Keeping Your Hair in Check During Winter or Rainy Days

So you're trying to figure out that perfect hairstyle for your Valentine's Day date, but the hairdo is in competition with Chicago's winter season. Weather.com is reporting the weather will be 28 degrees on Sunday, Feb. 14, but Chicagoans take winter weather with a grain of salt. So how do you protect that new hairdo during the winter months?

African-American hair takes longer to get the essential oils in our hair that other cultures wash out every one or two days. On average, we wash our hair bi-weekly so we don't eliminate healthy oil in our hair and we use hair oils to improve dry hair and to avoid dandruff from extremely cold weather. But even with hair oil, Chicago winter doesn't treat black hair so well. So what are some alternatives to protect your hair?

Black women do not play around when it comes to rain, ice and snow when styling our hair-as long as we're not using weave-because wet weather can ruin a hairstyle. But cold weather can be just as bad.

If you wear your hair in feathered stacks, you can't really put a hood on without flattening them down unless you keep a feathering comb on hand. And even then, once a curl is gone, it's gone for good so the only other choice is to wear earmuffs or scarves to cover the neck, nose and ears. But another trick to keeping stacked curls fresh is to wear a rain cap. No, it's not a fashionable look, but it's loose enough to not ruin curls and to keep the snow and rain from flattening your curls.

Wearing flat hairstyles like wraps and bobs are easy to wear because you can put a hood on and not worry about messing up the hairstyle. Just keep a big tooth comb to add volume to your hair once you reach your destination. Avoid using hard hairspray or gel on your hair, which will only add to the dryness. Use hair lotions, hair oils and try wrapping your hair instead of flat ironing or curling it daily, which will only add to the dryness and break off your ends. Do not use rollers with "teeth" and Velcro rollers because they pull out more hair than they curl. Try sponge rollers or magnetic rollers instead.

Try out different braided hairstyles with your own hair. Creative braided hairstyles and parts don't have to be just for black men. African-American women also get twists, wear cornrows and dreadlocks. Try out the "wavy" look by braiding your hair in cornrows for a couple of days and then unbraiding them. The unbraided hair gives you instant wavy curls without the heat of a crimping iron. Stick a flower in your hair or a pretty bow to match your outfit, and there you have it.

Consider wearing other tame hairstyles like ponytails or buns. They're sophisticated, easy to do and if you want to dress up a simple hairstyle like this, add a touch of makeup. Try to keep it natural, consider products that compliment our skin tones like Queen Latifah's Queen Collection, Fashion Fair Cosmetics or my favorite, Iman Cosmetics. A touch of eye shadow and lipstick can jazz up a pulled-back hairstyle instantly.

But whatever you do, don't make yourself sick trying to keep a tight hairdo intact and ending up at home with bedhead and cough syrup anyway. Spending Valentine's Day in bed is great, but not if your Valentine's Day date has a face mask on and soup on a tray.