Pampering & Styling Your Hair During Winter

By Laura Medina

Odile Gilbert spritzing and misting a model's hair with Moroccan Oil

People's skin and hair must be hurting right now, especially up and down the East Coast, dealing with the dipping temperature, the snow, the dry air, and the damp rain if it's not snowing.

It's only the snowflakes retaining their beauty now a days because our skin and hair shafts are flaking; and that's not a pretty sight.

Believe or not, thousands of miles away from the snow, a collective of Berber women (Morocco's indigenous people), out in rural Morocco, are offering us relief in the belief of sustaining their own livelihood and culture.

For eons, these women have been harvesting, roasting, and grinding away argan oil for food and beauty aid. It's Morocco's version of the olive oil.

Now, argan oil is becoming known for it's restorative properties, rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, is used for massage, facials and as an ingredient in anti-aging creams. Loaded with natural tocopherols (vitamin E), rich in phenols and phenolic acid, rich in carotenes, rich in squalene, rich in essential fatty acids, 80% unsaturated fatty acids[3] and depending on extraction method more resistant to oxidation than olive oil.

Argan oil soothes psoriasis and other skin diseases. It also heals and seals hair follicles and the scalp. Ideal for the quick and heavy-duty styling that runway models have to endure while being spritzed, sprayed, tugged, and brushed by fashion's top hair stylists, under fashion's most stressful time-fashion week.

Fashion's top woman hair stylist, Odile Gilbert, likes the idea that you can both coat, soothe, and prep the hair and the face while infusing the strands with staying power.

To mirror this dance between tailored precision and soft, sloping curves, and to evoke a feeling of ethereal airiness, stylist Odile Gilbert fashions a voluminous hairstyle that revels in the organic, chaotic nature of mussed curls. "It's all about volume -- tons of volume -- and a round, fluid shape. This look is very feminine." says Gilbert, adding "It's not feminine-frilly; rather it's femininity with a modern twist."

First, take one to two-inch sections, and mist on new Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray to increase holding power, enhance the coil of each curl and provide protection against heat-styling.

Then, Apply Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream and curl each section from roots to ends using a 1/2" curling iron. Gently release the barrel and allow each curl to fall like a spiral.

After curls cool, run Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream through the curls as you gently separate them with your fingers. (Tip: When used as a finishing product, Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream not only adds a sensual definition without crispiness, it also gives silky shine and soft hold while eliminating unwanted frizz.

Mega-watt Power Hair without the stiffness of alchol-based mousse or spray

Flip head upside-down, fluff the curls, and spray with Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray for lasting, touchable hold. Then, Finally, arrange curls to ensure the perfect amount of airy texture, and finish with another mist of Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray to seal in the style while increasing hair's shine.

For curly and wavy-hair people, you can achieve this romantic runway look with Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream is an argan-oil infused leave-in styling cream for beautiful, bouncy, naturally-shiny curls. Repeated use provides extraordinary shine, hold and protection. Rub, finger-comb then move on in life.

Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray provides natural looking hold, brushable memory, and enhances the condition of hair for a fluffier look and feel.

Models at Caroline Herrera show waiting their turn.

Orlando Pita, using Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream for highlighting smooth elegance for a natural ease, texture and flow, creates beautiful, fine-textured low twisted chignons with touches of delicate long strings of intricate seed-beads swept throughout strands of the hair.

“We used argan-oil infused Hydrating Styling Cream to prime the hair and give it a natural-looking, frizz-free texture with a soft hold,” noted Pita. “The beads were designed to blend subtly through the hair; appearing almost as if they’re embedded in the strands themselves.”

Pita plays with texture and keeps the look relaxed and piece-y, without stiffness or tight structure (Tip: Rather than using a brush to blow-dry strands, Pita mussed hair with his fingers as he blow-dried to enhance the tresses’ natural separation and create further definition.)

First prep the hair for blow-drying using argan-oil infused Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream to give silky shine and soft hold while eliminating unwanted frizz.

While blow-drying each section, lightly mist new argan-oil infused Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray over hair to lend increased holding power. (Tip: Another coat of Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray “lends even more texture and helps provide grip when pinning the chignon into place,” said Pita.) The argan-oil infused hair spray holds a style while maintaining hair’s healthy condition.

Sectioning off the very front of the hair from ear to ear, place the beaded headband on the part and pull the front section back over the band, interweaving its beaded strands with the natural hair.

Gently twist the hair and beads back into a knot, and twist under. Finish with a light misting of Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray for healthy-looking and lasting hold.

Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream is an argan-oil infused leave in styling cream formulated to eliminate frizz, condition and hydrate, while adding definition and brilliant shine to all hair types. It provides soft hold and creates an ideal texture for styling.

Moroccanoil Luminous Hair Spray provides natural looking hold, brushable memory, and enhances the condition of hair.

Hollywood, of course, jumped on the argan oil bandwagon, especially since it's holistic and double-duty while supporting a cause.

For the actress, Holly Hunter, stylist Enzo Angileri created the look, was inspired by the glamorous metallic sheen of her gown.

Enzo choose Moroccanoil Glimmer Shine Spray for its weightless, natural silky-looking shine.

He created a rich texture emphasizedby intense waves, smoothness, and shine. "I wanted her to look glamorous andgoddess-like," said Angileri, "and the hair had to look luminous."

"Holly's hair and color is beautiful," said Angileri, "and I wanted to bringout its deep gold and honey tones for the cameras. Shine was everything in this look since these amazing highlights wouldn't be at all visible in hairthat was not shiny enough to reflect the light -- especially on camera and in photos.

Angileri first enriched, smoothed and defined the texture of her hair with argan oil-infused Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream applied before blow drying."This gave me a great start because the hair immediately looked moisturized and healthy, and had the hold to be styled," said Angileri. I blow dried it without a brush, and the shine and texture I achieved with this product alone was incredible."

Next Angileri used a small 3/4-inch curling iron all over the head to create relaxed natural looking waves.

Afterwards, he asked her to share her hair upside down, then sprayed Moroccanoil Glimmer Shine Spray throughout the strands. "I didn't use hairspray because I wanted the look to be as soft as possible and to be free to fall sensuously forward on her face."

Thanks to argan oil, not only can you look and be healthy and glamourous with ease, you are helping a group of women and their heritage.