Winter is here bestie! & let’s be honest, your hair isn’t loving it…
When Jack Frost enters town, icy days, cool breezes, and Sahara-dry air forces the hair cuticle to lift, allowing essential moisture and nutrients to escape from the hair shaft. The result? Increase in frizz, dryness and overall breakage – yikes!
Suddenly, nursing your mane is a full-time job!
There’s nothing the zaps confidence quite like a mop of hair that simply won’t behave.
George is here to tell you that you don’t need to clear your social calendar and hibernate until the warmer months roll round, there is a simple hair hack to save your frosty follicles!
Enter: the humble hair turban.
So, what is it?
A hair turban is a cloth wrapped around the head post-wash to preserve essential hair nutrients, wick moisture, improve drying time/ reduce the need for styling.
What’s the point?
Your hair is most vulnerable when wet, so it’s essential to care for our styling routine for the sake of your strands. Hair turbans reduce friction, keeping your strands intact while wicking up to 7x more moisture than your crusty old towel! All that extra absorption means you spend considerably less time air/ blow-drying – a big win for frizzy or naturally curly hair types. Not to mention, hair turbans are gentle on your scalp, locking in hair and scalp-loving nutrients to reduce winter-induced breakage.
A Brief History of Hair Turbans
It’s shocking to consider, but there was a time before the invention of the humble hair drier! In fact, women of the 1800s would wash their hair far less frequently to avoid the day required for their locks to dry (yes, they neglected to show us THAT in Bridgerton).
Just as we’ve ditched many of the normalities of ‘polite society,’ humankind has undergone a MAJOR glow-up, from telephones to smartphones, Backstreet Boys to One Direction, and now the humble hair air-dry to the hair turban.
Hair turbans certainly are nothing new. We’ve been seeing headwraps in history since the 1700s. Headwraps were first popularised in Sub-Saharan Africa and later became prevalent among Nubian Queens in Egypt. By the late 2000s, head wraps, and turbans began to be worn by black men and women on protective hairstyles to preserve moisture.
Today, the beauty industry has followed this history of innovation, understanding headwraps have been used to preserve course, frizzy hair, and retain moisture (this is quickly sounding like something you need in your life, hey winter bunnies?).. Thus, began the evolution of the hair turban - an accessory used to protect the hair, enhance hair moisture, and improve styling ability (aka, saving you a heck of a lot of time!).
Benefits of Using Hair Turbans
- Protects against hair damage – your hair is most vulnerable when wet. Excess rubbing/ friction caused by conventional towel drying can damage your fragile hair strands, worsening hair damage. Hair Turbans wick/ draw moisture away from the hair so your hair can dry faster without putting a strain on your mane.
- Super-charge your hair mask – use your hair turban to generate heat and support your mask treatment to infuse the hair. We love the results of using the Stress Less Turban with our Better Hair Days Mask!
- Locks essential hair-loving nutrients into the hair shaft – heat generated from your scalp helps keep your natural hair oils intact, leaving your hair looking hydrated.
- Reduces frizz – hair turbans lock in moisture, nourishing your hair while it dries. The finer fibres in these products minimise friction caused by coarser, conventional towel fabrics, resulting in a smoother finish (remember, friction = frizz!)
- Enhances your natural curl – anyone with curly hair knows air drying is a recipe for disaster (unless you enjoy looking like a puffball)! A hair turban wicks moisture away, beginning to set your curl so you can spend less time diffusing. A hair turban allows your hair to find its natural coils, creating a better curl definition.
- Reduces time – the moisture-wicking/ drawing action of your friendly neighbourhood hair turban means your hair will dry faster! Meaning less time under the heat tools and more time getting on with life!
- Relieves neck of stress and strain of heavy towel – Yes, even a hair turban can save you on your trips to the masseuse! Let’s face it, wrapping your head in a towel, wandering around the house, hunting for snacks/ doing your skincare can be heavy! Hair turbans are lightweight, reducing excess pressure or strain on your neck and shoulders.
- A win for ALL hair types – whether you have dry, damaged, kinky, straight, curly, thick, fine hair (or anything in between), ALL hair types can reap the benefits!
Choosing the RIGHT Hair Turban:
A quick Google will turn up many hair turban options – the list can be overwhelming! When finding the right turban for you and your hair, it’s important to understand what’s available on the market.
Where to start:
Consider Your Hair Type and Texture - Now that we’ve convinced you of your ABSOLUTE NEED for a hair turban in your life: We can almost feel you typing into Google, ‘What hair turban do I buy?’
