How to Keep Hair Healthy and Shiny in Winter, According to Brad Mondo

It happens to everyone: your luscious hair goes from vibrant and healthy in the summer to brittle, dry, and staticky in the winter. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Hair and style expert Brad Mondo is sharing his best tips for keeping your strands moisturized and beautiful in the colder months exclusively with Life & Style — and as a second-generation hairstylist with over 3.5 million YouTube subscribers and two brand new XMONDO HAIR moisturizing products released on November 22, who better to give you all the tea on healthy tresses? Read on for all of his simple (but brilliant) tips to keep you shining year-round.

Your hair washing routine may need a little tweaking for winter.

Surprise, surprise, your hair is going to need a lot more hydration in the cooler months. “You’re not getting the humidity that you naturally get in the summer, the moisture in the air is very low,” Brad explains exclusively to Life & Style. “So you’re going to want to moisturize your hair a lot more in the winter months.” And that’s going to start in the shower.

“I love hair masks, all year round but especially in the winter because of how dry it is,” says the YouTube sensation. “They’re really going to help you add more nutrition to your hair, smooth it out, and decrease tangling. If your hair is silkier before putting your scarf on over it, your hair won’t be as tangled when you take it off. That’s very preventative.” Luckily, Brad released his very own hair mask on November 22 as part of his XMONDO line of products. The new Prismatic Glow mask “has essential oils in it, [including] argon oil and baobab oil. It’s really going to help detangle and reduce frizz,” Brad explains.

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But when you shower can be just as important as what you do in it to increase hair health. “I prefer people wash their hair at night [in the winter,] that way you can let it air dry, because you’re using so many tools on your hair,” says the pro. “The more you can air dry it the better.” He explains that even without the blowdryer getting involved, your hair will already look a lot shinier, so “you can get away with a lot [less styling] in the colder months. You’ll have less frizz and it’s all-around just easier.” But that doesn’t mean you should crawl into bed with a sopping wet mane. “I would go to bed with like 60% dry hair. Otherwise, like if you roll over a lot in your sleep, you might cause a bit of breakage because your hair is more expandable and sensitive to breakage when it’s wet.” The guru also says to avoid putting your hair up in a ponytail or bun while it’s wet, or you’ll risk some awkward kinks.

What products to use to keep your hair shiny and frizz-free after washing.

Now that your hair is clean and dry, there are measures you can take before, during, and after styling to keep it looking shiny and beautiful. When your hair is still a bit damp, you can use a moisture cream, like Brad’s second new product, Electric Rain, which he says includes “argan oil and protein to rebuild your hair and also helps with maintaining that frizz and adding shine and hydration.” Once dry and styled, there are a few different ways to stop staticky flyaways in their tracks.

“Dry shampoo is pretty much the easiest to reduce static,” says Brad. “Otherwise, I know people are afraid of hairsprays and think it’ll make their hair sticky, but there are a lot of super-light hairsprays” that can keep flyaways at bay, he explains. Other options include humidity defense serums and any aerosol product. “It’s just going to add a little bit of a layer of product to your hair so it sticks down to avoid that staticky frizz.” Who doesn’t want that?!

Your winter clothes could be damaging your hair.

Yup, you read that right. It’s more than just the cold air that could be stressing your tresses. “When my clients come in in the winter, they often have matted hair in the back of their neck,” the entrepreneur explains. “Everyone wears really big collared puffer jackets, scarves and hats in the winter, and they’re going to end up causing a lot of breakage. I definitely notice on the front of people’s hairlines, there being a lot more breakage in the winter, too. It’s friction you’re getting from your hats, and a lot of tangling which then you have to brush out really vigorously. It ends up breaking your hair more.” But you have to stay warm, so what can you do to combat this unfortunate damage?

“I always tell people when they’re wearing hats or scarves, or anything that’s going to touch their hair, to put it in a protective style,” he suggests. One option is to pull your hair into a low ponytail and to wrap it into a loose bun, holding it in place with a duckbill clip during your commute. “That way, when you get to wherever you’re going, you can easily let it down, and you won’t have any sort of like knotting or tangling,” he promises. “And it’ll actually keep your style in longer if you’re curling it or you have a blowout.” You can even sleep with it like that to keep your style in for an extra day or two!

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When it comes to hats, your best bet is neatly parting your hair underneath. “Instead of combing it all back or pushing it back with your hands, and then putting a hat on, I recommend like doing some kind of part,” says Brad. “That way your hair sits more neatly and your hairline is not being pulled back at all.”

Believe it or not, winter is the perfect time to change up your look.

“New year, new you” is actually a pretty good philosophy when it comes to changing up your hair color, according to Brad! “Winter is actually the best time to color your hair, because you’re not getting the sunlight on it as much, and sun can wear away your color very easily,” says the pro. “So if you’re doing a really dark color, dark brown or black in the summer, they tend to fade out very fast, and you have to maintain it a lot more. In winter, you’re not going in the water, you’re not going in chlorine, you’re not going to saltwater, you’re not going in the sunlight, and it will help reduce fading a lot more.” And the same is true for a fresh blonde ‘do! “Maybe consider trying a different color for winter!” says Brad.

Now that you have an arsenal of tips to keep your hair fresh and healthy all winter long, there’s no excuse to feel anything but your best! BRB, gotta go smooth out our strands!