Brilliant Frizz-fighting Tips That'll Give Your Hair Life
1/4Summer beauty campaigns would have us believe that sunning on a beach or strolling down a city sidewalk in a sundress is all just so effortless. But any woman who’s spent more than a few minutes styling her hair, only to step outside into sweltering, greenhouse-like heat, knows that summer’s elements are like style Kryptonite. Whether it’s heat, humidity or salt water, this season brings with it an array of challenges that can leave even the most carefully-styled look a limp, frizzy mess. (Isn’t it amazing how heat and humidity can somehow make hair tangled and enormous at the same time? Gotta love summer.)
So, rather than accepting our summer hair fate, we decided to bring out the big guns. We chatted with two super-knowledgeable hair experts — Amoy Pitters of Amoy Couture Hair, and Misti Dort, stylist at Atlanta’s Salon Red—for tips on how to wear a tousled “effortless” wave in this merciless heat while also battling frizz, dryness and other trappings of summer. Read on for styling tips that address your specific hair type’s needs to beat summer’s more vexing effects.
2/4If you have straight hair…
If you have straight hair and you want to prevent the flattened, lifeless look, try preemptively adding some volume with loose waves, advises Dort. She recommends working product into your hair while damp, using products that add texture and have a little hold, like a mousse or surf spray. Then, let your hair air-dry. “Once it dries, go in with a curling iron — either a cone-shaped wand or just the barrel of a regular curling iron — to give yourself a couple more defined pieces,” she says. Lightly spritz with a medium-hold hairspray (“anything heavier will deflate hair through the day”), and prepare to brave the elements in style.
3/4If you have wavy or curly hair…
You’d think women with naturally wavy hair could just run some gel through their locks and call it a day. When dealing with heat and humidity, though, that’s far from the case. Dort tells us that for women with long wavy hair, summer weather can cause a sort of triangle effect, with frizz targeting hair from its mid-shaft to ends. “In that situation, you’ll want to use two different products to address the roots in a different way than you would the rest,” Dort says. She recommends spritzing roots with a little salt spray. Then, as you work your way down to your ends, “use a hairspray that adds texture but has emollients, so that it conditions the hair,” she says. You’ll get that perfectly effortless look without the dry, dull strands.
4/4If you have natural hair…
Pitters has styled the locks of countless couture runway models, so needless to say, this woman knows a thing or two about hair. When she gives us advice, we listen. “Exposing styled hair to a hot, humid environment causes the hair’s physical side bonds (the chemical bonds that hair is made out of) to break, allowing the hair strands to return to its natural state,” she says. “Naturally curly hair that has been styled will begin to frizz and may become unmanageable.” The best way to deal? Keep hair hydrated, avoid extended exposure to the sun, and stay away from using excessive styling products. Some products, however, do help seal the hair shaft to make the hair more resistant to weather’s effects, so look for a humidity-blocking styling cream or oil to prevent frizz.
