Tips to reduce hair breakage this harmattan

Finally! Harmattan is here. It’s time to adapt to a  harmattan hair regimen. For readers who do not know, harmattan is one of the seasons here in Nigeria. It is known for its dryness, cold & haziness. I wanted to write a post on a harmattan hair regimen since last week but I had not seen any harmattan then. I stepped out of my house this morning, and voila, my favorite season of the year was here. Yaaay! But then, this weather comes with a lot of hiccups:

• Cracked lips & soles of feet
• Dry skin including ash-looking elbows, knuckles & knees
• Conjunctivitis (a.k.a Apollo)
• Dry & itchy hair scalp
• Hair dryness
• Cold & Catarrh
• Excessive dust

Despite these hiccups, you & your hair can still enjoy this weather. Here are top 5 tips

1. Increase Water Intake:True. Beauty starts from the inside. It is recommended that you take a minimum of 8 glasses of water every day. But with this harmattan, you need to unleash the camel in you. Lol. Even if you feel lazy to drink 8 glasses of water, the frequent thirst as a result of the weather will propel you to drink water. Drink as much water as you can this harmattan. You skin & hair will thank you for it.

Moisturize & Seal in Moisture Daily: Because of the dryness that this weather brings, you MUST moisturize your hair at least once a day. Get a spray bottle, leave-in conditioner and your favourite oil or butter. You can mix some water & the leave-in in the spray bottle. Spray it on your hair and then apply your oil or butter to seal in the  moisture.

3. Reduce Manipulation: Sincerely, harmattan is not the time to manipulate your hair excessively. You will say: “But I want to do 1 million braids for Christmas”, “I want tiny Ghana-weaving”, “I want to make 3 different styles before the new year”. I understand, but the health of your hair should not be compromised. You can do hairstyles that do not require too much manipulation like normal or chunky braids & twist, weaves, etc.

4. Protective Styling: As the name implies, you need to protect your hair with protective styles like box braids, Senegalese twists, wigs (my favorite), faux locs, etc. You can even add some spice to protective styling with turbans & head wraps.

5. Deep Conditioning: At least once a week,  you should deep condition with a moisture deep conditioner like Creme of Nature Intensive Conditioning Treatment. You can add some honey to this deep conditioner to give an additional moisture boost.



happy  harmattan ...