TIPS TO MINIMISE FRIZZ – A CURLY HAIR SIDE EFFECT

Tips to minimise frizz. There isn’t a curly girl (or guy for that matter!) on this earth who hasn’t experienced frizz. It’s a curly hair side effect.

Tips to minimise frizz and learning what causes frizz can help you to feel better about embracing your naturally textured hair. Frizz is part and parcel of having curly hair. To some degree you need to be comfortable with a little bit of frizz.

When I talk to people about the curly girl method, one thing that is always high up on their list of things they don’t want – it’s frizz. Unfortunately frizz is inevitable. There are many causes of frizzy hair though and there is also that small annoying time of transition, where, when you begin the Curly Girl Method, your hair will go through different stages of hating you until things settle down.

Frizz is one of the biggest reasons Curlies give up and revert back to old ways. If you can figure out what is causing your frizz, then you can make changes to combat this. Let’s take a look at some of the common causes:

Frizzy Hair Tip #1 – Damn that damage

The cuticle is the protective layer of your hair. The cells overlap and look a bit like fish scales. These cells in curly hair stand up a little more than straight hair because of the way our hair is formed. The bends in the shaft (the curl) raise the edges of our cuticles. This means we are more susceptible to loosing moisture and nutrients. Heat and UV exposure and even friction from brushing can cause damage with open cuticles. Choosing products that are good for your curls is a great place to start. Products that help to seal your cuticles and fill in any gaps will help reduce the amount of frizz.

Frizzy Hair Tip #2 – Watch out for Build-Up

Build up can still occur from using approved products. It can also be caused by the minerals in your hard water, specific ingredients that are of lower quality or are non-water soluble and even your hairs own oils. If you notice that over a period of time your hair gets frizzier and dryer, it may time to clarify. Use a suitable clarifying shampoo or low-poo to get rid of this build up.

Signs that your hair needs to be clarified can include:

frizz
hair appears dull and lifeless
hair is weighed down
has the appearance of being dirty even though you’ve just washed it
oily roots long before they should be.
products that always used to work for you, no longer do
itchy or flaky scalp
that ‘producty’ feeling even after a wash
Curls not holding their shape or falling flat

Some finer haired curlies and wavies need to clarify more often so you will need to pay attention to your own hair and see what works best for you.

You can check out which Clarifying products we stock here.

Frizzy Hair Tip #3 – Don’t skip a step

Remember back in the 90’s when that wet crunchy curly look was a thing? Your hair looked like it was fully loaded with product. In fact you needed it to be fully loaded to get any kind of control? The added bonus was white flaky flecks when the cast broke. You avoided wearing black at all costs! Then straighteners became the “in thing” and goodbye curly hair. No need for products except for perhaps a little frizz fighting silicone laden hair product. I personally avoided any form of products other than shampoo and conditioner and a little oil to seal the straightened ends.

These days products like gels, creams and mousse have come a long way. If you have been avoiding using styling products it is worth giving them another go. Since I started the curly girl method, the amount of product and the variety of products I use has quadrupled!

Initially you may be thinking, if I use all of those, my hair will be extra greasy and “producty”. The quality of products has improved. Not only the right products, but the right products for your hair specifically will leave it feeling soft and clean and hydrated even though you added what seemed like loads!

Frizzy Hair Tip #4 – Don’t be a product junkie!

We all do it. We follow our favourite curlies on Instagram and see them recommend a product that gave them a bomb wash day. You decide you must buy this product immediately so you too can achieve the same result. You buy said product only to discover that it really wasn’t suitable for your curl type after all and the result was a frizzy mess.

Perhaps you choose products based on cost alone. If you are watching the pennies, then cheaper products may appeal to you. Some of these cheaper products have lower quality ingredients which can be more drying and affect hair health. Budget-friendly options do exist where the ingredients won’t have an adverse effect. You just have to make sure you pay attention to the ingredients and what your curls like best.

“Learning how to treat curly hair can help to minimise frizz”

Frizzy Hair Tip #5 – It’s all in the method

How you apply your products can cause frizz. What works for some won’t work for others. For example, there are curlies who cannot style their hair upside down.

