Frizzy hair is one of women’s worst nightmares. Caused when water and natural oils are stripped from the hair follicles making it dry and frizzy. Reducing frizz can be as simple as eliminating certain products that you normally use or adding products to your hair care regimen to replace the hairs natural oil. Either way you need to understand the do’s and don’ts to ultimately overcome frizzy hair.
A good shampoo and conditioner are necessary for cleaning the hair but also for taming frizz. However, if you wash your hair everyday, the chemicals in shampoo will strip your hair of its natural oils. These oils protect the inner shaft of your hair strands. When you remove these oils your hair is left dry, brittle and frizzy. Therefore it is necessary to skip at least a day in between washing your hair. The quality of your shampoo and conditioner also has an effect on how frizzy your hair is. Your conditioner should nourish and moisturize your hair. A quality conditioner will ensure that you hair receives the appropriate moisture after you wash your hair with shampoo.
Now a days women don’t give a second thought about using a heating tool to dry or style their hair. And yes your hair comes out looking beautiful; however heating appliances could be the cause of your frizzy hair. Heating tools such as blow dryers, curling irons or straighteners dry out your hair using unnatural levels of heat that can actually damage your cuticles. Instead of using them everyday, try to skip one to two days in between usage to allow for you hair to regenerate its natural oils. Consider purchasing a leave in conditioner to apply to your hair before using a heating tool. This pretreats your hair before applying any heat. Also if your hair starts to become dry and way too frizzy you may want to consider a hot oil treatment. Before using a hot oil treatment apply a leave in conditioner to your hair. Then apply the hot oil. This type of treatment penetrates the shaft of your hair to deeply condition and restore the necessary water and oil. If you don’t see a reprieve from dryness then increase your hot oil treatments from once a week to twice a week. Fragile hair that is prone to breakage may even need hot oil treatments to 2-3 times a week to bring back its health and beauty.
The hair and beauty industry is a billion dollar industry that comes out with hundreds of product a year. As the consumer we purchase these products even though they could be hurting our skin, hair or nails. Hair products such as hairspray, gel, cream, balm, mousse and dyes contain chemicals that dry out your hair making it more prone to frizziness. The more product you use the more dry and frizzy your hair will get. Although some people don’t feel they can part with their styling products, the best thing they can do is drop all their hair care products and search for a n anti frizz product. Granted it is still a hair care product. Anti frizz hair products don’t completely eliminate all frizzy hair dependant upon environment and hair texture, but they definitely reduce frizz. And if you use it in combination with other ways to reduce frizz, you can greatly reduce the appearance of frizzy hair altogether. Anti-frizz products normally come in small packages and you should only use a small amount at each usage.
Another contributing factor for frizz is the length of your hair. Longer hair has a higher rate of frizz. However that’s not to say everyone should go out and cut their hair short. Trimming your hair on a regular basis will eliminate split ends and breakage, two proponents that cause frizz. Therefore if you start to notice your hair frizzing up or you have split ends then its time to make an appointment with your hairdresser. Or better yet keep a standing appointment at your salon every couple of months to make yourself get a cut.
You wouldn’t think it but water, humidity, and moisture all cause hair to frizz. Exposure to wind and sun also dry out hair and cause frizz. Therefore it is essential to have dry hair before you go outside. To protect your hair from the elements it is necessary to be prepared. Always bring an umbrella in case of rain, wear a hat in extreme sun, and wrap a scarf for windy days. Due to today’s health consciousness about the sun, even hair care product shave SPF (sun protection factor) to protect against UV rays. Make sure you apply SPF hair care products before going out in the sun to avoid drying out your hair strands and causing frizz.
Sarah Labdar, “Ways to Reduce Frizzy Hair”, Everyday Health
