Hair and frizzy hair frustration seems to peak during the winter months. Perfecting a hairstyle in the morning and finding that by the end of the day your style looks like a dry mess of old hay is a cause of much annoyance. Why exactly is it that we get such frizzy in the winter?
Hair expands, stretches and changes its protein bonds when wet or damp and this also happens to hair when exposed to changes in the environment. When you style your hair it will keep its desired shape until affected by humidity and static electricity, when the hair will revert to its natural configuration. During a single winter day our hair and hairstyle can be subjected to indoor central heating, a cold and damp outdoor climate, wind, drizzle, snow, shops and public transportation. All of these different environments expose our hair to varying levels of humidity and static charge. This, in short, causes your hair and hairstyle to freak out and frizz… and numerous times throughout the day.
You may also put on and take off a warm hat during daily errands, crushing your hair and causing your scalp to sweat. This can cause your hair to become damp, and when it dries, it dries unevenly and creates frizz. Furthermore, heavy winter clothing can result in sweating and therefore dampen your hair. If this re-setting of your hairstyle keeps occurring, as it so often does in the winter, your hair ends up looking rather bedraggled and frizztastic. Keep in mind, however, that how much frizz you experience depends on your hair texture and what environments your hair has been exposed to.
The best way to avoid frizzy hair and to keep your hairstyle as you intended it to be is to dry and style your hair with products that discourage moisture absorption into the hair shaft. Products such as a anti humectant or a smoothing cream that will retain moisture in the hair and can help combat a ‘Bad Hair Day’ and keep your hair frizz-free. You can also use a setting product, such as a weatherproof hairspray to prevent frizz and protect your hairstyle. However, be careful not to use too much of any product containing silicone in your quest to battle the frizz. Over-applying this to the hair when wet and then styling it with a blow-dryer can cause a condition that DHD refers to as ‘silicone burn’- an unpleasant brittleness and dullness of the hair that is almost as annoying as frizzy hair.
A few key ingredients to look for when combating frizzy hair:
- Glycerin: Retains moisture
- Benzalkonium Chloride: Anti-static agent.
- Silicone: Reduces static and frizz.
- Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol: Softens and smoothes hair.