You may need to section your hair to achieve even product distribution. You may even have to finger coil to encourage your hair to form clumps. Any number of techniques could cause frizz. It’s important to experiment to find what works best for you.

Frizzy Hair Tip #6 – Just a little squeeze

If you are using the right products and applying them in the right way, but you still have frizz, then it could be that you are not using enough product.

Starting off with a small amount and then adding a bit more as you go is the ideal way to avoid applying too much product. If you’re too careful then you could do the opposite and not apply enough product. Make sure you take note of what you’re applying so that if your wash day result falls flat you know that next time you need to tweak things.

It stands to reason though, thicker, longer, coarser hair will require more product that just a small little squeeze.

TIP if you’ve added to much product, add more water and squish. Keep adding more water until you feel like you’ve got it.

Frizzy Hair Tip #7 – Sleeping Beauty

You go to bed with perfect curls, you toss and turn a bit. Maybe you’re a hot sleeper and you sweat a bit. By morning you wake up looking like you’ve gone a few rounds in a wrestling match.

2 things happen when we sleep.

The first is that using a regular pillow case causes the moisture in your hair to be sucked out over the course of the night. This leads to drier hair which as we know leads to frizz. Sleeping on a silk or satin pillow case, helps to maintain the hairs moisture levels and thus helps to reduce the amount of frizz. It’s also great for reducing lines on your face!

TIP: These silk and satin pillow cases will show up the oil saturation accumulated from your face and body while you sleep. This is normal. Change your pillow case more frequently.

Secondly, when we toss and turn, friction is created and this also leads to dehydrated hair which can break and frizz. Using a buff or a silk scarf will help to protect the hair. Some curlier, kinkier textures use protective styles such as braids to help and reduce the effects of sleeping.

Frizzy Hair Tip #8 – Drying to frizz

Hair that dries too quickly can be prone to frizz. Using a regular bath towel to dry your hair is a definite no. Try using an old cotton t-shirt or a micro-fiber towel. This will help to slow down the drying process and just the right amount of moisture is removed from your hair. Any old cotton t-shirt will do.

Frizz can also be caused by drying with a diffuser. You may find that your product choice on any particular day could give you an adverse diffusing result. Every head of hair is different. I have seen curly girls who can’t flip their hair upside down or side to side. Someone else could only hover diffuse (so not actually touch the hair at all, just blow the general surrounds of her head). One even had to dry the roots first and then move down to the ends. Experiment here to see what works best for your curls.

TIP: if you have too much frizz post drying or during diffusing, just wet your hair down and try again. You may not have added ENOUGH product, so add a bit more if you think it needs it. Perhaps it’s a day for a bun?

Frizzy Hair Tip #9 – Humidity sucks

A big factor in the fight against frizz is the climate you live in.

Some parts of the world are humid all year round while others change depending on the season you’re in. High humidity means the air around us contains a lot of moisture particles. Our body’s usual mechanism for cooling us down in hot weather is to produce perspiration. The moisture content of the air is usually drier so the perspiration particles evaporating into the drier air gives us our own little air con system. When the air around us already contains so much moisture a.k.a humidity, that evaporation cannot occur. The air is already too full of moisture. So we end up feeling sticky and sweaty.

When it comes to your hair, if your hair is feeling dry, it will attract moisture from the air around you and suck it into the hair. This causes the hair to swell and well – hello frizz. Likewise if your hair is full of moisture and the air around you is drier, then the moisture from your hair is leached out during the day.

Using appropriate products for the weather can help to combat this type of frizz. Using products that don’t contain humectants such as glycerine in high humidity can benefit. Adding in some anti-humectants such as shea butter or avocado oil into your routine can seal the hair shaft and prevent this reaction from occurring.

If you live in drier climates, having humectants in your products help to attract moisture from the surrounding air to your hair. This is handy when you live somewhere hot and dry as it helps to maintain the moisture levels of your hair.

Frizz is part and parcel of being blessed with curly hair and we are just not meant to have frizz free tresses. Do what you can to minimise frizz, but for the most part embrace it.