How to control frizz & fly aways

One of the biggest complaints I hear from women who don’t love their curly hair is frizz and fly aways. The two together disrupt the beautiful coily clumped body of curly hair. Here’s how you can control frizz & fly aways.

What is frizz & what causes it?

Frizz is uneven looking unruly hair. When your hair lacks moisture, the cuticle layer (outermost layer) gets raised to allow moisture to pass through. This causes hair strands to look uneven. Cuticle can also be disrupted due to chemical treatments and heat. Hair looks smooth when the cuticle layer lies flat.

What are fly aways & what causes them?

Frizz, static friction or breakage cause hair strands to stand separately instead of in groups or clumps. These are fly aways. What makes curly hair beautiful is when the strands stay in beautiful curly clumps.

When you comb your hair, both your comb and hair acquire opposite charges. It’s the same case when you rub your hair with a towel post washing. On materials that don’t conduct electricity (like dry damaged hair) the charges just sit there without getting lost. This like-charge causes hair strands to repel one another just like the like poles of a magnet.

Fly aways are also caused when there is not enough bonding medium (like hair sebum, external emollients or silicones) to clump hair together.

By now you would have realized that the problems are dryness, chemical or heat damage, combs etc. The solutions lie in the problems. Here are some tips and tricks to control frizz and fly aways.

DOs

1) Use hydrating conditioners and deep conditioners and masks.

I cannot stress on this point enough. I find a huge difference in the way my hair behaves when I use rich and hydrating products. My curls look defined, hydrated and healthy. Look for rich oils and butters in your products. I love Shea butter and argan oil in my products.

2) Rinse with cold water. This will help calm the cuticle to a small extent.

3) Lock in moisture immediately after tee-drying your hair with a serum or oil. Serums rich in argan oil work best for me.

4) Sleep on silk. Silk prevents friction as you toss and turn through the night – Why sleeping on silk is good for curly hair

DON’Ts

1) Don’t shampoo every day. Curly hair’s best friend is hydration. Since our natural hair sebum takes time to have its effect on curls, don’t strip the oils off.

2) Avoid rubbing your hair with towel after washing. That will ruin the cuticle & induce easy static in no time – How to dry curly hair

3) Say no to brushes and combs. They are one of the biggest friends of frizz and fly aways causing breakage and static – Why you shouldn’t brush or comb curly hair

4) Don’t skimp on products. Make sure you apply enough to tame the frizz.

If the frizz is due to humidity, check this out -Why does humidity cause frizz? + 6 fixes .Here is a post with my full curly hair care routine – My curly hair routine .