What Is Frizzy Hair and What Does It Look Like?
“What is frizzy hair?” is one of the questions we most frequently receive here at Cliphair. It’s something that many of us are all too familiar with appearing at seemingly the worst possible times.
Frizzy hair happens when the outer layer of the hair (known as the cuticle) lifts and refuses to lie flat. Instead of reflecting light evenly, lifted cuticles create a rougher texture that can make hair appear fluffy, dull, or tricky to control.
If you seem to constantly see flyaways, puffiness, and curls whenever you look in the mirror, you might feel resigned to always having to deal with hair frizz.
As this guide explains, though, you can tame frizzy hair! It’s largely about knowing what steps to take, so that you can rediscover the strength of your hair.
How to spot the difference between frizz, dryness, and damage
These three common hair problems often occur together. However, they aren’t exactly the same thing.
So, knowing what distinguishes these hair woes will help you self-diagnose (and then pick out a solution) all the sooner:
- Frizz often looks like fine, unruly strands sticking out, particularly around your hairline and crown. Your hair might feel rough but still have some elasticity.
- Dryness doesn’t tend to have the “puffiness” of frizz. Nonetheless, dry hair is typically dull-looking and straw-like.
- Damage to hair often comes from breakage, split ends, or a crispy texture.
A good “test” is to run your fingers through a section of your hair. If it feels rough and looks fuzzy, you’re probably mainly suffering from frizz.
Which hair types are most prone to frizz?
Certain hair types naturally experience frizz more than others:
- Curly and coily hair is especially prone to frizz. This is because natural oils take longer to travel down the twists and turns of each strand, with moisture being trapped unevenly. As a result, the hair can be left feeling drier.
- Highly porous hair absorbs moisture from the air more easily. So, this hair soaking up humidity like a sponge can lead to especially noticeable frizz.
- Fine and straight hair can become frizzy, too. If this is your hair type, frizz might be particularly likely to happen around the hairline, where shorter hairs can create flyaways.
Is your hair one of these? If so, you aren’t alone. The great news is that by taking the right steps, you can conquer hair frizz.
What Causes Frizzy Hair?
Humidity and UK weather
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “why is my hair so frizzy?”, the short answer is normally a combination of everyday factors. One of the biggest causes of frizz, though, is humidity.
Here’s the simple science: hair naturally absorbs moisture from the air. So, when it’s humid, this moisture absorption will be particularly high. As a result, the hair strand swells and the cuticle lifts. Instead of lying smooth, individual hairs move in different directions. Voilà, you have frizz.
The changeable weather in the UK can make frizzy hair a difficult thing to manage and prevent right through the year. Damp autumn mornings, rainy days, and humid summer afternoons can all encourage frizz.
So, in response to another question we often receive, “can the UK winter make hair frizzy?”, the perhaps surprising answer is “yes”. This is because both the cold winds outside and the dry central heating indoors can strip moisture from the hair. When this dry hair is then exposed to outdoor moisture, it’s likelier to react by becoming frizzy.
Is seasonal frizz something you find yourself repeatedly battling? In that case, our guide on how to avoid frizzy hair in the summer might help your efforts to manage humidity throughout the warmer months.
Heat damage and over-styling
Frequent use of straighteners, curling tongs, or very hot hairdryers can gradually weaken your hair’s protective cuticle.
In the absence of the necessary heat protection, repeated styling can leave you with a rougher hair surface that is more susceptible to moisture.
Fortunately, you can drive down your risk of future damage by simply turning the temperature settings down and applying a heat protectant every time you style.
Does your hair already feel dry or overprocessed? If so, you might be thankful for our article on how to fix damaged hair and restore its condition.
Product buildup, over-washing, and towel-drying
Washing your hair frequently might seem “the right thing to do”. However, doing it too often can remove some of its natural protective oils. This can be a particular issue if you’re constantly turning to harsh sulphate shampoos.
Product buildup can also heighten the likelihood of hair frizz, with the hair potentially left looking dull and becoming trickier to manage.
Rubbing your hair vigorously with a bath towel is something else that you might do every day while barely thinking about it. This is one more action, though, that can rough up the cuticle and encourage frizz.
So, what steps should you take instead? We suggest:
- Choosing sulphate-free cleansers where suitable for your hair type.
- Gently squeezing excess water from your hair, instead of rough towel-drying.
- Switching to a microfibre towel or even a clean cotton T-shirt to minimise friction.
How To Fix Frizzy Hair: The Routine That Works
Rethink your wash routine
If you’ve come here to learn how to get rid of frizzy hair, you might be surprised to learn that the magic solution isn’t just “buy dozens of expensive products”.
Sure, using the most suitable hair products in the appropriate ways can make a big difference, as we’ll soon touch upon. But being consistent with your wash routine, including keeping to certain simple principles, matters no less.
Here are some of the principles we’re talking about:
- Beginning with gentle cleansing.
