Frizzy hair can be a constant challenge for many, particularly in humid climates like ours. Frizz isn’t just an aesthetic issue; it often signals a deeper need for moisture and careful hair care management. Let’s dive deeper into natural remedies and lifestyle changes that can help keep your hair smooth and manageable.
1. Understanding Frizz and Damage
Frizz can result from dry, porous hair that absorbs moisture from the air, causing the hair shaft to swell. Additionally, what appears as frizz can also be damage caused by bond breakage within the hair. Factors like poor styling techniques, exposure to sun, and even the wind can compromise the vital hydrogen, salt, and disulfide bonds that maintain hair’s strength and elasticity.
2. Gentle Drying with a Microfiber Towel
To minimize frizz, opt for a microfiber towel designed for hair, which is softer and gentler on your strands. Eufora makes one that is also ionically charged to help keep the hair cuticle sealed, thereby reducing frizz and smoothing the hair’s appearance.
If you've ever used a microfiber towel that pulls at every dead skin cell on your hands that you didn't know you had, you've actually used one ionically charged in the wrong direction for hair. Those are better for getting dirt out of the waxy paint coating of cars and can cause a lot more frizz. The towels designed for hair are very different!
3. Minimize Handling When Wet
Reducing how much you handle your hair while it’s wet is crucial. If you are going to let your hair air dry, you’ll need to focus harder on avoiding rubbing it with a towel, touching it excessively, or allowing it to get caught in clothing or accessories, or stretching and wringing it in any fashion. Opt for using a gentle, plush-like microfiber towel over a traditional towel, squeeze and blot instead of rubbing or wringing, and avoid stretching the hair in tight braids, towel turbans, buns, or sleeping on it while it’s in a wet state.
4. Deep Hydration and Bond Repair
Deep conditioning and bond repair are key to combating frizz. Use products like Eufora’s Triple Bond Repair which repairs all three types of hair bonds—hydrogen, salt, and disulfide. This not only improves the hair’s smoothness but also its overall health, as sometimes what appears as frizz is actually broken hydrogen or salt bonds that break when the wind blows, sun exposure, or when dried and styled improperly.
5. Sleep on Silk
At night, switch to silk pillowcases to reduce friction and prevent the roughing up of your hair’s cuticle, helping to maintain smoother strands, but also consider using something like Pure Polish, that is a zero-weight shine enhancing, frizz controlling, styling and finishing product to help minimize friction overnight, and help smooth the hair back down after being exposed to friction.
6. Science-Backed Hair Products
Instead of traditional waxy hair products, we prefer those that utilize scientific advancements to retain moisture longer. Eufora’s texture line, including their Smoothing products, uses a proprietary plant-based blend of active ingredients that work to progressively smooth and de-frizz hair. With continued use, you’ll see increasingly better results, thanks to this innovative formulation.
7. Proper Styling Techniques
Employing proper diffusing techniques when blow-drying can also significantly reduce frizz. A diffuser helps to evenly distribute heat, protecting the hair from excessive heat damage while enhancing texture. It works best when it’s able to reduce all the wind. If wind is blowing your hair around, it’s also adding friction that can cause frizz. But also remember that patience is key! Avoid bouncing the diffuser around, and opt instead for letting it sit and do it’s job. Until it’s too hot for your head, it’s not too hot for your hair, and that heat is what’s drying your hair and reconnecting the bonds that break from being wet with water.
Remember: Friction = Frizz. Less movement = Less Friction = Less Frizz. Patience is key!
When blow drying smooth, remember that hair should be over 80% dry (closer to 90% dry if possible) before adding tension via a round brush or other high tension brush. We want the hydrogen bonds to completely reconnect. We don't want to stretch them so much that they can't find each other again. Power dry for about 5 minutes before adding tension.
8. Regular Moisture Replenishment
Lastly, regular moisture replenishment is essential. Keep your hair hydrated by drinking plenty of water, and wash your hair regularly to replenish the moisture balance throughout the week, and keep that moisture from evaporating too fast with the right products and tools.
By adopting these strategies, you can manage frizz naturally and effectively, leading to healthier, smoother hair. Embrace these practices to reflect your hair’s natural beauty and strength, showing off a mane that feels as good as it looks.