Badria Ahmed is the founder of London-based Holy Curls an inclusive, natural hair brand that caters specifically to wavy and kinky curls. Her mission is to empower women by ‘undoing the myths of the curl. Untwirling it and showing the curl for what it truly is.’
Holy Curls was inspired by Ahmed’s own hair experiences and the frustrations she felt during her natural hair journey, transitioning from chemically relaxing her hair to natural. Not being able to find products that would nourish and moisturise her hair properly led her to experimenting with homemade mixtures. In 2017 she started developing products and after two years of rigorous testing to ensure that each product was effective on all curl types (her shampoo alone took 9 months to perfect) she launched her range in 2019.
Below, Ahmed talks us through the top tips she swears by for keeping her curls healthy, hydrated and moisturised during winter.

How does winter adversely affect our hair, in particular curly or kinky hair types?

Our hair is more susceptible to breakage and dehydration during the colder climate for several reasons. Firstly, your hair has to contend with the constant changes in temperatures: from inside your home where the radiator is cranked up to full blast, to outside where the conditions are bitingly cold and frosty, to back inside again.
Not forgetting that to keep you warm, you may also be wearing hats and scarves made from abrasive materials that, when consistently rubbing against your fragile curls, can cause frizz and brittleness.

The problem is, hair is hygroscopic – which means that it absorbs water from the environment. When it’s warm and humid there’s no problem as your hair can drink in moisture from the atmosphere and rehydrate itself. But in winter, because there’s no moisture in the air, your hair will do the reverse and emit its moisture into the air.

Can you talk us through your winter hair care routine?

My daily hair care is very minimal. I refresh my curls by scrunching a tiny bit of the Holy Curls gel and Curl creme section by section, being careful not to disturb my curl pattern, and then I am good to go.
Weekly, I make sure I wash twice with the shampoo to clarify any build-up, followed by the hair mask. When I rinse off the hair mask, I then apply the cream for moisture, followed by the gel to separate and define the curls. I usually twist my hair and leave it to dry before unravelling.

What are your favourites products or ingredients to use on your hair during winter and are there any products or ingredients that you avoid?

My go-to product during the winter months is my 05 Hair Mask. The blend of shea butter, baobab oil and essential oils keeps my curls moisturised and frizz-free. For extra moisture, I add a drop of grapeseed oil into a generous amount of the mask and apply evenly through my hair then I wrap it with cling-film and then a towel and sit with the treatment in for around 30 mins before rinsing it out.

Do you have any top tips for keeping your hydrated, moisturised and healthy during winter?

Winter can make the moisture level inside your hair drop to around 10% or lower. Make sure you condition hair each week with a rich, creamy hair mask or hot oil treatment. If you have a low-porosity hair type use heat during your treatment to open up the cuticles to get the benefits of the hair treatment deep inside the hair cortex.
Protective styling is beneficial during winter as it keeps your ends neatly packed away, prevents you over-styling, and protects it from the harsh, wintry elements.

DO NOT leave the house with damp hair, no matter how tempting or time saving it might be. When damp hair meets cold air, it can only lead to one thing: hair breakage/ snapping off.

Invest in a humidifier to keep the moisture levels up in your home. Once you turn on your radiator, the moisture will evaporate, leaving your hair parched, dry and dull-looking. If you can’t do this, try keeping a bowl of water in the room at night to keep some moisture in the air.

Follow: @holycurls