Frizzy hair affects just about everyone at some point. Chances are, even miss naturally perfect hair at the office deals with frizz every now and again. However, the difference between your frizzy mop and her smooth mane is all in how you care for it. They key is knowing how to tame the frizz and catch it before it happens.
One of the best things you can do for your hair is to nourish it with the vitamins it needs. Several companies offer vitamin supplements just for hair health. But if you already take a daily multi-vitamin and would rather just add what you are missing, each of the following vitamins promote the health of your hair ensuring that it is smooth and shiny: Omega 3, Evening Primrose Oil. Lecithin, Silica, Vitamin B8 (Biotin), Vitamin B5 (Panothenic Acid), and Protein. (Style-Hair Magazine, n.d.). If you’ve already got these little essentials covered, and your hair is still on the fritz, there are a number of other options to get your hair back under your control.
First, we’ll start with taking a look at things you can do in the shower and then work up to styling. While washing your hair use a low-lathering shampoo, the lower lather means that there is less detergent in the shampoo which can dry out hair and cause frizz or make it worse. Also try to concentrate on the scalp while shampooing, don’t worry so much about the ends. The dirty part of your hair is generally the scalp, that’s where all the grease usually rests, so concentrate there and just run over the ends quickly to make sure their clean. By doing this you’re limiting the exposure to detergent your ends are getting and thus keeping your shampoo from exacerbating the frizz. Try washing your hair every other day instead of everyday; there are a number of great up-dos that beg for unwashed hair. Try one of them the second day if you can’t stand to have your hair unwashed and in your face.
For a conditioner, use something good that promotes smoothing and make the most of it. If you have fine hair, get a nice conditioning treatment you can use daily and leave it in for 3-5 minutes. Before rinsing it out run a wide-tooth comb over it to detangle. Don’t even think about using leave-in treatments daily, this will only make the problem worse. Try instead using a deep conditioning treatment once every two weeks or so. For curly hair, buy shampoo and conditioner designed for people with curly hair, this will help and make your locks a whole lot more manageable from the gate! And for everyone, towel dry your hair by squeezing the water out before putting the shampoo in. This helps you to get the most from your conditioning product. Rise off with cool water instead of hot to close off your follicles and debunk potential frizz. Cooling agents eliminate frizz and add shine to your hair, so always try and finish a shower with cool water.
Once you’re ready to step from the shower, dry your hair by squeezing it with a towel instead of rubbing it and comb through it using a wide tooth comb. Avoid fine tooth combs and brushes like the plague! And try to keep your hands off your hair while it’s drying too. Once your hair is semi-dry (wet but not soaking, towel dry it) add in your favorite anti-frizz serum from just below the root to the tips. Smooth it down the length of your hair and make sure it reaches everywhere. Pin up your hair if you need to in order to get in on all the surfaces of your hair. Just remember not to put the serum directly on the roots or really limit how much you put there in order to avoid a greasy weighty look on your hair. You want it to look light, healthy, clean, and frizz free.
Now you’re ready to style! Curly hair people, if you’re going to leave it natural and not straighten I cannot emphasize enough how you need to leave your curls alone! Simply fluff them up a bit at the crown and avoid running your finger through them. This action separates the curls and just makes a huge ball of frizz out of them. Also, if you’re going to blow-dry, use a diffuser, don’t put that dryer near your hair without it! For everyone, if you’re blow-drying diffusers are a good idea, and add a nice shot of cool air to each part of your hair as your finish drying it. Again, cooling agents promote shiny manageable hair and eliminates frizz, so an extra minute adding cool air to your dry hair can really help.
While styling your hair and choosing a product for the day keep the weather in mind. Is it humid outside? Dry? Choose a pomade, wax, or gel that is made for these sorts of environments. Anti-humectant repels water and is thus great for that East Coast summer humidity, while humectants add moisture and will help tame hair in the dry California summers. This can make a world of difference, so be aware of what you need and have it on hand. Even Californias need to keep that moisture in check every once in a while. Additionally, keep the products on your hair to a minimum, don’t put in mousse, gel, and hairspray and expect you’re going to look great. Often times it just adds to the chaos of your hair and frizzes it up while weighing it down. Not a good look at all. Try to stick to one product if you can.
While frizzy hair can be a challenge, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. People with frizzy hair can have a beautiful mane! Keep those ends trimmed and give your hair a breather every now and again (no styling, no products, no heat) to promote the health of your hair; it needs a break just like you do! Following these tips is sure to help you tame your hair and shape it into the smooth, frizz free, mane you’ve always wanted.
References:
Style Hair Magazine. (n.d). Frizzy Hair Solutions. Retrieved March 14, 2007, from Style Hair Magazine Website: http://www.style-hair-magazine.com/frizzy-hair.html
