Tuesday 23 August 2011

TOP TIPS: How To minimize frizzy/flyaway hair.

I know I don't usually write tutorials on my blog but I haven't updated it in a while and this is the only thing I really feel like writing about today. I'm having serious trouble articulating myself well enough to do book reviews or anything similar.

So I've been wanting to write a post about taming frizzy hair for a while now. When I was younger I used to really hate having frizzy hair and I used to scour the internet looking for tips to help with it as I'd tried countless frizz ease shampoos and conditioners without any luck. Now I've managed to regain a bit of control over my hair, I figured I would share the top tips I've learned over the years as I'm pretty sure some of them are little known.

1. Don't blow-dry your hair. It dries out frizzy hair and makes it course and extra frizzy. It's best to let your hair dry naturally. If you really don't want to wait then use a diffuser to evenly distribute the heat through your hair but I recommend just gently wringing out your hair (DON'T RUB WITH A TOWEL) and then letting it dry in its own time.

2. Keep hair hydrated and healthy. Of course it's always important to maintain healthy, hydrated hair, whether or not it's frizzy, but it's especially important if you have frizzy hair as dry, unhealthy hair makes it worse. So, to care for your hair, use a hydrating shampoo and conditioner and be sure to leave your conditioner in for about 2 minutes before washing out. In order to keep your hair healthy, as well as hydrated, get it trimmed regularly to prevent dry or split ends. Also do NOT bleach your hair or use heat tools excessively.

3. Don't wash hair with cold water. I used to have very greasy hair about three years ago so, when I washed it, I rinsed out the shampoo with cold water to close the hair follicles. This prevents oils building up in your hair and stops it getting greasy so quickly. This is a good tip if you have very greasy hair but it doesn't do any favours for frizzy hair as frizzy hair requires a certain amount of oil to stop it from becoming dry and, as I mentioned above,it is crucial that your hair is hydrated. So when I became aware of this is stopped rinsing with cold water.* Additionally, make sure you don't over-wash your hair. If your hair remains fresh for three days, wash it every three days. Only wash your hair daily if it is extremely greasy.

4. Don't brush your hair when it's wet. Your hair is extremely fragile when it's wet and the worst thing you can do is repeatedly run a hair brush through it, regardless of what your hair type is. It not only causes your hair to dry static and frizzy but it can rip your hair and cause damage. If you want to untangle your frizzy hair after washing it then either comb it with a wide toothed comb or simply brush through it gently with your fingers.

5. Don't overestimate frizz ease products. It is true that most frizz control shampoos, conditioners and serums are useful but you cannot solely depend on them to make your hair tame. For example you can't just blow-dry your and straighten your hair and just assume it's not going to make your hair dry and frizzy because you've used a frizz control shampoo. You're much better of using more basic tips to solve frizz rather than just spending a fortune on products. I regularly use "Dove 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner for normal hair", which isn't a product specially for frizzy hair but I still have relatively frizz free hair, when using it, as long as I follow the tips that I preach.

The only remaining tip I can offer is don't let your frizz rule your life. True, it's a pain and it does mean you may have some bad hair days if you get caught in the rain but don't let it get you down! Just care for your hair the best you can and don't panic too much if a little bit of frizz still shows up now and again. Hope this post helps!

*Recently, after washing my hair less often I've found that finishing with cold water isn't making my hair frizzy anymore due to the fact that I'm not washing it excessively. Try both and see what works for you.