7 Fall Hair Care Tips

If you dye your hair, our How To Take Care Of Color-Treated Hair post will give you some extra tips and ideas for your hair.

7 Fall Hair Care Tips

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Ditch your ponytail

During the summer, you put your hair in a ponytail to get it off of your neck so your neck is not as hot. And then your entire body ends up cooling down. It makes sense.

But ponytails aren’t great for your overall hair health because they cause a lot of breakage. And pulling your hair back in a ponytail too often can cause traction alopecia. Women who wear tight ponytails have been found to have traction alopecia and hair loss around the hairline.

Traction alopecia is also caused by tight buns, braids, and similar hairstyles. And, unfortunately, it’s irreversible.

The good news is it does take about six months before traction alopecia is permanent. So, during the fall months, keep your hair down instead of pulling it back to give your hair a chance to rest.

And, if you must keep your hair in a bun (for a job requirement or something similar), make sure you sleep with your hair loose to combat potential traction alopecia at night. 

Use volumizing products

I have a volumizing spray that I love. During the warmer months, the humidity levels give your hair an extra lift. You don’t get that from fall’s dry air. So you have to help your hair get any sort of bounce and body.

Flip your hair upside down, then use a volumizing spray on the hair near the nape of your neck. Flip your hair back over and tease it with your fingers to give it a boost.

After all that, though, don’t cover your hair with a hat or crocheted headband. Just leave it loose.

Keep your hair hydrated

Dry hair in the fall is generally the result of one of two things: Either your scalp isn’t making enough oil or your hair’s natural moisture is escaping.

Hair that’s dealing with moisture loss looks dull and can be frizzy. Plus, dry hair can lead to breakage, so you want to use hair care products that will keep your hair hydrated.

To start, brush your hair when it’s dry. Brushing will help your hair’s natural oils get from your scalp to the ends of your hair. And if you can spread that oil down, it’ll help to keep the entire strand hydrated. This is especially helpful if you have long hair because that makes it harder for sebum (your hair’s natural oil) to get to the ends of your hair. 

Brushing wet hair can damage hair follicles because wet hair is prone to breaking. Yes, some hair fall is natural, but excessive hair fall is a problem that can come from brushing wet hair.

Use a weekly hair mask and deep conditioning treatments to help your hair’s hydration. A leave-in conditioner is another great product to use if your hair really needs a little extra hydration.

Keep dandruff shampoos on hand, just in case

Sometimes, your hair has a mind of its own. And if you can’t hydrate your hair, or if your scalp just doesn’t want to cooperate, you end up with a dry scalp no matter how many hydrating products you use. Dandruff shampoo can help.

Even if you don’t have dandruff issues right now, keep a bottle of dandruff shampoo in your shower during the fall anyway. Once a week, wash your hair with it.

Your hair gets used to the same hair products if you use them over and over, and eventually, those products lose their benefits. Washing with a different shampoo once in a while gives your hair a break from the build up from your regular products.

Plus, using dandruff shampoo, even when you don’t have dandruff, can actually prevent dandruff-related damage.

Go darker

Summer is a great time to find out if blondes have more fun. Fall is the best time to try out a new look and go with a darker ‘do.

If you’re on the fence about the color, go with something just slightly darker for your autumn hair color. You can always pick a non-permanent dye so you’ll go back to your normal look in no time.

If you want to ease into a darker hair color (literally), go with balayage over ombré. Basically, balayage uses vertical sections for the highlights while ombré goes horizontally, so balayage is more subdued. Plus, balayage doesn’t start at your roots, so you can redo it less often and still maintain your look.

Trim your ends

I trim Pete’s hair once a month or so, but I trim mine less often. Now that I have curtain bangs, I’m constantly cutting my bangs, but I really only trim any length when the seasons change.

Despite popular myths, you don’t need to trim dead ends off your hair to promote healthy hair growth. Trimming doesn’t make your hair grow faster. But, trimming does get rid of any split ends which can travel up your hair and thin it out. Avoiding split ends results in healthier hair and thicker hair.

Plus regular trims help your hair keep the shape and style of your cut.

Trimming your own hair is so easy when you have long straight hair. When it’s wet, flip it over your head in front of your face. Use a wide-tooth comb to brush it and stop wherever you want to trim. Then, just use hair cutting scissors to cut below the brush, using the brush to help you get a straight edge.

Or, just grab your hair into a ponytail in front of your face, then cut across. Either way, that’s a simple, frugal hair cut.

Flip your hair back behind you and look in the mirror. Part your hair down the middle and pull equal pieces in front of your face. Measure and see if they’re even. Keep gathering hair and checking to see if it’s all even. If not, trim a little more from the uneven side. I have faith that you can pull this off.

Skip The Heat Styling Tools

Curling irons, straighteners, and blow dryers are not great for your hair because heat damage can cause breakage. So as much as you love them, stop using hot tools on your hair.

Instead, if you want a style, loosely braid your damp hair. When your hair dries, take out the braids and you’ll have really soft waves. If you wash your hair at night, you can sleep in the braids and have waves in the morning. That’s a lot better than using your curling iron, which is eventually going to end up giving you frizzy hair.

Of course, this quick wave technique really does depend on your hair type. It’ll work for straight hair but not if your natural hair is already curly.

And, as far as drying your hair, just let it air dry. That’s a lot better than using a blow dryer on it daily.

Fun fall hairstyles:

If you want some new styles for fall, we have a couple hair tutorials that you might like below. There’s our Bohemian Braid Tutorial, which is a really nice, loose braid. It’s perfect for any upcoming fall festivals you’re planning on attending.

And then we have our Fishtail Braid Tutorial, which is a tighter, fancier braid, which is a great way to do your hair for any fall weddings.