Hair Care News

Need Frizz Help?

Posted on November 23, 2009 with 2 Comments

With cold, dry weather comes the annual mecca for frizzy hair help.  We, our customers, and co-workers see a dramatic increase in questions about how to deal with hair that is overcome with frizz, static electricity, and damage.

Tame Frizzy Hair

For most of us in the industry and for most anyone who is fairly serious about their hair, we know that dry air (lower humidity), wind and cold depletes oils and moisture.  The dryness makes hair less resistant to humidity, decreases moisture content, and becomes harder to control, style and manage.

Frizzy Hair Help - For Beautiful Hair

There are several things we can do to reduce frizz and get your locks the help they need.

• I always recommend switching to a moisturizing shampoo during the fall and winter if you do not use one on a daily basis.  Shampoo/conditioner combos generally work well but are often hard to find - at least good ones that don’t weigh down your hair or leave it feeling “too silky”.  Most folks’ hair works well with a good emu oil shampoo for improving moisture.  We’ve written several blog entries for emu oil, its impact on the follicles and scalp, so I won’t go into detail (though there is a link above).  As a side note, its good for scalp health and works well for treating any flakiness or dry scalp you may be having also.
• Watch the use of heat appliances.  Flat irons, blow dryers and curling irons can wring the moisture our of most styles very quick.  Besides the resulting frizziness, this is one of the leading contributors to hair damage.  Weakening the follicle shaft causes breaking and split-ends.  Use a thermal protectant.  Most are leave-in conditioning sprays that can be used before heat is applied.  They help coat the follicle shaft and make the shaft “slippery” so they don’t snag on flat irons and break.  They also help seal-in moisture.
• Try an oil treatment.  A couple of good ideas are Jojoba Oil, Argan Oil and Emu Oil.  I recommend using Argan Oil.  Argan oil is natural (unless combined with something not natural) and increases drying time and conditions.  For the money, its a great investment for treating dry, frizzy hair - you don’t spend as much time styling and you get conditioning and protection.  MoroccanOil is a very popular name-brand as is Marrakesh Oil, and Agadir.  All are 100% argan oil and/or have been supplemented with Vitamin E or Hemp oil.  On a personal note, Marrakesh is my favorite…I love the smell.
• From a styling perspective, you can cut-down on frizz and fly-away using styling aids.  Gels, hairsprays, mousse, pomade, et al are good for holding a style in place.  Make sure they don’t contain alcohol and that you don’t allow product residue to build-up.  This can increase dryness and promote scalp problems like psoriasis, dandruff and associated symptoms like scalp flakes, scabbing, inflamed scalp tissue and itchy head.

Getting successful frizzy hair help is often just paying attention to how and when your hair frizzes.  Noticing time of day, products you are using, temperature, can give you some clues as to how to tame frizz and get your hair behaving.

Cold Weather Spells Dry, Fly-Away Hair

Posted on October 1, 2009 with 1 Comment

For those of us in the mid-south, this was our first week of temperatures that dipped down below 60 degrees.  The last few days in Atlanta have been arguably the best we have had all year - highs in the mid-70’s, low humidity, and night-time lows in the low 60’s ad mid-50’s.  This is just the kind of weather that reminds you of camping, the mountains, and spending a lot of time outside.  It is also reminds you of how dry, colder weather treats your hair.

Managing Dry, Fly-Away Hair

Low humidity mixed with colder, dryer air creates static electricity - resulting in fly-away hair, loss of control, and increased difficulty styling.  Gone are the highly humid days that help keep your style in place;  But, also are the days where you hairstyle soaks-up humidity and frizzy hair is the problem.

Here’s a couple of tips we recommend as temperatures begin to drop:

• If you can avoid blow drying with high temperature settings do so.  Heat further robs the follicles of moisture.
• Leave-in conditioners can help control fly-away.  We most often suggest spray-on, leave-in conditioners that have some heat protect.  Heat-activated “Thermal Protector”-type sprays help keep your style in place while protecting from flat irons, etc.
• Use a daily mositurizing shampoo.  Products with panthenol, jojoba oil, or emu oil are great for retaining moisture.  If your hair is extremely dry (but not dirty), you might consider skipping shampooing for a day or two.  For some of us this might sound out of the question, but for many with acute dryness, it is not uncommon - especially if your hair is prone to breaking.

A couple of other recommendations you might consider:

• Add some emu oil to your favorite shampoo or conditioner.  A lot of folks use it by itself - rubbing into their hands and massaging into the scalp.  Personally, I prefer to mix into a shampoo - a little dab of emu oil and a bigger dab of shampoo.
• Try argan oil.  This has become very popular the past several years.  It will give your hair a lot of shine and some brands smell great (Marrakesh Oil).  It is used either before or after you style.