- Using shampoos and conditioners free from sulphates and drying alcohols that help maintain moisture instead of stripping it away.
- Clarifying occasionally if you’re a regular user of styling products. This can be key to removing product buildup without over-washing.
- Finishing with a cool or lukewarm water rinse to help seal the cuticle. Cooler water may help the cuticle lie flatter, thereby leaving your hair with a shinier and smoother appearance.
Taken together, these methods can make for highly effective frizzy hair treatment and prevention.
Add the right products in the right order
It might seem disarmingly simple advice, but even just applying the best anti-frizz hair products in the appropriate sequence can help a lot.
A straightforward but effective routine might look like this:
- Apply leave-in conditioner to damp hair.
- Use anti-frizz serum through the mid-lengths and ends.
- Lock in moisture, if needed, with a lightweight hair oil.
- Finish with an anti-frizz spray if required, before styling or heading outside in humid weather.
Less is so often more in the battle against frizz. The products cited above can provide an invaluable barrier against humidity. Applying too much of them, though, could leave your hair feeling heavy rather than smooth.
We’ve previously written about the best nourishing oils that you might consider for your hair. Or why not browse our own hydrating haircare products at Cliphair?
Dry and style smarter
How you go about drying your hair matters just as much as the products you use.
So, you’ll need to get smart here too, including by:
- Applying heat protection every time.
- Using lower heat settings where possible.
- Keeping your hairdryer moving, instead of concentrating heat in one place.
- Air-drying part of the way if time allows, before finishing with a hairdryer.
If humidity is your biggest challenge when fighting frizz, you might be interested in our guide explaining how humidity sprays can help protect your finished style.
Frizz and Hair Extensions: What You Need to Know
Why Remy human hair resists frizz better
Being a user of hair extensions shouldn’t automatically mean that you suffer from more frizz. We know a thing or two about this topic as a hair extensions brand here at Cliphair.
We’ve been helping thousands of customers keep their hair looking its best since 2007. A big part of that has been our decision to sell only extensions made from 100% Remy human hair.
With Remy hair, all the cuticles face the same direction, just like hair naturally grows. This means users of Remy hair extensions can expect them to stay smoother, tangle less, and resist frizz far better than non-Remy hair (which can look dull and frizz quickly).
Our 100% Remy human hair is ethically sourced, and we regularly visit manufacturing partners to help maintain high quality standards. We do this largely because we’ve seen for ourselves how much easier daily styling, and the battle against frizz, can be when the right quality is ensured from the outset.
Brushing and styling around clips, tapes, and bonds without causing frizz
One of the easiest ways to reduce unnecessary frizz is to simply brush gently.
To fend off the risk of frizz every time you brush your extensions, make sure you also:
- Use an extension-friendly detangling brush, such as Cliphair’s Detangling Hairbrush that has been designed specifically for extensions.
- Avoid brushes with bobbles that can snag around attachment points.
- Start from the ends and gradually work upwards.
- Hold the hair above the attachment point to reduce pulling.
Consult our guide to taking care of tangled hair, and you’ll be well placed to prevent knots both now and in the future.
A quick word of advice if you wear tape-ins, wefts, nano rings, I-tips, or flat tips: restrict any at-home maintenance of these hair pieces to gentle washing and brushing. Any repositioning, reapplication, or removal of these extensions should always be carried out by a qualified hair extension specialist.
Choosing frizz-friendly extensions
If you’re looking for new extensions, top-quality Remy hair can make a real difference.
For a frizz-resistant and discreet clip-in option, look at our Seamless clip-ins. Forming part of the Remy Royale collection, these extensions feature AAAAA grade 100% Remy human hair, double drawn for fullness from top to bottom.
Such a combination of characteristics in your next set of hair pieces will help create a smoother finish that you’ll find easier to blend and maintain.
To discover the other options you can trust to stand up to frizz, check out our fuller ranges of clip-in hair extensions and permanent hair extensions.
A Few Extra Tips to Keep Frizz Away
Night-time habits that prevent morning frizz
Get your evening routine right, and you can expect much less stressful mornings with smoother hair.
Try:
- Sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase.
- Putting your hair into a loose braid before you go to sleep.
- Using the pineapple method if you have curls.
- Avoiding tight hair ties, given the friction these can create.
Eating a balanced diet and staying hydrated may also support your hair health, complementing the aforementioned proven haircare practices.
Quick fixes for frizz on the go
Let’s suppose you’re reading this as someone who needs to know how to tame frizzy hair right now. What do you do?
Well, hopefully, you’ll have thought ahead and kept one of these frizzy hair remedies in your handbag:
- A small anti-frizz serum.
- A lightweight hair oil.
- A travel-sized anti-frizz spray.
Out of luck? In that case, instead of a dab of oil or serum, you’ll have to depend on dampening your hands slightly and smoothing over flyaways. It’ll probably do as an “emergency” measure until you can get back home.