Let us save you from Doctor Google – the answer is simple!
When shopping for your perfect hair turban, you must consider the following:
- The length of your hair
- The thickness of your hair
- The texture of your hair
If a turban is too small and you have Rapunzel locks, you won’t reap the benefits! Equally, if you have ultra-fine hair, wrapping it in a thick towel will only enhance friction and lead to damage!
Material Options for Hair Turbans
If you didn’t heed our warning just now, and you did, in-fact, consult Google – you will have quickly discovered a heap of material options to choose from! Let’s break them down:
- T-shirt/ Cotton – cotton is the OG moisture-wicking material. Cotton can absorb up to 27 times its weight in water (hello, over-achiever!). This is why cotton is often a staple fabric in your gym gear. Cotton comprises many tiny fibres that work like capillaries, i.e. they suck excess water like a straw!
- Terry Cloth – you may also find terry cloth under the cotton banner. Terry cloth is a specific type of cotton woven with long loops of fabric to supercharge the cotton’s moisture-wicking ability. You’ll generally find this fabric style in your favourite spa’s bathrobe.
- Satin/ Silk – a satin or silk blend turban is perfect for our curly girl crew. Satin/ Silk products do not soak up oils, keeping your head's natural, essential oils intact. They also aren’t sweat-wicking, making them a more hygienic option. These are particularly useful when worn at bedtime to kiss bed-head goodbye!
- Microfibre – is a synthetically produced material. Microfibre threads are less than 10 micrometres in width, making them smaller than a strand of silk (Hence the name, microfibre)! These fibres exhibit exceptional water-binding abilities, making them a perfect counter to conventional cotton products.
So… which Hair Turban do I need?
While all hair turbans have merit, the microfibre option certainly holds Team George’s heart! The smaller fibres of this turban style make it the BEST choice for ALL hair types. These hair turbans are also custom-built to fit your head/ hair, unlike cotton t-shirts that require many TikTok tutorials to master!
Care and Maintenance of Hair Turbans
Ok, now, you’ve shelled out your hard-earned cash on your very own hair turban, let’s look at how you can care for it and extend its shelf life!
Wash Regularly:
No one likes a grubby hair turban. Your turban should be washed after every 3 uses! Wash in a cold cycle with like-coloured fabrics. AVOID fabric softener like the plague – this will reduce its moisture-absorbing powers!
In between wash cycles, ensure you are thoroughly air-drying your turban. We’re levelling up your haircare game – this is not the time for mouldy, damp towels!
Avoid Harsh Chemicals:
Here at George, we’re all about caring for Mumma Earth where we can. Using harsh chemicals or detergents on your turban will only damage its fibres, reducing its moisture-wicking superpowers, not to mention it’s bad, bad, bad for our planet!
Store Properly:
Get your hair turban out in the sunshine to dry to avoid pesky-microbe growth. Store in a cool, dry place to keep the fibres intact when dry and not in use.
Replace When Worn Out:
Out with the old and in with the new! When is it time to replace your hair turban?
All good things will inevitably come to an end. Long-term, regular use (and tender love and care) of your hair turban can leave the microfibre strands wearing out. This will reduce its moisture-wicking abilities. Finding your hair turban isn’t drawing as much moisture? It might be time for a new one!
Let’s Review:
If you’re not racing out to buy your very own hair turban by now, let’s review (we know we will win you over):
Hair Turbans have been used in both the fashion and haircare industries for 1000s of years. Their moisture-wicking ability makes them a more desirable choice for hair drying. The conventional hair towel only adds weight and friction (aka, FRIZZ!) and keeps your hair damp!
Hair turbans protect your delicate hair strands, enhance your natural curl, reduce frizz, relieve neck/ shoulder stress, and are suitable for all hair types.
Hair turbans support your hair and scalp to maintain essential hair-loving nutrients, to ensure hydrated hair throughout the cooler months. We recommend pairing our Stress Less Turban with your Better Hair Days Mask treatment for optimal results.
A Hair turban is the hair hack you need to cut down your drying and styling time so you can get on with more important things!
When it comes to these moisture-wicking superstars, the diamond of the season is always a microfibre option. This hair turban style is most effective in ALL hair types, textures, and lengths.
Team George testifies that the humble hair turban is your #1 secret weapon for caring for your hair throughout the chilly months!
Purchase your very own Hair Turban:
So, there you have it, it’s time to add a hair turban to your hair care routine. We love them so much; we’ve created our own – you can shop the Stress Less Hair Turban here.
