In the summertime i wash my hair just about every other day, in the winter i wash every two weeks,my hair is kept in protective styles such as flat twist, kinky twist, weaves or wigs. The winter is the time I let my hair “hibernate” lol!!!!
On wash day, I air-dry overnight in braids and style the braid-out into an updo with bobby pins.
I mostly wear a ‘Cinnabun’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP8FdTTsSk4&feature=related) or a ‘Roll and Tuck Frohawk’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izwn_mBXFOg).
BTW, your fro is super cute! ^_^
dry twists/twist outs are nice, they are usually full and fluffy. pin back hair, pin up sides for a fro-hawk, get extensions/braids (not tight!) to let your hair just be for the winter, use wigs. My regimen is to wash/deep condition my hair, put into twists that I wear for a week or so, then twist out for about 5 days…repeat…the only time my hair is wet is with the initial wash and i do that on a day when I can be at home and lazy around doing my hair. good luck and don’t catch colds!
Vonnie
http://www.socialitedreams.com/
Rather than soaking my hair I’ll spritz it with a water/oil combo, or just let the shower mist dampen it a bit. Then I’ll use a water based moisturizer and seal with shea butter. If I do that first thing by the time I get ready, have breakfast and leave the house my hair isn’t wet, but it’s moisturized.
I wear my hair in a ponytail. I wet the ponytail and not my scalp. If you dont want to wear it in a ponytail try braiding to a mohawk or simple cornrows (protective styling).