In the winter, there’s no such thing as the wash-and-go when it comes to hair. It’s too cold outside – you can actually freeze your hair if you go out with it damp. That means the lovely days of summer and giving your hair a break from heat styling are long gone. You’re going to be leaning on the hair dryer and heat styling a lot more.

And that means you can damage your hair. You’re going to lose a lot of protein and moisture from your hair in the winter time, and if you don’t take steps, your hair will sustain damage.

If you’re not sure if your hair is damaged, here’s a quick test to tell if you have healthy hair: Pull one strand of hair from your head and drop it into a cup of water. If it sinks and drops to the bottom, it needs protein and moisture desperately. Healthy hair will float on the top, so if it sinks at all, you need to do a little extra to take care of it.

Well, it’s a good thing that it’s simple to keep hair damage to a minimum. Just a few easy quick fixes, and you’re good to go. Here’s what you do:

Do a Steam Treatment:

This helps open the cuticle and lets your conditioner really get deep into the hair shaft. After you shampoo, apply a deep conditioner like Redken Extreme Rescue to your wet hair. Dampen a towel and microwave it for two minutes. (You might want to wear rubber gloves to keep from burning your hands.) Let it cool for just a couple of seconds, then wring it out if it’s dripping. Then wrap it around your hair and leave it for five minutes. Rinse, and you’re done.

Also, before you blow dry or heat style, use a heat protectant and hair strengthener with protein. Just add a few drops and rub over your hair. The heat from the blow dryer, curling iron, or flat iron will actually help the protein sink into the hair shaft, making it stronger, softer, and shinier. I’m truly fond of Chi Silk Infusion. To my mind, it’s the absolute best product on the market to strengthen and protect your hair. It leaves it silky, shiny, and absolutely beautiful.

Do you lean on the heat styling and blow drying in the winter time? What do you do to minimize the damage? Let me know on twitter, Facebook, or leave me a comment here on the blog.