How to keep curly hair from frizzing in humidity

Do your curls go POOF in hot weather? Humid weather is the muggiest time of the year. I love it because I’m such a tropical soul and all, but my curly hair? Not so much. With trial and error I’ve discovered a few things that help me. Let me know if you beat humidity with these tips too! But first, here’s what you need to know about curls and humidity.

How does humidity affect curly hair?

To effectively handle any problem, understanding the cause helps us a lot. What’s the reason for ze poofiness? Imagine a balloon and how it swells and rises up when you blow it? Same thing happens to curly hair in humidity. Well, more or less. The hair cuticles rise up and swell after absorbing the moisture in the air. The more moisture it absorbs the more it swells.

So that’s why certain products that work in winters may not be the best in the summer. Take a closer look at your products in humidity. Certain products speed up the swelling, making hair frizzier even faster than normal during humidity. So first step to beat humidity? Avoiding those kind of products. If you can’t then read on for more tips!

How to handle curly hair in humidity

Avoid humectants. Humectants in those “certain” products speed up hair swelling. Humectants attract water molecules like a magnet!! This is a great thing because Humectants moisturise dry hair. But we don’t want them to swell hair in humidity. Humectants commonly found in most curly hair products are as follows:

• Glycerine
• Honey 
• Aloe 

Now I don’t want you to take this at face value. Since a majority of hair products contain these lovely ingredients it would mean boycotting all hair products in humidity. No, we cannot afford that. So remember, brands formulate products with a mix of different ingredients. For example, Bounce Curl light Creme gel (one of my OG favs) has glycerine but it works in humidity also! Why? Because of the “jojoba esters” it just makes the glycerin work, that’s what Merian said, founder Bouncecurl. Similarly, there are other humidity-resisting ingredients that my friend Shosh so clearly explains here in this post. So basically don’t panic even if your products have humectants! They most likely have humidity resisting ingredients like Polyquats, Coploymer, Polymide etc, formulated in too.

My Top Humidity Tips:

See if incorporating any or all of these humidity hacks in your existing routine make a difference. If you don’t already start now to beat humidity! 

✅ P R E P O O

This is applying oil before shampoo but NO. It’s not a hot oil treatment though. Read the complete guide to Prepoo here. Why it works in humidity? It ensures your hair is moisturized, and is soft and manageable in the shower. So you can wash and style your hair easily.

✅ Clarify Often

Are you washing your hair more than usual? Instead harsh shampoos, try cowashing instead but don’t forget to clarify with a strong shampoo too. See SLS-free options here.

✅ Add Protein

This is to balance all the moisture that’s in the air already. Try gentle protein rinse like a Rice Water every other wash. If your hair is not satisfied with just products with protein, then try something stronger. If you’ve never done a protein treatment EVER then try this Gelatin DIY.

✅ Deep Condition

If your hair tends to dry out quickly in humidity try deep conditioning before shampoo AND skip conditioner! Decide how and how often based on your convenience. Check out my favs Deep Conditioners listed here.

✅ Styling Hacks

– Sandwich Styling is, what I call, using a mousse between your cream and gel.  I learned the technique from Gigi . This combo is for that EXTRA definition and hold for curls in humidity.

Of course the 123 Gel method is fool-proof for most hair types! Try using oil before your gel or finger coiling to ensure even product distribution too. But most importantly..

Best Curly Hair Products for Humid Weather

Like dry skin needs lotion, a starving belly needs food, my curly hair needs products to achieve a certain look! Please use the protein products carefully. I mostly use protein-free products so use your discretion as always.

Thank you for watching & reading!

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